This time it may be a little bit different. This time the Saints are 10-0 with a Drew Brees-fueled offense that no one has come close to stopping. This time the Saints have a defense that leads the league in, among other things, takeaways, defensive scores (7 TDs), and defense inside the red zone. This time the coach is Sean Payton, not Jim Haslett. And this time the game will be in the Superdome, where, according to much anecdotal evidence, there will be as much noise as any Patriots player or coach ever has heard.
Here is Belichick on the 2009 Saints:
“They give you a lot to get ready for. I can see why their record is what it is; they deserve it. They’ve won every game by double digits [actually, eight of 10 games]. Most of the time they are running out the clock in the middle of the third quarter. They are a very good football team and we know it will be an energetic atmosphere and certainly a hostile environment towards the Patriots down there.’’
The sheer numbers testify to an offense whose balance is the stuff of coaching fantasy. Brees has thrown it 320 times. He has handed it or pitched it off 324 times. His passes have been good for 2,746 yards. The runs have been good for 1,543 yards. What coach wouldn’t be thrilled with 154 yards a game on the ground?
Belichick sees Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush as classically complementary backs. The wide receiving corps is talented, and tight end Jeremy Shockey has been re-born as a Saint after his messy exit from New York. Counting the defense, 18 people have made it into the end zone in these 10 games, prompting Belichick to say, “You can’t stop one and let the other 17 go.’’
Belichick says his team will confront no more complex offense than the one it will see tonight.
“If we took the other 15 teams we play and put all the formations and personnel groups together, it would probably be about the same as the Saints,’’ he said. “It’s that many. Over the course of 70 plays, there are hardly any repeat formations in the game. It’s hard.’’
