I don't think there is a Saints fan out there that would tell you that they didn't comforted themselves with the narrative that, given his experience and accomplishments, their quarterback is the one that any objective person would most want taking postseason snaps for them in the NFC. I know that I, personally, swaddled myself in some ridiculous notion that Sean Payton had yet to open up his expensive array of fine chocolates to Drew Brees while limiting him to vanilla play calling all season. Of course that was just an absurd way to justify a third down conversation percentage that - confusingly contrary to a career-high completion percentage - was the lowest it's been in a decade. However, I'll be damned if the man whose prolonged greatness made it possible didn't deliver in proving that a false sense of security was bulletproof...
I don't know if the Carolina Panthers sold out to stop Ingram and Kamara in their tracks because they didn't totally buy a surefire HOFer's ability to run train by turning back the arm on his biological clock. Regardless, a throwback performance that featured a host of targets, a handful of vintage back shoulder gems, and an 80-yard dose of vengeance from Touchdown Teddy left them looking like they could probably use some investment advice. The red-zone defense will surely get a ton of attention, but those forced field goals would have been for naught without Drew Brees providing the best remedy for a struggling third down offense...an unstoppable early down offense. In the end, it was a questionable but - in my biased opinion - correct intentional grounding call that both solidified the more deserving Cam's case for Defensive Player Of The Year and, more importantly, allowed the Saints to bust the broom out on their division rivals. The final minutes were about as excruciating as a black market colonoscopy, but - if the celebration is any indication - the Saints locker room is currently looser than Sam Bradford's sleeves...
Their defense is going to have to tighten up between the 20's, their two-headed monster is going to have to carb up, Michael Thomas is going to have to find a way to treat Xavier Rhodes the same way he's treated almost every other corner he's faced in his young career, and the offensive line is going to have to withstand the probable absence of Andrus Peat if they hope to pull off an upset in Minnesota. That said, due to Sean Payton's aggressiveness, his trust in both sides of the ball, the team's genuine and undeniable love for one another, and a bunch of other reasons that are mostly intangible, this Saints' roster has the feel of one that has what it takes to exact revenge for what was a brutal season opener. If nothing else, yesterday gave me no reason to doubt their versatility on offense and their timeliness on defense, and they are going to need every bit of it heading into one of the few environments that's as hostile as their own.
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