Nov 30th 2008 6:04PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: Saints, NFL Coaching
I was talking to FanHouse Head of Zebra Accountability, Matt Snyder, when the Bucs took a 20-10 lead over the Saints with plenty of time left in the third quarter of today’s eventual 23-20 Tampa win. To me the game was, for all intents and purposes, over at that point, though Snyder raised the reasonable, logical point that there was plenty of time for one of the league’s elite offenses to erase a 10-point deficit.
With most teams, a lead like that with so much time left is practically irrelevant. With powerhouses like the Giants, Patriots, or Colts, you could stick them with a 10-point deficit with less than five minutes left and I still wouldn’t close the book on the game. Yet in Sean Payton’s three years, the Saints have displayed an inability to overcome adversity. Today’s game was just the same ole song and dance for Saints fans who have been able to mark wins and losses in ink by halftime.
Say what you will about Aaron Brooks (and I’ve said plenty, most of which is not suitable for this space), but he had 16 fourth-quarter comebacks in his career in New Orleans, including five in 2004. Under the Payton/Drew Brees regime, the Saints are a mind-boggling when trailing after three quarters. Though Brees is greatly responsible for this one particular loss, he’s also orchestrated 12 late-game comebacks in San Diego, so I tend to believe the onus falls on Payton.Continue Reading
