How the South was won...a sunshine story.

SaintFanInATLHELL · 09-14-2004, 09:04 AM

...snipped info about other teams...

Which brings us to New Orleans, the perennial underachievers, who proved yet again that talent means nothing without strategy and execution..just ask the USA Olympic Basketball team. There are glimmers of hope however if you look deep enough into the game. The defense - our biggest concern - proved to be better than I expected, limiting a very explosive offense to respectable numbers through the first half, limiting the Seahawks to 14 points and forcing 2 turnovers. Bellamy and Watson shined, while our D-Line never got much pressure on the QB, but managed to keep the run game limited. Midway through the third, Watson and Young go out, and the run game takes off, giving Alexander 87 of his 135 yards including 60 in the 4th quarter. I have no doubts anymore that our defense has improved, and I have no doubts that our offense will get back on track.

Agreed. I was glad to hear that Watson was nothing but dehydrated. I\'m a bit concerned that both the starting defensive tackles have injuries.

But to put the cloudy forecast up front: the Saints\' top coaches get outcoached it seems every week. McCarthy is too bullheaded to see that something isn\'t working and to try something different. Venturi\'s style is still too soft. He still doesn\'t realize that it\'s worth gambling to get to QB to keep him out of rhythm.

Seeing our competition in action makes me feel that 9 wins could win this division.

It\'ll probably be 10. Maybe even 11. You missed the fact that each of them has 8 games against both West divisions of which there are really 2 really good teams (Denver and Seattle) and 2 decent teams (Rams and KC). Almost everyone is going to win 3 or 4 of the remaining 4 games and will likely split in the other 4. So expect each team in this division to get 5-6 wins from the west. Couple that with 4 wins in division and a split in the conference pair, it\'s still looking like 11 wins for the division winner.

And if we get our sh*t together in time to make a stretch run through our division games late in the season...we have a much easier route to the South crown than in the past two years.

Our offense is not even close to the dominating potential we have seen in the past, but at least we have dominating potential and a lot of time between now and our division run to get it right.

Even the offense showed some glimmers. Brooks only had one turnover and no fumbles (thank goodness). Karney was a breath of fresh air when he was in the game. I think that he can open up the Deuce dimension when given the opportunity and represents both a run and pass threat.

The offense simply has to cut down on the mental mistakes: penalties, drops, and turnovers. Even with McCarthy\'s pathetic playcalls and schemes, the talent is there to exploit most of the defenses in this league.

9-7 or 8-8 doesnt look so bad if you get into the playoffs as a division winner firing on all cylinders at the right time.

Personally I don\'t think this works very well. It isn\'t often when a wildcard division winner does any real damage. Carolina last year is an exception. If you going to storm the playoffs you want the bye week and the home game in the divisional round. You simply cannot settle for getting into the playoffs.

SFIAH

09-14-2004, 09:04 AM	#2
SaintFanInATLHELL The Professor Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Lithonia, GA Posts: 2,783	How the South was won...a sunshine story. ...snipped info about other teams... Which brings us to New Orleans, the perennial underachievers, who proved yet again that talent means nothing without strategy and execution..just ask the USA Olympic Basketball team. There are glimmers of hope however if you look deep enough into the game. The defense - our biggest concern - proved to be better than I expected, limiting a very explosive offense to respectable numbers through the first half, limiting the Seahawks to 14 points and forcing 2 turnovers. Bellamy and Watson shined, while our D-Line never got much pressure on the QB, but managed to keep the run game limited. Midway through the third, Watson and Young go out, and the run game takes off, giving Alexander 87 of his 135 yards including 60 in the 4th quarter. I have no doubts anymore that our defense has improved, and I have no doubts that our offense will get back on track. Agreed. I was glad to hear that Watson was nothing but dehydrated. I\'m a bit concerned that both the starting defensive tackles have injuries. But to put the cloudy forecast up front: the Saints\' top coaches get outcoached it seems every week. McCarthy is too bullheaded to see that something isn\'t working and to try something different. Venturi\'s style is still too soft. He still doesn\'t realize that it\'s worth gambling to get to QB to keep him out of rhythm. Seeing our competition in action makes me feel that 9 wins could win this division. It\'ll probably be 10. Maybe even 11. You missed the fact that each of them has 8 games against both West divisions of which there are really 2 really good teams (Denver and Seattle) and 2 decent teams (Rams and KC). Almost everyone is going to win 3 or 4 of the remaining 4 games and will likely split in the other 4. So expect each team in this division to get 5-6 wins from the west. Couple that with 4 wins in division and a split in the conference pair, it\'s still looking like 11 wins for the division winner. And if we get our sh*t together in time to make a stretch run through our division games late in the season...we have a much easier route to the South crown than in the past two years. Our offense is not even close to the dominating potential we have seen in the past, but at least we have dominating potential and a lot of time between now and our division run to get it right. Even the offense showed some glimmers. Brooks only had one turnover and no fumbles (thank goodness). Karney was a breath of fresh air when he was in the game. I think that he can open up the Deuce dimension when given the opportunity and represents both a run and pass threat. The offense simply has to cut down on the mental mistakes: penalties, drops, and turnovers. Even with McCarthy\'s pathetic playcalls and schemes, the talent is there to exploit most of the defenses in this league. 9-7 or 8-8 doesnt look so bad if you get into the playoffs as a division winner firing on all cylinders at the right time. Personally I don\'t think this works very well. It isn\'t often when a wildcard division winner does any real damage. Carolina last year is an exception. If you going to storm the playoffs you want the bye week and the home game in the divisional round. You simply cannot settle for getting into the playoffs. SFIAH
	Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.