Ole Glory
10-19-2009, 08:28 AM
New Orleans Saints overwhelm New York Giants 48-27 to improve to 5-0
By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune
October 19, 2009, 12:24AM
The New Orleans Saints will hop on a plane to Miami on Saturday for a regular-season date with the Dolphins.
Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees congratulates receiver Marques Colston after they connected on a third-quarter touchdown pass Sunday against the New York Giants at the Superdome. The way they're playing, they might be headed back to South Beach in February for Super Bowl XLIV.
The Saints gave their most impressive performance of the season Sunday -- quite possibly one of the best in franchise history -- as they overwhelmed the previously unbeaten New York Giants 48-27 at the Superdome.
"Our ability to remain focused coming off the bye week, playing one of the best teams in the NFC, and to win the way that we did, that says a lot about the guys that we have, the coaching staff that we have and our mentality, " said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who revived his MVP campaign with a vintage performance -- 23-of-30 for 369 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
He spread the love around, though, on a day when the defense and running game also stood toe to toe with the big, bad Giants (5-1) and knocked them out.
"What can I say? Everybody showed up, " said Brees as New Orleans moved to 5-0. "The fans were awesome. The defense played great. Our offense, we did what we had to do -- and it ended up being a big victory."
Seven players scored touchdowns for the Saints, something that has been accomplished 10 times by any NFL team since the 1970 merger. And they won the turnover battle 2-0, making it a forgettable homecoming game for Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
As exuberant as the Saints were in the postgame locker room, though, they were careful not to overplay the significance of any win in mid-October.
Complete game coverage
Jeff Duncan: Can anybody catch up to these guys?
Peter Finney: Saints are picture perfect
John DeShazier: Shockey vindicated
Offense too much for even best in NFL
Defense continues to change games
Colston, Moore come up big
Grading the Saints
Recapping the game
Scoring summary
Photo gallery
Fullback Heath Evans said he believes in the idea of "statement games" -- just not this early in the season.
"We haven't accomplished any of our goals yet, " said Evans, who pointed out that the Saints haven't even played their first NFC South opponent, and winning the division is the first item on their list.
"This week, we'll talk about the win, and there will be more talked about it, but in about four or five weeks, it will just be a win, " Saints Coach Sean Payton said.
Linebacker Jonathan Vilma said that attitude is evidence of how much faith the Saints have had in themselves even before this latest command performance.
"The confidence was always there, " Vilma said. "And you notice, or if you didn't you should notice, we don't get too excited about the wins. We're happy about it, then we come back to work on Wednesday."
No one exemplifies that attitude more than Brees, who was furious on the sideline after he threw an incomplete pass on third-and-2 early in the third quarter -- even though the Saints were leading 34-17, and it was their first punt of the game.
Right tackle Jon Stinchcomb laughed about how upset Brees was later in the game after he completed a 34-yard pass to Robert Meachem that wound up at the 2-yard line instead of the end zone.
"I said, 'Drew, we're at the 1.' But he was upset about some route or something, " Stinchcomb said. "And that's just the type of guy he is. He's always working to be the best that he can, and it's not about his glory but to make sure this team is in the best situation he can put us in."
As usual, Brees put his team in a great situation during the opening drive, marching the Saints 70 yards on 15 plays before tailback Mike Bell leaped over the pile for a 2-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1.
The Saints have scored points on their opening drive in every game this season, and they've never trailed.
"As I recall on that first drive, we converted a couple critical third downs to keep the drive going, then ended up going for it on fourth down to get the touchdown, " Brees said. "So that was a huge statement early on against the No. 1-ranked defense in the league, to say, 'obviously, it's going to be a long day.' "
The momentum never turned. The Saints scored touchdowns on their first four possessions -- including a 1-yard pass to Jeremy Shockey, a 36-yard pass to Meachem and a 12-yard pass to Lance Moore -- to take a 27-10 lead.
They marched to the 1-foot line on their fifth possession before tailback Pierre Thomas was stuffed on another fourth-and-1.
But the defense responded by giving them the ball back, when safety Roman Harper sacked Manning and forced a fumble, which was recovered by linebacker Scott Shanle.
The Saints followed up with a 7-yard touchdown run by Reggie Bush to give them a 34-17 lead at halftime -- one point shy of the franchise record for points scored in the first half.
"Obviously, we could not stop them, " New York Coach Tom Coughlin said. "We could not get them out."
Brees completed 15 consecutive passes in the first half -- a franchise record in a game. He gave much of the credit to the offensive line, which did an outstanding job against the Giants' fearsome defensive front.
New Orleans receiver Marques Colston was equally spectacular, catching all eight passes thrown his way for 166 yards and a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Moore caught six passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Shockey caught four passes for 37 yards and a score against his former team.
Thomas wasn't one of the seven players who scored, but he led the Saints with 72 rushing yards on 15 carries.
Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneThe New Orleans Saints defense made it a forgettable homecoming game for New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. Safety Darren Sharper didn't score, either. But he came close when he returned another interception for a touchdown in the second quarter, only to have it called back when Vilma was penalized for roughing the passer with a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Saints cornerback Jabari Greer did reel in an interception in the third quarter, setting up another touchdown.
"It's not the way I imagined it, " said Manning, who completed 14 of 31 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his first game at the Superdome. "We had a lot of opportunities for big plays that we did not hit, and their offense seemed to hit all of the big plays. I don't know if that was the difference in the game or not, but we have to find a way to hit the big plays the next time."
The Saints' secondary stepped up, time and time again, as Manning tried to throw deep. New Orleans also held tough against New York's power rushing attack, holding the Giants to 84 yards on 19 carries.
Brees said the offense and defense have been feeding off each other this season. He said late in the fourth quarter against New York, after he had already called it a day, he and Sharper were on the sideline talking about how much the offense and defense have helped each other, dating to their heated battles in summer minicamps and training camp.
"And we continue to have those periods in practice where we're competing against each other. And it's no joke, " said Brees, who said he believes Sunday's balanced performance will help the Saints shed that "finesse label" they've been stuck with for the last few years.
"This definitely was a game that you can say will open up some eyes for people that questioned how good the Saints are, " Sharper said. "It is a big statement for us. You can enjoy it and bask in it a little bit, beating a team that's 5-0, that was the No. 1 seed in the NFC last year and the Super Bowl champions two years ago. So it lets you know you were good, but we knew we were good. But you've just got to keep playing.
"It was a measuring stick, but the next one will be, too. That's how it goes in the NFL."
Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.
By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune
October 19, 2009, 12:24AM
The New Orleans Saints will hop on a plane to Miami on Saturday for a regular-season date with the Dolphins.
Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees congratulates receiver Marques Colston after they connected on a third-quarter touchdown pass Sunday against the New York Giants at the Superdome. The way they're playing, they might be headed back to South Beach in February for Super Bowl XLIV.
The Saints gave their most impressive performance of the season Sunday -- quite possibly one of the best in franchise history -- as they overwhelmed the previously unbeaten New York Giants 48-27 at the Superdome.
"Our ability to remain focused coming off the bye week, playing one of the best teams in the NFC, and to win the way that we did, that says a lot about the guys that we have, the coaching staff that we have and our mentality, " said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who revived his MVP campaign with a vintage performance -- 23-of-30 for 369 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
He spread the love around, though, on a day when the defense and running game also stood toe to toe with the big, bad Giants (5-1) and knocked them out.
"What can I say? Everybody showed up, " said Brees as New Orleans moved to 5-0. "The fans were awesome. The defense played great. Our offense, we did what we had to do -- and it ended up being a big victory."
Seven players scored touchdowns for the Saints, something that has been accomplished 10 times by any NFL team since the 1970 merger. And they won the turnover battle 2-0, making it a forgettable homecoming game for Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
As exuberant as the Saints were in the postgame locker room, though, they were careful not to overplay the significance of any win in mid-October.
Complete game coverage
Jeff Duncan: Can anybody catch up to these guys?
Peter Finney: Saints are picture perfect
John DeShazier: Shockey vindicated
Offense too much for even best in NFL
Defense continues to change games
Colston, Moore come up big
Grading the Saints
Recapping the game
Scoring summary
Photo gallery
Fullback Heath Evans said he believes in the idea of "statement games" -- just not this early in the season.
"We haven't accomplished any of our goals yet, " said Evans, who pointed out that the Saints haven't even played their first NFC South opponent, and winning the division is the first item on their list.
"This week, we'll talk about the win, and there will be more talked about it, but in about four or five weeks, it will just be a win, " Saints Coach Sean Payton said.
Linebacker Jonathan Vilma said that attitude is evidence of how much faith the Saints have had in themselves even before this latest command performance.
"The confidence was always there, " Vilma said. "And you notice, or if you didn't you should notice, we don't get too excited about the wins. We're happy about it, then we come back to work on Wednesday."
No one exemplifies that attitude more than Brees, who was furious on the sideline after he threw an incomplete pass on third-and-2 early in the third quarter -- even though the Saints were leading 34-17, and it was their first punt of the game.
Right tackle Jon Stinchcomb laughed about how upset Brees was later in the game after he completed a 34-yard pass to Robert Meachem that wound up at the 2-yard line instead of the end zone.
"I said, 'Drew, we're at the 1.' But he was upset about some route or something, " Stinchcomb said. "And that's just the type of guy he is. He's always working to be the best that he can, and it's not about his glory but to make sure this team is in the best situation he can put us in."
As usual, Brees put his team in a great situation during the opening drive, marching the Saints 70 yards on 15 plays before tailback Mike Bell leaped over the pile for a 2-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1.
The Saints have scored points on their opening drive in every game this season, and they've never trailed.
"As I recall on that first drive, we converted a couple critical third downs to keep the drive going, then ended up going for it on fourth down to get the touchdown, " Brees said. "So that was a huge statement early on against the No. 1-ranked defense in the league, to say, 'obviously, it's going to be a long day.' "
The momentum never turned. The Saints scored touchdowns on their first four possessions -- including a 1-yard pass to Jeremy Shockey, a 36-yard pass to Meachem and a 12-yard pass to Lance Moore -- to take a 27-10 lead.
They marched to the 1-foot line on their fifth possession before tailback Pierre Thomas was stuffed on another fourth-and-1.
But the defense responded by giving them the ball back, when safety Roman Harper sacked Manning and forced a fumble, which was recovered by linebacker Scott Shanle.
The Saints followed up with a 7-yard touchdown run by Reggie Bush to give them a 34-17 lead at halftime -- one point shy of the franchise record for points scored in the first half.
"Obviously, we could not stop them, " New York Coach Tom Coughlin said. "We could not get them out."
Brees completed 15 consecutive passes in the first half -- a franchise record in a game. He gave much of the credit to the offensive line, which did an outstanding job against the Giants' fearsome defensive front.
New Orleans receiver Marques Colston was equally spectacular, catching all eight passes thrown his way for 166 yards and a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Moore caught six passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Shockey caught four passes for 37 yards and a score against his former team.
Thomas wasn't one of the seven players who scored, but he led the Saints with 72 rushing yards on 15 carries.
Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneThe New Orleans Saints defense made it a forgettable homecoming game for New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. Safety Darren Sharper didn't score, either. But he came close when he returned another interception for a touchdown in the second quarter, only to have it called back when Vilma was penalized for roughing the passer with a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Saints cornerback Jabari Greer did reel in an interception in the third quarter, setting up another touchdown.
"It's not the way I imagined it, " said Manning, who completed 14 of 31 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his first game at the Superdome. "We had a lot of opportunities for big plays that we did not hit, and their offense seemed to hit all of the big plays. I don't know if that was the difference in the game or not, but we have to find a way to hit the big plays the next time."
The Saints' secondary stepped up, time and time again, as Manning tried to throw deep. New Orleans also held tough against New York's power rushing attack, holding the Giants to 84 yards on 19 carries.
Brees said the offense and defense have been feeding off each other this season. He said late in the fourth quarter against New York, after he had already called it a day, he and Sharper were on the sideline talking about how much the offense and defense have helped each other, dating to their heated battles in summer minicamps and training camp.
"And we continue to have those periods in practice where we're competing against each other. And it's no joke, " said Brees, who said he believes Sunday's balanced performance will help the Saints shed that "finesse label" they've been stuck with for the last few years.
"This definitely was a game that you can say will open up some eyes for people that questioned how good the Saints are, " Sharper said. "It is a big statement for us. You can enjoy it and bask in it a little bit, beating a team that's 5-0, that was the No. 1 seed in the NFC last year and the Super Bowl champions two years ago. So it lets you know you were good, but we knew we were good. But you've just got to keep playing.
"It was a measuring stick, but the next one will be, too. That's how it goes in the NFL."
Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.