A Little Tidbit on the Whiners Game

SmashMouth · 01-09-2012, 12:46 PM

• Looking ahead to Saturday's Saints-49ers glamour NFC divisional-round pairing in San Francisco, get ready to hear more than a little bit about the teams' somewhat testy meeting in New Orleans in Week 1 of the preseason, when Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams surprised the 49ers and rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh by calling for a bevy of first-half blitzes -- which is not routinely done in the relatively meaningless environment of the preseason.
The reason, in case you've forgotten, was a curious one. According to Saints radio announcer Jim Henderson, New Orleans came after 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and Co. because Harbaugh failed to contact Saints head coach Sean Payton the week of the game to discuss how the game would be approached in terms of blitzing. The result was Williams called 18 blitzes in the first half, sacking the 49ers quarterbacks five times and forcing two fumbles in the 24-3 New Orleans win.
"From what I heard from some people, Sean Payton sort of expected Harbaugh to call him throughout the week and kind of figure out a gentlemen's agreement as to how the game would be played,'' Henderson was reported to have said. "When that didn't occur, Sean just said to Gregg, 'Let the dogs out.' And they did.''
That should add a little spice to Saints-49ers, and I'm pretty sure Payton and Harbaugh won't be talking on the phone this week either.

Read more: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons fail to do anything in playoff loss to New York Giants - Don Banks - SI.com

Interesting ....

01-09-2012, 12:46 PM	#1
SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 38,477 Blog Entries: 29	A Little Tidbit on the Whiners Game • Looking ahead to Saturday's Saints-49ers glamour NFC divisional-round pairing in San Francisco, get ready to hear more than a little bit about the teams' somewhat testy meeting in New Orleans in Week 1 of the preseason, when Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams surprised the 49ers and rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh by calling for a bevy of first-half blitzes -- which is not routinely done in the relatively meaningless environment of the preseason. The reason, in case you've forgotten, was a curious one. According to Saints radio announcer Jim Henderson, New Orleans came after 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and Co. because Harbaugh failed to contact Saints head coach Sean Payton the week of the game to discuss how the game would be approached in terms of blitzing. The result was Williams called 18 blitzes in the first half, sacking the 49ers quarterbacks five times and forcing two fumbles in the 24-3 New Orleans win. "From what I heard from some people, Sean Payton sort of expected Harbaugh to call him throughout the week and kind of figure out a gentlemen's agreement as to how the game would be played,'' Henderson was reported to have said. "When that didn't occur, Sean just said to Gregg, 'Let the dogs out.' And they did.'' That should add a little spice to Saints-49ers, and I'm pretty sure Payton and Harbaugh won't be talking on the phone this week either. Read more: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons fail to do anything in playoff loss to New York Giants - Don Banks - SI.com Interesting .... SloMotion likes this.