Shanley Says: The New Orleans Saints are a lot like a video game

On Sunday, I watched the NFC Championship game from the comfort of my own bed.

I had a Wawa iced tea to my right, my Jeremy Shockey poster hanging proudly on the wall to my left and my extremely slow computer with shoddy internet connection on my lap, just in case I wanted to check in-game stats.  One of the advantages to keeping my computer near me at all times is the thought that a sports-related argument is always creeping around the corner.  The conversation that day, like most days, came thanks to one of my best friends, coincidentally, also named Matt.

Matt and I sit on very opposite sides of the fence when it comes to sports.  I’m a proud Yankees fan, while he supports the Metropolitans, impatiently awaiting their rise to glory.  The differences start there, but don’t stop there, by any means.  We could go on arguing for days, but on Sunday, we agreed.

If ever an NFL team were to resemble a franchise someone could assemble in a video game, it’d be the New Orleans Saints.

That, unlike the rest of this article, is not an opinion of any kind.  That’s a fact.  Any fan of professional football loves the idea of controlling his (or her) favorite team by constructing a freakishly athletic roster, calling nonsensical plays and winning games in 60-point shootouts.

So if all of that is true than naturally, all football fans must love the New Orleans Saints.  Beyond any loyalties, biases or whatever other random reasons that can be conjured up to root against them, the Saints provide their audiences with exciting offensive performances game after game.  Their only flaw, and the same could be said about their Super Bowl opponent the Indianapolis Colts, is their frightening lack of defense.

Matt was confident that the Saints’ defensive schemes are selected at random, much like defensive schemes often are while playing John Madden’s video game. It makes sense considering that Jonathan Vilma and the team’s other linebackers are constantly running wildly at the opposing quarterback on seemingly every play, also known as the “Crash Inside Hot Route,” or “L1 button while pushing down on the right analog stick.”

Among the Saints’ other defensive flaws is their secondary’s love of ball hawking.  Fortunately for them, they have Darren Sharper, who is arguably one of the best defensive backs in NFL history.  Sharper has been responsible for nine of the team’s 26 interceptions this season.  He’s a master of the “user pick.”  That’s the “X Button” for coverage, then the “Triangle Button” for the catch.

Matt’s final thought for the day came when he said that the Saints are lucky that their offense also plays with a “Madden-esque” mentality, often scoring in bunches, masking their defensive shortcomings.