Crossposted from forum – the author is Brian
Before the game Ed Werder reported for ESPN that Drew Brees felt the Saints could put 40 points on the board against the Giants with several shock plays he hoped would be called.
The New York Giants boasted the top-rated defense in the National Football League.
This was a team that had allowed 17, 31, 0, 16, and 7 points on their way to an unblemished record.
Meanwhile, after compiling a gaudy 93 points in their first two games, the Saints chose to grind it out against the Bills and Jets (whose fanbases also felt their respective defense was the best in the NFL heading into games with the Saints) before sitting idle last week.
I stopped and considered what Drew had said, and then it dawned on me.
This is not an individual known for boasting, in fact he seems quite the perfectionist. Every comment carefully worded, every action deliberate, and every decision weighed properly.
Still, he let it be known his feelings.
Confidence abounds in New Orleans right now, so it could be chalked up to that, certainly. However, Drew seems unaffected by such jubilation. His sole goal seems to be increasing the number in the win column, not patting himself nor his charges on the back with pre-game hype.
It turns out Drew Brees wasn’t being boastful at all, rather stating what he saw that no one outside of Airline Drive had — the Saints offense will face top-rated defense after top-rated defense and show that excellent offensive execution will always trump outstanding defensive play.
The problem is it so rarely happens in the history of this league.
Ranked number one overall, the Giants had allowed a meager 210 yards total per game on defense.
The Saints had far eclipsed that total by halftime.
In fact, by the end of the game the Saints had scored 7 touchdowns (tying a team record set 40 years ago) by 7 different players.
No matter what play Sean Payton dialed up, it almost seemed to matter on one thing, that Drew Brees was the one orchestrating the development of it. Marques Colston ran free in the Giants secondary — also rated tops in the league going into the game allowing a paltry 105 yards per game through the air — and accumulated 100 yard receiving by the half. Brees had 100 yards passing at the end of the first quarter.
The Saints biggest weakness for years has been their offensive line. Not able to withstand pressure up the middle, speed rushers on the edge, nor capable of grinding out the tough yards, they staked their claim to being able to not only overcome all three knocks, but rather it may well have become a strength.
New Orleans has run the ball consistently in each game, even when the other team knows it is coming. On fourth and goal from the 1, Payton decided to go for it on the opening drive. No observer of the Saints in the previous three years would have applauded such a move, especially against that Giants front four. In four games and one drive, however, the offensive line had made believers not only of the fans but more importantly their coach and play-caller.
The result? Touchdown.
And for once, the defense faced an established quarterback, one who has even led his team to a championship, and still it mattered not. Turnovers came infrequently as they had in previous weeks, but that also didn’t seem to make much difference. Playing with the lead, Greer and Porter got their hands on passes, forcing Eli to put a little more on the ball to a wide open streaking Steve Smith.
What would have been a touchdown against Oakland or Tampa Bay was an overthrow against New Orleans.
Darren Sharper’s touchdown return on an interception was negated by a penalty that led to a Giants touchdown, and while that would have deflated past Saints defenses whose big plays were so infrequent that it may as well have spelled a collapse, it almost seemed to fuel them even more.
Manning looked uncomfortable dropping back, even getting in the face of his running back for a poor blitz pickup that came on an interception that he threw up for grabs, not Bradshaw.
You could see things unraveling.
And for the fifth straight game the Saints snowball effect eventually came into play.
Force your opponent into being one-dimensional, allow Gregg Williams to bring pressure, and have an attitude on defense that your offensive line matches and allow number 9 to go out and direct the ballclub.
Welcome to the best Saints team in the history of the franchise.
And that is only five games in.
Heady times.