Brothers and sisters, we are gathered here today for a thing called mourning. (Apologies to Artist formerly known as Prince...)
Mourning the loss of a great season yesterday to a numbers team, the 49ers.
No, the title of this sermon is not from the Good Word.
Saints 1:37, 86 are a series of painful numbers that are seared into my Who Dat soul, along with a bevy of other numerology we will cover.
But we'll get to those title numbers later.
First, the most glaring:
5.
Five turnovers in one game, three of them lost fumbles. Mind numbing when you consider the Saints set an NFL record for least fumbles in an 16-game season with 5 lost fumbles. To almost equal your SEASON total in this one divisional playoff game is hard to believe.
23 at 1.
Pierre Thomas catches pass, turns and is about to score, when he is hit violently helmet to helmet, fumbles at one-yard line and Niners recover.
Painful enough Saints get zero points on spectacular opening drive, but more painful Saints lose their all-purpose back to apparent concusion on helmet to helmet hit.
Thomas' loss was three-fold: one, he's a tough inside runner, two, he gives you run/pass option and third, is very good blitz pick-up blocker and DE chip blocker.
And with Thomas' loss, Payton was down to only two running backs, Sproles and Ivory, each a specialist, not all-purpose like Thomas.
15.
Being down to only two running backs, Payton - on next Niners kickoff- had to let Roby, #15, return kickoff, instead of Sproles.
Ball stripped, fumble and inexplicably, Roby tries to pick ball up instead of falling on ball. Niners recover, and kick FG.
472, 32.
As my 13-year-old son Kyle asked, "Dad, how many teams have scored 32 points and lost in playoffs?"
I'd guess less than that cursed, previously mentioned number 5... maybe never.
And to put up 472 total net yards against Niners #2 defense, and not win is absolutely hard to comprehend.
85.
The Niners' passing game consisted of one player, Vernon Davis.
So, in last four minutes and Niners having to pass the ball, you must at all costs guard one player, and one player only, Vernon Davis.
Instead of double-covering him or playing zone, the Saints stunningly and stupidly single-cover Davis.
Covering TEs was Achilles' heel all year (and last year) of this team, and Niners' had one weapon, TE Davis.
Why would you not bracket cover him, aka Calvin Johnson, or at least jam him at line on EVERY play, and more specifically in the two drives? Inexcusable that they didn't do either.
1:37, 86.
Niners had ball at their own 14 yard line, 86 yards from a winning TD with only 1:37 left in game, and only 1 timeout.
99% of defensive coordinators play prevent defense here, not allowing offense to get ball deep, and keeping ball in middle of field to run clock.
The Saints did just this for first 3 plays, and the Niners clumsily managed the clock, taking 57 seconds to move 19 yards.
Saints fans could taste the sweetness of a miracle comeback, an NFC Championship.
40, 67.
40 seconds was all that stood between Saints miraculously moving on to the NFC championship, as Niners lined up at their own 33, 67 yards from scoring a TD.
Logical thoughts whirled through every common-sense fans' brain: Let them catch short ball. Rally to the ball. Tick tock tick tock. Game over. Simply do not give up a long-gainer. Keep everything in front of you.
Before these thoughts could be processed, like a slow-motion horror movie scene, Alex Smith throws a crossing pattern to Vernon Davis, who has easily beaten Malcom Jenkins. 99 yards later (felt like that long...), Davis is tackled inside the 10-yard line.
Watching live was painful. Watching replay was excrutiating agony. Why?
Because for reasons Saints fans - and Gregg Williams - will have to live with during a painful off-season, Williams called a blitz, leaving Jenkins man to man, with closest help being Roman Harper, who was 20-25 yards back in centerfield.
Cliche is "Numbers don't lie." No sir, they surely don't lie here. Because in the end, the truth is, all the numbers mean nothing and don't take away one ounce of the searing pain and hurt of this crushing loss.
