Where’s My Bag?

Well, I have been reluctant to post about this because, quite frankly, I’m ashamed. When I was in high school and college, several brilliant fans, frustrated with the ineptness of the New Orleans Saints, brought out bags to wear on their heads during the home games. Hence the title of this blog.

With the loss on Sunday, the Saints have dropped to 0-4 on the season. And the loss to Carolina, no less. (Difficult being a Saints fan with the moniker CarolinaCajun.) This following a baseball season where the Atlanta Braves failed to make the post-season. I’m at a loss to figure what is going on, although I’m wondering if it may be me. With the LSU win over Florida on Saturday, I think I may be off the hook, but time will tell. (Geaux Tigers!!)

So what is wrong with the Saints. I’m afraid that there is more than just one thing wrong. Obviously, the focus of my prior post was the lack of the “big” play for the offense. I think this is a lot of it. I’m tired of seeing the quick dump off pass, and the 2-yard run up the middle. This team was the master of the explosive play last year, and we haven’t seen nearly enough of it this year.

I’m not sure why this is. It would be easy to place the blame on the coaching and QB position, but that isn’t necessarily the way it is. I’m not certain whether the blame should be placed on Brees alone, or if the O-Line and receiver corps deserve some of the blame. It is difficult to tell, but with 9 interceptions, something is not working at the QB position. I know that being hurried can lead to an interception, but didn’t we have Aaron Brooks to do that for us? Why spend the money for Brees to do the same thing. Not to mention the fact that the coaches almost had Brooks broken of that bad habit.

There is also the issue of the penalties. Don’t let the numbers fool you. I know that according to the numbers, the Saints quantity of penalties and the number of yards isn’t near the league’s worst in that category. However, the Saints penalties all seem to come at a key opportunity. We actually had a touchdown called back because an O-lineman couldn’t line up in the right spot. We can’t expect to win if we are going to continue to get stupid penalties at the worst times.

As a fan, there is that excited little kid in me saying what a cool season it would be if the Saints turn it around, finish 12-4 and blow everyone away in the playoffs. Not likely, but that’s what the rabid fanboy inside of us is for. So, I’ll sit and watch (hopefully) the game this week against Seattle, and when the Saints are driving down the field, my rabid fanboy will be jumping up and down with excitement. Then, when the penalty, interception, and/or collapse comes, I’ll don my bag and quietly eat my chips and salsa.

CC