Nov 24th 2008 3:48PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: SaintsWhen Paulie returns home from a stressful hideaway from nosy police on “The Sopranos”, his subconscious asks the question, “” The Saints are returning home tonight from a stressful and unusually lengthy road trip (including one of the infamous non-home “home games” the league is so fond of handing them), and if they’re not asking themselves that question — will we stand up? — their fans surely are.

When the team left the Superdome for the last time, , they had put the finishing touches on a dominant win over the Raiders to even their record at 3-3. If they could leverage that win into success on the road, they could make a serious run in the NFC.

But a lot can happen in 43 days, and a lot did. The team went 2-2, continuing to be consistently inconsistent, making tonight’s game essentially a must-win for playoff hopes. StarCaps entered the general sporting lexicon. Mike McKenzie and Charles Grant, among others, were put on the IR. They’ve used two kickers and three punters. And Drew Brees threw for 1,258 yards, which is more than Ryan Fizpatrick has thrown all year and not too far behind Kerry Collins’ season total.

Some other things that have happened in the eternity since the Saints last played in the Superdome:Continue Reading