Kicking Mother Teresa's Ass: Ravens 35 Saints 22

Chris McAllister intercepts a Reggie Bush (yes, Reggie Bush) pass.

It wasn't the smartest play call in the world.

Well, you knew they weren't going 15-1. But this one sucks for a lot of reasons.

• The Ravens are the thuggiest (is that a word?) and perhaps the cockiest team in the NFL. They are the NFL version of the Miami Hurricanes.
  
• The Ravens talked crap all week.
• The Saints gave away the game. Several times.
  
• The Ravens have perhaps more local (LA/MS) products than any other team (with the possible exception of the Colts), and it seems like all of them had an impact on the game--with the possible exception of Ed Reed.

Now, our "cushion" is gone. The Falcons won today, so they have the same record as the Saints. And the Panthers won't be close behind if they win tonight. I am cautiously optimistic that the Saints will rebound next week in Tampa Bay, but they all but beat the Saints in the dome 3 weeks ago. So we'll see.

THE GOOD

• Not Much
• Marques Colston may be on the way to having the greatest receiving season in SAINTS HISTORY. Forget Rookie of the Year.
• Joe Horn had a good game too, even both players' stats were padded in garbage time.
• Hollis Thomas had a sack and fumble recovery.
• The team didn't quit after it became 35-7.
• The BeerMan is back.
  

THE BAD

• FIVE TURNOVERS
• Let me repeat. FIVE TURNOVERS
• FOUR INTERCEPTIONS
• 28 points off turnovers
  
• Steve McNair isn't that good anymore. The Saints made him look like a Hall of Famer.
• Jason Craft. Who put him on Derrick Mason?
• Teams still keep running inside on the Saints. Jamal Lewis had a 100-yard game.
• The defense can't force turnovers. The one on the second play of the game was basically an accident.
• The offensive game plan. In the first quarter, the Saints tried too many trick and gadget plays. Maybe they should have tried to establish the run instead. To me, that gave the Ravens confidence because it told them that the Saints were afraid of their defense.
  
• Mark Campbell caught 4 passes, but dropped two potential touchdowns in the 4th quarter. Yes they were tough, but you have to make the catch. The Saints TEs continue to scare no one.
• Reggie Bush continues to struggle, although the 12-yard run in the 3rd quarter was probably his nicest run from scrimmage this year.

THE UGLY

• Reggie Bush's halfback pass was probably the stupidest play call I have seen from the Saints in a while.
• 3 interceptions from Brees, 2 of them returned for touchdowns
• 7 penalties in the first half (if I remember correctly)
• The Saints call a timeout in the first half, and coming out of it, they get a false start called on them.
• Jason Craft. Again. Thanks for deflecting an interception away from Scott Fujita and into the hands of Todd Heap for a touchdown that put the game out of reach by halftime.
  
• I EFFING HATE RONNIE PRUDE. RONNIE PRUDE IS A WORTHLESS PIECE OF CRAP. RONNIE PRUDE SUCKED WHEN HE PLAYED AT LSU. RONNIE PRUDE LOST THE AUBURN GAME BY HIMSELF. RONNIE PRUDE LOST THE CAPITAL ONE BOWL AGAINST IOWA. RONNIE PRUDE COULDN'T MAKE A PLAY WHEN HE WAS A TIGER. RONNIE PRUDE COULDN'T GET A TURNOVER AT LSU EVEN IF THE QUARTERBACK HANDED THE FRIGGIN FOOTBALL TO HIM. So sure enough, guess who returns an interception for a touchdown against the Saints the first chance he gets?

Yes, I feel strongly about that last bullet point.