Tag: saints

Revisiting the Minneapolis Miracle

It’s been about 5 days now since what may go down as the best NFL playoff finish ever. The Minnesota Vikings, led by long-time backup Case Keenum, were able to shock the Saints after a back-and-forth 2 minutes which both teams kicked go-ahead FGs. If that wasn’t enough to believe, take a look at the win probability chart:

And well the rest is history…

Even Case Keenum can’t believe what Case Keenum did. I wanted to let this sit for awhile to not give it the early reaction of being the best finish ever. Obviously the Music City Miracle was the first thing to come to mind.  It’s still an early reaction but this is a no-brainer for me. This is the best finish ever. How could you not like this — unless you’re a Saints fan of course.

Odin.Thor. Keenum. All Vikings legends.

The tackle attempt by Marcus Williams was of course an awful approach but he’s 20 years old and made a key interception in the game — the kid will bounce back. This season has been a great storyline for the Vikings and Case Keenum, who may not even be on the team next year with Bridgewater & Bradford both coming back. The Vikings of course are not able to ride homefield advantage all the way to the Super Bowl as the Eagles won their game.

 

PS — Reaction videos will never get old

The New Orleans’ Newspaper Was Ruthless Today

The Saints took care of business yesterday scraping out a 31-26 victory over the Carolina Panthers. The headline today?

Ruthless. Jerry Richardson was putting the team up for sale, which actually became official after the game — per Adam Schefter.

Love the banter from New Orleans here. The Panthers were very close to pulling off the upset but ultimately failed short with Cam Newton getting sacked on 4th down. The Saints move onto the next round and the 2017 Panthers season ends with 6 lossses — half of those to the Saints. That’s gotta hurt, especially watching the Saints celebrate like they won the damn Super Bowl after.

Saints – Panthers III Preview

The last matchup of the weekend brings us perhaps the most exciting. The showdown between the two NFC South powerhouses reaches a trilogy in the 2017-18 season. The Saints look to defend their home turf in a third matchup against Carolina. New Orleans beat down the Panthers in Carolina 34-13 and then a 31-21 victory at home. The Saints are looking to beat them for the third time, which is no easy task.

The QB matchup features both past MVPs that are complete game-changers. Drew Brees has had a down-season for his standards but still can easily take over the game. Cam Newton however has the ability to burst out for a 40 yard run at any time. I actually like Cam to be the difference here but Brees is definitely more talented and cerebral. Advantage: Tie

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Jonathan Stewart continues to be one of the least appreciated RBs in the NFL but the combo of Ingram and Kamara easily win here. Both have had an outstanding season and over 1,000 all-purpose yards. Advantage: Saints

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The weapon advantage has to go to the Saints. The Panthers have bounced back fine without Kelvin Benjamin but Michael Thomas is easily the best weapon on the field. Greg Olsen’s return has revitalized the Panthers’ offense a bit but not enough. Advantage: Saints

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The Saints defense have been the surprise of the season and ultimately have been the reason that they played so well this season. Marshon Lattimore is the defensive rookie of the year and nobody wants to throw his way. Advantage: Saints

This is a tough one because I really think the Saints will struggle to beat the Panthers three times in a row. The Saints are a much better team overall though and unless Cam Newton has a monster game, I think they finish off the season sweep.

Saints 27  Panthers 20

Mark Ingram & Alvin Kamara are first RB Pro-Bowl Duo in 42 years

You have to go all the way back to the St. Louis Cardinals duo of Jim Otis and Terry Metcalf in 1975 to find another RB tandem that made the Pro Bowl together. Now we’re not even going to pretend to know who those guys are since they’re now irrelevant but I’m a little surprised the tandem of DeAngelo Williams & Jonathan Stewart never made it. Nonetheless, this is a huge accomplishment to a backfield that most people were ready to give to Adrian Peterson (ha.ha.) when the season started. The Saints obviously started off 0-2 and tons of people were ready to write them off. Nobody had even really heard of Alvin Kamara before the seasons tarted.

With the Saints primed for a divisional championship, you would expect Drew Brees to have the historic numbers he always has had. This season however, he’s kind of taken a backseat to let his backs do the punching for the Saints offense. Both Ingram & Kamara have had stud seasons. Ingram is sporting 1,045 yards and 11 TDs while the front-runner for rookie of the year has done it through the air and ground. Kamara has 652 yds, 7 TDs rushing while recording 684 yds and 5 TDs receiving. Of course, the Pro Bowl is always a consolation prize to a Super Bowl trip so the Saints would love to see these guys not be able to play — but still a huge accomplishment. The only worry for the Saints now is that if Ingram is selected to the first All-Pro team, he has a clause to be released from his contract — which is a great idea to cash in (shoutout whoever his agent is).