statistics/schmitistics.

We got our ass handed to us by Cleveland.

The Ravens are the worst 4th Quarter team in the league, and were ripe for picking.

We lost to Phoenix, who had a quarterback named ??? (Fred Jones? Bob Martin? Greg Green? The QB formerly known as Prince ???)

The first time we went 11-5 was with the Dome Patrol. I've seen the Dome Patrol, and that team Sunday was no Dome Patrol.

But Saturday is a new season.

Hey, SeahawksFan. My wife went to high school with a former lineman of yours named Rocky Bernard. He was popular, and rather comedic in high school in Baytown, TX. She wasnt even aware he had been drafted by the Seahawks, until we saw him in the Super Bowl. But I am sure he would remember her. She was a cutie, and also a standout distance runner.

I'll tell you, you have every reason to put on your (dysentery green, or whatever the hell those colors are supposed to be) (my word, your uniform is ugly!) stuff, and root for your team Saturday.

1st of all, we looked like 8 kinds of sh** against Tampa, and made Josh Freeman look like Johnny Unitas. Most of us are clinging to the "meaningless game" excuse, but the game wasnt yet that meaningless in the first half, and we looked crappy in every phase of the game, against a team that beat nobody else with a winning record.

We've lost 2 of the last 3, including a loss to the aging Ravens, who almost let Houston-- Houston for petes sake, come back from 21 down. Their Ray Rice ran over us like schoolgirls. It took a patented Drew Brees miracle to pull one out in Atlanta.

Most of all, we're out of bodies. We dont have a single truly healthy RB. Our former human highlight reel Reggie Bush has apparently been victimized by a voodoo doll belonging to Kim Kardashian. 2 years of leg injuries have turned him from the modern day Gale Sayers to the latter day, post-injury version of Gale Sayers. Pierre Thomas is all heart, but we dont know what is up with his body. Our new Earl Campbell impression, Chris Ivory, is in a foot cast. Julius Jones fumbled at the endzone Sunday.

We are so depleted, we had zero TE,'s so two Offensive lineman played TE Sunday. I've lost track of which injury Shockey has. We had a new sensation, TE Jimmy Graham, who we lost Sunday, and a great guy named Dave Thomas, who has completely vanished from the planet. No one seems to know what happened to him, or where he went, and I have yet to hear of his fate on any media source. In fairness, Im 46, and dont know how to read twitter.

Our secondary has been a shuttle back and forth from the M*A*S*H unit all season. I think we do have our starting corners, both of whom got torched by "future Hall O' Famer" Josh Freeman sunday, and I dont know if we'll have Malcolm Jenkins or not. His replacement Roman Harper had a disturbing "out of breath" moment vs. the Rams, and his prematurely graying hair is making me wonder if something bizarre is happening to him.

Marcus Colston, the receiver with the greatest productivity-vs-mouthing-off ratio in the history of the NFL, was mysteriously out sunday, and needed arthroscopic something, which cant be good. Devery Henderson, the fastest man on the field, whom I love, has feet that are too fast for his eye-hand coordination. He will burn your CB, then promptly drop the ball. He can, however catch anything where he is falling backward and getting hit. He just cant catch easy balls. He must be upside down or twisted. He would have been spectacular in kick-returns for our (yet another) injured Courtney Roby, (out for the season) if our return teams could for once ever open a damn hole. Neither Henderson, nor Reggie Bush, nor Lance Moore have sniffed a single ray of daylight this year. Billy White Shoes Johnson couldnt score with this blocking. Oh, did I mention that Roby was our gunner?

Our kicker is footballs version of Sybil. He hits 49 yarders in the Super Bowl, then misses 11 yarders, 2 years in a row costing us wins.

Add all that with your ridiculous loud crowd, and I'm sure your boys will be all pumped up, and jumping around and having a dandy time. The one thing I hope for is that my fellow Saints fans dont start crying for a rules change regarding division winners with losing records.

Did I mention Im one of the more positive posters here? I dont know, Im just not feeling this one. To me, the writing is on the wall for us. Every time somebody mentions us as "favorites," I cringe. Seriously, you should bet on this game.

I do love my Saints, and I supported them when they were 3-13, and as negative as this rant sounds, I never boo them. Im just saying we are struggling.

Our hope is that:
1. Sean Payton is BS'ing the injury situation, and sat out guys Sunday, who could really play. He denied this, but he is a master trickster.
2. Payton again reaches into his bag of tricks, not showing any strategic cards Sunday vs. Tampa. Look how bad we looked at the end of last year. Then we just turned it on for the playoffs.
3. We get a fast start in your whatever corporate name your stadium is. (Our stadium is just The Superdome--haa!. Im proud of that.) We get a fast start, and somehow get your fans to sit on their hands the way we did Sunday vs. Tampa. Bear in mind, we sometimes do fail to do our part, as noon starts are tough on hangovers.
4. Drew Brees somehow, once again, becomes (My religion prohibits me from comparing him to the Son of God, rhetoric he, himself has expressed dislike for.) a seemingly supernatural force.

But it looks good for you. I'm the only one who thinks this way, and Im usually wrong about things, but my feeling is if we get past YOU, we will repeat.