Against The Grain -- Week 9

2009-11-13T00:22:10-05:00

2009-11-08T23:28:20-05:00

2009-11-13T00:22:09-05:00

Ticho66

panora 506244

83 Best teams ever? Really? Sorry, "best teams ever" dominate the line of scrimmage. Wow, eight games into a season, after not making playoffs last year, haven't really played elite teams, been substantially behind to inferior teams, play a free for all style that has proven to fail in NFL playoffs and yet you guys want to crown yourselves as great? The only thing funnier I've heard this year is when Don Banks called Green Bay a part of the NFC elite. Funny thing is, that was based on a lot of hype and numbers against bad teams too. Saint's aren't even one of top four teams in NFL this year much less historically great. The only way to predict future is from the past. History says Saints have little chance. It's the style of play and the lack of physical dominance on the lines, actually they look inferior on the lines. "Half the teams to win Super Bowls didn't deserve it"? Really? But, the Saints half way through a season deserve some kind of special recognition? That really is moronic. BTW I think anyone who says people hate on the Saints is completely wrong. I think most folks, after their favorite team, would really like to see the Saints win it all. I think most people would see that as nice for New Orleans, myself included. 7641682

2009-11-12T13:10:07-05:00

Darshiva420

Cypress 915752

82 Just want add techo66 is an idiot also.We're not the only team to not win in the NFL.You guys are idiots to comepare the past with now.No team won a super bowl till they do.I garantee no player on a team has ever walked up and said wait we can't win Because we never won before.Your so stupid'half of the team that have won didn't even deserve them.We do I've never seen a team dominate like this one does and neither has anyone else.If New England was playing like us or pitt Everyone would be saying no doubt theve won 10 SB's so they gonna win this year to SUCH IDIOTS 7633649

2009-11-12T12:44:25-05:00

Darshiva420

Cypress 915752

81 This guy is an Idiot we're on pace to beat half the offesive records out there,and our D is Number #1 in every catagorie that counts.we've beaten teams by double Digets in 7 out of 8 games.You comments an observations are as intelligent as it looks like you've never seen a football or team up close.Everyone agreeing with this moron is just a biased idiot and your just mad your teams suck.Every person right now would give anything to be where our team is. Just keep righting your jebberish till january and we'll be reconized as one of the best teams in the NFL ever.They way we win and won is spectacular.To sit back and think that a team won't give up points to another pro team is morronic.To come back and dominate the remander of a game is what great teams do.You'll always hate on us cause where the Saints but we are the next dynasty in the NFL.So sit back and hate us cause you'll be doing it for the next 10 years 7633233

2009-11-12T12:44:01-05:00

Darshiva420

Cypress 915752

80 This guy is an Idiot we're on pace to beat half the offesive records out there,and our D is Number #1 in every catagorie that counts.we've beaten teams by double Digets in 7 out of 8 games.You comments an observations are as intelligent as it looks like you've never seen a football or team up close.Everyone agreeing with this moron is just a biased idiot and your just mad your teams suck.Every person right now would give anything to be where our team is. Just keep righting your jebberish till january and we'll be reconized as one of the best teams in the NFL ever.They way we win and won is spectacular.To sit back and think that a team won't give up points to another pro team is morronic.To come back and dominate the remander of a game is what great teams do.You'll always hate on us cause where the Saints but we are the next dynasty in the NFL.So sit back and hate us cause you'll be doing it for the next 10 years 7633228

2009-11-11T19:21:43-05:00

rouxnola

New Orleans 915358

79 hey asscrack. accept the fact that the saints are a good team and get over yourself. i know it might be hard to see past that nose of yours, but maybe you can get out of your own way long enough to watch some football games and see the numbers drew brees puts up. oh and our defense, you know, the one with the most interceptions, 4 of which have been run back for TDs, is putting up some pretty good numbers too. Get your nose out of Tom Brady's **** and get some respect for a team that plays with heart and character. 7625414

2009-11-11T15:30:28-05:00

Zoli812

Ocean Springs 915216

78 I tend to think the Saints and Colts record is every bit impressive as all the other teams that have started 8-0. If anything, winning the way they have (some of their games) shows more skill, heart and determination than teams with quality losses. 7622706

2009-11-11T01:16:00-05:00

Ticho66

panora 506244

77 It's not that the Saints can't beat anybody, or that they don't have so many ways to beat a team. Because, it is obvious they can and do. What should be whispering in the back of the minds of all Saints fans is that they turn it over a lot, they force the ball into tight windows, they rely on the other team to make mistakes, their line play doesn't dominate on either side, they give up a lot of points, and finally they don't really have a single top tier team on their schedule. Patriots are the best team the Saints will face and I think there are 3, probably 4, better teams in just the AFC. I've watched the Saints in several of their games. They are not as good as the 2007 Patriots, or the greatest show on turf teams of the Rams, or the 98 Vikings, or a couple of the Colts teams that made undefeated runs. And, after all those teams whipped up on people, in the end, only the Rams won one Super Bowl. Going undefeated is beyond hard and playing the style the Saints do makes it that much harder, especially come playoff time. 7613765

2009-11-11T00:26:27-05:00

JohnnyCRay

Baton Rouge 914728

76 I agree with chlyonsiv. It's easy now looking back top say the Giants and Jets aren't playing as well as they were hyped up to be, but when the Saints played and beat them they were both undefeated. Eventually they will lose a game along the way. The tight games against the Falcons and Panthers came against two divisional opponents who usually play the Saints close because they know them so well playing them twice a year. Also just because the Panthers have a losing record doesn't mean they couldn't play a close game. A main contributing factor to their losses to-date is turnovers. You eliminate the turnovers and concentrate on the running game (as Carolina did for the first half of Sunday's game) and you have a team that's going to win some games. 7613602

2009-11-10T16:28:38-05:00

boobynakka

Richmond 914414

75 Seriously I do not understand the dome vs outside argument. Why should the team be tough to play in snow or rain? What part of that argument is about football? It's like saying we should work in the streets instead of offices to prove we are tough. Football in itself is a tough sport and teams that rely on natural tough weather conditions in my opinion are trying to get an added advantage. That is even borderline like Usain Bolt running against a handicapped person. If it is football it should be played between players not against weather...... The Tom Brady's record setting 5 TD's in a quarter would not have happened if it weren't for the snow. Not everyone is cut out to play in natural conditions especially when you don't live in those conditions..... The Denver stadium is life threatening to some players? Thats an unfair advantage...... 7610023

2009-11-10T12:22:12-05:00

Quixotegut

Norfolk 648532

74 Perloff you have to be the biggest git ever unleashed upon the already ****-strewn internet. The reason any normal football team should be afraid of the Saint/Colts is because they have the ability to turn on the jets come crunchtime and get the win. There's a reason why they have the W at the end of the night. I doubt that every team that both the Saints and Colts have played this season huddle up before kickoff and plot out how they are going to hand over the game. I don't know who's knuckle children you're gulping down to keep your job but I hope they wisen up soon. 7604694

<div class="photo_container image_right" style="width: 300px;"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/46861/p1.drew-brees.ap.jpg" alt="P1" width="298" height="450" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Drew Brees and the Saints have not been that impressive. AP</div> </div> A weekly column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. 1. Have there ever been less scary 8-0 teams than New Orleans or Indianapolis? What is New Orleans' signature win? The Saints beat the Eagles without Donovan McNabb, reeling Giants and Jets teams, and a Falcons squad that can't play on the road. And they had to come from behind against slightly below-average Miami and Carolina. Meanwhile, the Colts are cutting it close against middle-of-the road competition and head into the difficult part of their schedule with some question marks -- namely, their lack of running game and inexperienced defensive backfield. 2. Please, please don't start the Vince Young national media love fest. He's 2-0 as a starter, and the Titans host the Bills next week. He'll like improve to 3-0 and one of the biggest storylines in the league will be Young's ability to win and Jeff Fisher making a mistake by not going to him earlier. But Young couldn't have done much to help the Titans when their defense completely disappeared the first part of the season. Young has beaten two inconsistent teams -- Jacksonville and San Francisco -- and hasn't had to throw much. Let's see what he does when opponents gets some film on him and try to take him out of his comfort zone. If he keeps this up for six weeks, then start heaping on the praise. 3. The Giants' 21-20 loss to the Chargers appeared to put them in a serious hole in the NFC East, but the New York papers are writing their obituaries too early. The two teams ahead of them in the division, Philly and Dallas, built up their records against bottom-feeders and face their own challenges in the second half. The Eagles' offensive line is one more injury away from total chaos, and the Cowboys are due for their annual late-season collapse. Meanwhile, the Giants have a bye this week to get healthier and could go on a late-season run like they did in 2007. 4. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has to get most of the blame for the Bucs' six sacks on Sunday. Is Rodgers reading too many stories about being the heir apparent to Brett Favre and trying to make too many big plays? Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy better dial Rodgers down in the coming weeks, because the Packers have enough talent to grind out wins without Rodgers having to hold on to the ball to make plays downfield. 5. Everyone is writing off the Ravens defense after Cedric Benson ran for over 100 yards against them for the second time this season. But after the game, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said don't dismiss this defense's ability to tackle just yet. Harbaugh credited Benson for making some plays even when the defense was in good position. The Ravens defense still has some killer games in it. They have two games against Pittsburgh and face the Colts in two weeks, but Baltimore has several of the worst offenses in the league coming up in the second half, including games against Cleveland, Oakland and Detroit. 6. Tony Dungy's revelation that the Bills may be interested in Michael Vick on NBC's Football Night in America is far from shocking. Not only do they need a quarterback, they desperately need some excitement. They're so boring, I had to look at the schedule to see if they were still in the league (turns out they were on a bye). At this point, Vick is hardly scarier than Terrell Owens for a franchise like Buffalo. Vick's ineffectiveness in the wildcat shouldn't scare anyone, because he doesn't have any chance to get any kind of rhythm when he comes in haphazardly. 7. Just like they did two weeks ago in a loss to New Orleans, the Dolphins turned away from the wildcat on critical fourth-quarter drives against New England and Chad Henne just missed on passes that led to stalled drives. Even though Henne had some nice moments against the Patriots, you just had the feeling a slightly tired New England defense was glad to see him in there late in the game. The 'Fins have nothing to lose the rest of the season and should let it rip with the wildcat and wear down opposing lines and improve their odds in the fourth quarter. 8. Larry Fitzgerald's success today and the reemergence of Chad Ochocinco does not reflect well on Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh -- the Oates' (as in Hall and) of NFL receivers. Fitzgerald looked great while Boldin was out with an ankle injury, and Ochocinco appears more relaxed without Houshmandzadeh in the locker room. There's a reason the big threats on the outside get paid more than the possession/slot guys. 9. The Texans' inability to adjust their coverage on Indy's Dallas Clark is a great example of why they can't beat the Colts. Indy's coaching staff is just sharper. Houston gets another chance against the Colts in Week 12. The Texans better not let Clark beat them again. 10. The Saints, Vikings and Cardinals should win their divisions, so most of the NFC playoffs will be indoors and therefore, totally lame. January football should be in the elements. Even baseball is manly enough to play its postseason in the winter elements. 85421 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/397/2/thumb/Perloff.jpg 545 NY

Andrew Perloff

New York 3992