Sep 22, 2008

Same story two weeks in a row for Saints

It was deja vu all over again for the Saints as the lost 34-32 to the Denver Broncos. In a game that featured 871 yards of total offense and 66 points, it really came down to getting 1-yard when its needed.

The Saints failed to convert on short yardage situations for the second week in a row, and it cost them the game. The most obvious one is the 3rd and 1 just before Martin Gramatica's missed game winner. Pierre Thomas was stuffed, just as he was last week against Washington.

But the more disheartening series was the one just before halftime, where the Saints had four downs to punch it in and couldn't get passed the 1-yard line. Pierre Thomas failed again and a fumbled snap by Drew Brees hurt their 3rd-down attempt. My biggest question on that series is where was Reggie Bush? Why was he on the sideline for those four plays?

The question became more evident when the Saints scored from 6-yards out on a swing pass to Bush later in the game. Bush can do great things. He may be a smaller runner, but he can still operarate around the goal line.

My second biggest question for those series is where was Deuce McAllister? Is Sean Payton trying to prove something to fans and the media by not playing Deuce? McAllister looked pretty good in the Saints last preseason game, yet Payton insists that he'll play when he's ready. Well, he looks ready and it looks like the Saints need him. Neither Bush nor Thomas are getting it done between the tackles and it couldn't hurt to give the franchise's all-time leading rusher a shot.

Onto the field goal misses ... yes, they are devastating, especially the th-quarter miss, but the Saints are not cutting Gramatica today or tomorrow. These were the first misses that Martin had since coming to New Orleans. Sure he had a bad day and you could tell that it killed him to let his team down, but remember a guy named Olindo Mare? He was terrible last year, continued to miss field goals, but the Saints stuck by him until he got hurt. Gramatica will be back this week and if the pattern continues, then they will look for a change. Until them, let the guy do his job.

There is a lot to take away from the Denver game. The Saints were down 21-3 early and didn't give up. Drew Brees is still awesome and Reggie Bush is contributing is so many different ways. The team was without a few starters and still hung with one of the hottest teams in the league. They held the league's highest scoring offense to 27 points (take away the defense TD), when they've been averaging close to 40. CB Mike McKenzie returned to the lineup and got an interception. He's by far the Saints best defensive back. Robert Meachem was a big contributer again and tackle Zach Streif was solid replacing injured Jammal Brown.

Onto the not so good news. The Saints still can't establish a running game. Bush averaged 4 yards per carry, but that was thanks to a nice late run of 23 yards. Thomas only had 15 yards on 6 carries, but did get 2 TDs (but he should have had 3). The Saints also suffered a couple more injuries, Brown and CB Randall Gay. They cannot afford to keep losing key guys this early in the season. Lastly, the defense wasn't able to get pressure on Cutler. Other than the safety by Charles Grant and Sedrick Ellis, the Saints front line didn't get much push against Denver's offensive line. That's not why guys like Grant, Ellis, Will Smith and Bobby McCray got those big contracts. They need to help the secondary a little more by pressuing the quarterback.

Next up for the Saints:
Home vs. 49ers

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