On to the Steelers
 

NEW ORLEANS over PITTSBURGH, Sunday at 3:25 p.m.

I'm not sure I have ever heard as much whining about a team with the best record in the NFL this late in the season. Repeat after me: "There is no such thing as an ugly win." I lived through the Jim Mora days and learned that phrase pretty quickly.

So, in other words, all you New Dats who became fans in 2006, just relax. You know, this team really used to suck. Like suck so bad the season was over in October. There were quarterbacks named Billy Joe and another who made a habit of throwing it backward as his arm flung behind his head. Back in the day, Monday night games were rare, but even when the home team was featured, it would often be blacked out because the Dome hadn't sold out.

Don't talk about ugly wins. I actually heard one clown I know preaching about Drew Brees being the MVP a few weeks ago who now is wondering what is wrong with him and the race is over. There's nothing wrong with Brees, and the Saints haven't been "figured out."

Playing eight out of 12 on the road would be tough for any team, especially against this schedule, and the Black and Gold went 11-1 through that stretch. Now, one more win means the final road game has been played with a chance to play on a neutral site at Dirty Bird Field in February.

This week, the Steelers come to town after snapping a three-game skid in which two of those losses came to non-playoff-bound teams. A win over New England at home does not suddenly make them elite. For the most part, this is a decent matchup for the home team, assuming the corners can somewhat limit two of the best receivers in the NFL in Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith Schuster.

The Saints also know how much it would mean to win this one and get the walking wounded two full weeks of rest prior to the preparing for the first playoff game.

By the way, when did I become the optimist around here? Sometimes I miss the hate mail telling me I don't know what I am talking about and I should move to Boston if I hate the Saints so much. At least I got a chuckle out of that. Y'all are just depressing. Against the spread: Saints minus-5.5.

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This will be 30 point + scoring game.

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Make Big Ben "uncomfortable". Lattimore (AB) & Apple (JuJu) will get tested deep. Steelers have an elite WR core + a TE who gets open. I think they are top 3 in sacks so they know how to get to the QB. The crowd must become a factor in this one.

Huge test.

You just never know which Steeler team will show up. They've been very "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" like all season.

Re: On to the Steelers
 

Key will be running the football effectively so the Steelers can't totally unleash their 3-4 blitzing against us. Easier said than done with our banged up OL. But do that and we should manage the W.

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This is a game I had circled in the beginning. Pretty concerned about this one.

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Xactly what I’m thinking there coming and going to come hard at drew have to be on top of this thing or we could be walking dead come playoffs

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I did too. I’m the only Saint fan in my family. Everyone else including my momma is a Steeler. Not even she will get love this week. Christmas dinner I’m sitting at the head of the table.

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I married into a Steeler family. Being a kid in Louisiana the Saints were so bad many locals cheered for Terry. I’ve always liked the Steelers. Fans are great. Town is fun. Went to our last game at Heinz field. Experience was great.

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Steeler fans travel well. And because of the economic situation in Pittsburgh years ago, a lot of their residents/fans relocated across the country. Steeler bars in most cities are not hard to find. Their everywhere.

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Need to see pic of entire family in Steeler jerseys and you with a Saints jersey...

:popcorn:

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Got one already better than a jersey pic. At our recent family reunion in July, they decided to go with black and yellow Tee’s to represent the Steelers. There are only four people not wearing them. Myself, wifey and both daughters. My sister threatened to photoshop the pics if we didn’t put on our shirts. Wasn’t gonna happen.
So they tried to bunch us in the middle.

Re: On to the Steelers
 

Also it's pretty hard to play 3 straight road games. The fact the Saints managed to win 2 out of 3 is pretty good. I think the Saints should be energized this weekend. The home crowd seems to always provide an extra boost.

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The o line concerns me
What is Unger's status
Goodell will probably make him sit

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I went to a couple of Panthers/Steelers games at BOA stadium when I lived in Charlotte. Pittsburgh fans outnumbered Panthers fans every time. Most of them had moved from Pittsburgh. Charlotte is a very transient city. Big banking came and it went from a town into a city pretty much overnight. I lived there 2 years before I met anyone who was actually from Charlotte. The vast majority were from NY or Pitt. That’s why their fan base is so weak. During their SB run with Delhomme I got tickets for free pretty much any time I wanted because people just didn’t want to go. The banks and big corporations buy a lot of the season tickets to use as gifts for out of town big wig clients. These cats were going to the damn Super Bowl and there were still empty seats.
Anyway Pittsburgh showed up big time.

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Big Ben my ass.

I bet he's really Little Ben... if you get my meaning.

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Yeah I am actually a little tiny bit worried about the Dome this weekend. That Halloween night game against the Steelers a few years ago, it almost felt like a local high school game where the fans are 50/50 for each team. Ther were tons of those Steeler towels waving around, everywhere you looked in the terrace. Of course a lot of local people that night couldn't be there because of trick or treating with their families and kids. I worry a bit about this one, being so close to Christmas. I worry that a lot of local New Orleans people with tickets may have punted, and are out of town or possibly spending time with their families. I would not be surprised if this is the toughest, most quiet home game of the year and I hope the Dome is loud. Steelers fans really do travel well. It's quite remarkable actually.

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So Cam Jordan says Ben sucks now compared to Brees?

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Cam was close to echoing Jalen Ramsey’s critique of Ben.

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Once again, our real gold looks so much better than their trumped-up fake gold

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Gonna be a rough crowd, bring your Fungo Bat just in case things get out of control.

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We always seemed to fight them toe to toe the last few they bring out the best in us