A Fantasy Champion’s Ode to Adrian Peterson

Adrian,

When I drafted you with the number one overall pick in my fantasy football draft over three months ago, I did so knowing I was drafting the best player in football—fantasy or reality.

Though I must admit, I couldn’t have cared less about how well the Vikings did as long as you led me to a championship.

And you didn’t disappoint.

Your pretend teammates Tony Romo, DeSean Jackson, and (newly acquired) Jerome Harrison turned in admirable performances in the most important game of the season.

The same couldn’t be said for your theoretical partner in the backfield, Brandon Jacobs.

After Jacobs laid a goose egg against Carolina, it was up to you, Adrian, to make up a 20 point deficit as the only player left in the championship matchup left to play.

On Monday Night Football.

As if the circumstances weren’t daunting enough, my opponent had kicked off the championship match with a 26-point performance by Chris Johnson the previous Friday. 

But you never blinked.

Sure, you lost a fumble. But after racking up 137 total yards and two touchdowns, it didn’t matter.

Your 23 fantasy points were two more than I needed to capture a title.

Yes Adrian, with your teammates struggling, and a championship on the line, you fulfilled your status as the number one overall pick in fantasy football.

As long as I’ve played fantasy football, I’ve never had the chance to draft the likes of a LaDainian Tomlinson in his prime.

That is to say I’ve never had the first overall pick during LT’s tenure as THE fantasy stud.

With LT’s light growing dimmer as yours continues to burn brighter, I was blessed this year with the chance to pick a player that I might never have on my fantasy roster ever again.

Move over LT. That’s you now, Adrian.

With the option of trading down before the draft looming over my head, I denied the request and embraced the challenge that owning the first pick presented.

Knowing that you, Adrian, were going to be that selection made the decision that much easier.

Adrian, you were everything I could have dreamed the consensus number one overall fantasy pick could have been. 

Whatever the rest of my team’s shortcomings may have been (most notably the tight end position), you more than made up for it.

And it couldn’t have been more evident than in the final and most important game of my fantasy season.

Thank you, Adrian, for making the first pick in the draft worth it.

Thank you for a fantasy championship that you worked tirelessly to help me procure, even if you had absolutely no idea that you were doing it.

Who am I kidding? You totally had no idea.

 

But thanks just the same, Adrian. I hope I’m lucky enough to have you on my squad again next year.

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Saints Edge Falcons in Another Nail-Biter

Drew Brees, Darren Sharper, Will Smith, Robert Meachem…

The guys who have been making plays and saving games for the Saints all year need to make a little room for Jonathan Vilma.

It took some time for the undisputed leader of the defense to make his presence felt in a big way. 

Omnipresence is more like it, actually. 

Vilma’s interception and fourth down stop on the Falcons’ last two possessions was a microcosm of what the Saints’ defense has done all year.

Needing a big play at a time during the game when it was needed more than ever, Vilma answered the call.

Twice.

The interception apparently wasn’t enough for Sean Payton, who called an unsuccessful fake field goal on the ensuing drive with a 26-23 lead.

Payton’s aggressiveness was rewarded, however, when the Falcons—only needing a field goal to tie—failed to convert on fourth-and-three.

Chris Redman, in relief of an injured Matt Ryan, dumped a quick pass over the middle to Jason Snelling, replacing a banged up Michael Turner.

Vilma—having been burned on a similar play earlier in the game—adjusted his coverage and collided with Snelling two yards short of a first down.

Game over.

While giving credit where it’s due, how about a round of applause for the mystery man wearing the No. 25 jersey.

All kidding aside, it’s good to see Reggie Bush back on the field and making an important contribution.

With Mike Bell out of the lineup, Bush was called on to fill in and he did so admirably. 

Besides, with so much firepower on offense Peyton would be wise to make sure he’s hitting on every cylinder before gearing up for the play-offs.

Which is why I can’t fault him for going for the fake field goal on Sunday against the Falcons.

Initially I cringed, recalling the reverse that Payton ran in the Superdome against the Tampa Bay Bucs in December 2007.

On that play, Bush and Devery Henderson botched a handoff that Tampa Bay recovered to set up a game-winning Luke McCown touchdown pass.

Another NFC South backup quarterback, another opportunity for an inexcusable upset.

Reminding myself that the Saints are undefeated and the Falcons suck, I didn’t wait long for Vilma and Payton to reward my faith.

Apparently for Payton, it came down to a matter of faith also.

In the post-game press conference, Payton said he knew his defense could bail him out if it came down to it. 

Ever the aggressor, you know Payton’s going to dial up some pretty exotic plays.

But needing to and wanting to is the difference between his coaching now compared to the past two years.

Sure it’s easier to take risks when you have breathing room, which the Saints have plenty of.

But Payton’s aggressiveness this year is more a reflection of a defense that lends itself to the tendencies of its head coach.

Those tendencies have taken the Saints this far, so why fix it if it isn’t broken?

With some injuries mounting and a Minnesota team that will challenge the Saints for seeding until the very end of the season, expect Payton to keep his foot on the gas the rest of the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Orleans Saints Strip Washington Redskins of Victory, Escape D.C. Perfect

What’s it going to take?

How many times are the Saints going to prove you wrong?

On the growing list of ways the Saints are finding to win, you can file Sunday’s win in Washington under the “grand theft” section. 

In a season where everything has gone right for the Saints, it’s only fitting they catch a break of this magnitude, even if the unbeaten team didn’t necessarily need it.

In no other season, on any other Sunday, on any other field would the Saints have come out the victor. 

But these are a new brand of Saints in 2009.  

There is something to be said, however, about the Redskins team that was the victim of the Saints’ come-from-behind victory. Washington did absolutely everything right on Sunday—until the final five minutes of the game. 

But the Redskins have been doing that most of the season and no strangers to heartbreak.

An all too familiar feeling for the “Who Dat” faithful. Sympathize, Who Dats, sympathize. 

But do NOT feel sorry.

“Ironic,” or “weird,” or “coincidental” may not be the appropriate words to use here, but remember just last year this exact game was played out with almost the exact same drama and excitement in a 29-24 affair. 

The only thing different was who was standing in the winner’s circle. Think the Redskins or their fans felt sorry for us after that thriller for the home team?

If Drew Brees was telling the truth on the eve of the Patriot spanking—when he said the Saints were trying to emulate Belichick’s squad as the best team in football—then it’s time the Saints and their fans started acting like it, too.

So gloat, and say the Redskins got what was coming to them and that at no point in the game did they ever have a chance of winning. Any real diehard would.

And tell every fan of every team the Saints have left in their undefeated wake that they should have lost by more and that the only thing we’re sorry about is that we couldn’t bury their pathetic team by more points and yards. Even the Rams and Bucs.

I’m not losing the faith here, but Saints fans like myself been waiting the better part of 15 years to get the chance to feel this good about our New Orleans football team. 

Who knows how long it will last?

And there’s no way I’m going to spend these precious moments patting my opponent on the back and wishing them well after thinking they could compete with the new sheriff in town.

Get mean, get confident, get cocky—we deserve behave that way after years of suffrage.

It’s time that all the people out there who have never known despair to finally feel what Saints fans have been feeling for 40 years.

Let’s face it, when the Saints show up to play, they won’t have a choice.

It’s time to talk junk and take shots, Who Dat faithful. The boys in black and gold will back you up.

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Saints Success Inspires More Than a Feeling

The feeling was different this time around.

As the Saints trailed the Dolphins 24-3 in the second quarter, Chad Henne went under center again trying to push his team to a few more points right before the half.

At this point a year ago, it would have been understood there would be no way the Saints would be able to come back from a deficit that big.

But the feeling was different.

Every member of the Who Dat nation knows “the feeling.”

It’s when the Saints trick us into believing they’ll actually turn a corner and surprise us all by coming through in the clutch, then blow the whole thing in dramatic fashion.

Thus, our doubts and and suspicions are reaffirmed, as they have been so many times in the past.

In this particular instance, the Saints have been turning corners and pleasantly surprising us through the first six games of the season. 

On Sunday in Land Shark Stadium, they were in prime position to blow another opportunity yet again.

Now, I don’t know about the rest of the Saints fans out there, but for once—and hopefully for the last time in a long time—I never got “the feeling.”

My true knee-jerk gut reaction at that moment before the end of the second quarter was if the Saints could score before halftime, they would still be in decent shape.

A Scott Shanle fumble recovery and a Drew Brees touchdown sneak a few plays later, the Saints were only down 14.

Knowing full well now the Saints were going to come back and beat the Dolphins, I sat and pondered this new feeling of euphoric optimism. 

The game itself was mere background noise at this point.

The doubt, the dread, the pessimism, the distrust, the cynicism…Brees seemed to wipe it all away as he extended his arms over Miami’s goal line with no time left in the first half, football securely in hand.   

And the funny thing is I knew it was real, that this new “feeling” was legit, because there was never a moment I doubted or thought twice about what the outcome of the game was going to be. 

I knew it was real because every time I get “the (old) feeling,” I usually end up being right. The Saints blow it and I reluctantly tell myself, “I told you so,” before doing it over again the next week.

What I felt on Sunday wasn’t THE feeling, but it was certainly A feeling. A “new feeling,” if you will.

It was a feeling that told me even though the Saints were down and the game was two quarters away from over, the Saints were not going to lose. 

Obviously, the first time the Saints suffer their first blowout loss, the naysayers and boo-birds will start chirping about how they knew the Saints were, in fact, mortal.

And that’s fine.

The difference is a loss like that is no longer enough to break a team that has seen its hopes and dreams broken so many times before. Because it’s no longer about wins and losses, or home-field advantages, or division records, or any of that stuff. 

It’s about how the Saints, through their hard work, dedication, and commitment to each other, have expelled “the feeling” from our collective consciousness.

Losing is no longer an excuse to hang our heads. With this team, it’s a reason to get better and let the next team know that what happened the previous week won’t happen again.

That’s uncharted territory for Saints fans, but damn it, we deserve to finally feel like the folks in New England, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis for a change.

And all over “a feeling,” you say?

Yes, it may be a little premature, and for all I know the Saints may lose out (doubt it).

But it doesn’t change the fact that for at least this Saints fan, “the feeling” is gone from the pit of my stomach. And I know I’m not alone.

These aren’t your grandfather’s, or even your dad’s or your cousin’s Saints.

These are Saints of a new generation, a team whose shortcomings we can forgive and look past because we know there won’t be many of them.

And that’s a really good feeling.

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On Second Thought…Saints Still The Best Four Days Later

From my seat in the upper terrace level of the Superdome, I can see the entire field and then some. 

Sure, the players look a little smaller; and sure, every now and again I have to squint to make out numbers on the jerseys.

But it couldn’t have been more obvious—even to those in the nosebleeds and beyond—the beating the Saints dealt the Giants on Sunday has them on top of the NFL ranks.

That was the knee-jerk reaction I had walking back to my car from the Superdome on Sunday. 

After four days of taking in all the sports talk radio, Pardon The Interruption, Monday Morning Quarterback, Jim Rome and Sportscenter, I still can’t find any reason why the Saints shouldn’t be at the top of the NFL power rankings.

Assuming the Giants “are who we thought they were,” the Saints man-handled, humiliated, pummeled, and demoralized one of the best teams in the NFL. 

What was supposed to be a litmus test for the Saints turned out to be a lesson learned for Eli Manning and the Giants.

That lesson: Beware the Saints.

The Giants could never get into their game plan after trailing 21-3 early in the second quarter.

Manning was never comfortable in the pocket, his running game wasn’t giving him a whole lot of help, and he didn’t respond well to the blitz, turning the ball over twice.

It would have been three turnovers and another pick-6 for Darren Sharper if Jonathan Vilma hadn’t been flagged for roughing the passer.

But hey, you can’t blame desire.

The Saints weren’t short on lesson plans as the Drew Crew schooled the Giants defense so effectively even Manning was taking notes from his sideline. 

Beat up in the secondary as the Giants may have been, the most dominant defensive line in the NFL barely came within spitting distance of Drew Brees.

If the Giants ever do manage to catch Brees, the first thing they should do is thank him.

Brees and Gregg Williams’ defense left the G-Men with a game film they’ll be studying up until the playoffs, when the two teams are likely to meet again.

No team can get their butts whooped so badly that they can’t study themselves and take away some valuable lessons.

The Giants no longer among them, there are three unbeaten teams (besides the Saints) that could make good cases for themselves as the best team in the NFL.

But I have to believe that right at this moment, the Saints are the most complete team from top to bottom. 

Though they haven’t lost either, the Colts, Vikings, and Broncos have had to play from behind at least once this season. 

Last second wins against the Dolphins, 49ers, and Bengals, respectively, stand out the most.

By comparison, the Saints are the only team in the entire NFL who has yet to trail in a game.

Wow.

Looking ahead to the remaining schedule, the only real threats to the Saints come from Atlanta twice and the New England Patriots.

The Saints play two of those three games at home, on primetime TV.

 

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New Orleans Saints Think Tank: Week 6

First Things First

The undefeated New York Giants come to New Orleans this week to face the undefeated Saints, who are fresh off a bye week.

History tells us the Saints will lose this one but it has nothing to do with the competition.

The Saints haven’t won a game following a bye since 2003.  Granted, the Giants could beat anybody, in any week.

Instead, the stat that’s most interesting is Sean Payton’s record following the bye week since becoming the Saints head coach.

The Saints under Payton are barely above the .500 mark following the bye week, compiling a 16-15 record since he became their coach in 2006.

That’s a pretty ominous sign for a team that plays 6 of their final 10 games in NFC South Division.

But the Saints have never been 4-0 in that span and the NFC South certainly isn’t what it used to be. 

Then again, these ARE the Saints we’re talking about.  Nothing would surprise me.

Less Is More

There’s a long-standing debate as to which methods are best when it comes to building a team: free agency or the draft?

There is no definitive answer, but as far the 2009 Saints are concerned, they’ll take experience over youth as long as it continues to win them games.

New Orleans only had four draft picks in 2009, one of which was placed on IR before the season.

The result: Four wins and no losses.

Of the three remaining healthy rookies, two – punter, Thomas Morstead and defensive back, Malcolm Jenkins – could end up being special teams Pro Bowlers if their spectacular play continues.

The only other team with less picks in the 2009 draft than the Saints was the New York Jets, with three.  They’re 3-2, and on top of the AFC East.

The Minnesota Vikings, who only had five picks, are 5-0.  

By sharp contrast, the Lions, Titans, and Cowboys had 10, 11, and 12 picks, respectively. 

They’ve combined for a dismal 4-11 record. 

So does a lack of draft picks translate directly to quicker success?  Of course not. 

Simple math tells us that the more draft picks you have, the more chances you have of potentially improving your team.

But so far this year, half the teams who are leading their divisions are doing so with only six draft choices or less (49ers had seven, but only recently signed their first overall pick, Michael Crabtree).

 

MV-Please

Saints fans don’t want much.  That is to say they just want what everyone else wants: winners.

But for the higher-profile teams such as the Steelers, the Patriots, and the Giants to name a few, winning is expected.

The championships, Pro Bowls, and MVP awards are the cherries on top.

Drew Brees’ name has been tossed around sports radio and TV shows as an MVP candidate for the past several years but the award consistently eludes him.

The knock on him is that he has the numbers, but not the wins.

With the help of a better surrounding cast this year, Brees may finally have both.  The problem is he picked exactly the wrong time to do it.

Peyton Manning is also undefeated, but boasts better stats in most passing categories while throwing for at least 300 yards in his first five games of the season – something he’s never done in his career. 

And he’s already won three MVPs. 

The good news is the Saints have another MVP candidate ready to throw his hat into the race.

Though he plays on the other side of the ball, Darren Sharper is a legit pick to walk away with the hardware himself, and I’m not just talking about the defensive variety.

Not since Lawrence Taylor in 1986 has a defensive player been named the overall MVP of the NFL. 

That’s not likely to happen this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Sharper finished in the top three of voting, especially if he continues his high level of play.

Playing Manning to Sharper’s Brees is the Vikings’ Jared Allen. 

But ask yourself this question: “If the season ended today, which defender would have a better shot at winning the overall MVP award? Sharper or Allen?”

If your answer is Sharper, then it goes without saying that he’s also the frontrunner for the defensive MVP also.

The title of MVP has so many interpretations but mine goes as follows: The MVP should be awarded to the player who is most valuable to HIS team.

Now obviously by that criteria, Manning would win the award every year by definition.  That’s why you have to look at each case season by season.

For example, Tom Brady was lost for all of 2008 and the Patriots still won 11 games without him (which, by the way, cements my argument that Randy Moss should have been the MVP of ’07).

The point is this: the Saints are one of only two teams in the NFL that can boast at least two potential MVP candidates, one for each side of the ball.  That’s got to count for something.

The Vikings – who have Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, and Jared Allen – are the other.

For a Saints franchise whose crowning achievement is an appearance in one NFC championship game, their fans have learned not to expect too much.

Just some wins…and maybe a couple MVPs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Orleans Saints First Quarter Report Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Saints Who Will Never See Canton’s Pearly Gates

There’s not a single Saints player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But there will be.

Rickey Jackson has been eligible for several years now, but hasn’t been elected.

Willie Roaf and Morten Andersen aren’t eligible yet, but are almost first ballot locks to be inducted when they are.

How is it, you may wonder, that in over 40 years of existence this franchise has only produced potentially only two or three Hall of Famers?

The answer to that is hard to pinpoint. I blame Bourbon Street.

The only extended success the Saints ever really enjoyed was under the tenure of Jim Mora in the 80s and 90s.

But there is a silver lining to the years of mediocrity and failure:

At least there aren’t many eligible players to choose from when making the list of top 10 Saints that will never make the Hall of Fame.

I think I’m depresed now.

More Than a Team: The 2006 New Orleans Saints

 

After calling most of my friends to tell them to tune into our local sports radio station, I paced my backyard waiting for the DJ to put me on the air. 

The line finally clicked over and a voice spoke, revealing the reason that I called in that evening. 

“Patrick from Metairie,” spoke the faceless voice. “Who should the Saints target at QB, following Aaron Brooks’ forgettable 2005 campaign?” 

Now, in Brooks’ defense, not a single person that called New Orleans home in 2005 had much to cheer about. Hurricane Katrina made sure that not even the Saints were spared in the rebuilding effort that was to come. 

“Drew Brees,” I responded to the personality on the other end of the phone, knowing that even in the unlikely event that we signed him, it would surely not be enough to overhaul a team that now had so much in common with the city it represented. 

I honestly liked Jim Haslett during his time in New Orleans. But when Katrina hit, whether we all knew it or not, letting him and most of his players and staff walk was necessary.

Nobody wanted to be reminded of Katrina in any capacity, and at the time the Saints were nothing but that. 

The good thing about being at your lowest, though, is that you have no choice but to look up.

I’m not saying that my suggestion on that January evening led directly to Brees becoming a Saint. No, we can thank the San Diego Chargers for that. 

What I’m saying is that as terrible as the Saints were at that point, they couldn’t be any worse off than any of their fans.

The Saints, their faithful followers…all we could do was look up.   

Hand in hand, the city that love forgot and the team they loved so dearly began to pick up the pieces. After signing Brees, it didn’t seem to matter who else would be donning black and gold in 2006. 

Every step was one in the right direction: new QB, new first-round pick, new head coach, new defense. We weren’t very familiar with many of them but we didn’t care. 

We were going to root for these guys no matter what because they were literally all that we had to cling to. 

With nothing else to lose, it seemed, our new-look Saints won their first two games on the road to set up an unforgettable rebirth in the return to the Superdome on Monday Night Football. 

I cannot begin to piece together the words to describe the feeling that came over the crowd the moment that first punt was blocked for a score. 

Put it this way: I was dating a girl for a few months and I took her to this game. It was her first Saints game. We have been together ever since. 

On the Saints trudged en route to a division title, the first for them since Jim Haslett and Aaron Brooks stole our hearts in 2000. 

But this love was a new one. It was pure and it was real.

That complete strangers like Brees, Sean Payton, Reggie Bush, Scott Fujita, and Marques Colston were rescuing a community out of the deep end spoke volumes about what they meant to us, and us to them. 

Our Saints weren’t just playing football anymore. They were giving us a reason to hope and smile. 

And there was absolutely no doubt that they were ours. Ours and no one else’s.

The Saints took us further that year than we have ever been before, within one game of a Super Bowl berth. But the season was hardly a failure.

The 2006 Saints connected with its fans that year in a way that perhaps no other sports team has in recent history. 

Fleur-de-lis are common in New Orleans, but if we could have all gotten them tattooed on our hearts we certainly would have.

That’s why the 2006 New Orleans Saints are my favorite team of all time. 

 

Crystal Balling: NFC South

If the Carolina Panthers had any kind of grip on history and weren’t so concerned with winning (especially when it didn’t even matter), then they would have realized that letting the Saints win the final regular season game in 2008 would have marked the first time in NFL history that all four teams in a single division would have finished a season with winning records.

But I think we all knew the Panthers weren’t history majors anyway, seeing as they helped Drew Brees fall a measly 16 yards short of breaking Dan Marino’s single season passing record.

Do I sound bitter? Well I’m not……..anymore. Thanks, Arizona Cardinals!

Forgetting the Saints’ defensive woes and the late season collapse of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the NFC South was probably the strongest division in the NFL last year.

The Falcons won’t sneak up on anyone again and the Buccaneers took a huge step back. That leaves the Saints and Panthers to duke it out for 2009’s division crown.

But let’s take a closer look anyway.

Next Page »

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