Well that was one hell of a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that sure didn’t smell like "just a win." That smelled more like a "springboard win."
The only thing I can come up with to bitch about this week is Drew Brees, who by his standards straight up sucked. Come on Drew, only 363 passing yards? Sheesh. 65.7% completion rate? Terrible. Minus-1 rushing? Come on, get your head out of your ass.
At the end of the first quarter, the guys on Fox were going on and on about how the 49ers’ blitzing was totally screwing with Drew’s mojo. They were right. Drew was 5-11 at the time with a pick. I turned to the guy sitting next to me and asked "So, how long do you think it’s gonna take before Drew figures this out and just starts ripping it apart?" It wasn’t long. There were only 6 more incompletions the rest of the game. Four passes of 30+. Three passing touchdowns. The craziest part of it all is that it doesn’t even blow my mind anymore.
Redemption was the order of the day all around, in fact. There was redemption for Sean Payton. Did I nail it in Thursday’s preview or what? The answer… is yes. Yes I did. This was the perfect time to drop a Deuce, and drop a Deuce he did. Anybody bitching about Payton’s stubbornness and/or lack of creativity this week? Anybody still wondering if there’s some anti-Dulymus conspiracy going on?
There was redemption for Dulymus’ knees. (The rest of Dulymus needs no redemption.) 20 rushes for 73 yards, 3.7 yards per carry. Not that that’s a great statistical performance, but the impact goes far beyond the actual yardage gained. It’s crazy how different this offense is with the punch-you-in-the-mouth element only Dulymus is capable of adding to it. Anybody else notice how much better the play action was working?
There was redemption for Lance Moore, an undrafted 5′ 9" 190 lb. guy who’s not very good as a return guy and isn’t supposed to be able to play wide receiver in the NFL, let alone put up 101 yards on 7 receptions, including two touchdowns. 14 receptions for 179 yards over the last two games.
Redemption for former "bust" Robert Meachem. Two receptions for 86 last week, two for 99 this week. Averaging 40.8 yards per catch. Forty yards per catch!!! Are you kidding me? Now that the Dulymus issue is settled for the time being, it’s high time this guy gets a shitload more action on a week to week basis.
Pop quiz, hot shot: Can you remember the last time Jack Hunt dropped a pass? Redemption. This guy only has 6 receptions so far this year, and two of them have gone for over 80 yards. He’s averaging 35.5 yards per catch. Which is odd, since the internet keeps telling me that Devery is completely incapable of catching a pass. Ever. Heads are surely exploding at message boards far and wide.
Redemption for Will Smith and Charles Grant. Two sacks for Big Chuck, one sack forcing a fumble for Fresh Prince. If they keep that up, The Old Man might end up getting a bonafide bargain at less than a couple million dollars per sack. But it wasn’t just that. The rush was a big part of the reason JT O’Sullivan, who put up passer ratings of 106.4 and 123.3 the last two weeks, put up a pungent 59.6 this week. 50% completion rate and only 7.1 yards per.
Redemption for the run defense, holding the 49ers to a relatively paltry 91 yards rushing. That’s about 20 yards less than the 9ers’ average, and over 30 yards less than the Saints’ average allowed. And this wasn’t some chump. This was Frank Gore. He might not have invented a worldwide series of infotubes, but it is his party. You would cry too if it happened to you.
Redemption for the defensive backfield. Two interceptions and a near miss on a third. "Only" 257 yards through the air (grading on a curve, being as the Saints’ average of 249.2 allowed still ranks 29th in the league.) Sure, they did give up four pass plays of 20+, but again, we’re grading on a curve here. None over 40, and the only touchdown came in garbage time.
Even little Marteen picked himself up out of the fetal position and wiped away the tears long enough to tough one out despite his achy breaky groin and hit a meaningless chip shot from the 21 to soothe his even achier breakier inner emo kid. Good thing Weatherford left his watch in his locker this week. Otherwise, who knows where that kick might have gone. And all it cost Sean Payton to see to it that his teeny tiny little greaseball felt like a winner was to fall on a sword of perceived "classlessness" rather than kneeling and turning the ball over on downs with two seconds left and an 11 point lead like coaches with non-chumpass kickers do. Hope it’s worth it, Coach. But it’s not. I’m just glad the Saints were already covering the spread regardless. Because otherwise… yikes. I wonder if at any point that was a factor when the decision was being made?
Redemption. Everything about that performance was precisely what this team, and this fan base, needed right about now.
Sure, there’s still room to nitpick. There always is. The perpetually-miserable asshole "realist" would point out that both of the end zone interceptions could just as easily have been touchdowns, and Marteen’s meaningless ego-soothing field goal might have been extremely meaningful in that it would have meant the difference between losing and going to overtime. At which point, he would have missed it, of course. And "dropping a deuce" would have a whole other meaning today.
And then there’s the slumping Drew Brees. I mean, damn. Is an 81.25% completion rate and 400+ passing too much to ask? Only one 80+ yard pass play? I mean, I know he was missing his top two wideouts and his top tight end, but seriously, is that any excuse for only three of the remaining wideouts to each have over 80 yards receiving? This guy really needs to step up his game before I run out of patience.
Jason David better buy Roman Harper a nice meal after saving his ass.
http://hakimdropstheball.blogspot.com/2008/09/haz-man-returnsassholes.html
Mr. Deuce scares even me
put deuce in @ fullback, ya heard
Was there redemption for Jason David? Only if you count Roman Harper’s pick because #42 was beat.
the horrible JD did get beat that play but he had… wait for it…. Safety coverage! OMG OMG OMG The safety coverage that was just not there last year at all.
The horrible JD actually played *bites his teeth as he types* not horribly. Thankfully I dont have to say he played well… thats just too much of a reach.
Question for you experts.. does the Oline let Duece run more then they let PT or Bush? Or was it the new boy on the line making holes.
I’m not an expert by any means, but in my opinion it’s more about what Dulymus (and to a lesser extent, Stecker) has that Bush and Thomas just don’t.
We don’t have a great run blocking line, but it’s not a bad line either. Dulymus has extra bulk, which helps, and what I think he and Stecker both have is the mental part of it. I’m sure experience is a big part of that. But the bottom line is that Dulymus and Stecker just “know how to run.” They don’t need huge gaping holes, they see the smaller ones and hit them.
At the same time, the fact is that Dulymus only put up 3.7 per carry behind this line too. So at the end of the day, he wasn’t really statistically any more productive than Bush usually is.
But I do think there’s merit to the perception that Dulymus (and to a lesser extent Stecker) are better at getting “the tough yards.” I chalk it up to experience, as well as just some guys have a “knack” for it. What message board wannabe coaches and scouts call “vision” because they think it makes them sound smarter.
i think the true test of our running game will be this monday night against the vike’s, who are known for being a bit more stingy against the run than the whiners. but something tells me deuce could still have a grand ole time carrying 4 or 5 of their tackles with him into the end zone.
make that tackles, linebackers and dbacks. don’t want to leave anyone out…
Could be, I think I saw (and its only a thought i saw, as the beer was flowing freely) that Bush is slowing down and LOOKING at the line a bit more these days instead of looking at the endzone each time. Maybe one day he will be able to hit those tiny holes?
PT is still my hope for the future, I dont know why but I cant drop the feeling that PT could be the future. Course I once thought that of the fumbling machine Brooks himself so my feelings are never to be trusted to much.
The four games so far show that we can beat (or lose) to any team in the league. Still some holes and weaknesses, but better balance to cover them. Great to see some backups perform well.
Anonymous, I’m with you about PT. Nicks will get more playing/development time and he could bring some much needed run attitude to the line.
Reggie is so close, but he is the anti-downhill runner. Kept running laterally when there appeared to be some gaps to hit.
how the hell did i become anonymous… If I say it I don’t hide it.. sorry bout that.
Here i go and show my man love for PT and I get all shy?
I sure hope Mickey is a Saints fan, because I plan on sitting down at the Mouse’s house monday night and taking a load off my achy feet. This better be a damn pleasing game. Because, nothing, and I mean not even the kids, are going to ruin my vacation.