Over recent years, the NFL has done its best to take that question out of the hands of coaches and players.  In an effort to keep competition at its highest, the NFL has back loaded division contests towards the end of the season.  The result…interesting and meaningful games through week 17, barring the teams that have clinched the number one seed and the first round bye.

Entering week 17, the Saints 13-2, have won their division and are guaranteed at least the three seed.  With a win on Sunday against Carolina, and a St. Louis upset over San Francisco, the Saints would find themselves in the two seed and with a bye week.

So here is the quandary: play your starters with full force in the remote chance the Niners lose, or a more conservative approach that would give our guys a “mini-bye” going into wild card weekend.  Sean Payton has openly stated “full steam ahead”…here’s why I think he is right:

• Everyone knows the phrase get hot and stay hot.  The Saints could not be any hotter right now.   The offense is firing on all cylinders and the defense has gotten better each week.  This is the most balanced we have been all year.  We are playing complete games with tempo and command.
• There are a few records at stake.  Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s single season passing record Monday night, but Brady, Manning and Rogers are right behind him.  It would be a shame to see Brees be the first to break the 27-year old record, only to claim the second or third place in the record books. Additionally, the record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass needs to be maintained.  Thomas Moorstead is on the verge of breaking records for kickoff touchbacks and net punt yards.  Darren Sproles is chasing a single season all-purpose yards record.  Jimmy Graham is close to breaking a tight end receiving record for both receptions and yards. 
• In the Payton era, the Saints have had a dismal win record against the Panthers in December.  Typically, we have rested our starters in those final games of the season and it is time for a decisive win.
• We need to put the pressure on the niners to have to play to win – we don’t want them easing right into that number two seed.  They need to earn it.
• The Rams could beat the niners (we know that all too well!).

The Saints would feel lousy if they didn’t play 100% and let so many records slip away, only to be noted as obscure footnotes from time to time.  The Saints would feel lousy if the Niners lost.  The Saints would feel lousy if they didn’t “Finish Strong”.

We went into our last two post-seasons with some questions….maybe some answered and some not.  This year we leave nothing on the table.  The Saints march into the playoffs this year “full steam ahead”.

…an’ dat’s dat!

A long, enjoyable cup of coffee.  A leisurely trip to the grocery store.  Slowly leafing through the newspaper.  This is not my Christmas list...this is the bye week.  That one time a year when players and fans get a well-deserved break from the white-knuckled, heart-stopping contests that we masochistically endure for 17 weeks.

I’m not exaggerating.  I wish my weekend activities (and a significant portion of weekday) didn’t revolve around the Saints games, but they do.  After last week’s nail-biting battle, I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I would get this Sunday “off”.  I looked at my husband – who was equally as frazzled and anxiety-ridden - and said, “why do I care so much”?

The obvious answer centers around fan loyalty.  We all get a little fanatical about out teams and take our wins and losses to heart each week.  But if you peel back the onion, there is much more.

Football and sports in general are important to our society because they are systems based on fairness.  The teams that work hardest, are the most prepared, and make the fewest mistakes should win.  In football, there is a level playing field –the draft system and salary caps ensure that any team can win the grand prize.  There are rules and they are enforced (most of the time!).  The rewards system is clear and based on performance – play well and you will get home field advantage and a first round bye.

In addition to fairness, football offers escapism.  The news is dominated by “Super Committees” that are super childish, horrific crimes where perpetrators go free, and Kardashian heartache that makes us all wish their 15 minutes of fame was up.  It is not to suggest that football is not without its fair share of disappointment.  The Penn State scandal is a constant reminder that tragedy can happen anywhere, anytime.  But for three hours a week, on the field of play, there is fairness in a world that is anything but fair.

So while I have enjoyed a Sunday without angst and alarm, I also find myself ready for my team to take the field.  As it turns out, football can be the calmest, most sensible part of the week. 

…an’ dat’s dat!

It was a heated divisional contest between the top two contenders in the NFC South.  There is no love lost between these two teams.  They battle twice a year in what always proves to be a nail-biter.  This time, the game came down to inches and a bold call by Falcons’ coach Mike Smith.

In overtime, Coach Smith decided to go for it on fourth and inches, deep in the Falcons’ own territory.  The Saints defense, which had played well all game, stuffed Turner, and regained possession.  There has been a lot of debate about this gutsy call, but if you look at the game objectively, it seems to have been a rationale decision.

Here’s why I think Mike Smith made the right call:

• The Falcons were 2/3 on fourth down conversions
• The Falcons were efficient with their run game, averaging 4.6 yards per carry
• The Saints were not in a complete rhythm on offense – only 30% on third down (versus season average 59%) and only 18 first downs (versus season average of 25)
• Perhaps most importantly, the Saints failed gain a first down in their last possession in regulation that would have sealed the game.

It was a calculated gamble…the problem is, Smith had underestimated the intensity that the defense had been gaining, and overestimated the offense when they hit a late lull.

That said, the Saints seemed to get back to the energetic and focused play to which we have become accustomed.  The defense played very well throughout most of the game, with the largest Falcon gains coming at the end of the fourth quarter when the defense was playing softer coverage.  While the offense played with more fire, there were some mental mistakes that prevented them from playing explosively.  The failure to make big plays in the end when it counted in this game, and games of late,  has me concerned about the offense’s confidence.  We have not been playing with that swagger – that attitude that says “we score every time we get the ball”.  Green Bay has it now…we are that same team, we just have to get it back.

The Saints are in a good position as they enter the bye week.  In the first half of the season, we have seen the offense, defense and special teams play at an elevated level, albeit at different times.  I have faith that Coach Payton and his staff will put together a plan to have all three hitting on all cylinders as we enter the second half of the season.

...an dat's dat!

Saints fans didn’t have much to smile about after the 42-34 loss Thursday night against the Packers.  On the surface, the eight-point loss seemed to paint a prettier picture, suggesting a game that was much closer than it really was.  For many, it was a reminder of the defensive struggles that have been the Achilles heel for the franchise dating back to 2006.  That said, we were in that game until the end, and there is something to be said for that, but The Packers made it look easy and we made it as hard as we could have.

But, let’s break it down…

Defense - This game had some scary parallels to post-season loss to the Seahawks – a game so embarrassing to the team and fans, that it seemed impossible that it would happen again.  The difference is that we played a respectable opponent Thursday…..The Super Bowl Champions!  That said, the defense has to come up with more stops than they did.  The Packers looked like they were playing pitch and catch against a defense that wasn’t physical or aggressive.  As I mentioned in the post “Cutting Room Floor”, we appear to be thin in the secondary.  Patrick Robinson was getting picked on – reminiscent of Jason David.  Roman Harper played great coverage, but seemed so focused on not getting burned, that he missed opportunities to strip the ball or pick off a pass. We played man to man and that didn’t work. Then we played a zone…kind of a soft zone and they picked that apart. When they needed first downs in the 4^th quarter, they got them. We forced two punts and the rest of their offensive series resulted in touchdowns. There was ONE BIG HIT…ONE…where’s the “wood” that we brought in 2009?

Where was the aggression?  Where was the raw predatory animal instinct Greg Williams bred in 2009?  Where was the swagger?  Our soft defense cannot force our offense to play perfect football.  Prediction: Darren Sharper will be signed by the home opener against the Bears. 

Offense - Drew Brees played nearly flawlessly.  He showed command and leadership on the field as he orchestrated the near comeback.  There were a few errant passes, and while he was sacked three times, they were smart sacks.  He didn’t try to force it, despite playing from behind the entire game. As one of the elite quarterbacks in the league, I believe that he has learned that it’s his job to run the offense, not BE the offense.

Darren Sproles was ON FIRE.  He was electric – strong and agile.  He’s like a freakin’ lightning bolt on the field. I’m not sure if he’s actually faster than everyone else, but he sure does look like it. As a whole, the core of running backs has shown that, as the season goes on, there will be great things to come. 

Coaching - I don’t disagree with going for it on 4^th down in the third quarter.  In fact, it was classic Sean Payton.  Be aggressive.  We were down by at least two scores – even if we had made the field goal, we wouldn’t have won the game.  I love the “go for it” call, but not the play that was called. That is the time to play power football…in the third quarter, when a touchdown, not the game, is on the line. Give your rookie a shot when there’s time to recover. Ingram MIGHT have been able to run downhill when the defense has a 15-point cushion. Pierre Thomas, in only the way that he can, could have squirted through an obscure hole.  Sproles could have bounced to the outside.  Conversely, I think the decision to try and run Ingram in, with zero ticks on the clock and the game on the line, might have been too much for him to handle. THAT’S where you want your Pro-Bowl, Super Bowl MVP Quarterback to be able to make a play. Naturally, everything is in hindsight…what the hell do I know…I was nervously eating Jambalaya and pacing with a baseball bat around the room.

As deflated as I was after the game, I woke up this morning reinvigorated and encouraged.  The Packers got worried when there was five minutes left and the offense fluidly moved the ball into the end zone.  We can score a lot of points and they know that - they got conservative and nervous in the waning minutes of the game.  The SAINTS have become THAT team that you never count out.  If you leave a little time on the clock, or maybe even none, you stand a good chance of losing.

As my father-in-law said, “they will never play any better all year, and we will get better and better”.  I hope to see The Packers in The Dome in January.

There are 15 more games……I’m feeling good about all of them!

That’s something to smile about.  Now, say “cheese”.

An’ Dat’s Dat!