Saints Season Side Bet Update

Posted by Benson

Looks like I am out.  

The Saints lost to the Panthers this week in a disheartening 17-13 game that was a series of back and forth three and out drives until the Panthers managed to slam home a touchdown in a blitzkrieg two minute drill after having accomplished...little and nothing for most of the game.

So, so sad.  Hey Sean Payton, I guess firing Hartley didn't motivate the troops well enough, eh?

The other sad part is that now I'm definitely out my money, and Doug might actually win, which speaking for all of us would be a real shame.  My only consolation would be that if the Saints lose to Tampa Bay in a startling failure of a game, Matt and Jamie would split the pot and Payton would get his karmic comeuppance for getting rid of Garrett Hartley.

So, keep on sucking at football Saints!  Drew Brees, I hope you get a cold, no offense.  Not a bad cold, just some niggling annoyance that induces you to throw a few picks and clears up on the way home to NOLA.  You're a right fine guy, but I would very much prefer that the Saints lose to Tampa Bay.

Sorry Jimmy, but ya'll kinda deserve it.

NO NO GARRETT HARTLEY!

Posted by Benson

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

NO!

Sean dead-to-me Payton released Garrett Hartley!

Hartley is gone.  He's gone!  Sean Payton released Hartley after the incredibly poor performance by the Saints in their recent game against the St. Louis Rams.  Payton had put Hartley on notice before, but COME ON!  Why cut Hartley?  Why now?

As I have said JUST RECENTLY, Garrett Hartley is a pretty darn awesome kicker.  At the very least he's certainly not cutting floor material.  He's the 23rd best kicker in NFL history with more than an 82% accuracy rate.  And the kicks he misses are almost always completely inconsequential.

Sean what-the-Hell-were-you-thinking Payton cut the man who kicked the Saints into their only Superbowl victory in history!  He cut this fine, though admittedly sometimes, situationally, when it doesn't matter unreliable kicker with two games left in the regular season and no decent free agent kickers sitting around looking for a job.  He cut Garrett Hartley when the Saints need to come away with a victory over the Panthers on Sunday!

The only reason I can fathom is that Sean abuse-the-whipping-boy Payton cut poor Hartley to send a message to the rest of the team: "I will cut of my *&^%$#@ nose to spite my face!"  That's the only message it sends.  I'm angry with y'all, so I'm getting rid of the guy everyone knows I've been thinking about replacing because even though he's made all of his critical, game-winning kicks this season, he played just as poorly as the rest of you imbeciles did today.

Nobody looks at Drew Brees and says, "Well, he threw two picks today and coughed up a fumble, so obviously the Saints need a new quarterback."  They look at his performance and say, "It looks like he had an off day.  He's a very good quarterback who rarely throws picks.  And the offensive line has been weak, and the play calling wasn't great, and the defense was reading the plays well..."  But a kicker is apparently only as good as his last kick.

Sean choke-on-your-Juicy-Fruit Payton, you deserve to lose out the rest of the season.  Forget my Saints Season Side Bet, forget my hopes for a comeback Superbowl win this year, you didn't believe in Garrett Hartley.  If you find yourself missing his magic, there's only one person to blame, and it isn't Garrett Hartley.

Thank you Garrett for your hard work and gracious attitude in spite of the poor hand you've been dealt by Sean I-don't-believe Payton.  We'll miss you Hartley, probably more than some folks will realize until it is too late.

“I would like to start off by saying I have been blessed with the opportunity that the @Saints & ownership have given me. The memories that were made with this team will live in my heart forever! I can't say enough for my teammates and their support. And finally the Who Dat Nation. Y'all's passion for the game and this team are second to none. It's been an honor to wear the Black & Gold."

Saints Season Side Bet Update

Posted by Benson

Well...well........well....................

So...whether or not you follow the Saints, you have probably heard about their abysmal performance against the St. Louis Rams this past Sunday.  And I do mean abysmal.  It was a tragedy that harkened back to the incredible failure that was the Seahawks game.

Yea, I see where this game is headed...

Except the Rams aren't the Seahawks.  The Rams don't even have a winning record, sitting at 6-8 after having their way with the Saints.  The Rams were playing their backup quarterback with no hopes of getting into the playoffs (though the young QB was doing a very nice job).

The Saints went into that game knowing they could lock in a playoff spot by beating the Rams; knowing that if they lost they would be neck and neck with the Panthers facing an upcoming game against them, this time on the road.

First pass of the game...come on!

And...the Saints played like they forgot how to win a football game.  Brees threw two picks, one on the first throw of the friggin' game, and coughed up a fumble for a third turnover.  He threw a fair few more passes that should have been picks, and was lucky enough to recover another one of his fumbles.  It was a comedy of errors with my beloved Garrett Hartley having two blocked kicks (again, not that making those kicks would have mattered at all.  Mind you he did kick a recovered onsides kick...that we failed to score off of, but that's not his fault.  He did his job...the one that mattered at any rate.).

"Doesn't Drew realize I'm triple covered..."

This at least makes the Saints Season Side Bet a little more interesting.  The Saints now have a 10-4 record with two games left to go, and with the way they have been playing I think it is fair to say that anything could happen.  At the very least we KNOW that one of us will win, but Doug is looking good at 11 wins.

"Yea, I deserve this don't I"

If the Saints lose out, Jamie and Matt come away winners, if they beat the Panthers, pop themselves into the playoffs, and take it easy against the Bucks, Doug will come out a winner.  Alternatively, if they get clobbered by the Panthers and make up for it with a Pyrrhic victory over the Bucks, Doug also comes out on top.  If the Saints buckle down, play tightly, and maybe get a little lucky, I'll be taking home the cash.

Too little too late Drew...

Saints Season Side Bet

Posted by Benson

Before the regular NFL season started this year, Matt and I were having a little discussion about how well the New Orleans Saints would play this season.  Matt is fond of football (and a skeptical curmudgeon), so not only did he predict that the Saints would not play amazing this year, he also felt that his opinion carried some authority.

I am an ardent Saints fan only pseudo-knowledgeable about the actual game, and so I took umbrage at Matt's remarks and pressed him for his opinion about how many games he thought the Saints would win this season.  Matt predicted that they would win 10, which I took to be sacrilegious, for how could they go to the playoffs with a 10-6 record?!?

I said ardent, not "insane"

Now, this conversation happened while were all walking to dinner, and as is sometimes our want when not working, the DGA team had a few drinks over dinner, during which I brought up Matt's sacrilegious Saints prediction and immediately declared that the Saints would win 12 games this season!  This I declared not remembering how many games there actually are in the regular season, but it seemed like a good number: more than Matt's prediction, but still conservative enough to not sound crazy?

Now the game was afoot!  As the discussion roiled around the table I, happening to have some cash on me, put whatever money was in my wallet where my mouth was ($50).  Lubricated by libations, everyone threw in, making their own predictions.

We do have God on our side...

Bill: 9-7 (even worse!)
Jamie/Matt: 10-6
Doug: 11-5
Benson: 12-4

Now that the regular season is drawing to a close, things have become very interesting!  So interesting, in fact, that I felt you should all be tuned in.

Right now, Bill is out, as the Saints just trounced the Panthers 31-13 last night, but once we had seen the Saints play three games we all figured he was done anyway.  The Saints have three more games to go and are sitting on a 10-3 record, so anything can happen aside from Bill winning.  

If the Saints win out, we're all done as none of us were passionate enough to bet on a 13-3 record.  As of now the Saints have the Rams, the Panthers (again), and the Buccaneers left to play.  We just clobbered the Panthers, we already clobbered the Bucs, and the Rams..well, we should be able to beat the Rams.  But anything can happen, of course, and if we clinch a playoff spot we may take it easy the last couple of games... 

So stay tuned!

Edit: AND the Seahawks lost last night, which is fantastic!  The Superbowl is looking that much closer!