New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by darstep (Post 177065)

SFIATLH - All that being true...who says we are going to be healthy? We are still playing ball. Bodies still banging all over the field. I believe Ellis' return will help but we still have to get better up front and not make our DB's have to work so hard. Its not so much panic...I see a pattern, and would like to see it change shape before it gets burned in. We can beat any team in the league, but the way we've been winning lately, we can be beat by any team in the league - including Tampa Bay. I can care less given any 4 of the next 8 games, its the next 3 after that that concerns me, and we are laying the groundwork for those right now.

Healthy? Always a crapshoot. Point is that I agree about next 7 games. More important to be healthy for playoffs than anything else. So if a defensive starter is injured, let them heal instead of bringing them back early for a somewhat meaningless game.

Pattern. I repeat that backups are backups for a reason. On some of those long runs in the past few weeks, the backup LBs (Mitchell, Dunbar) have been out of position. Fujita wouldn't be. On the TD passes last week, Sharper and Greer would have played them completely differently than Young and Gay (how's that for Rainbow Power! ;-) ). Point is that with backups in, it's a different defense that's going to get some lumps.

My beef is that the offense needs to recognize that and stop putting the defense into tough positions. It's a whole lot easier to stop the running game by running up the score by 21 in the middle of the second quarter than anything else.

Finally note the second half rushing yards in each and every instance. Somehow at halftime, the Saints defense makes the adjustments to get the job done, no matter who's out there.

The great thing though is that all this complaining is going on with a team with 9 wins in the bank. And the 4 non perfect tough, scratch and claw wins both feeds the team enough humble pie to keep working to get better, and enough confidence to know that even if they get into the same situation as the Colts on Sunday night, that the game isn't over.

As for Tennesee and their one and done last year (I think it was this thread that referred to them after a 13-0 start) that game with Baltimore was an epic titanic battle. It wasn't a rollover.

Use the 9 wins in the bank. Be smart with the starters. Realize that being healthy in January is more improtant that anything else at this point. Win the turnover battle.

That will get us all to the promised land.

SFIAH