OPINION / ANALYSIS
NEW ORLEANS – The day the world changed in New Orleans’ sporting world can now officially be marked as Oct. 25, 2009.
Sure, on Sunday, the Saints made history by improving to 8-0 for the first-time ever with a 30-20 win over Carolina.
That day in Miami, however, trailing 24-3, the Saints fought back. They found a way to win a game they had no reason to win.
Two weeks and another come-from-behind win later, New Orleans didn’t panic when it was in yet another dire situation.
This time, New Orleans trailed Carolina, a team that had won seven consecutive games in Louisiana against the Saints, 17-3.
This time, all the momentum in the Superdome was with the visiting team.
DeAngelo Williams had scampered for a 66-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage. Drew Brees was sacked at the Saints’ 11, fumbling the ball over to Carolina, which scored on another Williams run. Brees was intercepted by Chris Gamble and the Panthers kicked a 32-yard field goal for a 14-point lead.
But the Saints knew. It was only a matter of time. They’d been here before.
“I believe everything happens for a reason,” Brees said. “I believe the more times you’re in situations like that, the many different ways you can respond to win games, that helps you down the road. We’ll be able to draw on these last three victories as we go forward when we encounter different situations that might be similar to something we faced.”
The Saints did respond. Brees recovered to throw for 330 yards and a touchdown. The Saints defense responded by coming through with three fumble recoveries. And the Saints responded with their eighth straight win.
That never-give-up attitude can go back to that steamy afternoon in Miami.
“It proves a point,” Saints running back Mike Bell said. “We have it in our heads that we’ve done it before. We can do it again. I think it was big. That Miami game was a tone setter.”
So when the Saints failed to score touchdowns on three trips inside the red zone in the first half, there was no panic. The halftime speech wasn’t a ‘Win one for the Gipper’ type. Head Coach Sean Payton didn’t slaughter any animals. No one went crazy.
Everything, instead, remained the same.
“It was just calming down and stop killing ourselves,” Saints center Jonathan Goodwin said. “We gave them a short field and gave up a big run on defense in the first half. Take away those two things and it’s a 3-3 game. We just focused on eliminating the mistakes and that we were shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Added Anthony Hargrove, “(We) just made adjustments. Everybody kind of relaxed and calmed down. Get some Gatorade, a banana or orange. Get energized and get ready to play in the second half.”
No lead is safe for an opponent against the Saints.
Yes, everything definitely changed that day in Miami.
