As disappointing as the Saints have been this year, you can temper some of it – maybe a lot of it - to just plain bad luck with injuries. Come on has any team ever had so many games lost to injuries? To so many key players? 17 players on injured reserve?
But what really ticks me off is watching the GOOD luck of other teams, specifically the Falcons.
A few examples: The Bears last night vs. Packers. First of all, the Bears suck. They score their 1st TD because a punt bounces sideways into back of a Packer blocking. Unreal luck.
Then they won on a blocked extra-pt length FG – which happens what once in a million times!
Back to the Falcons: Last week vs. Bucs, late in game with time running out, Ryan scrambles, gets hit, fumbles and a Buc lands perfectly on ball. Bucs ball, right? Game over, Bucs win. Nope, somehow the ball squirts from Buc and an O-lineman recovers. Falcons kick FG, game goes to OT, Falcons win in OT.
This week, Falcons line up vs. Vikings. Vikings fumbled the ball 6 friggin times! Despite this, Vikings still hung in til late 4th qtr. Ryan scrambles, gets hit, fumbles (is there an echo in here???) and 3 Vikings have a clear shot at recovering in end zone. Vikings recover, touchback and drive to make it a game, right? Wrong. Somehow, Falcons O-lineman (gotta theme going here) recovers ball for an Atlanta TD.
Over and over again I watch teams get lucky bounces that lead to wins. And everytime I do, I think of how many times a ball slipped thru a Saints D-back’s hands and into the other teams receivers hands (vs Tampa Bay on a crucial late game 3rd down and long), or a Saints opponent fumbled and ball bounced perfectly back to fumbler, etc. … and I get sick to my stomach.
Or how about how kickers NEVER seem to miss vs. Saints. But our wonderful Grammatica missed 2 gimme FGs vs. Skins and Broncos to lose games.
Cliché is “It’s a game of inches.” Why do the inches always lean toward the other teams?
Okay that’s it for now. I gotta go kick the dog.
