I don’t even understand how this keeps happening. To be honest, I thought the Saints were going to be 4-4 and praying for the day Drew Brees would return. Fortunately, that was a feverish nightmare by yours truly as the New Orleans Saints have gone 5-0 under Teddy Bridgewater to move to 6-1 on the year and hold on to first place the NFC South.
To put it another way: No Drew Brees, no Alvin Kamara, no Jared Cook, no Tre’Quan Smith, no Trey Hendrickson — no problem. This win streak is getting insane, y’all. Steady Teddy Bridgewater once again put in another performance that wasn’t flashy but was deadly in its efficiency in the Saints 36-25 victory of the Chicago Bears. The vaunted Monsters of the Midway defense would have no answer for Bridgewater as he sliced them up for 281 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was a slow burn sort of offense as the Bears looked like they were ready to put up a fight but after the offense starting rolling in the second half it was over.
It wasn’t just the Steady Teddy show however as the defense put up another stellar outing and Latavius Murray delivered a breakout performance. Without Kamara in the backfield the running game was a more traditional type of attack as Murray chewed up the bulk of his 119 yards rushing between the tackles. More than a few fans have grumbled about the loss of Mark Ingram but not this Sunday. Murray ran with a mission and that mission was accomplished.
On the flip side of the pigskin, the Saints defense dominated the Bears offense led by their quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Cam Jordan’s two sacks led a defense on a day where Trubisky could not find many open receivers until garbage time in the fourth quarter. The Saints defense extended their streak to not letting running backs rush for 100 yards to 33 games. Hell, in this game, they didn’t let a running back eclipse 12 yards.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, the rookie defensive back, was seemingly everywhere, recording seven tackles and two passes defensed. He had a chance for his first interception but dropped one in the end zone, the only blemish on a sterling individual performance. His emergence could not have been better timed on a day that saw cornerbacks Eli Apple and Patrick Robinson both leave with injuries.
When does this team lose? It’s getting harder to predict. They’ll obviously be favored at the Superdome versus the Arizona Cardinals, who are riding a three game winning streak and against the awful Atlanta Falcons after the bye week.
It looks like Steady Teddy will lead the Saints versus the Cardinals and then the league will see the comeback of Drew Brees and all the mania that ensues. Hopefully the return of Brees will cure this team of its injury bug because, at this point, that looks to be the only thing that can stop this club.
Around the State
Joe Burrow, the quarterback at LSU, is now in the driver’s seat for the Heisman Trophy. Yes, a quarterback at LSU could win the Heisman Trophy. What once was a myth could become reality as Burrow has led the Tigers to a 7-0 mark by way of a ferocious passing attack. The Tigers latest victims were the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who could not amount much of a fight after the first quarter in 36-7 loss.
Burrow now has a gaudy 2,484 yards passing to go along with 29 touchdowns against only three interceptions. This offense looks unstoppable but this team will eventually need its defense (I think but, hey, maybe not).
LSU (7-0) will be at the center of the football world the next two weeks as the host the #11 Auburn Tigers this weekend and then travel to Tuscaloosa for the latest installment of the Most Important Game of the Season against the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide. Buckle up, folks.
One team that is need of a reboot is the Tulane Green Wave (5-2) after the Greenies travelled to Memphis and got their hat handed to them in a 47-17 stomping. It was an ugly performance that saw the Wave’s top two running backs (Darius Bradwell, Corey Dauphine) missing in action and quarterback Justin McMillan, in a commendable performance, couldn’t keep up with the Tigers.
So, the dreams of seeing the name Tulane Green Wave in the Top 25 will have to wait for another day as this performance shows that they still have a ways to go before getting into that rare air. They’re close though. The Wave will look to get back on track this week against the Navy Midshipmen in Annapolis.
Beer Pairing: Urban South Brewery’s “Paradise Park”
Playlist Recommendation: Curtis Mayfield – “Diamond In The Back”
Around the Way
Saturday was a rough one for the Nicholls State Colonels (4-3) as well after getting blanked 17-0 by Sam Houston State. It was a day to forget as the offense could not get anything going as the team did not live up to its top 10 ranking. They’re still in the running for the Southland conference title but are on the outside looking in as Sam Houston officially takes over the poll position.
