Birds Cooked: The Saints Left No Wing Unclipped In Bringing The Eagles All The Way Down To Earth11/19/2018
Let me start by saying this. The "coulda, woulda, shoulda" mentality is literally one of losers. Last season was last season, and credit to the Eagles for making sure it was a (Philly) special one. This season is a much different season, and given the fact that's it's one in which the reigning champs appear to be banged up and dealing with a crippling hangover, not even the inhumanity of a "sound the alarm, pull the covers off, and open up the shades to blinding light" style wakeup call can be used as evidence to some sort of revisionist history. Whether Alvin Kamara likes it or not, The 2017 Philadelphia Eagles will forever be Super Bowl champions. The 2018 Philadelphia Eagles, on the other hand, are going to need a new bulletin board, because the current one must look like a car that got abandoned beachside during the summer after getting covered with every ounce of the shit that the Saints beat out of the Birds. Again, I'm personally not a fan of the "what if..." game, but never mind what Alvin Kamara said, because yesterday's actions of handing the team that currently holds the Lombardi an 'L' of historic proportions spoke even louder than the most hubristic of hindsight.
Honestly, to say the Saints beat the shit out of the Eagles is almost an understatement, as I'm not sure the way one's competitive spirit gets exorcised from their body is through the same manner as their supper. From touchdowns to turnovers and everything in between, the most complete of clinic was held at the expense of a team that, from kickoff, looked as physically and mentally overwhelmed as the teams they faced last season. On offense, it appeared as though Sean Payton and Drew Brees took offense to every person who drew the obvious conclusion that the Saints needed more wide receiver depth while the Saints were bringing in more wide receiver depth. It was probably just the result of going up against a secondary that was as battered and beaten as the ego of the team it belonged to, but the only reason we're not talking about the notable contributions of Keith Kirkwood and Austin Carr is because, at some during the second quarter, Tre'Quan Smith scheduled an impromptu coming out party. During a game where the Saints merely stopped themselves from hitting 60, two of the top ten playmakers in the league, in Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara, were merely complimentary to what was a complete emasculation. Mark Ingram was fantastic, of course, but the real story is one we've heard time and time again this season. This time it was told with debatably the best left tackle in the entire NFL seated on the sidelines, but Drew Brees looked completely unbothered in his brilliance. Whether it was fitting the ball through a nearly non-existent window to Mike Thomas on the sideline, or creating the type of trust/confidence dynamic that had young players like Dan Arnold and Tre'Quan Smith laying out for highlight reel catches, Drew Brees was...well...familiar in his flawlessness.
They are undoubtedly benefiting from backing the most intimidating of offense, but - not as slowly as surely - the Saints defense is regaining the form they took last year. Much in the same way the absence of Terron Amstead was indistinguishable, the pass rush has been just as much of a problem for opposing quarterbacks without the services of the freakish player they traded two first round picks to select. Carson Wentz was under center looking like Markelle Fultz at the free throw stripe in how hesitant he was made by a defensive line that's trending towards dominant. Add to that the fact that Marshon Lattimore is becoming more and more lockdown, Eli Apple is becoming more and more comfortable, and P.J. Williams is becoming less and less of a liability, and it seems as the Saints' defense has made a full recovery from soreness after getting spanked by FitzMagic's wand. All in all, I don't think it's even a lukewarm take to say that this is the most talented, the most complete, and the most cohesive team Sean Payton has coached in New Orleans. Even in "next man up" type situations, they've steadily improved and it's certainly showed itself on the scoreboard in a way that would make the causal fan double-check out of disbelief. If you believe either their words or their actions, this team doesn't even understand the concept of a letdown game. That might have something to do with growing accustomed to letting their hair down during the entirety of the 4th quarter as of late, but this Saints team is kicking ass regardless of names and they are having the most amount of fun in doing so. Their play hasn't just called for all the 'Who Dat' chants, but it's made it a viable question. Who exactly is it that can beat these Saints? When they are playing as well as they did yesterday, the rest of the league might not like the answer.
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