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im glad that we won but i really dont think that we played that well, our offense wasnt that great except for the play of Deuce, that man is a warrior, and Joe \"hollywood\" Horn, he makes big plays when we need them, and JAKE, coming in off the bench to seal the deal with a great textbook pass to Hollywood, the D played better then they have all year and were screwed on the pass interference call and the non offensive pass interference call, michael lewis had some good returns and he also had some bad ones, but im not here to take away from the saints, overall we played much better then as of late

Paks Overall ranking: B+
Paks Offense ranking: B-
Paks Defense ranking: B+
Paks Special Teams ranking: B+
Paks Coaching ranking: A
Paks Crowd ranking: A
Paks Massive Drunken-ness: A+

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I have got to say that last night\'s wins was certainly one of the SAINTS better played games of the year.

For all of my complaints about Brooks over the last couple of weeks, I must admit that his performance, along with the whole team was mush improved last night. Aaron persevered and overcame the early massive pass rush to engineer key drives in the third. He played pretty well, even though he was injured, did not throw an interception or fumble and did not leave the game until the final series.

My only real complaints about Brooks at this point is that he is still not staying in the pocket when passing,instead he back peddles and leaves himself open for sacks and hits from the defenders. Also, he still is not taking advantage of the lanes when his receivers are covered. There were several times when he could have scrambled for needed yardage, instead he either threw the ball away or just took the sack. But all in all, he played much better last night than he has done in a while. I just hope this is a sign of how he\'ll play in the remaining games.

As for the rest of the team, I was impressed as well, for the most part. The defense played extremely well, except for a little too much cushion on the short pass. The o-line played fairly well -- still too many defenders getting to Brooks too fast. Special teams played a great game and Duece really showed what he was made of, playing injured, obviously limited by his injusy and still gaining nearly 100 yards. And lets not forget the stellar performance by Carter, he really stepped up his game last night as did Hodge, Howard, Craver, Thomas, Smith and Irvin. Bellamy\'s interception of Johnson did not hurt either.

So I would have to agree with you guys that this was a true total team win. And although it will not be a cakewalk with the final four regular season games (the Vikes are playing tough ball, the Ravens are a 500 team that can give most a run for their money and the Panthers have something to prove in the division), the SAINTS playoffs hopes are looking pretty good -- considerable better than just a week ago.

Go SAINTS!!!!!

David in Houston

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I agree with your rankings except in one area. Haslet should have taken the penalty on the Bucs last drive to force a third and 14 or so. He thought they were going to punt but they made the decision to go after Haslet declined the penalty. I thought a third and 14 would be difficult for the Bucs to make especially with the pass rush he was seeing, but it turned out o.k. anyway.

As faras top performers for this game, I thought Duece played an inspirational game as did several others, but I believe Delhomme saved the day and is my MVP. This was tremendous pressure on him to have to come in after having not thrown a ball all season in a game against a defense like the Bucs and make that play. I also have to give credit to whomever called the play as I thought we were going to run the ball to run as much clock as possible. I had visions of the game against the Rams a couple of years ago when they were mounting a 4th quarter comeback and the return man fumbled the punt to save a win for us. I an convinced that momentum would have won that game for the Rams and the Bucs would have come back on us last night. You never know but big mo seldom fails the hot team. The Saints did what they had to do by throwing that pass and seizing big mo from the Bucs. I remember a day when we would have punted and forced the defense to save the win.

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I agree, I think Coach Haslett goofed on two calls. Should have kicked the extra point in the first corner and not gone for the NFL record of 10 2nd point conversion attempts in one season. Also, he should of taken that holding penatly, I think it would have put them back to 3rd and 20? right

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ahhh yes, i had forgotten about the decision to not accept the penalty, i agree on the point, they should have taken the penalty, and also kicked the extra point

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I didnt really have a problem with him going for the 2 point conversion. With Tampa\'s offense two field goal lead makes sense.

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yea but by goin for it, means that he thinks his offense wont score much

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With Tampas defense that should probably be the thinking.

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I know I\'m no expert play caller. but I have to question the SAINTS\' penchant for attempting 2-point conversions so often, especially early in the game when they are not absolutely necessary. Those failed attempts have haunted us more than once. It seems like we are always wishing we would have just put up the almost sure points in favor of chasing that elusive extra point.

Does anyone have the stat on how many of those 2-point conversions we have actually made?

Go SAINTS!!!!!

David in Houston

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3 of 10. 30 percent on 2 point conversions. I know Haslett has the 2 point sheet and you should go for it when it says to. I didnt have a problem with the one yesterday, but have seen some in the past that made me go hum?

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I had a real problem with it , I must say . That 2 point play was a real bonehead call . If you go back to Grammaticas kick , if he makes it , that final Tampa touchdown ties it all up . If Haslett had called for the kicking unit , they would have been 1 point behind . Against the number 1 defense in the league , you never take points off the board .

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In the situation you were in then what is the difference between being up 4 or 5? Go for the two and if you make it your up 2 field goals. I seem to be in the minority here, but I liked the call.

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It comes down to a numbers game .

He misses the 2 point conversion and in an absurd way , 2 yards back he slams an injured player into the number 1 defense .

He ends up with a 3 point victory , had Grammatica made the field goal earlier , it would have been tied .

If he goes for the extra point , Tampa is still down by one point . They have to 2 point convert to tie . The odds are against them making the 2 point ,with our front line last night then again with Bellamy playing with his back to the Qb , maybe not .

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As far as the 2 point conversion attempts, I have to say I like the call. Even if we don`t make it, we`re telling the opposing defenses \"we`re not affraid to go for it\". I remember the day of playing too conservative and I hated that. I like the gutsy calls.
My favorite play was the Brooks handoff to Duece, flip back to Brooks and down the field to Horn. What a great play!

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Great win. Somebody needs to steal Hasletts two point conversion chart. As far as the penalty, it should have been taken. to push the Bucs back. Great overall effort. I think the defense is finally starting to come around. Let\'s all hope so.

GEAUX SAINTS

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The 2 point is a good call , at times . Early in a game , banged up runningback , against the number 1 defense in the league . I do not like it .

Against the Bungles , 2 point it all day long .

I think Ctillman called Haz and said \" The Brooks bashers are out , give us something new \" .

Haz goes for the 2 pointer .

Conspiracy theory here . :P

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After reading all of the responses and opinions here and in other threads, I still have to cast my vote against Has\' 2-point conversion attempt in Sunday night\'s Bucs game. In my opinion, you take the chance on a 2 pointer only if the situation meets certain requirements:

1) you really need the additional point, and

2) you have a better than 50% chance of making it (i.e. is you running back healthy and has he already shown that he can power his way through the league\'s best defense)

* you have to also take into account variables such as current field conditions, momentum swing of the game, past success of 2-pt. tries, etc.

Under these criteria, I just don\'t think the SAINTS should have attempted it. I am just glad that the call (not putting that almost sure 1 point on the board) did not end up biting them in the ass in the end. The momentum would have most certainly been with the Bucs if they would have been able to come back and tie the game. And with Brooks, McAllister and Carter out, I truly believe the Bucs stood a really good chance of winning in overtime. That\'s just my opinion, for what it\'s worth.

Anyway, it was still a great, well-earned victory in a game where the entire team showed a national television audience that they are still a force to be reckoned with and should not be counted out in the playoffs.

Go SAINS!!!!!

David in Houston

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Good Point Gaterman... I was almost praying that Haz wouldn\'t just try and run it up the middle, get stopped short, and punt it back. Because they would have had plenty of time to come up the field in 3 plays and score a TD in the final few seconds and send LSU home as losers....oh yah wrong game but I didn\'t want to see it twice in one weekend.

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You are exactly right Gator. Has did the right thing with calling the pass by Jake to Duece to seal the win. I am glad he had the guts to do so. I also believe he deserves credit for a number of other equally as gutsy calls throughout the season. His calling style is far better than anything this city has seen in a l-o-n-g time.

I also think your right in that we will always second guess the coach\'s calls when key plays fail. We all want to believe we could have or would have made the better choice. That is just part of the game. Afterall, aren\'t we all armchair quarterbacks?

So, yes I and every other SAINTS fan should just appreciate the great job Has has done in turning this team around. But part of the fun of being a fan is always going to be second guessing the coach, even if he is the best in the league.

Just my thoughts...

Go SAINTS!!!!!

David in Houston

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i read somewhere, that before the pass to joe, hollywood was mouthing off to the corner that it was a pass and it was coming his way, and he dared him to stop it