For the Burgundy and Gold it is squarely time to go to the whip for the stretch run. The bye week came late in the season. This is a team that surely could have used a break earlier. But, the upside is that it gave the team a chance to reset just in time for the last four games. Of those four games three appear to be very winnable. It’s nearly impossible to avoid doing math: 2 wins equals 10 for the season; 3 wins equals 11 for the season. Since 1978 only 20 teams have failed to make the playoffs with 10 wins. Only 2 failed to get to the dance with 11 wins. But, first things first: A win gives this team a winning season for the first time since 2016. In August such a thing seemed like a bridge too far.
Meaningful Games
For the past, oh let’s say ten years at least the idea of playing meaningful games in December was a every bit the pipe dream for the Washington fanbase. Yet, here they are. It’s a new experience for some. For others is conjures up the Ghost of Football Seasons Past. This time it’s very fresh and exciting. “New” is the word of the moment. New ownership, new management, new coaching staff, new Quarterback, and a new attitude. It feels like the heady days of a business startup. The beauty of it is that no one in the building knows what to fear. The danger of it is the exact same thing.
“There’s zero chance we’re talking about four weeks down the road,”
Dan Quinn
Coach Quinn is obviously focused on staying in the moment. “We can only win the fight we’re in.” Questions about the “P-word” are shunted to the curb with prejudice. The player focus is on the task at hand. The fanbase suffers none of these constraints. If you haven’t played games with “Who wins what game and what does it mean for playoff odds” you are in a serious minority. There’s just one niggling little detail: The team basically has to win this game in New Orleans.
Changing Narratives
Remember two weeks ago? NFL weeks are like dog-years. It feels like it was fourteen weeks. The narrative coming into that game was that Kliff Kingsbury had shot his bolt. The Offense was not only coming off of the rails it was tumbling down the mountainside. Tennessee was bringing a big boy Defense to town that would cement the destruction. It didn’t go according to Hoyle. Kingsbury opened a can of whoop adze on the Titans. Forty-two points later, and a few left on the board the “Kingsbury Cliff” was relegated to the scrap heap of talking points that aged badly.
Since then a new threat appeared on the horizon; the Rams. An unlikely win over the Bills showed how dynamic a team they can be…on artificial turf and inside of a dome. In the weather, on grass? Not so much. They eked out a win in what should be a strong candidate for “Ugliest Game of the Year” on Thursday. Still, they sit only a half-game behind Washington. This is no time for a stumble.
New Orleans
New Orleans is known as the “Crescent City.” That’s because there was a skinny crescent-shaped piece of dry land in an otherwise sea of marsh near the Mississippi River. Of course the city expanded well beyond the crescent. Using levees and pumps the city claimed land that was below river level. Find a street that goes to the river. At the end is the disconcerting sight of looking up at the waterline markings on passing ships and barges. It’s totally unnatural. Right about then the realization hits that building all of this was probably not the best of ideas.
The humidity is stifling. There is a certain aroma to the place that is not particularly pleasant. And, an early morning walk down Bourbon Street will provide plenty of incentive to avoid that area at night. But, Brother, they have got some amazing food there. Do they ever!
The Saints
Louisiana went football crazy when Paul Dietzel’s Louisiana State University team won the #1 ranking in the Coach’s and AP polls in 1958. There was a strong desire for a professional team in New Orleans. Early in the 1960s there was an attempt to buy the Oakland Raiders of the upstart AFL. It went on the rocks because Lamar Hunt was insistent that the League have two West Coast teams. Dave Dixon was the local activist intent on securing an NFL team. He had an ally in George Halas of the Chicago Bears. There was a major roadblock, however. Louisiana was still practicing “Separate but Equal” facilities based on race. The League would not put a franchise there until passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that ended the practice. That passage opened up the South for the League. They jumped right in. Atlanta was given a franchise in 1965. New Orleans would get theirs the next year.
All of the early discussion about the team name finally settled on “Saints.” Dave Dixon had argued that every time the song, “When the Saints go Marching in” played it would be free advertising. An owner was found in Poppa Mecom, yet another Oil Man buying a football team. Poppa turned operations over to his 28 year-old son John. The younger Mecom started having misgivings about the name fearing it might be construed as sacrilegious. He was telling Dixon about this out at dinner one night. Several tables over Dave spotted Phillip Hannan, the Archbishop of New Orleans Diocese. Dave walked over to the Cleric asking him if he found the name “Saints” to be troublesome. He quickly replied, “No. Besides, I have a premonition that this team is going to need all the help it can get.”
Dixon had ingratiated himself to the new NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. He convinced him to announce the franchise inception on All Saints Day, November 1, 1966.
“No. (the name Saints is not sacrilegious) Besides, I have a premonition that this team is going to need all the help it can get.”
Archbishop Phillip Hannan
Rough Times
Expansion teams always have a bit of a hard start. New Orleans redefined the term. The Archbishop’s premonition was on-point. The team did not have a winning season for 20 years. During that time they went 90-196-5 (.309). Archie Manning’s career was wasted on assemblages of poor talent, coaching, and organizational management. Locals modified the team’s name simply calling them “The Aints.”
This Year’s Saints
After fifteen or so glory years with Drew Brees and/or Sean Payton around the Saints fell into a salary cap nightmare of epic proportions. Brees, and others had so-called “Voidable” years incorporated into their contracts. Basically, these were phantom years where Signing Bonuses were spread over years beyond the player’s availability. Every year the Saints find themselves starting out many multiple millions of dollars over the cap. Their General Manager, Mickey Loomis is a Houdini-type that every year pulls the rabbit out of the hat. But, the accumulative effects are being felt.
The season started in staggering fashion with the team winning the first two games with 91 points scored. Then came seven straight losses. That got the Head Coach fired. He’s been replaced by Special Teams’ Coach Darren Rizi. Special Teams coaches tend to get overlooked by fanbases. Typically they are high-energy to the point where they almost vibrate. Rizi is no exception. He will be animated when the cameras find him. He celebrated a win so hard he injured himself in the process. The team responded by winning three of the first four games with him at the helm. They went into the Rams’ building playing them plenty tough for the only loss in the four games. Last week they won the game, but lost their Quarterback. At the moment it appears the team will start Jake Haener. He has thrown 29 total passes in his career completing less than half of them.
It would be fairly easy to discount this Saints team. Don’t do it. At the end of the day they still get paychecks. Washington’s ambitions are no concern of theirs. Count on a determined effort from them as they rally around their Interim Head Coach.
Washington Commanders at New Orleans Saints: Dec. 15, FOX 1 p.m.
Announcers: Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Megan Olivi*
There are conflicting reports concerning the announcers. Some outlets are reporting the crew as Joe Davis, Greg Olsen, and Pam Oliver.
