Consolation prizes are for suckers

I've spent my last weekend doing some freelance work in Jackson, Mississippi only to have it seem like it was a year. I totally missed out on a great football weekend with my consolation prize being a Saints loss to the Bungles at home that rivaled something from the bizarro world.

My complaining about the Saints has dissipated after they won their 6th game of the season. I can atone for the fact that I realistically thought the Saints would win 7 games at most this season figuring that the new coach, new players, and lack of quality defensive playmakers would prohibit us from making the playoffs. That changed a little as the season progressed and my expectations started to change. I along with others began to believe that the Saints were well within contention to make it to 9 or 10 wins this season by week 6. Has this change? No. I still think the Saints have three more wins in them. The problem is that anything less than 3 more wins can be construed as a tank job by the Saints coaching staff.

Let's consider the facts. Saints are pretty thin in the secondary specifically at the safety position. Since Roman Harper's departure to the IR we have been exposed for the weakness that is getting us beat the last few weeks. Big plays. Fred Thomas has a strained neck to go along with the strained hamstring. There was a reason the Saints cut Jay Bellamy. He just can't cover over the top, and I love the passion Craft and McKenzie play with, but without pressure on the QB they look average at best. If you compare our corners and safeties with those on the Patriots, I'd say they are about equal. The only difference is that the Patriots LB's get more pressure on the quarterback than ours do. Plain and simple.

With that being said the Saints still have a chance to stop teams. The way they can do this is by controlling the clock. They have to sustain long drives and finish them off without creating turnovers. Sounds simple. Last few weeks it's been difficult. Payton said it best before the season started, "You haven't been tested! Once you've been tested then it's how you react to those situations that define you as a team." I like our chances in Atlanta this weekend. With our backs up against the wall, let's see if the Saints can define themselves as a legitimate playoff team.