NFL season kicks off on Thursday night - New Orleans Saints vs. Minnesota Vikings
What a way to kick off the season as the New Orleans Saints clash against the Minnesota Vikings at the iconic home of the Saints, the Superdome. The game of course will be worth the watch but New Orleans is in a party mode even before the games have begun. New Orleans fans would be treated to a concert prior to the game with performances from Taylor Swift and Dave Mathews. Then, the NFL is holding a parade and a city-wide bash which has been organized for which many businesses and schools have decided to stay closed - all of that before Thursday’s main event.
The Superdome is expected to be filled to its 73,000 capacity. The memory of January’s physically intense NFC Championship showdown between the Saints and the Vikings would still be fresh in the minds of the fans and the two teams. The Vikings lost that match even though they outperformed the Saints in virtually every statistical category. The Vikings had more yards passing and rushing than the Saints. Their offence was clearly stronger and they almost did win the game too. The Saints ace in the hole was their unshakable defence. They had five turnovers from the Vikings, three fumbles and two interceptions, while the Saints had just one. At one point when the Vikings were almost set to take back the game, it was the Saints defence that took possession of another fumbled ball which rescued New Orleans.
The defence wasn’t just aggressive. If Brett Favre was asked, he would say the Saints defence was out for blood. Football is a physical sport and Favre is harbouring no hard feelings himself but many assert that the Saints went a bit overboard with the punishment they laid on the Viking’s quarterback. Favre was hit 16 times in that game and the Saints are expected to unleash all its fury on the Vikings once again. The Vikings coach is a little upset about that. Coach Brad Childress said that he accepted quarterbacks getting hit as part of football and he didn’t have any illusion about that. Childress said, “What I hate to see are the late hits or attempts to hurt anybody,” adding that he didn’t think there was any room in football for that kind of play.
The Saints defence though is as unapologetic now as ever. “We play defence, that’s out job,” Saint’s defensive lineman Jonathan Vilma said. Vilma insisted that there was nothing malicious about how they played in defence. “We go out there and hit, tackle guys, get turnovers, and we don't apologize for that.” And that is exactly the plan for Thursday night. At the receiving end, it won’t just be the quarterback that the Saints intend to rough up. The hit list includes the running backs as well. The Saints defensive co-ordinator, Gregg Williams said that softening up the running backs would take its toll on the Viking’s offence and pay off by the fourth quarter.
The tactic worked for the Saints last year and they would go with it again. It’s going to be a physical game but the Viking won’t simply take it lying down. They can play a physical game too and know fully well what to expect from the Saints. Coach Childress, when asked if he thought Williams and the Saints would come after Favre, replied in the affirmative. Favre might just as well be wearing a bull’s eye on his jersey but he is still unfazed. “Getting hit and things like that — I can handle that,” Favre said.
Football isn’t just physical. It’s also psychological and the fact that Childress is concerned and making allegations of dirty play against the Saints is a victory in itself for the Saints defence. “A defence has to be respected. They'll be respected when they're feared,” the Saints defensive co-ordinator said. The Saints have at least made Childress fearful of them. “When the other team is worried about protecting themselves or protecting the ball, we all like that a lot better,” Williams said.
While the Saints shrug off allegations of taking cheap shots and insist that defence only took clean hits, they also want to become more aggressive. For a team that already has one of the best defences and turnover ratio in the league, getting more aggressive is an almost scary prospect.
The opening game is going to be spectacle and if the Saints win, New Orleans would go wild.
Tags: