Who would have guessed the day would come when Who Dats would be busy erecting Public Enemy No. 1 posters with a picture of Brett Favre?
Who would have guessed a 40-year-old Mississippi-bred quarterback would be standing between the New Orleans Saints and a trip to Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami?
How could this happen?
Logic suggests Favre should be back home, enjoying life in Kiln, Miss., sipping suds at the Broke Spoke, a biker’s hangout where Favre memorabilia enjoys a place of honor.
Logic tells you a kid who grew up rooting for the Saints at Benny French’s, a onetime restaurant-bar in Henderson Point, riding his tricycle and bumping into pool tables, should be in charge of a Mississippi chapter of Who Dats instead of trying to knock the Saints out of the playoffs.
That point was truly driven home, though, when they watched the way their next opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, dominated the Dallas Cowboys in a 34-3 rout in an NFC divisional playoff game Sunday in Minneapolis.
“We’ll have our work cut out for us, ” said quarterback Drew Brees, who pointed out that the Vikings had probably spent the last month answering many of the same questions about rust and momentum that the Saints were facing after both teams experienced a mini-slump in December. “But obviously they know what it’s like to play at a high level.
“They were doing it all season long, and obviously they’re hitting on all cylinders right now. It’s gonna be a great game.”
New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper never said the actual words, but he made it clear that he wanted a showdown against his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, with the Super Bowl on the line.
Minnesota let Sharper, 33, get away in free agency this year after he spent the last four years with the Vikings. Now he wants to make them pay for it.
“You know who I want, you know who I want,” Sharper said repeatedly on Saturday with a sly grin on his face.
On Sunday morning he expanded slightly on what it would mean for him to face Minnesota
Posted in Saints News | Comments Off on New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper gets his wish — a matchup against his former team, the Minnesota Vikings
The setup: The Cardinals had the ball. It was 2nd-and-6 from their 32-yard line. They trailed 28-14 with 5:58 left in the second quarter.
The situation: After absorbing an early surge from the Saints, the Cardinals offense was heating up, and desperately trying to stay in the game.
The call: Warner’s short pass was intercepted by Saints defensive end Will Smith, who returned the ball 5 yards to the Arizona 27-yard line. On the return, Warner was sent flying on a crushing block from the Saints’ Bobby McCray. Warner suffered a chest injury and was temporarily knocked out of the game.
The impact: The Saints scored a touchdown on the ensuing possession, taking a 35-14 lead. And while Warner returned in the second half, the game was hopelessly out of reach.
The quote: “He hit me pretty good. Had the wind knocked out of me. Have some soreness really all around my ribcage area. X-rays were negative, so nothing was broke. But a lot of soreness there. Hurts when I breathe more than anything.” – Warner
After conserving their energy for the past month, the Saints flipped that switch Saturday and lit up the Superdome with a spectacular display of offense, defense, special teams, emotion and intensity.
They decimated the Arizona Cardinals with a 45-14 rout that validated everything they had accomplished in the first 13 games of this season, the greatest in franchise history.
“So much for being rusty, ” Saints Coach Sean Payton said, practically gloating after his team showed absolutely no ill effects from the three-game losing streak that ended the regular season.
From a fan’s seat, NFL passing plays look pretty simple.
The quarterback gets the ball, he looks for an open receiver, then throws.
No problem.
Of course, if it were that simple, there would be many more “franchise quarterbacks” playing — and playing for a lot less money.
The truth is much more complicated.
Trent Dilfer, a former NFL quarterback who won a Super Bowl ring during his 14-year career and now is an NFL analyst for ESPN, helped explain why playing quarterback in the NFL at an elite level is as much about brain power as arm strength.
The following scenario is an example of the decisions New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees might have to make on just one play in an NFC divisional playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals today at the Superdome.
Hollywood — The Arizona Cardinals had made it a runaway against the Green Bay Packers, so there was plenty of down time for chat on the Fox-lot studio set of “Fox NFL Sunday.”
The Jan. 10 wildcard game would ultimately turn into an overtime corker, so shouted exclamations at the unfolding action would gradually begin to punctuate the low-key jocularity that typically fills the minutes between on-air reports.
The afternoon would conclude with the long-running game running up against the East Coast air time for “The Simpsons” 20th anniversary block the network had been promoting since summer — and with David Hill, chairman of Fox Sports, shouting, “You’re killing me!” at the monitors in the executive control room — but as the one-sided blowout turned to a thriller of an Arizona Cardinals victory, the stars of Fox’s football pre- and post-game studio show had plenty of time to talk to a visiting reporter.
Posted in National News, Saints News | Comments Off on Fox will use its playoff pre-game show to tell America about the unique bond between New Orleans and its Saints
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