New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

The Saints are not good enough, not physical enough, not balanced enough, especially for an outfit that battled back to 5-5 after digging themselves out of an 0-4 hole.
In losing 31-21 to San Francisco on Sunday, the Saints proved they could play as well as they're capable of and still are not good enough to suggest there will be able to find a place among playoff hopefuls.

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In a game that saw the 49ers return two Drew Brees passes for touchdowns, the Saints came up with enough positives to make it a 28-21 ballgame well into the third quarter (on the second of three TD passes thrown by Brees) before being overcome by a better opponent.

Brees' first pick had to rank among the worst of his career. His second bounced off the hands of sure-handed Marques Colston to hand the Niners a 28-14 lead.

For the Saints, there was the good and the bad, but not nearly enough good to handle possibly to deal with as good a team as there is in the league.

San Francisco Coach Jim Harbaugh talked about one of the keys being quarterback Colin Kaepernik's ability to extend plays while being pressured by the Saints' rush.

"There were a couple of big throws he made getting outside the pocket that really helped us,'' Harbaugh said. "The biggest adjustment we made was just getting back into the huddle faster to handle the noise level. Colin did a great job managing the game, speeding up the tempo.''

Brees had no excuses for the pick he threw just before halftime.

"You can't let them get an easy one like that,'' he said. "(Ahmad) Brooks did a great job. He caught that thing on his fingertips. I was trying to fit it in there to Jimmy and he made an athletic play. It was a big momentum swing. We faced a lot of pressure in the fourth quarter when we were in a down-the-field pass mode. Prior to that, our guys did a great job, balancing it all out with the run game and protection. We were able to get some balls downfield and make some big plays. When we got it back to 28-21, we got some opportunities offensively, but we weren't able to take advantage of them.''

Credit the 49ers.

"I think the 49ers are one of the best out there,'' Brees said. "We knew how physical a team they are but I felt we matched that physicality. We just weren't able to put it all together.''

Joe Vitt did not feel the interception before halftime "changed the game.''

"Football is one play at a time, one series at a time, one quarter at a time, one half at a time,'' he said. "In football, you're judged on how you play for 60 minutes. If we let one play affect us the rest of the game, we're unprofessional. We've overcome things like that before. It's the nature of our game. It's not a perfect game played like perfect people. We had our opportunities. I've got to coach better and we've got to play better.''

To Vitt, the challenge is obvious.

"We play a Thursday night game in Atlanta,'' he said. "That's the only thing we're looking forward to right now. A short week is always a challenge. So what. You go on. We're going to do all we can do to win a football game. And then another one.''

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Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

LOL @ Brees......"he caught that thing on his fingertips".......Because it looked to me like Drew threw it right to him.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Author is a dolt.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Right...don't mention the fact that there were 4 defenders right there by the receiver. Bone headed decision, bottom line.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

We're certainly balanced enough and physical enough to beat Atlanta, Tampa, NY, Dallas and Carolina.

We've already beaten two of those 5 and Dallas doesn't scare anyone and NY is hot/cold, and Carolina isn't exactly a juggernaut.

I'm not buying this line of thinking at all.

We just got beat by the most physical team in the NFL and take away two uncharacteristic pick 6's by Drew and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, would be predicting we run the table and finish 11-5.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

What I want to know is.....

WHERE THE **** DID THE SCREEN PASS GO?

Thats something that would come up in a few situations in that ball game that was completely absent.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Pete Finney?

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Two Pick 6's and a fourth string O-lineman against probably the best D in the league? Eliminate the mistakes and we win the game.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

To write that cr4p. Yes.

What Danno said is exactly what went through my mind when i read it.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

"Brooks made a great play"

No brees, he just stood there and caught the pass you threw directly to him

Our defense is playing a lot better, when you watch them play they are actually quite fast and physical, definitley getting better

Our offense on the other hand.....there's a reason people say we are a finesse team, that's all due to our offense
We don't run people over, we make bad decisions and just look weak out there, the D always looks physical against our offense

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Who the **** actually thought we were going to run the table?! Seriously? Why is everyone acting like they expected the Saints to just win out and fly into the playoffs? We were 0-4. Our team has had the hell kicked out of it all season. They lost. Ok. So did the Packers (embarrassingly I might add) and the Seahawks and the Bucs. This is not the end of the season. Drew had a bad game. Ok. Well that happens. He's a football player. Not a machine. Our offensive line kinda took a hit when the 4th string tackle came in. We lost to a good team. Not the damn Raiders or Rams or some other ****ty team.

We still have a shot at the playoffs. And after an 0-4 start, that's pretty damn good. And that's one more week where there is STILL A CHANCE.

Chill out and let's see if they can bounce back against the Falcons. Dayum.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Got the gift at the end of the first half--then stopped running the ball. It seems like they always abandon the run. Most of the first half they ran the ball, and they had better luck passing. If they'd run, and even had to kick, it's likely they'd have gone in 14-7, and with momentum.

I have to put this as much on Brees as anyone, as with most of the losses. He does a lot, he does a fantastic job. But he really screwed up, as did the play caller. I even thought, OK great, we've got the interception, we need to make sure we don't throw it away. I hope they keep running the ball. Nope--they always give up the run.

Second half, the first series they ran it again, had nice balance, got a touch down. Then it seemed they gave up on it again. Yea, you may be pressed--need quick touchdowns. But when you give up on it, and passing doesn't work either, you might as well stay with the formula, run the ball more.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Of Brees, Kaepernink, or Smith, Drew was yesterday the best Quarterback the 49ers had. He totally won the game for them.

They should pick up his game check.

Alaska

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

I **** did.:p

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

me.
i think we can win the super bowl..
ive thought so every year since 1983.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Remember before GW came here we were a finesse offense until his defense bi*** slapped the O at practice and gave them attitude.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

My point there Mikey was that the sky isn't falling. Lol

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Yep one player lost that game. Those 11 guys who let the 9ers go 96 yards for a score had nothing to do with it. Or the other 10 players on the field who let a LB run that int back 50 yards. Or the O l that gave up 5 sacks and about 30 QB hits. The defense that everybody is giving props to still can't tackle but that had nothing to do with us losing the game.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

and my point is I've been deluded for a long time. :)

I also believe I will lose 30 lbs before the Super Bowl.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

I agree with you that one player never loses a game for you. The closest I've seen that come is maybe a kicker missing multiple chip shots.

I think the point some are making is other players are blamed for losses so why is Brees untouchable. Roman Harper was blamed (by an ignorant few) for the Seattle playoff loss even though he played better than nearly every one of his defensive teammates other than 2 plays.

Jenkins was blamed by some for the 49er loss last year even though the offense had FIVE friggin turnovers.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Human nature dictates that we assign a goat to all our losses. I hope
you'll stay patient with your fellow Saints fans, and remember this. We cuss because we care.

As long as this many people care, (and cuss) we will always have our Saints. And thats whats important to me. We Saints fans have proven for decades,
that even when we cuss, we're still coming to the game.

One guy, except a bad kicker, does not lose a game.
But there are no sacred cows. Especially the most expensive cow
in the history of cowdom.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Brees really made some bad choices and did not even see the first one. I know no one can be perfect and some games are going to get away even from Brees. He lost that game no matter what anyone says but look at all the ones he has taken over with the recieving group we have. Its a long road to get back from 0-4. We would need some real luck to make it to the post season. That's just the way it is. I am spoiled from the last three years and will lose interest if we dont make it.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Classic!

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Brees is the best QB we've ever had and I love him as much as the next fan but the fact of the matter is that he's made a lot of bad decisions this season and a lot of bad throws and he needs to take more responsibility for his poor play than he has. That throw to Colston was garbage and should not have been thrown. Brees would have done better in the pocket if the maroons calling the game would have put a TE over the RT to help him out. But oh well, that's water under the bridge now. Too little thought, too late to do anything about it now and another game lost. I find it strange that the average fan can make adjustments as a game goes on but these coaches with years and years of experience cannot. It just boggles the mind.

You know what gets me? As bad as this team is playing, you never see the coaches gather these guys up and talk to them between series like other teams coaches do. No wonder we can't make adjustments on the fly.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Udderly brilliant.:p

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

De-fence got to de-cow.

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Well said ... udderly - definition of udderly by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. :confused:

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

F-you

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Udder -

http://www.brahman.com.au/images/inf...n/Udder-f1.jpg

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

aaaaagh!

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

Mooooooove along, nothing to see here.:p

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

How would Atlanta would do against the 40-whiners??!!

Re: New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs
 

New Orleans Saints aren't balanced enough, physical enough to make playoffs.

Yeah, we know they are not this year. There were many distractions and no head coach.

So what?
Tell me something I, we , don't know.

I did not even watch the NFL AM Net morning show this week .
I definitely did not wtch it today and I like to watch that show as I get ready for work.

I have NFL Net on now and see I have to turn it off until game time.
Deoin Sanders is working on my nerves as I post. He is speaking now.

I am over the Saints 2012 yea. I am still a fan. Was a fan in 1984 and beyond, and will be a fan in 2014 an beyond.
I hope the Saints win tonight over AF and just finish this year, 8-8 . 9-7 would be great, but chances seem slim of that.