Saints 38, Panthers 44
Saints End Season on a Sour Note, Panthers Ground Game Proves to be Unstoppable
Sunday was the final nail in the coffin for our season. Yes, we weren’t going to be playoff bound, but at least we were playing for some type of pride. However, the Saints were lit up at home, and lost 44-38. Things started rather sluggish, as the Panthers jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but once the offense got things going, we cut the lead to 10-7, and then followed it up by a pick six (probably the easiest anyone ever will get) by Jonathan Vilma to go to 14-10. The teams traded Field Goals, and Garrett Hartley made a beautiful 53 yarder to close out the half. A opening 3rd Quarter 19 yard Jimmy Graham Touchdown reception made things 24-13, and it seemed that the Saints were destined to run away with this one, but that’s when things sadly changed.
Panthers Score 28 Unanswered Points
Rewind. 3rd Quarter. Greg Olsen catches a 4 yard pass, and fumbles the ball (thanks to a Roman Harper strip), the ball is recovered by Johnny Patrick, and ran in for the score (or so we thought). However, the ball is whistled dead, and the ruling was the player was down by contact. The call is reviewed, and then a two part explanation is made. The ball was out, but they show no definitive evidence that New Orleans recovered the ball. Can you say screw job? 3 plays later, the Panthers score. This completely changed the momentum of the entire game. The Saints next four drives would go Punt-Interception-Punt-Punt
Rewind. 3rd Quarter. Greg Olsen catches a 4 yard pass, and fumbles the ball (thanks to a Roman Harper strip), the ball is recovered by Johnny Patrick, and ran in for the score (or so we thought). However, the ball is whistled dead, and the ruling was the player was down by contact. The call is reviewed, and then a two part explanation is made. The ball was out, but they show no definitive evidence that New Orleans recovered the ball. Can you say screw job? 3 plays later, the Panthers score. This completely changed the momentum of the entire game. The Saints next four drives would go Punt-Interception-Punt-Punt
Gotta love Morstead having to make plays....again....on Special Teams
Saints Can’t Stop Ground Game
The Panthers ripped up the Saints yesterday on the day, surrendering 273 yards on the ground. Deangelo Williams angered fantasy owners, as he finally produced, gaining 210 on the Saints, 2 touchdowns, including a 54 yard burst in the 3rd Quarter that put the Panthers ahead for good. The Panther offense rushed for 5 TDs on the day, including three from Mike Tolbert. Newton added with 7 attempts for 34 yards. From a total perspective, the Panthers ran it 39 times, and averaged 7 yards per carry. This was the type of outing that further pours salt in the wound on a defense that allowed the most yards in NFL history, with over 7,000. The Saints finished surrendering 530 Total Yards of Offense.
The Panthers ripped up the Saints yesterday on the day, surrendering 273 yards on the ground. Deangelo Williams angered fantasy owners, as he finally produced, gaining 210 on the Saints, 2 touchdowns, including a 54 yard burst in the 3rd Quarter that put the Panthers ahead for good. The Panther offense rushed for 5 TDs on the day, including three from Mike Tolbert. Newton added with 7 attempts for 34 yards. From a total perspective, the Panthers ran it 39 times, and averaged 7 yards per carry. This was the type of outing that further pours salt in the wound on a defense that allowed the most yards in NFL history, with over 7,000. The Saints finished surrendering 530 Total Yards of Offense.
Deangelo Williams continued to kill the Saints, as he's done plenty of times
Saints Done In By Penalties
5 Penalties for 55 yards doesn’t seem like a lot, but in the long term, they were drive killing penalties, and while I firmly believe they weren’t called both ways (see Steve Smith), they single-handedly killed us. Perhaps the biggest blunders of the game came in the 4thQuarter, Turk McBride is called for a Personal Foul, which was tacked on to the already Mike Tolbert 21 yard gain. Then on the same drive, the 3rd & 2 play seemed to be a stop, but Johnny Patrick was called for defensive holding, which gave the Panthers an automatic first down. The Panthers came away with 6. Then, later in the Quarter, the Saints opted for an onsides kick which Jimmy Graham was penalized 15 yards for (although no one else was with the action they did), and the Panthers took advantage of the short field, converting a 42 yard Graham Gano Field Goal.
5 Penalties for 55 yards doesn’t seem like a lot, but in the long term, they were drive killing penalties, and while I firmly believe they weren’t called both ways (see Steve Smith), they single-handedly killed us. Perhaps the biggest blunders of the game came in the 4thQuarter, Turk McBride is called for a Personal Foul, which was tacked on to the already Mike Tolbert 21 yard gain. Then on the same drive, the 3rd & 2 play seemed to be a stop, but Johnny Patrick was called for defensive holding, which gave the Panthers an automatic first down. The Panthers came away with 6. Then, later in the Quarter, the Saints opted for an onsides kick which Jimmy Graham was penalized 15 yards for (although no one else was with the action they did), and the Panthers took advantage of the short field, converting a 42 yard Graham Gano Field Goal.
Ouchie.
So that’s it. I alluded to the fact that if we lost, this would mean the Panthers would jump us in the division, and would finish 2nd, regardless of what the Bucs would have done. This all came true, and our team finishes 7-9. The last time we missed the playoffs was in 2008, so now we have a whole offseason to think about everything, reflect, change what’s needed, and most importantly of all, get our Coach back. I have enjoyed doing these, and again, I thank you for your support in all of these blogs. I will have a few more that come in the next couple of weeks, so please be on the lookout for them!
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