SB Nation User Blog: MtnExile

What in the world is our starting defensive backfield now?

MtnExile — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:54:09 -0000

I can't keep track of who is injured, who's playing and who's not, let alone who's starting and who isn't.

Let's see...we've got Jenkins, McKenzie, and now McCauley healthy. Gay is still hurt (no?), and McAllister is gone. Porter and Greer are lucky not to be on IR. Torrance is on IR.

Am I forgetting anyone? Is this IT?

St. Rita of the Dome, pray for us fans now and at the hour of our playoffs...

Have you ordered your NFC South Champions cap yet?

MtnExile — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:03:14 -0000

I swear, it wasn't 3 minutes after the game was over when the email from neworleanssaints.com popped into my inbox. It's a handsome cap, too...not black like the 2006 one, though. And only $34! A bargain, if you discount all the sweat and years this game wrung out of me.

I'm getting one, though. Figure to start a collection: NFC South Champs, NFC Champs, and the ultimate prize at the end.

WHO DAT!

How the Saints helped us escape from the Soviet Union

MtnExile — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:48:05 -0000

Last night, we finally had time to call up NFL Game Rewind and watch the Tampa Bay game. Since my own computer, a Mac, is older than my wife's, a PC, and has a video card that's insufficient, we watch on hers.

We logged into Game Rewind, and Firefox crashed. Never did that before. Logged in again, another crash. Again, another crash. Hours of Googling and tech chat later, and the best they could come up with was, re-install Firefox and Flash. So we trashed Firefox, re-started, and launched IE to download a new Firefox. Big mistake.

"I'm not sure what you're trying to do," says IE.

"We're trying to reach the Internet," says we.

"The Internet? What's that?"

Now we can't get on the web at all. Gone, Kaput. And why? Who knows? It's back to the interminable journey into the heart of darkness, trying to figure out the guts of this Soviet-era technology. After another couple hours of wrestling with it, we finally have our answer: who knows? To quote Jonesy, "Kludge, megakludge to the max!"

So this morning, my wife makes the announcement: "I can't stand this anymore. I want a Mac."

Ah, the blessed freedom of it all! Bless you, boys...you helped break us out of the Gulag! No matter what else happens this season (and you better win the Super Bowl...or there will be consequences), I'll always be grateful for this.

(Now all I gotta do is pay for it...)

"Mark it down..."

MtnExile — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:34:47 -0000

Rarely does a sportswriter throw down the gauntlet in such unambiguous terms.

Jason Whitlock, writing for Fox Sports, predicted that neither the Colts nor the Saints would play in the Super Bowl. In fact, he stated he was "almost willing to guarantee" that neither team would make the big game. Not because there are plenty of other worthy teams, but because both Indianapolis and New Orleans are "on borrowed time."

Specifically, his prediction about the Saints reads:

Mark it down, New Orleans is going to lose three of four during their Patriots-Redskins-Falcons-Cowboys stretch.

I like Whitlock. He's willing to say things on matters that other sportswriters won't touch (usually having something to do with race...why are white people so afraid to bring up the subject?). And of course, he could be right.

But if Christmas rolls around with the Saints sitting at better than 11-3, Whitlock needs to hear from a lot of CSC members. A guarantee is a guarantee...and if Whitlock proves to be wrong about this one, I guarantee I'm going to ream him a new one.

Drew Brees leads all players in Pro Bowl vote

MtnExile — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:59:29 -0000

Drew Brees leads all players in Pro Bowl vote

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, with 539,228 votes, leads all NFL All-Stars in balloting for the 2010 Pro Bowl, NFL.com announced Tuesday. 2010 Pro Bowl voting will continue on NFL.com/probowl and on web-enabled mobile phones by going to NFL.com through Monday, December 21.

Down with all the haters!

MtnExile — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:18:04 -0000

There are too many people out there hating on our Saints just because they didn't win pretty! A win is a win! 9-0, baby! Who dat!

All those people who would rather question our boys instead of supporting them like TRUE fans need to find another team to support. All you people wringing your hands and whining that everything isn't okay, you Debbie Downers need to haul ass for some other fan base. People like these:

"We're dodging bullets right now." --Scott Fujita

"Obviously, we're not happy with the turnovers. It's going to get our butts beat pretty soon if we don't fix it." --Drew Brees

"Glaring issues like stopping the run, turnovers, those are things that if we don't get corrected can come back to bite us." --Jonathan Vilma

Who are these guys? Obviously not real fans. Things are great in party city right now, so knock back a few and celebrate! All you haters go someplace else. WHO DAT! WHO DAT!

The skeleton at the feast

MtnExile — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:59:06 -0000

Everything has gone so well for the Saints this season that most of us have completely spaced out on the Smith and Grant suspensions. Those suspensions were never lifted, simply postponed until the NFL wins its case against the Williamses in Minnesota. And in case you think the league might quietly let the case lapse, think again:

Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Joselio Hanson was suspended four games by the NFL on Wednesday for violating the league's drug policy. Hanson's attorney, David Cornwell, said in a statement that Hanson did not use steroids but tested positive for a diuretic after last year's NFC title game against Arizona. [Source: Sports Illustrated]

Note well: Hanson is serving a suspension during the season's stretch run for something he did last year. The NFL isn't inclined to overlook the use of diuretics, and doesn't accept that the passage of time wipes out sin.

There's no way for us to know how soon the Williams case will be decided, or who will come out on top. But there's a good chance it will be decided before the season is over; that the Williamses—and Smith and Grant—will lose; and that the suspensions will be immediately reinstated. During the stretch run.

There may be several silver linings: if we lose Smith, we'll still have Hargrove to take over (McCray has been pretty much AWOL). Sedrick Ellis may be back by then. Gregg Williams can figure out ways to maximize the impact of anyone who substitutes for our lost starters. And if we lose our pass rush, Minnesota—a likely playoff foe—will lose their rushing defense at the same time.

Maybe it won't turn out to be a disaster. But maybe it will. And it's still out there, waiting...

Random Musings at 7-0

MtnExile — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:20:46 -0000

I don't know about you, but I had a hard time enjoying this game. I expected Atlanta to score first; but I also expected New Orleans to come roaring back, grab the game by the throat, and drag it away kicking and screaming. Then Drew fumbled, Atlanta recaptured the lead, and it became obvious the Falcons were determined to do the exact same thing.

When the Saints went up by two scores at halftime, it seemed the universe had worked out its cramp, come to its senses, returned to its sense of duty...call it what you will. The Saints would take the second-half kickoff, ram the ball down the Falcons' throats, go up by three scores, and coast. Uh uh. Didn't happen; and even when they finally put the game away with Pierre Thomas' Reggie impression, Payton, Mike Bell, David Thomas, and the refs tried their damnedest to hand it right back to the Falcons. Our only hope, Obi-wan Sharper, saved us again (well, he had help), but it was waaaaaaaayyyy too close at the end.

Since that game, I haven't been able to really savor 7-0 because of worry. I'm not usually a worrywart when it comes to things like this; but first the Dolphins game, and then the Falcons game, exposed some flaws in Fate's plan to put Drew Brees on the podium in Miami come February.

THE DEFENSE
A comment on The Falcoholic by iRonin summed up perfectly what I have been thinking: "Williams and Sharper have turned that leaky D into a leaky D with ballhawking skills."

We make a lot out of the year Sharper is having, as we should: if he continues like this, he'll make not only All-Pro, but likely the Hall of Fame. But Sharper is only one player, representing only one aspect of the defense. The Saints lead the NFL in interceptions, and are tied with the Eagles for the overall lead in takeaways. And it's done us a heap of good. But what if the turnovers stop? Is the Saints' defense good enough to win games when they can't win the turnover battle?

And yes: I realize most of those turnovers were earned. Still, everything has to go right for a turnover to occur, and sometimes things don't work out. We saw Sharper actually drop an interception Monday night, and the entire solar system nearly jumped the tracks (admit it, you felt it). What if things stop working out quite so well? What if the Saints' best ballhawking games are already past? Can they stop other teams without the turnovers?

If you look at how many yards they give up, you might begin to worry, too. The Saints are only the 15th-best defense measured by yards allowed. They're 11th against the run, 17th against the pass, and 17th in total points. That's practically the definition of mediocrity. Once again, the defense is being bailed out by the most prolific offense in the NFL...and by Darren Sharper.

What if something happens to Sharper? What then?

INJURIES
Which brings us to the subject of injuries.

It might seem that the Saints have been lucky with injuries so far this year; and in one sense, we have been. Few starters have been lost. Jammal Brown remains the only true starter to be placed on injured reserve, but he's been joined since opening day by critically important role players like Billy Miller and Heath Evans. Practically the entire 2009 draft class has been lost to us, with Chip Vaughn and Stanley Arnoux on injured reserve and Malcolm Jenkins sidelined by a lingering ankle injury. Scott Fujita has been out for weeks; Jermon Bushrod has missed time; and now Jonathan Goodwin has been hurt. And everyone is waiting for Jeremy Shockey to finally go down (do you really want David Thomas as your starter?).

But the scary thing is this: what if we lose anyone in the secondary? Who can replace Sharper? Porter and Greer have been magnificent as a tandem...would Porter and Gay be as good? Or if Roman Harper went down...who could play strong safety at the same level? The answer is, nobody. We have a deep receiver corps, and a pretty good crop of running backs. We have almost no usable depth in the secondary, in the linebacking corps, in the offensive line. I wrote awhile back that the Saints remind me of a winning lottery check: worth a million bucks, and paper thin.

It's going to take an enormous amount of luck to get through this season healthy enough to withstand the playoffs.

GAME MANAGEMENT
Rarely do you see an injury that can be even indirectly attributed to a game decision, but Goodwin's knee contusion came about because of one of the worst tactical blunders I have ever seen a coach commit. With only 1:42 on the clock, up by 11 points, and with Atlanta down to its last timeout, the Saints opted to run a play instead of simply kneeling. Now, it's nowhere near a certainty that someone will be injured if you do this; but I've never seen anyone injured on a kneeldown. Instead of burning all but about 15 seconds off the clock and handing the ball back to the Falcons in an impossible situation, Payton's strategy of running plays resulted in a knee injury, a lost fumble, and only 19 seconds drained from the clock. The Falcons were able to kick a field goal, recover the subsequent on-side kick, and have a shot at tying the game in the end.

All of that was totally unnecessary; and the worst part is, I can't for the life of me figure out what Payton thought he sensed that made running handoffs the proper thing to do in that situation. As I wrote earlier, kneeling at that point should have been a reflex action, literally a no-brainer. This happened not because Payton didn't think, but because he did...badly. Very, very badly.

We can only hope it was a passing brain fart; but with his history of impulsive challenges and game plan stubbornness, you have to wonder if Payton isn't having a relapse after a pretty good first half of the season.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Of course, it would have been more forgivable if the Saints had been up by 14 instead of 11—and they would have been, if John Carney hadn't missed a 37-yard field goal. To put it in perspective, a 37-yarder means your line of scrimmage is the 19—you're in the red zone. There is no excuse for not scoring if your offense penetrates that far.

John Carney is currently 28th in the league in field goal percentage, making only 73% of his kicks. That's worse than Olindo Mare. Between the 30 and the 39 he's already missed 3 out of 8 attempts. He's even missed a PAT, one of only eight kickers so far to fail to convert.

What's more, it might not even be Carney's fault. We know he doesn't have a strong leg anymore, but he's always been accurate. But it seems to me that Jason Kyle's snaps are consistently low and inside, causing holder Mark Brunell to bobble the ball and disrupt the timing. Replacing Carney with Hartley won't solve this problem; nor will it produce better protection. The Saints have already had two kicks blocked this season.

Nor will it do anything to improve the blocking in the return game, which may be an even bigger problem. The Saints are wasting the talents of Reggie Bush because they can't open up running lanes on punts (if it weren't for the Oakland Raiders, we'd be dead last in the league in punt returns). To some extent this isn't too terribly bothersome, since the offense is perfectly capable of long drives; but it will take a toll on the defense if we get into a field-position battle.

As for our kick and punt coverage, I can't assess that because I can find nowhere on NFL.com where special teams coverage stats are compiled. Which segues neatly into my last thought...

THIS IS IT
The Saints must win the Super Bowl this year, because I don't know if I can stand this much longer. I still love football and always will; but the league itself has become a haven for incompetents, clowns, and fascists*. No matter how badly the officials blow their game calls, they're always upstaged by the stupid greed of the owners and the pompous authoritarianism of Roger Goodell. They've all but ruined the sport already; and another year or two will finish the job. I just can't watch. Please guys: seal the deal this season.

*I use the term in its broadest, most deliberately insulting sense. No, I'm not suggesting Roger Goodell wears a black shirt...although maybe he does. A lot of people wear them nowadays.

Random thought regarding fullback

MtnExile — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:45:44 -0000

What member of the Saints is 5-11 and 237 lbs? And what member of the Saints is 6-0 and 235 lbs?

If you guessed Kyle Eckel as the answer to the first question, you'd be right. And the answer to the second? Lynell Hamilton. Forgotten Mr. Photo Op.

Eckel gives away an inch and fifteen pounds to Heath Evans. That's a significant amount of mass for a lead blocker not to have. He's played more than Hamilton, so Photo Op's stats are kinda questionable in comparison...but here goes anyway. Eckel, 3.0 per carry. Hamilton, 4.8.

The big question would be, can Hamilton play fullback? Could he take the pounding of being a lead blocker, and can he pass protect? Maybe, maybe not...don't know. But it sure would be interesting to have Thomas (or Bell, or Bush) share the backfield with Hamilton in a T-formation, rather than an I. Who do you key on?

Just thinking out loud...

What's going on in Reggie's head?

MtnExile — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:07:22 -0000

Check out this story in Sporting News. Forget the undefeated season angle...they're trying to make too much of it. Of course the Saints could go undefeated; so could Colts or the Broncos. So could any team that hasn't been defeated yet. Big deal (unless Reggie has just jinxed us).

No, the interesting part is this:

Bush also addressed the criticism he’s received for not living up to expectations as a pro.

"Once I do win an NFL MVP, once we do win a Super Bowl, once I am in the Pro Bowl, it's going to be that much more special because of the criticism that I had to come through. Because of the work I've put into it, it'll mean that much more to me," Bush told Montemayor.

I must admit, I'm floored. Reggie has been regressing all season. The criticism is all valid. He looks less like a potential MVP than he ever has—and apparently, based on his playing time, Sean Payton agrees.

So what is going on in Reggie's head? Is he really delusional? Or is he just putting up a front, saying what needs to be said to keep those marketing contracts coming?

Because I gotta say, Reggie: it looks more and more like your train left the station long ago. Maybe you should stop pacing and call a cab.