Saints Refuse Gifts From Refs, Packers In Week 4 Loss

October 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Hope for the Saints???

There is hope on the bayou. At least as much hope as there can be with an 0-4 football team.

I am convinced of this after watching the New Orleans Saints gut-wrenching 28-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers … even though the game’s excruciating finish was hard to watch. The Saints received the game gift-wrapped from the referees – the real refs! – but instead re-gifted it back to the hometown Packers, who were desperate for a win. Before they rejected an early Christmas present, the Saints showed glimmers, particularly on offense, of being a competent team.

Hope does not mean naivete. This Saints team – minus its head coach, interim head coach, and general manager – will not make the playoffs. Hell, they’ll probably still qualify for a Top 10 draft pick. Yet they might not be as painful to watch as I first believed after pulling my ginger mane out during their first three games.

Here are more thoughts on the Saints’ loss to the Packers:

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Thoughts on Week 3 Saints-Chiefs Debacle

September 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Aints?!?!?

For all intents and purposes, the New Orleans Saints’ season ended Sunday … in Week 3 … against the previously winless Kansas City Chiefs … in the Superdome.

It’s painful, yes.

I picked the Saints to finish 11-5 prior to Week 1. In doing so, I grossly underestimated how much of a loss suspended coach Sean Payton’s offensive play calling would be to this team.

It is obvious now, painfully so.

I return to the word painful because there is no other way to describe this march. This is a 17-week second line minus the celebration. Only five teams since 1970 have rebounded from 0-3 starts to reach the playoffs. The Saints are not likely to be in that number – unless some Buddy D-inspired miracle occurs.

Here are five thoughts from the Saints’ loss to the Chiefs Sunday.

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5 Thoughts From Today’s Saints-Panthers Debacle

September 16, 2012 By 1 Comment

Saints!!!!

If only I had a paper bag handy Sunday afternoon …

Yes, it’s only Week 2. The New Orleans Saints can rebound from an 0-2 hole. A healthy Drew Brees behind center can work miracles. Unfortunately, he can’t play defense.

The problem with the “it’s only Week 2″ thinking this season is that means there are 14 games remaining for opponents to abuse the Saints’ defense.

I am trying to resist typing the words “fire” and “Steve Spagnuolo” next to one another. It’s difficult after back-to-back weeks in which mobile quarterbacks – Robert Griffin III and Cam Newton – torched the Saints for an average of 37.5 points. For comparison’s sake, the Saints’ defense yielded 21.2 points per game in 2011.

Here are five thoughts from the New Orleans’ 35-27 loss to Carolina on Sunday:

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My Saints-Redskins Diary Full Of Heartbreak And Pain

September 9, 2012 By 2 Comments

Saints!!!!

Who Dat!

Today’s big story lines in New Orleans today are A) How will the Saints play in the wake of Bountygate without suspended head coach Sean Payton and B) How will Redskins rookie QB Robert Griffin III play in his debut against a leaky Saints secondary?

The Saints received good news Friday when a judge ruled linebacker Jon Vilma and defensive end Will Smith were eligible to play in Sunday’s game. The duo were previously suspended by NFL Commish Roger Goodell for their alleged roles in Bountygate. Smith starts today, and provides a boost to the Saints defensive line. Vilma is out with a knee injury.

I am going Saints, 38-17. There’s a reason, or many reasons, why the Saints won 13 regular season games last season and the Redskins finished last in the NFC East for the fourth straight year.

Here is my Saints-Redskins diary:

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Will The 2012 Saints Duplicate Recent Regular Season Success?

August 5, 2012 By 2 Comments

Circa 2007

Who Dat!

My hometown New Orleans Saints start their 2012 NFL preseason campaign tonight against the Arizona Cardinals in a game I have no plans on watching. Nonetheless, I am excited about tonight’s game because it means the NFL regular season is almost here.

The Saints are 37-11 over the past three regular seasons – tied for the best record in the NFL with the New England Patriots. This is without a doubt the Golden Age of New Orleans Saints football. It has been super, but how much longer can it last? Will this be the season that the franchise returns to its inglorious past? Or will the team overcome head coach Sean Payton’s yearlong suspension for Bountygate and reign over the NFC South again?

It’s time for (way too early) predictions!

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Adventures In Bandwagon Fandom

March 22, 2012 By 1 Comment

MJ made bandwagon fans of us all.

I idolized Michael Jordan growing up. He was my superhero. As such, his team, the Chicago Bulls, became my favorite NBA club, even though I lived 1,500 miles south of the Windy City.

I gleefully hopped aboard the Bulls bandwagon, just as it was overflowing with fans from across the globe. When Jordan left the team in 1998, after winning his sixth NBA title, I conveniently hopped off.

Look up the term bandwagon fan in the dictionary and you will see my 8-year-old ginger face staring in wonder at Jordan on the TV.

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Payton’s Suspension A New Low For Saints

March 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Saints endured four decades of mind-numbing futility before winning their first and only Super Bowl with Coach Sean Payton at the helm in 2010.

Today, the NFL announced Payton would miss the 2012 season as a penalty for his role in Bountygate, a plot to reward Saints’ defenders who injured opposed players with cash payments.

As it turns out, the man who led the beleaguered franchise to its highest peak has also shepherded them to their lowest depth.

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Cajun Tomato’s Most Viewed Posts Jan. 8-15, 2012

January 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

That distant, yet clear sound you hear is me screaming “ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” at the top of my lungs. There is no end in sight to my furor. Hell, the next football season is eight months away. I might yell my lungs out. I might not. We shall see. Oh! The intrigue!

The ironic thing about LSU and the Saints each wrapping their seasons in disappointing, yet wildly different fashions is not that I am still smarting from their losses days later. It is that they, in turn, sparked my highest page view count in the history of this blog. For that, I owe a large debt of gratitude to my friend, Jordy Pujol.

Here were the five most viewed posts for Jan. 8-15:
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Filed Under: College football, Dig This Tomato, Yo!, Football, LSU, Music, Saints, Sports, Television Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Alex Smith, A Bust? Not So Fast, Says Saints Defense

January 15, 2012 By 1 Comment

@CajunTomato If you can’t stop Alex Smith you do not deserve to advance in the playoffs. Sayanora Saints season! They have to upgrade at safety. (around 5:13 PST today)

The Saints managed to pull off a feat this afternoon in San Francisco that I did not think any team could. They managed to make Alex Smith, noted draft bust of the San Francisco 49ers, look like a competent NFL quarterback in a playoff game.

The Saints allowed Smith and the 49ers to move the ball 13 plays for 165 yards on their final two drives, each of which culminated in touchdowns. The final scoring play — a Smith to Vernon Davis 14-yard TD pass with nine seconds left — sent the Niners to the NFC Championship Game.

It is one thing to lose to a better team. It is another to beat yourself. The Saints beat themselves, with five turnovers and porous defense, and that burns me to no end.
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LSU-Bama, Round Two: What The Hell Was That?

January 10, 2012 By 1 Comment

As atrocious national title performances go, LSU’s wipeout against Alabama in the BCS National Title Game Monday night felt eerily similar to Butler’s horrendous showing in the 2011 NCAA Final Four.

Butler, if you recall, shot 18 percent in its 53-41 loss to UCONN in last April’s title game. LSU managed just 91 yards of offense in its 21-0 loss to Alabama. Neither Butler nor LSU appeared capable of mounting a serious threat, making their losses even more agonizing.

Yes, I realize comparing basketball to football is a statistical stretch. Offensive futility is offensive futility, though, and both losses cast a shadow on otherwise fine seasons.

I know the cliches too. Sometimes it is not your night, the better team won, yada yada. I would like to enter a new cliche into the lexicon: What the hell was that?

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Filed Under: College football, Football, LSU, Saints, Sports Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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