John Clayton: First...and 10 (1 Viewer)

[Marlboro Man]

We may have gotten a little more lip service from sportscasters, but the reality is that they still don't BELIEVE! Talk is CHEAP! with all their talk, you still don't see much about the Saints or their wins. But here is some trivia for ya. For the first six weeks of the season, the Saints were either on the new NFL Replay or the game of the week.

 

[ThibodauxSaint]

I don't understand how since the 2000 season the "experts" always talked about how we were loaded with talent but just couldn't put it together. Now that we are putting that talent together we are all of a sudden not as good as I record and we're winning on emotion. That's why I don't even listen to these people anymore.

 

[crosswatt]

His point is valid; Billick will look to open it up against us. If there has been one weakness that we have exhibited so far this season, it would the propensity to give up the big play. I look for McNair to go up top to Mark Clayton early and often. I trust our coaches will have our secondary ready for it if it happens.

 

[NPs6724]

His point is valid; Billick will look to open it up against us. If there has been one weakness that we have exhibited so far this season, it would the propensity to give up the big play. I look for McNair to go up top to Mark Clayton early and often. I trust our coaches will have our secondary ready for it if it happens.

But opening up doesn't mean anything without the pieces to do so. McNair isn't that good a QB anymore, Jamal Lewis doesn't seem to be the 1500-yarder he used to be, and their WRs aren't Moss or Carter, the last time Billick's offense did jack-squat.

And as for their defense, they've held ONE good offensive team to 20-or-less: the Chargers. They held Tampa to 0 (ooooh, Chris Simms!), Oakland to 6 (rookie QB and no O-Line), Cleveland to 14 (yeah, so did we), San Diego to 13 (okay, that's good but who have the Chargers beat? exactly), Denver to 13 (big deal, they would have less than a 50% TD rate from the 1-yard line), and Carolina to 23 (we held them to 21). Really, is their defense THAT good THIS year? They don't allow points, but they have only played 2 offenses that are worth anything, and lost to one of them. Not to mention Cleveland and San Diego both had Baltimore beat until the Ravens cam back, so they haven't dominated anyone except Tampa and Oakland.

They have 19 sacks, we have 18 sacks. But they've allowed 12 compared to our 6. They have more passes defensed, but average only 1.5 more a game than the Saints. They do have 11 INTs and 5 FF compared to our 4 INTs and 5 FF, but look at the QBs faced: Simms (3 INTs vs. BAL, 3 for the season), Walter (3, 8, at least 1 in every start), Frye (1, 6, 2 vs. NO), Rivers (1, 3), Plummer (1, 7), and Delhomme (2, 4). Besies Jake and Rivers, none of them are good at protecting the ball or limiting mistakes. And Jake has thrown 15 or more INTs in every season he was the starter so even though he only has 4 this year, he's known to make poor throws.

Simply put, their defense can keep their reputation; we'll take the win. That's all that matters.