Cha ching! REG-GIE! REG-GIE! REG-GIE!
Holy shit. Talk about answering all the questions. With authority. That was clearly the best overall team performance of the season, and quite possibly of the Sean Payton era. It couldn't have come at a better time, and it was just what the doctor ordered after the way the regular season ended. An absolute thing of beauty. Doubts? Erased. This is really happening. At long last, it's finally happening. For real this time. The New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl.
Oh sure, there's still a game left to be played before then, and another hall of fame quarterback to pummel into retirement. (I'm assuming the Saints are gonna ignore Skip Bayless' advice to not even bother showing up to get their asses kicked by King Brett, Purple Jesus and the rest of Gerald McRaney's Army of Hillbillies.)
Side note: I gave the Saints a heaping helping of shit Friday afternoon for signing Dulymus, only to turn right around and ruin it by pointing out that it was only a ceremonial move. I even tweeted that Sean Payton had turned Dulymus into Kenny fuckin' Chesney. Then I got a good look at Dulymus' belly. And I said to myself "Oh. I see. Well, that explains a lot." Yeah, I'm an idiot. Probably would have occurred to me if I had been able to keep better control of my emotions. Had myself a Message Board Guy Moment there. My fault.
Anyway, you couldn't have scripted a more confidence-restoring performance than the one the Saints produced Saturday. I suppose you could have left Hightower's run on the first play from scrimmage on the cutting room floor. But that was about it. Other than that, it was about as complete a performance as it gets.
- 101 rushing yards allowed. Only 31 after the first play.
- 205 passing yards for Warner, 0 passing TDs.
- 77 receiving yards for Larry Fitzgerald.
- Beanie Wells: 7 yards on 5 carries.
- Cardinals were 1/8 on 3rd down and 0/1 on 4th down.
- 2 takeaways, 0 giveaways.
- 418 total yards on offense.
- 171 yards rushing.
- 5 yards per rushing play.
- 34 rushing plays to 32 passing plays.
- No sacks allowed.
- 7 of 8 kickoffs into the end zone.
- 3 TDs on 3 possessions in the red zone.
- 36:27 to 23:33 in time of possession.
- And a special teams touchdown. REG-GIE! REG-GIE! REG-GIE!
It was such a dominating effort, Skip Bayless gave it a 5 on a scale of 1-10. High five!
So much for Marcellus Wiley's assertion that having pulled out a 51-45 overtime win and then going on the road on a short week was a better situation than having a home game coming off a bye week.
I wonder if the Unknown Who Dat is regretting the decision to attend Saturday's annual Redskins Fan Club postseason meet & greet at the local Applebee's. Probably not, I'm sure it was a blast. Think they comped him on his spinach dip?
Speaking of swag, I've taken the liberty of enrolling Reggie Bush in Louisville Slugger's Bat of the Week Club. Who'da figured it would be a fuckin' baseball bat that would do the trick? Hell Reg, you coulda just asked. Man, if Mickey just wouldn't cave on the bat clause, there's gonna be hell to pay. LOOMIS!!!!!!
Seriously though, where the hell did that come from? Oh, I realize that Message Board Guy knew it all along. He's been telling me all year that it was just a matter of time. And sure enough. Now I'm wondering how anybody ever loses at roulette. Just pick a color and put chips on it every single spin. It's just a matter of time… brilliant.
But the hows and whys don't really matter a whole lot right now. The bottom line is that Reggie did no wrong Saturday. He turned everything he touched into gold. (What do you think the street value of Kim's ass must have been Saturday night?)
Reggie: 1, Wang: 0
I'll have more tomorrow. But at the moment, my mind is still just too blown. And I've got about 10 angry emails to send to various national media assholes. (Not really, I'm not quite that big a douche.)
Til then, let's just leave it at this:
REG-GIE! REG-GIE! REG-GIE!
You were watching that, right Pete? I'll send you a DVD if you need it. Dude, it was AWESOME! Who in the hell do you think you're gonna draft who's gonna give you all that? Come on Pete, you know you wanna….
Quite simply the greatest show on turf, the cream in the enchilada and by far the best apple pie this side of Sunday. I am still ecstatic. Just everything you could have hoped for and all on a Saturday night so the responsible part of your brain didn’t have to think about keeping a lid on the partying ahead of monday.
Yes, you are. And that’s why we love you!
I’m making bacon jam for Sunday’s party.
i wouldnt mind seeing reggie carry the bat into an interview with bayless…
A few things real quick-like:
1) I was feeling just as used about the Deuce business Friday afternoon. In retrospect I think it speaks to just how great a move it was. What I think was going on there with me and with a lot of Saints fans was we were starting to feel, even if we couldn’t say it out loud, like the whole thing really was deflating. We were starting to feel, again even if we didn’t want to admit it, that maybe the people complaining about the “rustiness” and the loss of momentum were right. We were starting to feel the dread and we were desperate for something, anything, that would make us feel like things were changing and that this would be different. The Deuce signing (especially the announcement that he had “practiced with the team” gave us something to latch onto. And so, yes I’ll admit it, some of us freaked out a little bit. When reality started to set in it felt for a while like the rug had been pulled out but the truth is the whole thing was a net plus. It got my attention, after all. It was great to see Deuce out there Saturday. A few times during the game, when the Saints got into short yardage situations, the crowd started calling for him. Not because we really wanted him in there but because we knew he could hear us. Fucking Awesome.
2) What is Superdome security going to do Sunday when 70,000 fans show up carrying baseball bats? Will they let us in? Who are they to say no to the bringing of the wood?
3) I like Playoff Reggie. I like Playoff Reggie a lot. Too bad every game isn’t a playoff game, though.
4) Minnesota is an old and deep wound for Saints fans of a certain age. Could not be more pleased to see them stepping up to take this next shot.
Yes, I’m writing something. Yes, it will take a day or two.
Oh one more thing. Fucking Cowherd today wants to make some queer point about how it’s not okay to support US aid to Haiti if you didn’t support the war in Iraq. Really? Forget about Bayless. This is the punk who is getting a bat to the head.
Reggie lower head, strong like bull.
Next Sunday: Sean Payton vs. Brad Childress.
Drew Moon over Miami.
Reggie was the only thing I had confidence in. Just a feeling. We finally got healthy and we’re a damn good team without him. With him, we get that extra “oh shit” element that opponents have to account for again. But Jeffery’s point one was dead on. Was a nervous wreck wondering if the team could turn it on again. Yep, Wang, quite a bit of confidence restored.
leave it to you, wang, to say what i wasn’t gonna say. deuce’s belly. nail. head. hit.
;)
I loved Reggie’s 16.8 yd/carry. Even if you take away the big breakaway TD run, he averaged 9.5 yd/carry. And the bat was awesome – from my seat I was thinking “why the hell is carrying a stick?” BRING THE WOOD! /Kim smiles…
Peyton’s gonna have Reggie lined up in all kinds of movement formations to scare the piss outta the Queens D. Hopefully they’ll be nervous about blitzing – our pass protection worries me a bit.
And yes, Cowherd is King Douche.
Duncan reported that Deuce is 28 pounds above his playing weight.
That is very impressive.
My schlong is still at full attention.