Saints Sideline Blog

TRICKS, TREATS & TURNOVERS

Monday, November 1st, 2010      Email Print

DATELINE: New Orleans, LA/ November 1st, 2010 (For a night, they were the "Boo" Dat Nation)
 
Its a holiday which rarely collides with a Saints Sunday night game, but Halloween enjoyed its appearance inside a Scary Superdome anyway. Saints fans couldn't go door to door to collect their goodies, it was much easier---all they had to do was sit back and let the goodies come to them. Here's a sample of what every black and gold fan received in their treat bag.
 
"STAR"BURST: Good to see Saints "SUPERstar" Darren Sharper burst back into last season's clutch form. The Saints D hadn't forced a turnover at home since the opener against Minnesota but Sharper came up big like he did so much last season. The veteran recovered a fumble which culminated an unbelievable night for a Saints defense which was downright Steeler spooky. Credit linebacker Marvin Mitchell for the hit on Pittsburgh TE Heath Miller which forced the ball out, but Sharper continues to have a knack for being at the right place at the perfect time. How amazing is Starburst Sharper---he played college ball at William & Mary with Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin?!
 
SNICKERS: Drew Brees is above snickering at his critics who wondered what was going on after the Cleveland game but its clear no QB is more resilent in the NFL. Coming off arguably his worst performance as a Saint, Brees put on everyone's favorite costume on Sunday- he looked like the Brees of old especially late when he carved up a Pittsburgh defense like well---a pumpkin. The Steelers "D" isn't used to allowing two fourth quarter TD drives. Brees told me afterwards it was a must win for this football team and he sure played like it late. Drew completes 6 straight passes on the final drive finishing 34/44 for 305 yards.
 
JAWBREAKERS: What can you say about the Saints Defense who carried the load once again, especially in the 1st half. The defining moment was a crucial goal line stand in the 2nd quarter. Pittsburgh had 1st and goal but the Saints clamped down to force a field goal. Its amazing to me how many around the country have criticized this unit for not forcing as many turnovers as a year ago, but the fact is they are playing better football. They entered the game ranked third overall in the NFL and afterwards without hesitation, Sharper and Malcolm Jenkins told me that this unit is much better than last season. Against Pittsburgh they only allowed one TD, its the fourth straight week that's happened.
 
MR "RED HOT": The Saints defense not only good but deep especially in the secondary. Starting corners Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer didn't dress and rookie Patrick Robinson would leave the game with an ankle injury so it was  Torrence Time for the Saints. What a performance for Leigh Torrence who was cut from this football team earlier this year. First he keeps Steeler receiver Antwaan Randall El out of the endzone on a play Payton had to challenge which set the stage for the goal line stand. Torrence wasn't done though, he then intercepted Ben Rothlisberger in the 4th to set up the game icing score from Lance Moore---Torrence was the Saints chewable Red Hot making the case for more playing time down the road.
 
JOLLY RANCHER: Nobody personified the Halloween spirit more than Malcolm Jenkins who had to dress up as both a cornerback and safety versus Pittsburgh. On top of that, he was in charge of the costumes. Even though Jenkins is no longer a rookie, the veterans made him fulfill his last hazing ritual this week by making him come up with a costume theme for the secondary. Sharper told me afterwards that in all of his years in the league he's never been around a better rookie than Malcolm.Jenkins. Proof positive- Jenkins,with the admitted help of his girlfriend ,designed and delivered all of his secondary mates boxing robes with the hopes of making the Pittsburgh game "Fight Night." The black and gold robes would have made Tyson and Holyfield proud as each one had a great nickname on the back with the inscription :World Champs on the Hood. Congrats Malcolm---you're no longer a rook!
 
CARAMEL COLSTON- Not a good start for Marques Colston but a solid finish. After a few tough drops in the 1st half, Colston comes up with 6 catches, the biggest proved to be the game winning 16 yard touchdown catch which finished off a 10 play drive. Colston admitted this offense can build off its effort late in this game, we will see next week versus Carolina.
 
BUTTERFINGER??: OK maybe this one isn't fair but only on Halloween it looked for a moment as if we would finally see famed Saint decoy and backup offensive tackle Zach Strief nearly dress up as William "The Fridge" Perry. Unlike the fridge though Strief had a chance to become the biggest Wide Receiver to CATCH a TD in Who Dat History. Drew Brees overthrew the big fellah on a 1st and goal in the 2nd quarter. A play this team has been saving in Payton's playbook for years. Brees expressed regret to me afterwards not only on the lack of execution but for the lack of not seeing the possible "Strief Shuffle" in the endzone. Maybe we'll get a second chance to check out a future TD celebration down the road.
 
THREE MUSKETEERS: Once again, it was a running back by commitee without Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas,but the threesome of Chris Ivory, Julius Jones and Ladell Betts gave it their best shot. It wasn't pretty though as the Saints threesome only combined for 30 yards on the ground. Betts dropped what looked to be possible TD catch and Ivory left with an injury in the1st half. Jones was the best of the bunch with an 11 yard first down run in the 3rd but clearly this offense is pining for the return of its two playmakers.
 
WHATCHAMACALLIT'S??: A shout out to the Saints fans who didn't shy away from the costumes and made the Superdome its own House of Horrors. From a Brett Favre getup to lots of Elvis', ghosts, witches to well you get the idea. For their efforts and this is no joke, an official from the Guiness Book of World Records attended the game and counted at least 17,777 fans wearing costumes in the Superdome, making the game the largest recorded Halloween gathering--Who Dat, "Boo" Dat?!
 
NOBODY ASKED ME BUT: We are halfway through this NFL season and clearly we have figured out absolutely nothing. The NFC is up for grabs, the NFC South could be the best division in football but who knows? The biggest question mark who's better the AFC or the NFC? It looked to be the AFC heading into Week 8 that was until the Packers shutout the Jets and the Saints beat up whom many considered the best team in the league so far in Pittsburgh? Go figure, we are halfway home and are still trying to figure this league out. It seems to be as big a mystery as ever. Pretty spooky huh?????????
 
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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