 The New Orleans Saints Sing the Blues Everyone saw it unfold as a second half beating with an ugly stick; how do the New Orleans Saints fix it? First of all, everyone stop pointing fingers. Jason David's willingness to take the blame for the loss was admirable, but completely unnecessary. The Saints game plan from the get-go smelled as bad as it looked. To draw comparison, the Saints looked a little like a child with screaming case of Attention Deficit Disorder – no focus, in need of some medication. It's odd that after watching the Saints and Deuce McAllister pound the football down the throat of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2006 playoffs, Sean Payton has all but abandoned the game plan. In fact, the Saints looked as if they picked up right where they left off at Soldier Field in January's NFC Championship game. Abandoning the running game early on, and putting the task of threading needle after needle on the shoulders of Drew Brees. Quick question: How many carries did McAllister get against the Bears in the NFC title match up? The answer: Not enough. Another question: How many carries did McAllister get against the Colts in the 2007 season opener? The answer...? That's right. McAllister has 16 rushing attempts during the Saints last two games – both of which were defeats tallying a final score of 80 – 24. A possible correlation? Not feeling that they were getting the job done early, Coach Sean Payton abandoned the run and began trying to spread the offense – the problem, the Colts defense was spread beautifully across the field, looking reminiscent of the Cover 2 squads that Tony Dungy coached while in Tampa. There's no doubt that the Indy defense deserves a lot of credit, but so do the Saints...for playing perfectly into the Colts game plan. Yes, the Indy defense is quick for four quarters. Yes, the Indy defense will meet you at the corners during all four quarters. Yes, the Indy defense can penetrate between the tackles because of their speed...but not for four quarters. The Saints had the ability to run downhill in an effort to open up their weapons of mass destruction in the 2nd quarter, but by that point, they were in “let's see if this works” mode. Sean Payton is a great coach, but he consistently demonstrates how impatient he can be in big games against big opponents. Feeling the need to strike early, and strike with touchdowns is what makes him so great as a play caller, but when the opportunity isn't there, the Saints seem inept at playing good, old-fashioned smash mouth football. The opportunity was there, yet the Saints never made an offensive adjustment to try and beat up on Indy's quick, yet smaller D-line. Too many O-line pulls, too many designed screens, too much of everything that played perfectly into the favor of defensive team speed possessed by the Indianapolis Colts. If you are bigger than someone, you don't box with them, you run them over and sit on them. A steady dose of Deuce McAllister between the tackles early on would have changed the complexion of the game. 3.3 yards per carry in a cloud of dust will offer ample opportunity for a first down time after time. And Deuce was right around 3.8 per carry on a whopping 10 attempts. The Saints were in a perfect position at half time to make the appropriate adjustments to power run at the Colts in the second half. It wouldn't have needed to look pretty, it wouldn't have needed to feature Reggie Bush. Bush would have served the situation best as a decoy, while the O-line and McAllister pounded away, keeping Manning and the potent Colts offense off the field. Slowly but surely, they could have worn down the undersized defensive line, opening up their verticals and of course, that speedy Bush guy on the edge. The Salt Left in the Pot The Saints played poorly to open the 2007 season, and it's obvious that they need to improve in simply trusting in their ability to use all of their assets. The talent on the squad is so deep that it's almost offensive (no pun intended), and they'll be right there vying for the top spot in the NFC once the holiday season rolls around. However, their greatest strength and potential has yet to be realized – the ability to play, and win a “one dimensional” game before tossing in the knockout punch.
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