FAILED TO MEET LOW EXPECTATIONS
I did not expect my beloved Saints to look crisp. I did not expect the Saints to blow the Redskins out of the Superdome. However, I did not expect the Saints to lose.
The Redskins have been one of the least successful and most dysfunctional NFL teams in recent years. The game was played in the Superdome, where the Saints did not lose a single game last season. They started a rookie quarterback, Robert Griffin, III, whom I expected to play well “for a rookie”. There isn’t a Hall of Fame quarterback who would throw Griffin’s performance back (19/26, 320 yds. 2 TD, 0 INT, 139.9 rtg.), reach back into the grab bag of QB stat lines, and hope for better.
THE GOOD
Saints: In spite of mistake after mistake after mistake on defense, an invisible and abandoned running attack, and the most inaccurate passing performance of Drew Brees’ career that I can recall, the Saints still had a longshot chance to tie the score on the final play of the game. When everything went wrong, this team was still in the game. That is talent. It is not reflected on the stat sheet. It means this team can look forward to brighter outcomes.
Redskins: Forget “the good”, Robert Griffin, III was unbelievable. I compared Griffin to Cam Newton in our QB evaluation piece back in late July. In some manners, Griffin’s performance was better than Newton’s rookie debut record shattering performance last year, including the fact that his team won on the road.
 |
| Robert Griffin: "Uh oh! You got me. PSYCHE!" 1 |
Saints: The defense did not look ready to play an NFL game. There were some mitigating factors. The Saints were pained by several preseason injuries on defense plus the loss of their defensive leader, Jonathan Vilma. In addition, they are in a new system under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnulo which, by all accounts, is more complicated than the scheme of former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. However, there is no excuse for the ineptitude, particularly on third down, shown by the defense yesterday.
Redskins: The Redskins’ “bad” is, by-and-large, the opposite of the Saints’ “good”. The Redskins racked up 40 points, faced an opposing quarterback with a stat line that Tim Tebow may have looked down upon, and still could have lost. Granted, when Drew Brees has a bad game, his team is still never dead as long as Brees has a pulse. The Skins will not face a QB of his caliber in most weeks. Still, when your opponent is down, you go for the jugular; you don’t wait to be saved by the bell (or the final gun).
 |
| Jimmy Graham still got to say, "YOU GOT DUNKED ON," to Redskins defenders. 3 |
Saints: Drew Brees…. There is a TON of fault to go around and, actually, Brees is quite low on the list of people to blame. However, Brees is the $40 million man in 2012 because under the Saints’ difficult circumstances, the team has all eyes on Brees to lead.
In all fairness, Brees failure was in execution, not leadership. The Saints had a chance to win a game that 28 of the other 31 teams would have had no chance to win down 16 points in the 4th quarter. But completing 46% of his passes is unacceptable under any circumstances. That cannot happen again any time soon. I doubt it will.
Redskins: Absolutely nothing. Head coach Mike Shanahan’s game plan was beautiful. Robert Griffin, III had a debut that was beautiful. The Redskins coverage schemes were beautiful. Redskins Fan saw nothing ugly about their team yesterday. Congratulations.
 |
| This picture says a thousand words. 2 |
Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!
To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.
The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.
1) Image from http://cnn.sportsillustrated.com
