Saints seize control of NFC South

By Randy  |   Tuesday, November 28, 2006  |  Comments( 5 )

New Orleans Saints
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Drew Brees and Terrance Copper had not yet arrived on this planet the day Steve Bartkowski and the Atlanta Falcons pierced the hearts and playoff hopes of the New Orleans Saints with "Big Ben" - the genesis of the "Hail Mary" - on that fateful afternoon in November 1978.

The Superdome was the scene of the crime.

The "Hail Mary" was dubbed "Big Ben" back in those days - at least by the Atlanta Falcons, that is - and the Saints always seemed to be the victim of the evil play rather than the victimizer over the years.

So, it only seemed fitting that Brees and Copper, with some help from above, connected on a "Hail Mary" Sunday at the Georgia Dome in the Saints' biggest win of the year to date, a 31-13 route of Atlanta. It came on the last play of the first half, a third-and-7, 48-yard touchdown strike that provided the Saints with a 21-6 halftime lead and, for all intents and purposes, broke the spirit of the Falcons. New Orleans won the game "going away," as those cigar chomping old guys are fond of saying at the New Orleans Fairgrounds.

It only took 28 years for the Saints to extract revenge for that agonizing loss in 1978. Sometimes, Cinderella arrives a little late. Better late than never.

In "Deja Vu," a new movie filmed in post-Katrina New Orleans, Denzel Washington climbs into a time machine in order to prevent a terrorist attack in the Big Easy. Too bad Denzel couldn't have traveled back to '78. Unfortunately, the government device allows him to only go back four days in time, not 28 years. That's the government for you.

Anyway, let's "Play it again, Sam," as the line from "Casablanca" goes.

"With this big win, the fans will be dancing on the tables at Pat O'Brien's," former voice of the Saints Wayne Mack exclaimed on that fateful day in '78.

Mack spoke prematurely.

"I should have learned from the Chicago Tribune headline that proclaimed incorrectly, the victory of Tom Dewey over Harry Truman in the presidential election of 1948," Mack would say later.

With only 19 seconds separating the Saints from a 17-13 win, Atlanta quarterback Steve Bartkowski, with three receivers lined up to his right, took the snap at the Falcons' 43-yard line. The Falcon receivers made a mad dash for the Saints' end zone with at least seven New Orleans defenders in pursuit.

Bartkowski rocketed the ball to the Saints' 10 and, then, the world seemed to move in slow motion. Ten bodies collided like inebriated tourists scrambling for beads flung from a French Quarter balcony on Mardi Gras. A split-second later, diminutive Alfred Jenkins emerged from the frenzy and raced into the end zone, giving Atlanta a 20-17 victory.

A Superdome, which was filled to capacity, instantly became quieter than one of those New Orleans cemeteries where they bury the dead above ground. The Saints never recovered. Atlanta went to the playoffs. New Orleans watched the postseason on the tube in front the Christmas tree. A deep gash it was. The wound cut deep. It was a demeaning punch in the gut.

Making sense of suffering? Nah, why bother? It was easier and more satisfying to disdain the Falcons. As a ruse, a local talk show host printed up a batch of "I Hate the Falcons" T-shirts. The batch sold out in two days.

They say time heals all wounds and, perhaps, this is so. However, this wound has been festering for 28 years for any Saints fan 40-plus.

It is seriously doubtful, though, that Brees and Copper know or would even care about that day back in '78. It would in all likelihood be inconsequential to them in the midst of a heated playoff race.

Yet when the duo connected on that "Hail Mary" Sunday, all those memories of that fateful day in '78 came rushing back into the tortured psyches of Saints loyalists. Maybe Dr. Laura, Dr. Phil or Joyce Brothers should have been on call.

As for Michael "I am sick of people trying to tell me how to play my game" Vick, he has to feel like Aretha Franklin these days. All he wants is a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Vick is a $130 million quarterback with dollar-store ability as a passer. He gashed the Saints' defense for 166 yards rushing but those yards seemed to come as a by-product of every other facet of the Falcons' offense breaking down.

Teams welcome him running for 166 yards, especially when the result is a meager 13 points at game's end. Watching Vick attempt to mount a passing attack is like watching Sisyphus push his burden up the hill. Excruciating, in a word.

Inconsistent. Inaccurate. Uncomfortable in his own skin. But, definitely ambidextrous. Vick managed to flip off Falcons fans with two hands at once. Now, that's talent.

By contrast, the unflappable Brees is on pace to finish with the second-best season at quarterback in league history. Brees is a winner. He's won at San Diego and now New Orleans and he will not be intimidated by the pressure-packed road that lies between these Saints and a playoff berth.

The word "cerebral," when applied to a quarterback, implies a lack of athletic skill. Don't be fooled. Privately, Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis will tell you they were concerned this summer about Brees' surgically repaired throwing shoulder. Would he be the same? Now, the Saints' brain trust is convinced all that rehabbing actually improved his arm strength. Brees has more than enough RPM.

Rookie head coach Payton - a Bill Parcells protégé - loves the guy. He spends an hour with him game-planning on Saturday nights before games. Accurate with great pocket presence. Unselfish. An effective risk taker. A take-command leader. Brees has all the intangibles to lead a Saints franchise, infamous for its futility, to an NFC South championship. What person with even a scintilla of sanity would have deemed that a possibility one year ago?

Payton delivered an inspired talk to his young team at halftime Sunday, telling them it was now five-plus seasons and the time had come to take care of business. "Takin' Care of Business" has replaced "No Turnovers" as the new mantra in New Orleans. Maybe it's time to hire Bachman Turner Overdrive to compose a new Saints theme song.

It just may be that Sunday marked a changing of the guard in the NFC South. Who would bet against a QB as hot as Brees and a Parcells protégé head coach in Sean Payton?

Some of those Bourbon Street preachers say patience is the gemcasket of all virtues. It took 28 years to avenge the Falcons' crimes. There is a palpable sense in New Orleans that the Saints would not mind in the least doling out more payback to their hated divisional rival over the next few years.

However, you can never be too sure. As the ancient Greek philosopher Aeschylus once said on his way to purchase a loaf of bread at the corner market, "before the old wound can be healed there is fresh blood flowing."

Saints fans are just hoping the blood is red and black instead of black and gold.

Read more of Randy Savoie's musings on the New Orleans Saints at RealFootball365.com
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