Sean Payton is Close to Being Perfect
December 8, 2009 – 8:45 am by Zach Krantz
So just when you thought an undefeated season is impossible, the Patriots do it in 2007. It will never happen again right? Well now the Saints and Colts are on the verge of getting there and it almost looks like luck is on their side. The Saints on Sunday squeaked by the Redskins in overtime 33-30; they trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter and played more than four quarters without holding a lead. If they were Irish this is where I would put in Luck of the Irish. Leading 30-23, the Redskins marched the ball all the way downfield and set up the field goal that would have put the game out of reach. But Shaun Suisham kicked the ball wide right from 23 yards with 1:52 to play. (Editor’s note: Laces out!) Again, Luck of the Irish. So at that point Drew Brees and the Saints moved the ball downfield and Brees hit Meachem over the middle for a 53-yard touchdown with 1:19 to go, sending the game to overtime. They weren’t losing at that point. How does this team do it? I witnessed the Dolphins manhandle the Saints and take a 21 point lead on them before the Saints woke up and beat them. This team just finds a way. Sean Payton looks like a genius, he has the team rolling and does it look like they are slowing down?
Payton downplayed Reggie Bush’s comments last week when he said the team could go undefeated, but now with four games left it’s getting more realistic. Payton knows it and even said it before the Redskins game, that’s right before the almost loss. But when you “almost” lose games, it doesn’t matter. I mean I almost won the lottery last weekend, but I didn’t. Can Payton keep his team going and make it to 16-0 or will there be a letdown game somewhere in the near future. For now the Saints look dominant on offense and the defense is not too shabby either, if I had to pick them or the Colts to finish the job, I think the Saints can do it with Brees and Payton at the helm.
Sean Payton joined WWL in New Orleans to talk about the comeback victory against the Redskins, the way the team is playing so far, the adversity the team has faced , and how good the defense has been this season.
Asked about responding to the adversity and having to come back in games this year:
“I think you got to credit the players and the leadership on the team. So much changes from year to year. I would say that this team has a lot of fight, a lot of resolve. They understand there is a lot of football still; there is a quarter of a season ahead of us. But I do think it’s a unique group and we start with the players that just battled and hung in there. We got real good leadership in all the areas and I think it’s carried over. Certainly the confidence goes with it, all of us have seen teams that that begin to find ways to do things and this is one of those teams so far and credit those guys.”
Asked if the Redskins didn’t call the timeout would they still have kicked the field goal:
“We were planning on kicking it and they called the timeout. You stand around and listen to the lineman and Drew, and those guys felt we were moving them a little bit. You know it gives you also as a coach a chance to think a little more without any hurry. We talked about just securing; we decided to run it a few more times. See if we could get it in there, Mike Bell hit the one big run off the right side of the line which got us 8-9 more yards. At that point we got close enough to where they did call another timeout to really make him sit on it. Fortunately for Garrett he was able to come back. He has been kicking well all season.”
Asked to talk about the fact that all the teams so far they played have given the Saints their best but this week, the Falcons always is a tough matchup:
“Yeah, Mike (Smith) has done a great job there. If you look at their home record since he has been there, I think they have lost like two games total in two years. They have been nicked up a little like ourselves. They had a tough loss last week and we know they type of team that they have. We know the type of battle we will be in for, so they key for us is really getting back making these corrections and getting on to this next game and knowing it’s still a very important game for us.”
Listen to Sean Payton with Bobby Hebert and Deke on WWL in New Orleans
Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Drew Brees, Mike Smith, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Reggie Bush, Sean Payton, Shaun Suisham, Washington Redskins
