Saints Ahead of the Curve on New NFL Kickoff Rule Proposal

There is plenty of blame to go around for the Saints poor performance this season. Both the offense and defense have under performed, along with the position groups that make up each unit.

While there has certainly been examples of improved individual play like Cameron Jordan and Joe Morgan, virtually every aspect of the Saints game has been a disappointment. Every area from the passing game to pass defense has been a struggle. Making it even more frustrating is when one area seems to have been addressed, another weakness rises to the forefront for an opponent to exploit, leading to another Saints defeat. The Saints have been consistent at being inconsistent.

In the 52-27 beatdown by the New York Giants, Drew Brees and company jumped right into the giving spirit committing four turnovers. The two fumbles and two interceptions were the continuation of a horrendous turnover skid the Saints have been on for the last three games. However, the offense looked pretty good compared to the Saints kickoff coverage team, as the Giants accumulated nearly 300 yards in return yardage.

It was David Wilson who did the most in sucking the air out of the Saints scoring drives with a 97-yard kickoff return for touchdown, followed by subsequent returns of 58, 52 and 20 yards. Wilson, however, was not the only member of the G-Men inflicting special teams damage as Jerrel Jernigan ran one back 60 yards, leading to a 4th quarter touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz and giving the Giants a secure 42-27 lead.

The hospitality shown to Wilson and Jernigan by the Saints kickoff team comes just days after NFL Commissioner and Beholder of Player Safety Roger Goodell announced that during the off season, the league's competition committee would consider eliminating kickoffs in order to make the game more safe. Fortunately, the Saints were able to provide a pilot program demonstration of this concept Sunday. Who's the bastard that was supposed to give the memo to the Giants?