posted by Douglass C. Perry
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If the Saints were trying to imitate my favorite team, the 49ers, they sure did a great job tonight on Monday Night Football. With all of the talent they had on display, it was -- and still is, hard to believe they lost to Minnesota, 30-27.
Remove a few freak plays and the game would probably have been different. After the Vikings' recovered a blocked punt -- in mid-air -- that led to a touchdown, a subsequent Drew Brees fumble gave the ailing Vikings even more room to breathe in the first half.
Somehow, the Saints stayed in the game. It wasn't until the third quarter when the Reggie Bush that I watched in college came alive with the speed and quickness that won him wild acclaim while at USC. I only saw the replay (because I had to put my daughter to sleep), but he took a punt kick 71 yards for a TD, speeding by at least four Viking players along the right side of the field. That gave the Saints a three point differencial (closing in to 20-17). Bush's raw talent lit up the hometown crowd; 99% of them standing on their feet and screaming in pure joy.
The VIkings then temporarily lost it, drowned out by the crowd and stunned by the sudden turn of momentum. Following a Vikings three and out, Minnesota punted the ball to Bush -- again. The announcers laughed when the punter kicked. They said, "You know they won't be kicking the ball to Bush."
But they did.
Bush caught the ball, faked right, ran left, and leapt through a tackle. Before you could blink an eye, Bush passed up every single Viking on the field for another perfect punt return, this time for 64 yards. The Superdome went wild, creating a deafening roar.
You think that would have been enough to win the game, but the VIkings threw long beating NO's secondary and scored tying the game at 27-27 with 7:10 left on the clock. After a drive that set up the Saints for a 46-yard field goal with about 2 minutes left, Martin Gramatica botched the kick, hooking left. The Superdome crowd went silent.
After that, the Saints remarkable comeback was a vain effort. Two weeks ago the Saints beat down my home team, the 49ers, but I was rooting for them in this touch back-and-forth battle. Brees, Deuce, and Bush are just too hard to dislike. They're so damned good. But their team is still inconsistent an problematic. Their combination of bad communication (one terrible hike that almost led to a fumble), freak plays (blocked punts), and a lack of a killer instinct on defense and kicking (Gramatica's blown kick for the second week in a row), doomed their otherwise great efforts.
Makes me almost feel better about the 49ers. (Almost.)
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abcdefgene Totally agreed. The Saints had so much momentum and the crowd on their side. All they had to do was make that field goal and hold the Vikings for 2 minutes. Such a downer. -
SurferRosa Not sure I agree with you there, abcdefgene. The Saints might have the talent of Brees, Deuce, and Bush like Perry said, but their offensive line broke way too many times last night and their defense let the game slip away. All of that was exacerbated by the missed field goal of one Martin Gramatica, his second in recent times. They are a patchy team at best and they might make the playoffs, but they have an equal chance of shanking it. -
Robyn74 The crowd is an important factor agreed. But the inconsistency I have to say could come from Brees himself. Though I liked him a lot when he was in San Diego, he still has some of the same problems he had when he was a charger. -
humano If it's a team failure, like lack of mental focus that leads to botched plays + penalties, few things block me from immediately getting on the coach. A real team that's full of mediocre players will always beat out a team comprised of a few superstars that have any trouble playing together, especially in the long term.
