Giants 24 @ Saints 49: The View from Section 140

It's late, I've been drinking, I'm tired, I just got home and now I have to put together a bunch of coherent notes about the Saints' 49-24 Monday night beatdown of the Giants.

Here's the abridged version: Saints ran the ball incredibly well. Drew Brees is the greatest quarterback ever. Jimmy Graham is the greatest tight end ever. Lance Moore and Marques Colston are the greatest wide receivers ever. Pierre Thomas is the greatest running back ever. Welcome back Tracy Porter. Jo-Lonn Dunbar needs to play more. Defense plays well when it creates turnovers. 

To put it even simpler: the Saints are the second best team in the NFC and possibly the NFL. 

You want my unabridged thoughts on the game? You'll have to make the jump for those, smart guy.  

• Damn, I want that first game against the Packers back again! How sick would it be if the Saints were playing the Pack next week!?!? The playoffs need to get here now!
• As I was walking along the outer concourse, a nice young gentleman named Adam, who also happened to be a stranger, gave me a free can of Miller Lite to enjoy. Thank you, whoever and wherever you are. You are my hero. 
• Despite all of the hype about security before the game, this was by far the easiest time I've had getting into the Dome, particularly for a primetime game. I don't know whether it was because fans heeded the warnings and arrived early or because the new metal detecting wands are more efficient.
• The male/female lines to go through security and enter the stadium were eliminated since pat downs were replaced with metal detector wands and touching wasn't necessary. I think this significantly helped the flow of traffic outside the Dome. 
• Everything in my pockets set off the wand - keys, wallet, camera, cell phone - and I had to take each out to show to the security staff. It might be more annoying, but at least it's more effective than those pat downs, which were a joke.  
• The Saints won the coin toss!!!
• Marques Colston led the pre-game Who Dat chant. 
• The Saints won in the black pants again!!!
• The Saints are 5-0 at home this year!!!
• OMG!!!  Yay!!!!!
• The Saints offense came out of the gate strong, moving the ball at will both on the ground and through the air in the first drive.
• I'm okay with the fake field goal attempt. It was early in the game and the field position was ideal. Give credit to the Giants for defending it very well. 
• The crowd in the Dome was probably loudest on that first defensive series following the failed fake punt attempt. 
• Will Herring's interception was pretty crucial. It really set the tone for the rest of the game. If the Giants score on that drive instead, I get the feeling the entire game would have been drastically different. 
• Turnovers were obviously crucial. The fumble recovery late in the game by the Saints was a huge help in sealing the deal. 
• There was a couple sitting in the row in front of me, just slightly off the to the left. They were standing up most of the time, blocking the view of the family sitting behind me. The family asked them to sit down and an argument ensued that went something like this: "I paid good money for these seats." "Then sit down and use them!" Not long after, the couple got up and left. Shortly after that, another couple sat down in their seats. Apparently, the original couple had found someone to trade seats with them. That's a first. 
• Drew Brees had a hell of a game. He can thank his offensive line for keeping him clean, yet again, and playing a hell of a game themselves. But he was a little off. Drew definitely overthrew his receiver on more than one occasion. I think we can all forgive him. Someone also needs to remind him that he did not play basketball in college; leave the goal post dunking to Jimmy Graham. 
• Are opponents even bothering to watch film on the Saints? How many times are they going to let the Saints score on that short pass to Lance Moore in the flat? Whatever. I'll take it, suckers. 
• Jimmy Graham deserves high praise for the five catches he made and the two touchdowns he scored. But lets not also forget about his two false start penalties. What the hell is that all about? 
• With a healthy 14-3 lead and just over a minute left in the first half, my friend and I wondered why the Saints were still passing the ball instead of grinding it out on the ground. Then they scored another touchdown in about 30 seconds to take a 21-3 lead before halftime. Who are we to judge? 
• The halftime entertainment was the youth punt-pass-kick competition. 
• The penalty called on the hit by Abdul-Quddus was complete bullcrap. It was a well-timed and helmet-free hit on the receiver. The crowd was pissed off for quite a while about that call.  
• The Giants attempted a fake punt of their own. Like the Saints, they were also unsuccessful. Winning! 
• I may have been wrong to question Payton's play calling before the half, but I still question some of the decisions late in the game as well. It's not that they didn't run the ball, though they certainly could have done that a little more. But it seems the offense could have definitely milked the play clock more. It seems no matter the score, no matter the situation, the Saints run their offense with the same exact pace. But why not slow it down late in the game with a healthy lead? Why not use up most or all of the 36 seconds you're given per play? I also don't think it's wise to continue throwing slant patterns to Jimmy Graham over the middle, allowing him to take dangerous hits and get his clock cleaned. 
• Hell of an effort by the Saints running the ball. In fact, with 208 total rush yards at 6.8 yards per pop, this was their most productive effort of the season and their most efficient effort in years and years. To put it in perspective, it was even better than their crushing of the Colts a few weeks ago.
• Props to Jo-Lonn Dunbar for another great game and another great job filling in for an injured Jonathan VIlma. The Saints need to find a way to keep Dunbar heavily active when Vilma returns. Middle linebacker is Dunbar's natural position and it's obvious that's where he excels. So do we start talking about moving Vilma to the outside?
• The Saints defense did a superb job of stopping the run but gave up a crapload of yards through the air, though most of that was garbage yardage late in the game when the defense was simply in safe, prevent mode. 
• Way too many penalties for the Saints last night. That can be expected coming off the bye. Hopefully that gets cleaned up by next week. 
• That being said, there were some more questionable calls from the referees yet again. 
• Saints lost the time of possession battle. 
• On the car ride home I was listening to WWL's post-game coverage. They mentioned that players who gave locker room interviews were awarded with gift certificates. Are you kidding me? These guys need to be bribed just to talk after a game? That's pathetic.