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!
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