Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Saints’ 14-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night at the Superdome was hardly the most thrilling performance in recent franchise history. But it can certainly be the kind of win that sets a tone for the rest of the season.

Consider the effect that some of these under-the-radar games had on the Saints in recent years:

A “ho-hum” 19-14 victory at Cleveland in the 2006 opener, which gave the rebuilt Saints confidence and eventually allowed them to head into the Superdome with a 2-0 record for that unforgettable Monday night Dome opener against Atlanta.

A disastrous 16-13 loss at home to Carolina in the fourth game of 2007, when the Saints missed countless opportunities, including two missed field-goal attempts by Olindo Mare. That dropped them into a deep 0-4 hole that they ultimately couldn’t dig out of.

Read the rest of the story here.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 11th, 2010 at 4:51 am and is filed under Saints News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.