Dios Mio!!!

Dios Maria! What better way to end our losing skid than with an immaculate catch on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the half. Yes, the Saints are 7-4. Which means that they are in first place in the NFC South which if you listen to the so-called pundits is the weakest division in the NFC. It doesn't matter to me whether you play in the AFC North or the NFC South as long as you win the games you are suppose to win and play tough against teams that are supposedly better than you.

As I prepare myself for another weekend of Saintsdom. I'm reminded of the glory days of the NFC West showdowns between the Saints and 49ers. Before the Falcons became my bitter rival, I was incessantly mortified everytime the 49ers walked into town. They were the epitome of the world class organization all the way up the top. Back in the 80's Eddie DeBartlo was running the 49ers and no expense was big enough for his team to compete. When the 49ers came into New Orleans for thier SuperBowl romp over the Bronco's in the late 80's. I distinctly remember hearing the rumor that DeBartlo rented our the New Orleans shopping plaza for his team. Anything they wanted within the confines of that building was there's for the taking. I don't know if that story is true, but I know one thing Saints players can't even get a deal on a Benson BMW without haggling the dealer for the MSRP.

One of my most vivid memories of the 49ers was back in 88 the 49ers came with thier usual swagger into town. I thought this would be the year for us to really take it to them. Jerry Rice catches a bomb from Montana and as he is about to cross the goal line he fumbles the ball. Obvious to the viewer at home that he fumbled before he made it into the endzone by the backfield judge had a poor angle and this was pre-instant replay. They (officials) awarded the 49ers a touchdown who went on to win by one point. This is just merely one of the games that has caused frustration to many a Saints fan. Although, this weekend the New Saints will excercise the demons of the past, and no expense will be paid for this victory will be sweet revenge.

Things I notice over the weekend:

1. Morten Anderson missed a field goal to the left. Must have had is wallet in the wrong pocket. I've seen him miss quite a few important FG's for us in the past. Good for him.

2. Reggie is starting to run more North/South. I heard the announcers say that Payton talked to him about having speed through the hole, not to the hole. Perfectly stated.

3. We blitzed the heck out of Vick. I like that aggressiveness even though it backfired a couple of times with huge plays against us. Still, I would like to see more of that against Alex Smith this weekend.

4. Drew Brees continues to show why he was the most important free agent signee during this past offseason. He's on record to throw for over 5,000 yards and break Dan Marino's single season passing yards record. That's DAN MARINO!!! Not Dan Magickowski. I never knew how important a quarterback position was to a team until we had Drew come to the Saints. We just never had this type of guy back in the pocket.

5. Still need to run the ball more especially when we have the lead. I know I've been saying it all season, but it's important to keeping the other team off the field. The second to last drive by the Saints to go up 24-13 is something I would love to see happen consistently. That's what makes us a playoff type team.