Finals are finished and my conscience is relived. I took a tactical sick day, dropped baby off at daycare because I "didn't want to get her sick", and watched the game on my DVR, in my own zone. 

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I was thinking about the success the running game was having, and I was wondering how much the passing game is opening up the run game. Did we run so well against Buffalo in the 2nd half because they kept bringing the pressure they brought in the 1st half, that worked so well at ultimately holding Drew to no TD's? It almost seems the polar opposite of play-action pass (Except the aren't technically draw plays, anyway) I'm wondering if we end up losing because we come out and try to establish the run first? I'm anxious to see if we come out in the traditional passer friendly mode to let them start bringing the pressure. Thoughts?

I have been laid up since I had surgery last Wednesday. Nothing to serious, repaired nerve damage from a hernia surgery I had a couple years ago. That made for a percocet induced mini-vaca on my couch. So what do you do on Monday when you have to go back to work?....that's right, call in and re-watch the greatness that was Sunday.  Fair warning, this choppy. It's a lot of thought, but not organized very well, see above mention of percocet. I also want to thank the other posts we've had, they have accurately sumized the game and feelings. I won't get into how great I think they did as a whole, great team effort.

I decided to watch the Lions game by watching EVERY player on EVERY play.  Good news for me, you can't really do that. But you do get to see exactly what the line does on every play. SO I watched hoping to answer some questions.

What's up with the run game? Why it works, and why it does not work?

The D-line, who is doing what?

I watched the Lions and Eagles games this detailed, I have no other basis of comparison for my judgements. I never really   watched games last year so I can not say whether or not we are improved from last year.  I had a blast watching the game that analytically, I suggest everyone give it a shot if it intrest you. I learned more than I expected just by watching watch what every player did on any particular play.

A few things that I noticed along the way.

• There Is holding on every play
• Heath Evans is an upgrade. He is a big reason our run game is improved. Mike Bell follows his blocks well. On several plays his is the misdirection that allows plays to develop. He is also in everybody's ear, I don't know if it's good or bad, but he is always talking to the guy who just made the play.
• Reggie Bush did a good job of picking up blitzes, on several occasions. Oh and the Eagles blitzes are WICKED.
• We don't pull our guard near as often as Philly.
• The offensive line looks good, even with Brown out.  Everybody got beat once or twice. No one person stood out as a weakness and got beat repeatedely. I can say that I thought our Guards played really well. Goodwin seems to always have some help. I'm guessing that comes with being the center though.
• Reggie hesitates to hit the whole when it appears to be blocked. Can't really blame him for that, but when Bell runs, he just follows even when it looks clogged, and the blocks seem to open up once he is there. Bell also helps them open up more by breaking arm tackles of lineman. that seems to be a bit of a difference between the two.
• Reggie's between the tackles TD. It was designed to go right, I believe. The way that the TE, 85, blocked it didn't appear to be a designed cut back. I argued with my brother whether or not he would have had a TD if would have just followed Evans block.
• Reggie's punt return was garbage. Plain and simple. He started to go backwards when the defender was like 12 yards in front of him. I was really big on Reggie getting as many touches on kick returns as he could, but a couple muffed punts, mediocre returns, mixed in with the one backwards return. Not going so well at the beginning of the year.
• Just realized there is a lot of Reggie hating going on up there. Another important question was how much do the reactions of the other teams players depend on Reggie. And the answer is a lot. A number of plays involved Drew reading who bites on Reggie. Shockey got some catches because of it. Reggie also did  good job of picking up blitzes, not just chipping at them, but actually stopping them all together.

Defense - I was interested to see, what kind of fomations we used, what personnel, and how much blitzing.

• Anthhony Hargrove is awesome. I noticed things tend to have a ripple effect on the line. Rarely does just one peson make a play. It takes someone starting to  force the offense out of position, then someone else capitalizes on it. Hargrove starts the ripple a lot.
• Grant and Smith are the opposite of ripple makers. At least in the two games. I was waiting to see wha they did and it's not a whole lot. Not NEAR enough to be considered compensated fairly.
• Seddrick Ellis is almost always double-teamed. He still manages to be a force though. He is rarely flat out beaten.
• Shanle played better than Fujita.
• Randall Gay was at the root cause for secondary woes, what little there were. I hope Jenkins' speacial teams play helps get him some playing time.
• Bobby McRay is fast, he goes so fast, he blows by the QB most of the time
• Will Smith has this spin move that runs right into Sedrick Ellis most of the time. pretty funny, pretty ineffective.
• Really cool to watch some of our blitzes. sometimes we dive all four linemen into the middle of the pocket and that make sit easier for outside rusher to get to QB.

OK, I am going to present each of you an opportunity to revel in the glory that will be the end of this season. From this FanPost, you have the chance to join me in and pledge that you are an individual that really, really, really just KNOWS that THIS is the year. I know, I know, it's been said before....but not by me. I'm freakin' 26, the whole time I've seen nothing but SUCK, with the exception of the past couple of years, in which I predicted a playoff appearence in one, and an NFC Championship in the other. Don't judge me.

So why this year??? We've been over the facts, ALL offseason. We know a few major changes could definitely put us in a good position to make it into the playoffs. But that isn't the thing that gets me excited. For the first time in my life, I think that the intangibles are actually in our favor. Could that be the ultimate dooping? Is there a sheep sitting on my face? (wool over the eyes, get it...) 

The parity in the NFL has proven itself over the past few years. Any team in the playoffs can beat any other team on any other day. SO, the Intangible things such as leadership, discipline, camaraderie, desire and many more have more to do with the outcome that we often give credit for.  

So I have placed a poll below that let's you claim your whole-hearted belief in the Saints. At the end of the year you can look back and feel a little better about yourself, and make it just a little bit sweeter, because you just KNEW that this was it. I mean, I can't imagine feeling any worse than I already will if they don't when the SuperBowl. So c'mon guys, let's shove that cautious optomisim into a very uncomfortable place.....like the back of a Volkswagon. I'm already all-in, I know a lot of you are too. This way you can point at the doubters later and rag them becasue you had total blind faith in a NFL Franchise. I mean what's a Saint without a little blind faith???

You want more poll options...make your own. But 'round these here parts it's all or nothin'!

What's up Skins fans? How are you? I know probably pretty crappy like the rest of us waiting for the season to kick off. I know I'm tired of thinking about my 5th string and who's gonna be on the pratice squad. I'm just sayin.

I live in Virginia Beach and plan on going to the 12/6 game in DC. I was looking at tickets online and found some $95 section 222 tickets, a lot of them in the 200's. The tickets say obstructed view because of the overhang. I was wondering if anyone can enlighten me on exactly where I would and would NOT want to sit. Any help is appreciated.

I have just gotten back to Da Chronic after taking a little break, and I gotta say it feels good to be back. I've played catch up and read a lot of thoughts and ideas in a small amount of time, so this could come out really choppy, but I think there are a few things that need to be said, and the soon to be 3 year old isn't around to tell me about her dire need for Scooby-Doo fruit snacks (I'm admittedly indulging in them right now...don't judge me).

Stu, glad to have you back.

Let's start with Sean Payton, and his "downward spiral." I do not agree with everything Sean Payton does. However, I can not and will not ask for someone to do more than they have done so far. All you windup toys calm down...I know we haven't won  a Superbowl...yet. And that's the point...yet. In the past three years, he has turned a historically underachieving mediocre team of losers, into a historically underachieving mediocre team of winners. And I don't give a damn what you say, that counts for something. That counts for a lot. Listen to the players in their interviews, they sound confident, they sound light-hearted, they sound educated, well mannered, and like real leaders. How many Saints do you hear in the media, minus a couple known exceptions that I'm not real fond of,  making asses out of themselves  sounding like ignorant babies. Sure, partly because the noose on media, more so because we are gathering a team of decent human beings, with exceptional human beings leading it.

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First off, I like Coldpizza, a lot, glad he is here. I just needed something catchy to get you reading....moving on

Most of you have been here for a while know Stujo4, or at least have him as a fond memory since it has been soooooooo long since we've heard from him.  A few weeks ago I noticed I hadn't heard anything from Stu in a while. My first thought was, "Hmm, I wonder if he is actually working now....or he's on a vacation....or his computer broke....or the whole Internet broke in Kansas?" Then I realized his name had been removed from the "D-Cord" position. Curiosity set in, and I wanted answers like a pregnant man.

So I e-mailed Saintsational, asked him what was going on. He told me he sent an e-mail to Stu, asking politely to not use harsh language and negative tones. After their exchange, however it went down, ended in Stu asking to be removed as a moderator. He also sent me a link to a Norml912 fanshot. 

Which brings us to the now...and now is boring. It has a lot to do with what time of year it is, the off season in between OTAs and camp sucks really bad. But I also think that it is because Stu isn't around, keeping people on their toes, cracking jokes, making semi-obscure references, posting pictures in replies, showing some conviction, and being a damn fine Saints fan...check that...a Saints fanatic.

So what are we gonna do now? Stu, I want you back around. I'm sure there are a lot of people around here that feel the same way. I'm sure that you have your reasons, and they probably have to do "with the principle of the matter". And you probably have a valid point. I mean the whole thing seems kind of like hiring Gregg Williams and telling him not to blitz. If you don't want to come back, just tell us why....leave a note before you pack up the kids and walk out on us...you heartless bastard.

I don't know if we need some mediation? Apologies? S'mores and Kumbayah? A Blog Hug?(OK, that was crossing the line, my bad) I need you guys to rec this a few times so if/when Stu checks it out he'll see it. I know we don't have all the facts here, but who are you blaming?