The New Orleans Saints are a little more than halfway through the NFL regular season, and while 4-5 is nothing to write home about, the Saints have started to turn some heads and may be on the upswing.
After a miserable 1-4 start when the Saints were absolutely outclassed by the likes of the Seahawks, the Titans and the Colts, Jim Haslett’s club has turned it around somewhat, winning three of its last five games. And the two losses came to the Panthers, with a special teams play being the difference in the first defeat and some downright poor officiating deciding the other.
Inconsistency still mars the Saints both offensively and defensively, but special teams has been solid, and if the Aaron Brooks-led offense can resemble last year’s high-powered attack in the least, who knows what can happen?
The free agency effect has hit an all-time low, with 17 of the league’s 32 teams being at or below the .500 mark, and with seven games to go and numerous chances, who knows what could happen down the stretch for the Saints?
The fact is there are two second place teams in the NFC with 5-3 records, meaning the Saints are just one-and-a-half games out of a potential wild card spot. And since New Orleans has played one more game that almost the entire league with its bye week upcoming, that number could be down to one game by the time the weekend ends.
The two 5-3 teams, the St. Louis Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles, both face tall orders this weekend, with the Rams hosting a first place Baltimore Ravens team and the Eagles traveling to the “frozen tundra” known as Lambeau Field to face the Packers.
And the best news of all? The Saints get to play the Atlanta Falcons when they come back from their bye week after smoking the Michael Vickless “Hotlanta” team on Oct. 19 45-17.
The remainder of the schedule sheds some more good light on the plight on the Saints.
After the Falcons comes a trip the Philadelphia, which by no means is easy. But the Eagles’ offense has been downright putrid this year and they definitely do not strike the fear of God in me.
Following that is a road game at Washington against the Redskins and Steve Spurrier. If you saw Sunday’s games against the Cowboys, you would be excited if you were a Saints fan.
Then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town to face the Saints, and frankly, the Saints have owned the Bucs lately. While a fourth win in a row over Tampa will be hard, it is definitely not out of the question.
A second consecutive home game follows, with the New York Giants coming to the Superdome for a Sunday night game on ESPN. Give Saints fans a whole day to get nice and liquored up, and a fired-up crowd will follow.
The Saints then finish the season at Jacksonville before hosting the Cowboys on Dec. 28 for the finale, both winnable games.
Obviously, a lot of stuff has to happen for the Saints to get in to the postseason, but after a 1-4 start, isn’t it nice to dream?
So just keep giving the ball to Deuce, get the defense healthy, and let’s see what happens, shall we?
Saints will turn heads
November 4, 2003