Not the start we were hoping to see from our beloved Saints. That goes without saying. I mean, I just said it, but I didn't have to.
Because you know this sucks. Losing to the Falcons was one thing. They're a division opponent, always play the Saints tough yada, yada, yada. But the Browns? Yeah, this one stings. It's still not the end of the world but it's far from what any of us expected.
And, as usual, Saints fans are left to deal with their anger by arguing with each other about who's to blame most. This week's battle royale pits the entire offense against the entire defense. It's never a good sign when, instead of pointing fingers at one or two players, fans are arguing over which unit as a whole sucks more. So basically the entire team needs help. Awesome
If you're one of those guys keeping score at home, you can mark me down for defense. After yesterday's crapfest, it's certainly not an easy decision. Like having to choose which one of your kids you hate more. Or dogs, if you're one of those people that treats dogs like kids. But the offense has all the right pieces, they just need to tweak how they use those pieces. The defense, on the other hand, may not have all the right pieces - {cough} the cornerbacks {cough} - and at this stage of the game, there's very little you can do about that. Other than re-sign Champ Bailey, who we now know must have been really bad in training camp to not make this team.
The offense certainly did their fair share of sucking yesterday, at least in the first quarter anyway. The first six plays, all passes by the way, went for -1 yards. Because running the ball would be just too obvious. On their first four drives of the game the Saints ran a total of 17 plays for a combined 38 yards. 38 f***ing yards. Let that sink in for a minute. I thought this was supposed to be the most dynamic, potent offense in the league? It was obvious that they just weren't ready for what the Browns were bringing, which is probably why Cleveland decided to defer the kickoff. They knew.
Of course it might have helped if Marques Colston got involved in even the slightest. He didn't have a single catch. Not a one. The first time that's happened in 86 games. Whether his disappearance was his own doing, Sean Payton's doing, or the Browns doing, I don't know. I'm honestly more confused than angry about it. I'm sure someone soon will "break down the tape" and enlighten us.
You know who else disappeared? Cam Jordan and the Saints pass rush. Non-existent for the second straight week. Oh wait, I can't forget that one time he batted down a pass. Fun fact: it was 58:52 into the game before Junior Galette got the Saints one and only sack of the game. Paging Cam Jordan. Cam Jordan, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Seriously dude, we need you. And not that I'm going to make excuses for Patrick Robinson and his band of merry men, but an effective pass rush does make the secondary's job easier.
So I'm inclined to put most of the blame for this one on the defense. Something just doesn't sit right with me about letting the Browns march into field goal range on their final drive starting from their own 4-yard line. Or converting 3rd and 1, 3rd and 3, and - worst of all - 4th and 6 to make it happen. Or leaving Andrew Hawkins wide the f*** open to for a 22-yard completion thanks to completely blown coverage. That's the kind of s*** you'd expect from a team like the Jaguars or the Raiders, not a top tier organization like the Saints.
But maybe that's the problem. Maybe our expectations have been out of proportion with reality this whole time. Maybe the Saints aren't really a top tier team like we think. After all, you are what your record says you are and right now the Saints are losers, plain and simple. Just because all the pre-season rankings and polls told us the Saints are supposed to be good, doesn't actually make it true. We should have been skeptical from the start considering those things are never accurate. But instead we believed because that's what we wanted to believe.
I'm not talking about throwing in the towel here. I'm sure none of you are either. It's still only Week 2. But in case the last two weeks are just the tip of a really s****y iceberg, I do think we'd better take stock and drop the bar a little bit. Many of us bought into the hype machine, myself included, but it's obvious now that the road won't be as easy as we thought. Expect nothing from here on out.