Saints Sideline Blog

SAINTS “D” SPEAKS UP

Monday, September 28th, 2009      Email Print

DATELINE: Buffalo,NY /September 27th, 2009 (Wings were good, TO wasn't)
 
You play word association with any NFL fan about the New Orleans Saints and you would expect the following words to come out first: offense, Drew, or maybe Brees would be likely candidates.The word "defense" wouldn't be at the tip of their collective tongues and for good reason. The Saints Defense has been its weakest link for years, keeping them out of the playoffs and hindering Sean Payton's high flying, scoreboard exploding, All-Madden video gaming, number one unit in the NFL.
 
This offseason the challenge was simple for the New Orleans Saints: get a better defense or forget about getting back to the playoffs. Nobody knew this more than Sean Payton who didn't waste anytime picking up what may turn out to be the best NFL free agent: Gregg Williams. Payton pitched in part of his salary to land one of the most respected coaches in the league and his money hasn't been wasted on his brand new defensive coordinator. You saw WIlliams' imprint pay off in the preseason, and his stock has spiraled into great dividends in the first three weeks of this youthful campaign. It culminated in a performance here in Buffalo Payton called, "as good as we've had here in awhile."
 
Coach,I'm here to say it was the best defensive effort of your New Orleans tenure. Take away the fake field goal and the Saints pitched a shutout in one of the toughest road venue's in the NFL. Payton who usually keeps his hands off the defense took charge this week where he challenged the defensive line to step it up against the Bills. The unit listened as they sacked Trent Edwards four times and Will Smith chipped in with an interception. For good measure, the secondary did something we would all love to do, put a muzzle on TO. The Saints ended TO's streak of 185 straight games with a catch, a streak which dated back to TO's rookie season with the Niners.
 
The end result, this defense is giving the Saints the kind of balance Sean Payton has craved. Sure the Saints leave Buffalo with a 27-7 win but this game was only 10-7 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. It was the defense not the offense, that kept New Orleans alive and gave it a chance to win. Drew Brees said afterwards that this victory may not have happened in past years. He was right because in the past, the defense wouldn't have spotted the offense, they instead would have put them in a hole. Here in Buffalo it was fitting afterwards that Drew Brees, Reggie Bush or Marques Colston didn't get a game ball, it instead went to Gregg WIlliams. The former Bills' Head Coach had a happy homecoming, but for the Saints it was more of coming out party. If the defense continues at this pace, this Saints party may last into late January.
 
SAINTS SIDEBARS
 
NO DOUBTING THOMAS: Before kickoff, Pierre Thomas didn't think he would play against the Bills as he was suffering through flu like symptoms. After having a nice meeting with an IV at the half, Thomas felt ready for a second half surge where he accounted for 126 yards and two TD's.
 
MIGHTY MALCOLM: He may not be a starter but we know this about Malcolm Jenkins, this rookie is a playmaker. Jenkins forced a fumble against the Eagles and did it again on special teams here in Buffalo where its clear Sean Payton is happy with his play and will find him more playing time. The Saints Head Coach said afterwards" here we go again with him." That's a good thing.
 
BUSHROD INJURY: The main injury of note was to left tackle Jermon Bushrod who Payton said suffered an ankle sprain. Zach Strief stepped and did a nice job for Bushrod, once again showing off the great depth this team has at nearly every position.
 
WEATHER CHANNEL: The Saints were lucky many of the forecasters were wide right. Rain was supposed to play a factor but instead the worst part of the day was the wind. Brees and Payton said it had no impact on the game.
 
NO-HUDDLE, NO-PROBLEM: The Bills implement the no-huddle offense for most of the game but it didn't seem to throw the Saints off. Payton said the team got used to  "the tempo" of the offense and made the right adjustments.
 
3-AND-OH: The Saints are now 3-0, and will try to go for its fourth straight against the Jets. The last time a Saints team went 4-0 was way back in 1993 when they actually went on to start 5-0. That was the good news, the bad news that team would finish 8-8.
 
UNTIL NEXT BLOG,
Mike Nabors
CST

By: Mike Nabors

An Emmy award winning sports reporter who covers a wide variety of events for CST. Primarily, Mike serves as the network's reporter for Saints coverage.

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