First off, I though the Saints would lose. Everybody thought the Saint would lose. That's what we do. The Cowboys laid an egg. Your team is better than that. Way better. I guess what really hurts is that Dallas really has no excuses.
that's absolutely true! We were healthy, at home, and playing well. We have a decided talent advantage. What we didn't have....was Sean Payton and Drew Brees, the only two guys that killed us.
T.O. has no heart. Where did he go last night? Saints CB Fred Thomas is an average CB. He got beat like a drum against the Bengals WR Charles Johnson. I thought TO would own him.
I can't stand TO as much as anyone, but the guy does compete. What it looked like to me is that the inferior NO secondary seriously knew each route our WRs were going to run before they ran them. Otherwise, there's no way they stick to our WRs like they did. We have one of the top WR corps in the league and I don't think many would argue that.
Romo is a pretty good QB but Leon can't do it all. He looked like a young QB still learning how to play the game. The Saints played outstanding defense (can't believe I said that) and Romo had nowhere to throw the football. Usually Dallas's offense is designed to let Romo makes plays outside the pocket. This creates a match up problem with the Saints because the Saints DL was built to stop Mike Vick. Our DE are fast and know how to rush the passer. Compared to Vick, stopping Romo's scrambling was childs play. What I can't believe is that the Saints defense had everything down field covered.
I really didn't think Romo played all that poorly. When I saw his view downfield on replays, its true, NO ONE was open. That is because Payton knows our playbook a little too well and BP didn't have any new wrinkles for him. I wasn't shocked that NO put up points on us, I was SHOCKED that we didn't put up 30 on a VERY average, but extremely well prepared and disciplined defense.
Your cast off LBs continue to play outstanding football. I would like to thank everyone involved.
The NO LBs still wouldn't start in Dallas, they still wouldn't get PT in Dallas. They play and play well in NO system though. But I really can't say that NO's LBs are anything more than average.
Romo is no Brees. 1/2 a season does not a quarterback make. Here to hoping the this game was a fluke for Romo.
I commented on Romo's night. Brees looked like the best QB in football last night. IMO, he played a PERFECT game. He went to the exact right place with the ball almost 100% of the time. It was truly amazing. But again, when you have the other team's playbook memorized, it makes it a little easier to dissect that team. But Brees was nothing short of phenomenal.
The Saints may have taught the league how to stop the Cowboys offense and exposed how to exploit the Cowboy's defense. One thing is for sure, we gave the Cowboys something to think about.
I'm not as worried about our defense, really I'm not. There was nothing from last night's performance that surprised anyone here about our defense.....A) lack of passrush...B) Safeties can't cover....etc. I also don't think another QB in the league could've done what Brees did last night.
What concerns me was our lack of offense. I didn't like our playcalling. But I still felt like we allowed some very average dbs blanket our WRs and all of our routes leaving Romo NO WHERE to throw it. Maybe we don't have enough variety in our passing game or offensive playbook in general. That is reason for concern.
My biggest fear for Cowboy fans is that Atlanta is a very good team. If the Saints lose to them, the Falcons record would be 9-4 instead of 7-6. Atlanta is capable of playing up to a 9-4 record or a 4-9 record. I look for them to be up for the game. Romo will be tested. There running game is unbelievable. They can eat the clock up. This is no cake walk.
I'm not nearly as worried about Atl. They don't have a coach who designed our playbook and know it inside and out. And they don't have a Drew Brees. We can stop the run and Vick just isn't accurate. However, we BETTER learn really fast how to cover the backs in the short and flat. I also think we'll be able to bounce back and this game will be a wake up for us.
In the end it was like I told you. Pick your poison. The Saints offense reminds me of the Rams Greatest Show on Turf a few years ago, but unlike many Rams teams, the Saints defense can make some plays too. The Saints #1 offense is a match up nightmare for defenses and (I can't believe I'm saying this) for real.
The Saints don't have near the talent as the Rams did. Faulk by himself was Bush plus Deuce combined. Colston and Horn are not Holt and Bruce. Brown is not Pace. However, NO coaching staff is amazing. I've never seen such an average talented team so well prepared and execute so well. Imagine what Payton would do with Brees and Arizona's offensive talent.
See ya in the NFC Championship Game!!!! That would be great. We don't want to play in Chicago in January.
I hope so. We may have an advantage then, I think Payton pulled out every trick and the kitchen sink for this game and I don't think Brees could play such a perfect again twice against us.
