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NEW ORLEANS ― We all thought Drew Brees was unflappable.

We all thought Sean Payton’s X-Box offense unstoppable.

We were all wrong.

While it's true Brees is the game's best quarterback, it’s the Saints’ Darren Sharper that’s unflappable

Yes, you can blink twice. You can re-read those sentences over and over.

The words won’t change.

New Orleans won its second straight defensive battle.

Sharper intercepted two more passes, returning one for a touchdown.

Local media, national media, heck, even international media need to take notice of the Saints’ defense.

It’s time they’ve earned our respect.

Not that anyone on that unit cares.

“It doesn’t matter,” strong side linebacker Scott Fujita said. “If we can fly under the radar and do that, that’s fine. I imagine people will start talking about us a little bit more. All that stuff doesn’t matter. This team is so focused.”

Um, there’s no doubt the national media has taken notice. Half of New York’s sports media contingent appeared to be New Orleans. USA Today was here. So was the Washington Post. ESPN and CBS Sports? Yep, both here, too.

What they all saw was the Saints defense create havoc.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was hurried six times. He was sacked four others.

Sanchez threw three interceptions and fumbled one other time. His quarterback rating was an abysmal 27.0. His longest pass was only 27 yards.

New York gained only 244 total yards, converted only 3 of 12 third downs and made it inside the Saints’ 20 only two times.

Yes, these Saints are about more than offense these days.

And you get the feeling the defense knows it gets no attention. You also get the feeling it doesn’t care.

“We have been overlooked,” cornerback Randall Gay said. “We know what type of offense that we have. Our job is to come in week in, week out and force turnovers. We want to put our offense on the short side of the field. Our game plan will take care of itself.”


New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper (42) and cornerback Randall Gay celebrate after Sharper got his second interception against the New York Jets in the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. The Saints defeated the Jets 24-10 to remain unbeaten.
“We felt like we wanted to show ourselves,” linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “Everyone was talking about our offense and what they can do. We know we have a good defense. We don’t mind flying under the radar, but these are the type of games we want to have.”

How much has the play of the defense changed the way Payton calls games on offense?

Just take a look at how many times he goes for it on fourth down these days.

Twice the Saints failed to convert fourth-and-short – one time at the goal line, the next time at the Jets’ 28. Both times the defense came through, recovering a fumble in the end zone the first time while forcing a three-and-out the second.

“I think you get a little more confidence on fourth down to go for a play rather than punt it or kick of a field goal,” Payton said. “We kind of came in this game with the intention of playing aggressively to win and we were able to do that.”

That suits the defense just fine.

“Good. We’re playing to win,” Vilma said. “Honestly, I’m happy and excited to see that. Whether we get it or not, I’m excited to see that. It means we’re playing to win this game and not to lose it. We’ll be aggressive and stay aggressive.”

Welcome to the Saints, circa 2009. Forget the way the unit played the past two seasons.

It’s a whole new ball game now.

Handwerger: Saints' defense deserves all the accolades in 24-10 win | News for New Orleans, Louisiana | Saints | News and Weather for New Orleans | wwltv.com

DeadmaN

I'll agree with that assessment