Big Daddy’s affinity for the Windy City waned after watching wintry conditions benefit the Bears to end the Saints’ season for a third straight year. This week Saints Beat covers the Vince Marinello murder trial, measures Saints fan enthusiasm at the Kingpin bar on Thursday night, recaps the Chicago game, grills Sean Payton for his ineffective short yardage play-calling, and releases his World Famous Pregame Information.
Longtime degenerate gambler Vince Marinello spent his life at the Fair Grounds Race Course betting on hopeless glue factory entries. Here’s what transpired in Lafayette Saturday morning: Vince placed another losing bet when he listened to his defense team in taking the witness stand. The flawed, low-budget, court-appointed strategy backfired and the jury only needed 90 minutes to unanimously convict the local icon. What a shame. The Fair Grounds will never the be same without Vince strolling up to the window wagering on worthless pigs wearing his Sansabelt™ double-polyester slacks, gold chains, Classic Ice Blue Aqua Velva, and the unmistakable hair pieces.
Urgency filled the air as die-hard Saints fans packed the Kingpin preparing for Thursday’s exciting grid iron battle. Crazed Saints fans crammed into the Kingpin’s friendly confines creating the Crescent City’s best venue for road games. Big plays produced deafening roars rivaling Section 645 outbursts. What an awesome experience. If you’re tired of your lame-ass watering hole, you have one more chance to feel the vibe. This Sunday, come on down to the Kingpin to see the Saints last road contest. Hope to see you there.
Recapping the Chicago game, Danieal Manning exposed the Saints’ short-week emotional hangover returning the opening kickoff all the way; the Bears led 7-0 after one. Glenn Pakulak’s excellent punt pinned Chicago on their own one yard line. Kyle Orton fumbled exchange set up Drew Brees’ 2-yard pass to Pierre Thomas knotting the game at 7. Aided by a 39-yard pass interference call, Chicago took a 14-7 advantage. The Bears built 21-7 halftime lead on Kyle Orton’s 6-yard TD run. Pierre Thomas’ 42-yard run closed the gap to 21-14 heading to the fourth. Garrett Hartley contributed a 3-pointer, making it 21-17 Bears with 9:07 remaining. Scott Fujita picked off Orton and Brees hit Marques Colston as the Saints went ahead 24-21 at the 3:05 mark. Chicago drove the ball 60 yards and Robbie Gould’s 28-yarder spelled overtime. Chicago won the overtime coin toss, another pass interference call allowed the Bears to win 27-24.
Thursday night’s game was more of the same from Sean Payton. The Coach Payton era has been marred by an inadequate pass rush, insufficient secondary play and too many injuries which consistently hamper team success. Injuries made soft spots worse, forcing the defense into vanilla packages, stopping any chances of blitzes to bolster the overpaid pass rush. However, Payton’s s**tty play-calling looms larger in the Saints’ demise than the defense. Failures to covert short yardage plays in the Washington, Denver, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, and Chicago games cost us a playoff run. Instead of winning those games, Coach Payton’s hard-headed devotion to his pass-happy finesse team philosophy gave Saints fans excruciating losses. Since Coach Payton refuses to make adjustments, Big Daddy challenges General Manager Mickey Loomis to step up. Hey Mickey, I know you remember the fun you had playing shuffleboard at the Kingpin, but playtime is over. The burden of change falls directly on your shoulders. Now get down to business and effect necessary moves so we don’t have a repeat performance in 2009.
Check out Big Daddy’s special mid-week blog before Sunday’s Detroit game. The intriguing bonus post features a story on Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, questions the impartiality in NFL scheduling, examines ridiculous corporate sponsorships, requests a league investigation into arbitrary spotting of the football, and releases his World Famous Pregame Information. Retrieving trivia facts surrounding the Saints requires one easy step, just go to: www.NOSaintsHistory.com and find your answers.
