Thats right- the Saints were guaranteed a trip to the 2009 Super Bowl today as 3 inches of snow fell on New Orleans. For only the SECOND time since 1989, New Orleans took on snow on a bizzare Thursday, December 11th. Select schools and businesses closed througout a city which is home to NO snowmobiles or drivers who know how to handle snow on the roads. Many joyfully speculated that the occasion was rare enough that the Saints must be on their way to good fortune.
The blissful irony of the day lies in the fact that the Saints, who travel to Chicago today, will be playing in dry weather. Chicago is forecasting cold tempurature and wind chills (perhaps as low as in the 20s) but no snow. This weather will most likely have an effect on the game, and Coach Peyton has most certainly structured the gameplan around this. If winds end up being bad and Drew Brees had trouble getting the ball through the air, we will see a lot of Pierre Thomas in hopes that he is able to continue the success that he experienced last week. I went to the game in Chicago last year (week 17) and the conditions were miserable. Soldier Field is right off of lake Michigan and the winds that come inland can be brutal and they dip way down into the stadium. It would not surprise me to see a run-heavy game for the second week in a row.
Both teams are 7-6 and neither is guaranteed a playoff spot at this point. The Saints "need" the win more, since they are in a tougher division. In fact, the Saints need to win all three remaining games in order to have a shot at a wildcard spot in the playoffs. These last few weeks should provide an interesting couple of games, and I am looking forward to them all. Tonight's game will be a great one and I encourage you all to watch it. The Bears have a very capable offense and our first priority will be to stop rookie RB Matt Forte from Tulane. Seeing how our run defense has been in the last couple of games, that is certainly doable, as long as we play smart defense and Sedrick Ellis plays well.
Now I have to go wipe the SNOW off of my car, but have fun watching the game and go Saints!
Keywords: bears, chicago, new orleans, Saints, snow
