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Sounds like one of those clickbait picture articles with that sort of title...
So I became a Saints fan basically around the time Ditka took over as coach......paying particularly close attention to them starting when Ricky Williams got drafted. So really, it was just one major season that I "endured" under Ditka. And even then, it was understood....in my mind....that the Saints simply sucked, so I simply enjoyed the good times (such as a win streak against Dallas that got started in '98....and didn't end until 2009)............and accepted the bad times as "well, they're just not THERE yet".
Then Haslett came along and, within 1 year, convinced me the Saints could eventually be a Super Bowl champion sooner rather than later. Oh sure, the Haslett/Brooks combo gave us a very promising start and then a whole lot of 8-8 and flat endings to otherwise promising seasons......but over the years, when I see things that Payton (very much deservedly) gets credit for........I, as someone who lived that 2000 to 2005 stretch as a fan........can't help but feel like I've seen some of those same things before......albeit on lesser stages.
1. Won a playoff game first.
That's the obvious one. Probably to this day doesn't get the credit he deserves for that, since he only got there once.........but that team beat the defending SB champs with no Jeff Blake, no Ricky Williams, and Joe Horn getting hurt early in the game. You're not gonna find many teams that will win a playoff game without their starting QB, starting RB and #1 WR. And despite those guys being out, Aaron Brooks absolutely flourished that night. Which brings me to ...
2. Had a QB who threw 5 TD passes in the Superdome first.
When people think of the December 2003 game against the Giants, most of them immediately think of Horn's cell phone. Aaron Brooks slinging 5 TD passes (4 to Horn) doesn't really get mentioned...........likely because if you listen to some, Brooks was this imbecile who only ever threw passes backwards.....unless, of course, he was throwing interceptions followed by huge smiles. Yes kids, we did play a little bit of offense in New Orleans before Payton/Brees arrived, despite rumors to the contrary.
3. Did the "QB kneels 3 times, then Carney goes out there for a game winning kick" thing in a huge October game first.
I've watched a fair amount of football in my life........and if kneeling to run the clock down/out prior to attempting a FG has been done a whole bunch of times, then I've simply missed all but a few. But, to the specific moment listed.........in a huge October 2001 road game against the undefeated Rams..........the Saints were tied 31-31, and an offsides gave them a first down deep in Ram territory, with the Rams having no time outs left. Aaron Brooks kneeled 3 times to run the clock all the way down for Carney to tack on the go-ahead score. We would go on to see a very similar scenario play out in October 2006......when the Saints got a first down and Brees kneeled 3 times, prior to Carney giving us what at the time was an absolutely huge win against the Eagles. Could be forgetting an easy one, but the only other similar instance I recall seeing since that time was Eli kneeling 3 times against us in 2016 prior to a walk-off game-winning FG in that ugly 16-13 game.
4. Started a half by "stealing a possession" from an elite offense first.
Nearly a decade before AMBUSH, Aaron Brook's first start as a Saints QB started off with the Saints attempting, and successfully recovering, an onside kick on the opening kickoff of that 2000 road game against the Greatest Show on Turf.....a game they would go on to win (which ended up being very important to their division hopes). Haslett would actually attempt the very same thing the next season in the Superdome after going up 7-0 on the Rams......but, as was the case for much of his post-2000 tenure, the team simply didn't get many of the same fortuitous bounces they got in his first season.
5. Beat Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning in the same season first.
Like all the examples I've listed.......the magnitude of Sean Payton's achievements is obviously far greater..............but, yep, in what ended up being a disappointing 7-9 mark in 2001....the Saints got 2 of their victories over Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning. That was actually the 1 and only season outside of his rookie year that Manning didn't make the playoffs in his career......with his final season as a Colt obviously not counting.
So I became a Saints fan basically around the time Ditka took over as coach......paying particularly close attention to them starting when Ricky Williams got drafted. So really, it was just one major season that I "endured" under Ditka. And even then, it was understood....in my mind....that the Saints simply sucked, so I simply enjoyed the good times (such as a win streak against Dallas that got started in '98....and didn't end until 2009)............and accepted the bad times as "well, they're just not THERE yet".
Then Haslett came along and, within 1 year, convinced me the Saints could eventually be a Super Bowl champion sooner rather than later. Oh sure, the Haslett/Brooks combo gave us a very promising start and then a whole lot of 8-8 and flat endings to otherwise promising seasons......but over the years, when I see things that Payton (very much deservedly) gets credit for........I, as someone who lived that 2000 to 2005 stretch as a fan........can't help but feel like I've seen some of those same things before......albeit on lesser stages.
1. Won a playoff game first.
That's the obvious one. Probably to this day doesn't get the credit he deserves for that, since he only got there once.........but that team beat the defending SB champs with no Jeff Blake, no Ricky Williams, and Joe Horn getting hurt early in the game. You're not gonna find many teams that will win a playoff game without their starting QB, starting RB and #1 WR. And despite those guys being out, Aaron Brooks absolutely flourished that night. Which brings me to ...
2. Had a QB who threw 5 TD passes in the Superdome first.
When people think of the December 2003 game against the Giants, most of them immediately think of Horn's cell phone. Aaron Brooks slinging 5 TD passes (4 to Horn) doesn't really get mentioned...........likely because if you listen to some, Brooks was this imbecile who only ever threw passes backwards.....unless, of course, he was throwing interceptions followed by huge smiles. Yes kids, we did play a little bit of offense in New Orleans before Payton/Brees arrived, despite rumors to the contrary.
3. Did the "QB kneels 3 times, then Carney goes out there for a game winning kick" thing in a huge October game first.
I've watched a fair amount of football in my life........and if kneeling to run the clock down/out prior to attempting a FG has been done a whole bunch of times, then I've simply missed all but a few. But, to the specific moment listed.........in a huge October 2001 road game against the undefeated Rams..........the Saints were tied 31-31, and an offsides gave them a first down deep in Ram territory, with the Rams having no time outs left. Aaron Brooks kneeled 3 times to run the clock all the way down for Carney to tack on the go-ahead score. We would go on to see a very similar scenario play out in October 2006......when the Saints got a first down and Brees kneeled 3 times, prior to Carney giving us what at the time was an absolutely huge win against the Eagles. Could be forgetting an easy one, but the only other similar instance I recall seeing since that time was Eli kneeling 3 times against us in 2016 prior to a walk-off game-winning FG in that ugly 16-13 game.
4. Started a half by "stealing a possession" from an elite offense first.
Nearly a decade before AMBUSH, Aaron Brook's first start as a Saints QB started off with the Saints attempting, and successfully recovering, an onside kick on the opening kickoff of that 2000 road game against the Greatest Show on Turf.....a game they would go on to win (which ended up being very important to their division hopes). Haslett would actually attempt the very same thing the next season in the Superdome after going up 7-0 on the Rams......but, as was the case for much of his post-2000 tenure, the team simply didn't get many of the same fortuitous bounces they got in his first season.
5. Beat Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning in the same season first.
Like all the examples I've listed.......the magnitude of Sean Payton's achievements is obviously far greater..............but, yep, in what ended up being a disappointing 7-9 mark in 2001....the Saints got 2 of their victories over Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning. That was actually the 1 and only season outside of his rookie year that Manning didn't make the playoffs in his career......with his final season as a Colt obviously not counting.