1-0 is bigger than it looks for the Saints
Sean Payton could not have written a better script.
Yes, his quarterback completed 23 passes, three of them for touchdowns, covering 39, 84 and 42 yards.
But the greatest completion Sunday in the Superdome was not any of the ones Drew Brees threw.
It was the one Jeff Garcia threw to Scott Fujita in the final 44 seconds, with a tug-of-war very much on the line, with Tampa Bay in business on the Saints’ 24-yard line, with the coach of the Saints looking at what would have been the most gut-wrenching defeat of his three seasons in the Big Easy.
The sight of a defensive linebacker picking one off to plant a mega-sized nail into the coffin of the Buccaneers, could not have been more rewarding for an “offensive” coach.
How huge was this season opener against the defending champs of the NFC South?
Sean Payton offered up the cliche assessment about it being only the first of 16 regular-season wars.
Don’t believe it.
While it’s true no one knows what’s on the road ahead, it’s also true there is no way to overestimate what a 1-0 start means for someone who went from a rookie Coach of the Year in 2006 to an also-ran disappointment in ’07.
Make no mistake.
nola.com
9/8/08
Magnolia Tribune
