It sure does seem like the Saints are getting penalized a lot this year. The defense is doing well, ranked sixth in the league through four games. The offensive unit is stuck in the middle of the pack at 16th in total offense. The team IS leading the league in penalty yards. Four games have amassed 398 penalty yards against our guys. 70 yards against the offense, 328 against the defense. Well over half of the defensive yardage was a result of pass interference calls. Could it be that since the officials were called out for the NOLA No-Call and were subjected to having their manhood questioned last year with those PI challenges, that they are taking it out against the boys in Black and Gold? Or am I just trying to create conspiracy theories to pad this newsletter? Either way, I do find it interesting that many calls, including that horse collar tackle penalty against Malcolm Jenkins for tackling the Packers’ Jamaal Williams around the waist, do seem to come at times that keep the opponents’ sputtering drives alive with 15 extra yards and all those automatic first downs. Sometimes it feels like the team is haunted by the ghost of Brandon Browner.
Four weeks into the 2020 Pandemic Season, there are six undefeated teams still out there. Four teams in the AFC are unbeaten and lead each of the divisions. They are Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Kansas City. Two teams in the NFC, Green Bay and Seattle are 4-0 entering week five. On the flip side, there are only four winless teams out there. The Giants, Falcons, Texans and Jets are all 0-4. Interesting to note that the state of New York is off to an 0-8 start this year with really no signs of improvement in sight. The Texans have fired their Head Coach and General Manager, Bill O’Brien, after six years of service. It seems that the four division titles in his six years just wasn’t good enough to help him keep his job after an 0-4 start. Perhaps trading star receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals in the offseason for a handful of magic beans wasn’t such a good idea? Or could it be that their playoff loss to the Chiefs last year was the last straw? In that AFC Divisional game, the Texans were up 24-0 with ten minutes left in the second quarter. By halftime, they were down 28-24 and would go on to lose by a 51-31 score. Kansas City set a record that day by scoring seven touchdowns and a field goal on eight consecutive possessions. It never looks good on your resume to lose a playoff game after being ahead by 24 points. Unless, of course, you coach the Atlanta Falcons. Falcons Head Coach, Dan Quinn, could possibly hold the record for spectacular come-from-ahead losses. His team was ahead 28-3 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI before losing 34-28 to the Patriots. No to be outdone or forgotten since then, Quinn’s Falcons have logged two epic failures this year by blowing both a 15-point lead against the Cowboys in week 2 and then a 16-point lead against the Bears in week 3. Instead of going for three-in-a-row, the Falcons changed speeds on us in week 4. Facing the Packers last Monday, they went DOWN by 17 points just before halftime and pretty much stayed there until the end of the game going away with a 30-16 loss in Green Bay. On the bight side, they only had only 3 penalties for 23 yards…