Saints

[Neal Clayton]

after 40 years of mediocrity, after wasted opportunities with bad coaches, bad quarterbacks, bad GMs, bad owners, after winning the division only to lose the first playoff game in multiple years, after yes, being at a game with a schwegmann's AINTS bag on my head (more than once), it sure is nice to have the best team in football for a change .

beating the pats on monday night with drew brees having a perfect QB rating is more than a statement i think. it really should've been 45/10, there was another 14 point swing in there where they failed to keep a turnover and the pats scored right after.

see you in the playoffs vikings fans, lets hope it's at home, that's the only thing that worries me at this point. i really don't wanna see adrian peterson on the road in the NFC championship game.

[Paul Ryan]

Neal,

Up until last night as a Viking fan I wasn't worried. I thought the Saints were definatly beatable. After last night, I am worried that my magical Vikings season may come to a screeching halt if and when we meet the Saints. They are tough. Drew Brees looked like a young Bret Favre last night, a surgen. They patriots played pretty good coverage, but you cannot cover a pefect pass. And Brees through coutless perfect passes that were just a work of art. I was very impressed. The past few weeks the interceptions were starting to mount and it looked light the Saints were getting worse instead of peaking at the right time. Well not last night, that was a very good performance. I have to keep telling myself that the patriots defense isn't that good. But I think the patiots offense is excellent and they were basically shut down as well. Again well done.

My only hope as a Viking fan is that the game will be in MN. If not I think the Saints will be on their way to Miami. And it is lookin pretty slim that the Saints will loose in the regular season. Still 2 tougher games on the season the cowboys and the falcons. But you have already beaten the falcons and they are on they way down. The vikes have 4 tougher games arizona, cincinnati, the bears in the cold, and the giants. If the vinkings can make it past the packers, in the playoffs. I am convinced the vikes will have to beat the packers 3 times this year to make it to the NFC championship, and that will be a tall chore itself. Congratulations Neal you have an excellent team. Good luck until you meet the Vikings, then I will be cheering for my beloved PURPLE.

[Neal Clayton]

well, the patriots defense isn't that good, and that's what killed them. their secondary isn't terrible, but isn't that great either. couple that with a complete lack of QB pressure and you have a bad situation against drew brees. if you give him time he's gonna beat you, after all he only needs ~12 inches of space to complete a pass.

the jets and falcons played the saints pretty well, because they have good defenses. so i don't think the saints could blow out the vikings like they did the pats.

it's kinda the same thing that's happening with the bengals. the saints have had horrible defenses for the last few years. then they bring in jonathan vilma and darren sharper coupled with a scheme the players believe in from greg williams, and those two players turn the whole thing around. leaders make a difference .

the bengals did the same thing with that linebacker they drafted from USC and roy williams. instead of losing all of the close games, they now win all of the close games. and that's really all that counts. the NFL is about the most even professional sport team by team that we have, talent wise. it's all about who can step up late in games and win the close ones.

[Peter Luch]

All I want to say is.........................THE PAT'S LOST!!!!!

I love Drew and being a Chargers fan I really did not like that they let him go. He is a winner and really started the turn around in S.D.

I'm rooting for the Saints unless they meet the Chargers.

Aloha, Pete

[Keith Starosta]

Drew Brees is a great QB with a TON of great players around him!!! Couple that with an insane defense, and the Saints might just do something special this year. As a Lions fan, I am going to live out the rest of my football season vicariously through them.

- Keith

[Mike Henderson]

You must be from the New Orleans area if you know what Schwegmann's is

Mike

[Neal Clayton]

yep, grew up there, have lived in little rock since katrina and don't know if i'll ever move back, but i've got too many broken dreams invested in the saints to give up on them now that they're turning it around .

[Michael Gibbons]

Be very grateful that you guys don't have to put up with our favorite pussycats the DETROIT LIONS!

[Bob Lloyd]

As a Pats fan it was tough to take. The secondary is young and being rebuilt, they had done pretty well..... up until last night. I have not seen the Pats give up so many big plays for a long time. The Saints will be tough to beat, they appeared to be in a different class to the Colts. Just remember, it is January and February that really counts, the Pats went 16-0 and did not close the deal.

[Rick Moyer]

I think it's interesting that the three best records are all dome teams, although I suspect that's due more to the QB's and the qb friendly rules than the domes.

[Jason Roehl]

The Colts aren't a dome team anymore. Lucas Oil Stadium has a retractable roof. Granted, they close it in inclement weather, but it's not quite the same as a dome--the sunshine can have (and has had) an effect. The Colts may not have played the best looking games this year, but they're getting it done despite quite a few injuries to key players on both sides of the ball. That they've come from behind to win several times this year is a testament to their mental toughness and the effectiveness of their 2-minute offense, no matter when in the game they use it

[Rick Moyer]

My bad! I guess I'll start paying more attention to the Colts when they get a decent QB.

[Paul Ryan]

Sun shines on a dogs but once in a while. That was about the luckiest perfromance I have seen in a long time. Well since the vikes beat the niners. The vikes didn't even need that much luck to win. 1st a fluky interception turns into a fumle return at the then end of the half, then the redskins kicker misses a 10 yard field goal, 10 yards how the heck, and then another fumble by the skins in overtime. I cant stinkin believe it. No offense to saints fans but I think their luck is going to run out before the season is over. That was ugly.


Well the game tonight was ugly as well, I was pumped earlier in the day, but the Vikes stunk it up tonight. Looks like we will be going to New Orleans for the NFC championship.

[Eric Larsen]

Yep. The Saints look like a juggernaut this year.

We'll see how they do in the playoffs.

(Everyone channel Jim Mora -- Playoffs!?!??! Playoffs!?!?!?!?!!?)


EDIT -- Detroit fans, how do you handle it? I think it must be kinda like rooting for the Washington Generals vs. the Harlem Globetrotters every year.

[Neal Clayton]

lol, i suffered through 10 years of jim mora when he was in new orleans. in the last press conference before he was fired he had his shirt buttoned up unlevel. that about sums up jim mora, he could screw up a cup of coffee. then we went from that to mike ditka, who after throwing away 15 million dollars in the trade + another 4 million a year on heath shuler (who was worse than a rookie danny wuerrfel), walked off the field after a loss shooting his own fans the bird.

sean payton said on the local postgame show after monday night that he was gonna give the team 3 days off, they just did a walkthrough on friday before the plane to DC. the defense injuries were mounting up too much. so underperforming a bit in DC was kinda expected.