Game 3: The Sleeping Beast Awakens

To the ESPN commentators who predicted the Saints would buckle under the weight of injuries and falter in the face of a strong 49ers secondary and a fast 49ers offense, I can’t help but wonder…does crow taste like chicken?

Perhaps they didn’t get the memo that Deuce-olution #26 had passed overwhelmingly. Perhaps they underestimated the poise and power of Drew Brees. Perhaps they’d never heard of a hot piece of ass with a great set of hands a.k.a Lance Moore. And maybe they, like many of us fans, began to doubt whether Sean Payton still had that fire in him. Well for all those who still aren’t sure what the Saints’ offense is capable of, just ask the five 49ers defensive players Deuce carried with him every time he touched the ball.

We all knew it would be better to get Dulymus back on the field, but I’ll be the first to admit I underestimated just how good it would get. Remember that 3rd and 1 that had been the Saints Achilles heel in the second and third games? With Deuce now on the field, I laugh at 3rd and 1. I mock 1st and goal and I scoff at 2nd and 5. You see, Deuce doesn’t just help the team’s running game but his mere presence opens up the team’s passing game. He keeps defenses off balance and he punishes them whenever possible by using those strong, hulk-ish legs to move a pile.

Seeing Deuce on the field made me emotional but seeing Sean Payton call the flea flicker that set up the Robert Meachem touchdown, well that…that just made the old nipplies hard enough to cut glass. It was the right call at the right time and it was executed perfectly. While that may have been the only “trick play” of the game, there were plenty of other offensive sparks, courtesy of Drew Brees and that rocket arm. You’ve also gotta give it up to the wide receivers who’ve made a valiant effort filling in the gaps left by Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey’s injury. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but something tells me this could be the game that rekindles the Saints’ offensive spark of 2006.

As for you defense, don’t think I forgot about you. 2 red zone interceptions and 5 sacks are stats that just make me want to stand up and slow clap. Though our secondary wasn’t flawless it was definitely impressive. Tracy Porter’s showing signs that he could be the future of the Saints defense and Mike McKenzie’s showing signs that once he’s back at full speed, he’ll be a wide receiver’s worst nightmare. Limiting a running back like Frank Gore to just 82 yards ain’t nothing to blink at either.

If I had to be a Debbie Downer about anything, it’d be our kick off and punt return coverage. Allen Rossum scared the bejeezus out of me on more than a few occasions. Let’s hope things tighten up before we roll into Chicago and face a scorching by Devin Hester. In keeping with the Debbie Downer theme, would it be wrong to ask where we could have been had Deuce been properly utilized in the previous games? No…nevermind…I won’t go there.

This win didn’t just feel good, but it looked good. Too bad half the fans in the dome didn’t stick around to watch it all play out. It was disappointing to see so many empty seats before the game had ended. Our team had just put a beat down on an NFC rival. Didn’t they at least earn you sitting in an extra 15 minutes of traffic so you could cheer them into the tunnel? Ugh.

Since I refuse to end this on a negative note, I’ll say this much: NFL defenses should consider themselves on notice. Deuce is the truth…and he’s baa–aack!