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Marshawn Lynch Impresses Saints Even as He Knocks Them Out of Playoffs
If they hadn’t been playing the Seattle Seahawks, the New Orleans Saints might have had a greater appreciation for the 67-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run that pushed Lynch into NFL postseason lore Saturday.
Running a play the Seahawks call “17 power,” Lynch broke through the right side of the Saints defense with 4:20 left in the game, then treated the Saints defenders as his personal rag dolls, throwing them left and right as he exploded for a touchdown run that not only secured a 41-36 win for Seattle but will be on highlight films for years to come.
Lynch broke a half dozen tackles, and the each one of the misses lowered the Saints’ postseason coffin another foot into the ground.
The trouble for the Saints was that, down by four points at the time, they spent all their energy trying to strip the ball out of Lynch’s hands. As they did, the game slipped through their arms.
“In a situation like that, the first thing you have to do is make sure you’ve got the tackle,” New Orleans defensive end Alex Brown said. “Then you can go for the ball.”
It’s a basic rule, but in the last five minutes of a playoff game, even the defending Super Bowl champions aren’t immune from making huge mistakes. The missed tackles were as huge as they come.
And then there was Lynch, running as if he was the target in a greased pig competition, running both around and over the Saints’ defenders.
“Lynch ran his ass off on that one,” Brown said. “That’s one of the best runs I’ve ever seen. He was really moving.”
Wild Card Wild Weekend
OK, we all know Seattle doesn’t really belong in the NFL playoffs. And if anyone doesn’t, just look at the spread: New Orleans, which is traveling 2,100 miles to the Pacific Northwest, is a 10 1/2-point road favorite for Saturday’s opening postseason game.
Is it a little too much?
Well, the Saints’ running game has problems: Both Pierre Thomas and rookie surprise Chris Ivory went on injured reserve this week — leaving the major burden on fumble-prone Julius Jones, a Seahawks reject; and putting a bigger load on Reggie Bush, who is usually better with less use.
It also means Drew Brees will throw more, which probably won’t be a problem.
And Brees overmatches either Matt Hasselbeck (and his sore back) or the inexperienced Charlie Whitehurst — Pete Carroll has been coy all week about his starting quarterback. If it’s Whitehurst, he’ll see blitzes from Gregg Williams that … well, he really won’t see them coming and the revolving door offensive line probably won’t block them.
And it’s not as if the home-field advantage in Seattle is as great as it’s been in the past — the Seahawks allowed 42, 41 and 34 points at Qwest Field to the Chiefs, Giants and Falcons, respectively.
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Seahawks Get Last Laugh – A Long Shot At Redemption Though
Somebody had to win it, so it might as well be the place that spawned Temple of the Dog.
Viva the NFC West, a NFL division so weak and mediocre — if we were in a holiday hangover mood we’d call it just plain awful – it’s sending a sub-.500 team to next Saturday’s slaughterhouse. The Seattle Seahawks, by virtue of a 16-6 win over the St. Louis Rams here Sunday night, will play host to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card, and really, isn’t that pretty much the exact scenario Pete Carroll had in mind when he brought his coaching talents to the Pacific Northwest?
Sure, Carroll didn’t predict it happening quite like this, but the first-year Seattle coach is hardly bothered his 7-9 team is the first with a losing record to make the playoffs in the modern era. He began the season on such a high, firing up the fan base with a 4-2 start, but then came the maddening free-fall, the Seahawks losing seven of nine games, blowouts everywhere. A recent poll had more Seattle fans hoping the Seahawks would lose their final game so the team would get a higher draft pick, rather than beating the Rams and prolonging the inevitable face slap.
Embarrassing, slipping so ignobly into the playoffs? Tell that to the New York Giants, who’d love to be this embarrassed. Or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who wouldn’t mind such a slip.
Seahawks 16, Rams 6: Quick Hits | Recap | Box Score
Carroll, Seahawks Won’t Apologize for Record
“We didn’t get here the way we all dreamed of getting here, but we got here,” Carroll said. “We really came together on this night and played really good ball. A complete win for us and I’m really fired up about that.”
Now Carroll gets a cozy reunion with Reggie Bush, just one of the spicy sidebars to a postseason game few expected. Some other twists to ponder: Will Charlie Whitehurst, so inspiring and mistake-free in just his second NFL start, get the call at quarterback against the Saints, or will Carroll go with old-reliable Matt Hasselbeck, whose injuries should be mostly healed? Can the Seattle defense do to Drew Brees what it did to St. Louis rookie quarterback Sam Bradford? Were those pod people posing as Seahawks rushers? Is it possible for Qwest Field to get any louder, or should fans just assume hearing loss is part of the pain?
“I’m so proud of him. This was a big deal, big stage for him,” Carroll said of Whitehurst, while dodging the question of which QB gets the next, most important start. “So proud of Matt for trying to get back tonight. It was great we didn’t have to play him. Charlie had his chance, stepped up and did it.”
An NFL Shout-out; Drew Brees Named Sportsman of the Year
Drew Brees is the 2010 Sportsman of the Year, the annual honor given by “Sports Illustrated” to the “athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement.”
Brees is the 57th recipient of the award and will be honored at a ceremony Tuesday.
The Saints, of course, beat the Colts in the Super Bowl for the first NFL championship in the team’s history, less than five years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast region and forced the Saints to play an entire season away from the Superdome.
Brees was the primary catalyst in the team’s turnaround, recovering from a bad shoulder injury when he joined the listless Saints in 2006. Since then, he’s been one of the league’s best quarterbacks. He’s been a charitable force in the region, as well.
“I had a chance to see it with my own eyes when I came in on my visit to New Orleans in March of 2006, six months post-Katrina, and you sit there and look around and say, ‘I had no idea it was this bad,’” Brees said in response to the honor. “You feel a sense of responsibility and a sense that this is a calling. This is an opportunity that most people don’t get in a lifetime, and yet it’s staring me in the face right now. I have this opportunity.”
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Cracking Down on NCAA Violations, Reggie Bush May be Stripped of the Heisman
Reggie Bush, whose NCAA violations while a running back at the University of Southern California were at the root of heavy sanctions against his alma mater, will reportedly have his Heisman Trophy stripped by month’s end.
The Heisman Trophy Trust is close to concluding its investigation that has led to the same conclusions as the inquiry by the NCAA, Yahoo! Sports reported on Monday. Bush, now a running back for the New Orleans Saints, would be the first player stripped of college football’s most prestigious trophy in the 75-year history of the award.
Bush met with Heisman officials last month in a New York law office, according to Yahoo! Sports. Instead of passing the trophy along to the 2005 runner-up Vince Young, the former University of Texas quarterback who now plays for the Tennessee Titans, the Heisman Trust will likely leave that season vacant, according to the website. Read More >>
Nailing Down the Top NFL Quarterback
Within the top quarterback food chain who is the best Tom Brady, Payton Manning or Drew Brees in the NFL? Payton Manning is up there but he lost his offensive coordinator and Marvin Harrison so what does that look like? But even within the top three quarterbacks of opinion, should Tony Romo Really be counted out?
Some say Tom Brady, hands down because he comes back to a team that has better weapons the Brees or Manning and he came close to he will come close to his record breaking numbers of two seasons ago. Do we worry about his injuries?
Drew Brees still reached at least 4,400 yards for the third consecutive year. If Manning is a lock for 4,000 yards and 30 TDs, what should we expect from Brady? Fans say Brady should throw 4,800 yards and 50 TDs so the debate goes on.
Others say watch Joey Galloway and Brees will throw more yards. Interesting year for the quarterbacks on the field. Let the instant debate roll!
NFLPA request to delay player supspension denied
A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the NFL Players Association to put the suspensions of five players on hold while the case over use of a banned substance is being appealed. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sent some issues surrounding the suspensions of Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams back to the state courts.
Peter Ginsberg, attorney for both Vikings, said Friday’s ruling would not affect them because they have a stay on their suspensions from a state court. “I don’t think it effects our clients at all,” he said. They will be back in front of a state judge next week.
Three New Orleans Saints players tested positive for a banned diuretic last year and given four-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s anti-doping policy.
Judge Magnuson said the NFL’s policy is clear: Players are responsible for what they put in their bodies, and inadvertently ingesting a banned substance is not an excuse.
NFL blackout rules
Fans don’t need NFL blackout to love the game of football but in this economy ticket sales are down that’s why I think the NFL needs to revise the blackout rules for a year.
Show some sport and goodwill, do the fans a favor and make the games available to the dad who was laid off and can’t afford his tickets so he can enjoy the games with his 9 year old son and fan at home.
Maybe lower the number of tickets that need to be sold each week, or something along those lines. The blackout rules don’t apply to luxury seating — which is a good thing because those are even tougher to sell in a tough economy — but it could be revised down to a different percentage of the general seating.
Has Greg Alello, the league’s senior vice president of public relations, been giving any thought to changes in the blackout rules? He stated: “There is no consideration being given to it. The policy is important in supporting the ability of the clubs to see tickets and keeping our games attractive as television programming with large crowds so we can keep all our games on free TV.” Aiello pointed out that teams are focusing on new strategies to sell tickets, and that three-fourths of the league’s teams did not raise prices.
2009: Opportunities for the New Orleans Saints
While the New Orleans Saints as a team didn’t do a whole lot in 2008, QB Drew Brees advanced to a position of being one of the elite passers in the league. Brees put up amazing numbers in 2008, shattering NFL records including becoming the second QB in history to pass 5,000 passing yards in a single. In many fantasy circles, Brees is regarded as a top QB pick over even the likes of Tom Brady. While the Saints didn’t have a whole lot of draft picks in 2009, their offseason moves have solidified the team even more. While the pass attack of the Saints was near unstoppable in 2008, the running game could still use some work. Reggie Bush is a veteran back that could lead the team to Super Bowl caliber success in 2009, but most agree he needs a partner to share the downs. Enter Edgerrin James, released from the Cardinals, James is now a free agent, and if the Saints signed James, paired with Bush the two would be a fearsome RB tandem that could rip through even the most season defenders.
With the Saints addressing their needs at defense, if James were signed in 2009 it would make the Saints offense almost unstoppable. Saints jerseys are sure to be waving in the stands as Brees, Bush, and perhaps James push the Saints towards the playoffs and to a possible Super Bowl appearance in 2009.
Saints Sweeten Their Own Deal
The Saints are set to remain in New Orleans Louisiana through 2025 with the conclusion of a long-term agreement to play in a newly renovated stadium.
State surplus money would contribute an total of around $85 million in renovations to the Saints Superdome but is still contingent upon legislature approval.
“It’s a 15-year agreement with a five-year option,” Saints senior vice president and chief financial officer Dennis Lauscha including “widening plaza level concourses, adding concession stands, reconfiguring lower bowl seating to add 3,100 seats, and adding 300-level luxury boxes, a new retail store, a club lounge and upgraded restaurants.”
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