The Cowboys wasted no time in dismissisng the Saints in prime time on Sunday night. Dallas's touchdown drive after the opening kick off set the tone and made clear the Cowboys came to play. The opening drive was almost perfect as the Saints defense continues to be suspect.
The victory by Dallas was so decisive the Saints carried the look of a looser on their faces early into the game. This writer did not see any positive Saint faces, not even in the coaching staff. There was no pep to be detected and the team as a whole played badly. Brees continues to miss his receivers, seems unsure and is playing with less confidence.
Graham and Colston are dropping passes, fumbling and seem to be playing on their laurels. Maybe Graham is sulking because he can not dunk the ball any more and show off. And maybe Colston is thinking about the big increase in pay given to Graham. One thing is for sure, the big four, Payton, Brees, Graham and Colston are not earning their pay.
Only one of the seven sports writers for the Times Picayune picked Dallas to win the game, Terrance Harris. Harris also gave the best comment as to why. The other 6 just used the spread and picked the Saints. Larry Holder and Jeff Duncan are finally admitting they were wrong in their rosy prediction about the Saints season. They were in denial the first 4 games but the Saints 1-3 record and a nudge from "PolitiDose" took the shine off their apple polishing reporting.
The results of Sunday's defeat showed zero progress for the Saints team after four games, that represents 25% of their regular schedule. Listening to the pre game comments by the Saints WWL radio crew reminds me of a bunch of people talking and saying things just to see where it splatters. All hype and cliches with no original thought. Show business has replaced reality and the ability of sports journalists and writers to objectively evaluate the Saints.
The Saints have now lost 7 of their last 11 regular season games including last years play off. They ended last season playing weak instead of strong when it counted the most. And this season's weak start indicates they did not correct the problems that took place during last seasons meltdown. This Saint team has a problem and if it continues, some one will start pointing the finger.
This commentary written by John Lucia
