New Orleans Saints

Sunday was my first chance to catch the Saints live this season. They were on the road in Dallas and facing a team in the playoff hunt and with a hot running back. Dallas fans were pretty confident going into the game, and rightfully so. Their rookie sensation at running back, Julius Jones, had torched his previous two opponents to the tune of 348 yards and five touchdowns. They also were coming off of a dramatic win against Seattle where they scored 14 points in under two minutes to score an upset victory. The Saints on the other hand were the losers of three straight and sported the NFL’s worst defense in any statistical category that mattered. But things didn’t go as Cowboys fans planned.

The game started out true to the Saints season, they failed to score in the first quarter and found themselves down 10-0 as it ended, the 11th game in a row the Saints failed to score in the first. Julius Jones had already rushed for 46 yards and was on pace for a huge day. Then the tide turned on a Mike McKenzie interception of Vinnie Testaverde in the second quarter. The Saints converted that turnover into a Deuce McAllister touchdown and the game was on. Their defensive and offensive lines came alive.

The Saints went into the locker room tied with the Cowboys at 10, and brought that energy out in the second half. The Saints defense harassed Vinnie Testaverde all day, while also managing to keep Julius Jones in check. After a 13-13 ending to the third period, the Saints finished the Cowboys off in the fourth with two touchdowns and a game ending fumble recovery that allowed them to run out the clock. To a person, Saints players, coaches, and fans agreed this was their best defensive effort, not of just this season, but of the past three or four seasons.

My only question after watching such an inspiring performance is, where has this been the last few years? Where was this team? The talent has always been there. Where did this inspired play come from? I have no answers. I do know that had the Saints played like this since game one, they would be challenging Atlanta for the NFC South crown.

That performance on Sunday seemingly led to more questions than answers. Are we doomed to only see performances like this when the team has nothing to play for? A performance like that is a coach saver, and the rumor is Haslett may make it another year even if his coordinators do not. While I feel that would be a mistake, money is the main motivator there and not the good performance by the team on Sunday. Seems as if crying poverty by owner Tom Benson has put him in the position of not being able to fire Haslett and pay him six million dollars, then turn around and hire a new head coach for another four million per year.

This puts fans in the unenviable position of having to hope Jim Haslett has it in him to turn this team around. A few more performances like Sunday, however unlikely, would go a long way towards doing just that. But still you have to wonder, why has it taken so long for this team to appear?