Preseason # 3 in the books.......

If you are like me there are many things to cheer about on offense. It looks like everything is humming along. Also, another big pleasant surprise this year appears to be Joique Bell who has come literally out of nowhere to seriously challenge for a roster spot. The good news is he seems a bit more durable than Chris Ivory and may end up being the reason the Saints keep Ivory on the PUP list to begin the season. This move will provide valuable insurance should we have another year like last year when every game it seemed like a running back was going down with an injury. Ivory will sit the first 6 weeks out and if he doesn't recover enough will go on IR for the season especially if Bell continues to impress. On defense.....a slightly different picture. Depending on who you talk to we are either extremely Vanilla or it's going to be a long year for the defense. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Yes, Gregg Williams is not showing a lot and yes we are not playing any different looks other than the base since the 49ers game. However, the tackling could be better as well as the DB play. I am not as concerned about the front four as some are. If you watched closely, you saw a tremendous push from Shaun Rogers so much so I was screaming at the referees for a flag for holding on several plays. Apparently they didn't see what I did. Remember, It's preseason for the officials as well. Also, you had a couple refs doing double duty because of the Hurricane so I'll overlook it this time. When Sept 8th rolls around we'll be ready. I was surprised by the pre-game interview with Rodney Harrison from the NBC Sunday Night Network. In it he told WDSU reporter Fletcher Mackel that the Saints will lose to the Packers by two touchdowns. If the Packers beat us by two touchdowns then they will definitely be odds on favorites to go back to the Super Bowl. Just remember.....everyone gets the Super Bowl hangover. It will be interesting to see how they handle it. This week will be the last test for a lot of guys trying to make the team so if you would like to see a real good college football game tune in Thursday night. It should be fun.

Preseason #2................

Don't worry Saints fans, you were not having flash backs of the Mike Ditka coached Saints. It wasn't as bad as it looked. Remember, we play the Texans in Week 3. There was a method to the madness. It makes the Texans over confident and it gives Gregg Williams the opportunity to challenge his defense a little more. We will be fine. Plus we get a nice tune up this week against a horrible Raiders team. If we can't get our confidence back in Oakland, we can't get it anywhere. Again, though, it really doesn't matter until September 8th when we strap it on for real against the Packers. For years the Colts lost all of their preseason games and flew out the gate 8-0; 9-0; 10-0 etc.
Bright spots......For the 2nd week in a row Joseph Morgan made his case for a roster spot by flying under a rainbow thrown by QB Chase Dainel for an easy touchdown. I told my wife he reminded me of Bob Hayes (at one time the world's fastest human). The Dallas wide receiver would fly down field under a Roger Starbach bomb with CB's trailing 10 to 15 yards behind out of breath. Number 13 is starting to remind me of Number 22 of 60's era Cowboys. Let's see if he can do it three weeks in a row. It appears Sean Payton will give him every opportunity to make the team. Stay tuned fans....it's gonna be a heck of a ride!

Pre-Season #1 First Look 2011 Saints...

How bout dem Saints??? Remember it's just preseason. Don't get your Super Bowl Reservations just yet. To listen to all the pundits, you'd think we were a lock. As Bobby Hebert so eloquently stated " On paper we are the best team out there!" Emphasis on "ON PAPER". Yes we are talented, but we were talented last year until the injury bug took a major South Louisiana Mosquito Bite out of us. For now I am of course cautiously optimistic about Sean Payton's 2011 version of the New Orleans Saints. As we settled in to get a first look at our boys in Black & Gold, the crowd was as thin at my house as it is at a Regular Season game in Cincinnati. Only two of my buddies showed up to mull over our fan perspective. Thanks to Fred and Kevin for making it a party.
What excites me about this team?   Let's start by saying that I am a lot more comfortable with the backup QB position than before Saturday night. There seemed to be a consensus among us that we could survive for a while should the worst happen. I see a composed and very comfortable Chase Daniel who moved extremely well in the pocket and ran well when he had to. He kept his head down field and focused through his progressions. I was very pleased to see we have so much talent this year again at running back. If you watched closely we could have another Bell on the roster when September 8th rolls around. He looks so far to be just one more jewel in the rough that Payton and Loomis have been able to uncover. Last year It was Chris Ivory. This year it's Joique Bell. This kid is special. If Ivory should fail to rehab quick enough he could be a candidate for IR and Bell would slide right in. These are the kinds of problems you love to have and the fact you have these "problems" is a tribute to the incredible organization that has been built since the arrival of Sean Payton. Seriously, we have players coming here for LESS money in order to have an opportunity to win a Championship! Other offensive mentions go to the other new kid, Mark Ingram, who showed exactly why Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton moved up in the draft to get him. He looks to be the real deal. Also, we are so deep at receiver we could probably field two starting teams. Again, a GOOD problem. The new kid Morgan with the unlucky number 13 had a good return for a TD in an effort to make this team, unfortunately for Morgan, Courtney Roby also had an excellent game...at WR, catching everything thrown his way. If Morgan wants to make the team he will need to do more than run back a couple kicks for scores. Honorable mention to 3rd string QB Sean Canfield who if the Saints did keep 3 QB's probably would get the nod.
Now for the best performance I'll turn my attention to the defense. It was nice to see Jon Casillas back in action as he led the team in tackles as well as having a sack and a constant tormentor of 49ers QB Alex Smith who I am sure was still in the hot tub this Sunday morning. Really, either the Saints defense is THAT good or the 49ers O-Line is THAT bad. They harassed all of the 49ers QB's all night long. It looked like we are definitely playing the run better and getting a good push with the front four especially the two interior tackles, something we lacked a year ago. Although, you know how I feel about Roman Harper, I must say I was impressed with his play. He looks to be faster this year. Maybe, he finally worked on something positive in the offseason. Of course like I said earlier "It's Preseason", so we will see. I hope he proves me wrong.
Who impressed you? I'd love to hear from you!

Football is Finally Here....Part 2

Now for the Home Team. I don't know about you but several moves surprised me both good and bad. I was impressed that Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton were able to sign Lance Moore back in to the fold. Honestly, I didn't give that move much of a chance. Whether other teams didn't see his value or the Saints valued him more, I am extremely happy he's back. Good job Saints! Previous regimes would have let him go elsewhere. Another brilliant move was bringing in the veteran Olin Kreutz. Evidently, Matt Tennant communicated either verbally or with his first few practices that he was not quite ready to step in to that starting center position. He seems to be happy that the Saints signed Kreutz, so my guess is he wasn't quite comfortable with the complicated Sean Payton offense at this juncture of his early career. Keep in mind this is only Tennant's second year. Asked about signing with the Saints, new center Kreutz made it clear that money wasn't an issue. It's all about winning a Super Bowl and he felt the Saints gave him the best chance to do that. Saints fans, I don't know how long you have followed the team, but I've been following the Saints since 1967. I cannot explain the emotion I feel when someone says the are coming to play in New Orleans because they want to win a Championship! Incredible! My how far we have come in just a few short years where the expectations are that high every year.
Alright enough reminiscing. Other moves that I give the team credit for was signing TE David Thomas an important piece of the puzzle and highly underrated. Zach Strief, a versatile back up. Carl Nicks...another important piece. Jermon Bushrod goes without saying. The steal, though, of Free Agency has to be Darren Sproles...another player who came here to win a championship. By the way Sproles had double the production of Reggie Bush last year in total yards; running ; receiving and return. Add a few much needed beefy defensive lineman and overall not a bad offseason.
Let me preface my next comments by saying I have never coached the game of football and I have the utmost respect for Gregg Williams. I believe he is a defensive genius. Having said all that I do not see what our Defensive Coordinator sees in Roman Harper. Yes he plays the run extremely well but he hasn't played the pass well since his rookie season. He seems to be slower the last few years not quicker or faster. I really don't base my opinion on just the Seattle game at the end of last season as many of you might. I base it on the body of work. It was because of Harper and Usama Young that we gave up a touchdown to Pierre Garcon in the Super Bowl. I didn't like the fact that they didn't cut Harper last year. I am hoping that one of these new free agents can show Gregg Williams that they can play the run just as good as Harper and the pass even better. This is a speed league and you must have speed at every position. Maybe he's fast enough for a linebacker then we can move him to that position. As much as I like Jon Vilma, I don't want him covering a speedy receiver downfield. That's not what he does best. It's also not what Harper does best. Unfortunately part of Harper's job is to cover speedy receivers downfield. I hope he proves me wrong. Time will tell.

Football is Finally Back..........

I know you've been wondering....What happened to the Football Fanatic? Well there's finally something to talk about. Now that the CBA has been voted on and everyone is allowed now to practice, we have something to discuss. I refused to waste my time writing about grown men whining about money when most of the ones who are whining don't face the same challenges that we the fans face in our every day lives. Namely, will we even have a job vs how many millions or billions are we going to split. Sometimes we the fans get lost in the shuffle. One point that stood out in the CBA that struck me as another stupid move by the players is allowing the NFL to dictate to the players the usage or non-usage of HGH. For those of you who aren't familiar with HGH, it stands for Human Growth Hormone. There is no evidence that this is anything but good for people. Some who are researching HGH believe it is the true "Fountain of Youth". There is no direct evidence that HGH is dangerous. So, why not let players take something that could help extend their career? More importantly why do the players not fight harder for the things that matter. In the end, it seems like all they are interested in is the money. What a shame. Which leads me to my other point...Why did they not fight harder on these diet pill cases like the one involving the Saints and Minnesota players? It is absolutely ridiculous that if a player takes a diet pill that happens to have a chemical in it that MAY mask steroid use can be grounds for a 4-game suspension. Especially when the players in question have impeccable character and have no previous failed tests for steroids or anything else. These are the kinds of issues that the players should have fought harder for instead of worrying about the owners getting an extra billion here or there.