On one hand, there is nothing not to like about the New Orleans Saints consistently playing mistake-free football for the first time in a long time. I am not going to research the numbers, but I feel pretty damn confident in saying that Sean Payton and Drew Brees have proven over the years that they are insanely good when they win the turnover battle, and disastrously bad when they lose the turnover battle. Consider that your 'stat of the day', if you will. A perennial top 5 offense is at its most productive when it only completes passes to itself. Who knew?!? Theoretically, the fact that they have managed to go four games without giving away a single possession can only bode well for a team that is only getting healthier on the offensive side of the ball. With the backfield roles more well defined and the return of trusted players like Terron Amstead and Willie Snead seemingly imminent, the Saints certainly don't stand to become more turnover prone, and that's been the one Achilles' heel of a unit that's put forth a decade of dominance. On the other hand, these depressingly suspicious stats feel like the forewarning of a black cloud that's getting ready to piss on the preemptive parade that Saints' fans will be ready to throw if they climb over .500 for the first time in 4 years. There's so much to be optimistic about with the defense coming off two fantastic performances and a week of rest. However, the opportunity to make history plus the potential to take a step toward repeating a hauntingly similar history make for quite the sphincter clenching combo. I'm not sure if I would rather Drew Brees take the first snap and immediately hand it to the closest defensive lineman just to put a quick end to the madness, or if doing so would all but guaranteed yet another 7-9 season. All I know is that a never before reached peak in ball security is the biggest mountain the Saints will have to climb if they hope to finally ascend above completely average, and failing to do so is likely to send them on an eerily subpar path to Lambeau Field. Blessed be the bounces because this team might have to enter the record books to keep the season trending upwards, and that scares the crap out of this Saints' fan.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
January 2020
|