Quick Thoughts – Week 8

Here are some quick thoughts on the Saints 37-32 victory over the San Diego Chargers in London.

• How many times can one compliment Drew Brees without sounding repetitive. He is just so calm and cool in the pocket and unloads the ball with such confidence, it is remarkable. He has full confidence in every single player that is in the game, evidenced by the eight different players to catch a pass in the ball game.
• Deuce McAllister looked great on the first drive, looking as powerful and elusive as we’ve seen in a long time. Where that went afterwards, who knows.
• The tandem of Devery Henderson and Lance Moore, who got the nod of Marques Colston today, is starting to grow on me. They compliment each other very well and Brees clearly trusts these two.
• Before I try finding a compliment about the defense, let me state the obvious. They were flat out bad today. The pass rush was non-existent, and that is clearly an understatement. Philip Rivers, like Drew Brees, had all day to throw the ball. That doesn’t help out the secondary, which was again bad today. Antonio Gates made Usama Young look silly today, and the same can be said for what Vincent Jackson was doing to Aaron Glenn. Had Vincent Jackson not dropped a wide open pass which surely would have resulted in a touchdown, the game would have gone much differently. Mike McKenzie still seems to be the only reliable player in the secondary, which has to be corrected if the team really wants to get back in the race.
• Now to the desperate attempts to compliment the defense. Jonathan Vilma played solid, except for the touchdown catch that he whiffed on LaDainian Tomlinson. He was all over the field and was in the right place on the key interception in the fourth quarter.
• What a whacky sequence at the end of the game. Up seven points facing a fourth down and two in their own territory, with twelve seconds to go in the game, Sean Payton called for Drew Brees to run as far backwards as he can and throw the ball through the Saints end zone to result in a safety. This gave the Chargers a chance to win the game with a touchdown, which being a Saints fan clearly made my heart race. Luckily, Darren Sproles did not run it back for a touchdown nor did the Chargers hail mary attempt succeed.
• The London crowd seemed to be on the Saints side, which considering the Saints were “home” was good to see. The last team to win in London went on to win a Super Bowl title. I’m just saying.