New Orleans Saints Vanquish Doubt After Patriot Rout

As I wrote following the game against the Miami Dolphins, I've been freed of fearing the worst when it comes to hoping the best for the Saints.

Though I must admit, with the Patriots in town for Monday Night Football , the idea of the Saints stumbling over their untied cleats while once again failing to catch a gliding Randy Moss as he easily wafted into the end zone for his third touchdown had penetrated its way into my head.

But the closer I moved to the Superdome, the more my chest puffed out—so much so that my brain quivered in fear at the sight of it, instantly giving way to the emotional pull of my heart and my gut.

Besides, what they had to say was waaaay more appealing that what my brain was unsuccessfully pleading me to understand.

And as someone who never does what his brain tells him to, I fully embraced the truth that the Saints were, without a doubt, going to beat the Patriots.

I'd like to say that what happened in the Superdome Monday night I saw coming, but that can't be true because nobody did.

Even Nostradamus must have turned in his grave a little at the sight of Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker kicking it on the sideline while the rest of the Patriots offense reluctantly took the field with a half the fourth quarter left play.

Or maybe he shifted slightly in his coffin when Mike McKenzie picked off a Moss-intended pass in the first quarter to set up the Saints' first touchdown.

There's no telling at what point in the game the 16th century seer started rolling around, but rest assured, it was the most activity any dead person has seen in a long time.

Admittedly, most of the shock came as a result of how off the Patriots were on offense as opposed how hot the Saints were everywhere else.

Credit that to Gregg Williams.

With a couple of hand-me-downs (pretty good ones, at that) in McKenzie and Chris McAlister manning the corners for a depleted Saints secondary, Brady should have looked as good as Drew Brees did.

But an early turnover helped put the Saints up early and an unrelenting Sean Payton took over from there, forcing Bill Belichick to deviate from his offensive game plan.

A healthy Sedrick Ellis helped the defensive line provide a consistent and confusing pass rush, complemented by some stingy run defense. 

Brady never seemed comfortable all night and was consistently forced to throw to his third and fourth options.

Williams' game plan called for lots of man coverage on Moss and Welker, with Darren Sharper and Roman Harper providing constant double teams on each player, respectively. 

Leaving it up to the front seven to win the battle in the trenches, Williams and the players put their trust in the scheme and executed it perfectly. 

But that still doesn't explain why Belichick's defense was so flat all night. 

Being nice, I'll give Belichick the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to Brees and Payton being that much better than he and his team.

Come to think of it, that’s exactly how Belichick himself summed it up in his postgame press conference.

Even dating back to his days when he wasn't a three-time Super Bowl winning defensive genius, Belichick has never seen an offense carve up his defense as bad as the Saints did his Patriots on Monday night. 

Brees did anything and everything he wanted en route to a prefect quarterback rating of 158.3.  He threw five touchdowns, each one going to a different Saint.

And how appropriate that the game was broadcast to a near record national television audience.

It's as if the football gods set this game up just so the minority of doubters out there would be ripped of any excuse they might use as to why they would dispute the Saints to be the best team in the NFL. 

The Saints' undefeated record isn't the only reason why they're tops in the league.  Being the best requires beating the best.

The Saints did that on Monday night.