Saints Show Little Class In Win

Sep 30, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton talks to his players on the sidelines during the second half of their game against the Miami Dolphins at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

When  it comes to professional athletes you never want to wish ill harm on someone.  Football is an incredibly intense and physical game and injuries happen.  Unfortunately none came at the expense of Drew Brees last night.  It’s a shame when your team is facing an 18 point lead with less than five minutes in a game and you keep your starting QB in the game to score more points.  Let’s face reality here…the Saints were not looking to run out the clock.

Drew Brees stayed in the shotgun and the Saints offense continued to run screen passes and over the middle slants.  Brees continued to shoot for the endzone.  The question for me is this.  Where the hell was Karma?  She is supposed to be a bitch but last night she must of figured the Saints would simply run out the clock and call it a night.  If she had stayed awake a little longer maybe she would have felt empowered to see Brees knocked to the ground and carted off the field.

Not a long term injury but a week or two to say, “Hey dumbass injuries happen!”  The Jets know this all too well.  Even later in the game the Saints brought Dolphins killer Darren Sproles back onto the field and sent him to the endzone on a draw.  He fumbled the ball back to Miami.  Not that it matters but why was he even in the game?  Because the Saints wanted more than the 35 points they already had.

The Denver Broncos nailed Philadelphia with 52 points but at least Peyton Manning slept through the fourth quarter on the sidelines.

What I don’t get is this.  Why would any team risk injuring a key member of their team for some extra work?  There is no reward in another TD and no team reward for padding a QB’s stats.  Yet that is exactly what Sean Payton did last night.  It was classless and perhaps shouldn’t be taken as a slap to the Miami Dolphins as much as his disdain to the NFL for his 2012 suspension.

Regardless, the Saints will get theirs if they continue that line of thinking and it may eventually cost them games that mean something more than a week 4 win.  Risking the health of your starters for meaningless stats is ridiculous.

While the Saints made a statement and then some on the field, after the game Saints Junion Galette was quick to point out that the Dolphins “were not a good team” at least as far as they were being made out to be in the media.  Would have loved to hear him say that about a team he faces two times a year.  Maybe the game can serve as a wake up call to the Dolphins that hype they read in the media is only inflated.  With another tough opponent at home next week the Dolphins need to find some of that ego.

The Saints played a near flawless game on Monday night and in the process showed the Dolphins just how far they still have to go.  Yet there is a way to embrace victory as much as their is a way to stand in defeat with dignity.  The Saints apparently have no dignity.  Karma, it may be time to wake up.