…there were about 11 minutes left in the second quarter. The Packers were up 13-0 and they had the ball; a position very similar to the one they were in almost a year ago when they pounded the Saints heads into the turf 52-3. Heck, even Al Harris had a pick by that time, same as a year ago.

But this was a different Saints team. They weren’t a team without a home, treated like second-class citizens by Paul Tagliabue et al at the NFL head office, their schedule thrown to the wind like a hand towel in the rain. They didn’t have to sleep in a different bed every week, playing an away game every single Sunday. This was a team with a new home. And a new coach. And new talent. Talented talent.

And they were playing against a team suffering from closer’s memory loss. The Packers had a flash of their former selves against the Saints last year, when their foot was on the collective throats of the fleur-de-lis gang, and they just kept pressing down. It was one of the only times we saw that Packer team last year. But like football alzheimer’s they couldn’t remember what closing another team looked like. With about 11 minutes to go in the second quarter, Favre made three consecutive mistakes: throwing the ball right at the hands of Bubba Franks, Donald Driver and Ahman Green. It was a mistake because their hands had just been dipped in butter. At least it looked that way as each pass caromed off their hands.

It gave the Saints life. It allowed them the chance to breathe and to figure out how to take that foot from their neck, twist it and put their opponent to the ground. And of course it didn’t hurt to have Reggie Bush out of the backfield.

From now on I think I’ll refer to Reggie Bush as Kung-Fu. At some point in the first half he had a run from scrimmage where he had to get to the corner. A defensive back for the Packers was in hot pursuit. As Bush got near the corner it was as though he sensed the defender coming and knew the only chance he had of being tackled was the defender taking an arm swipe at his legs. Like David Carradine with a blindfold over his eyes dodging spears, Bush instinctively leapt into the air, dodging that muscled, tatted Green Bay spear and got to the corner where he turned upfield for a nice gain.
In all fairness the New Orleans coaching staff is going to need to calculate a few strategies beyond Bush to the right, Bush to the left and Bush up the middle. Late in the game it was easy for the Pack to stop New Orleans; they told 7 guys to shadow Bush wherever he went. Kung-Fu is good, but not seven guys good. And did I see it right? Their top draft pick, the future of their organization was returning kicks! No quicker way to end a man’s football career than to strap rockets to his feet and aim them at the thunder, muscle and bone running right for him. Let’s hope they can find an underachieving Heisman winner to put in that important-but-expendable position. Is Desmond Howard still in robot-dance condition?

There were some positives for the Packers. First and foremost, they paid a few visits to that long lost friend the END ZONE on Sunday. And while it wasn’t always the case, often Favre had time to look at his receivers, set his feet and throw. Something must be getting better for the O-line, or the Saints are a weak pass rush team. Donald Driver had another very solid performance (despite my earlier butterfinger slam).

But things that are desperately in need of improvement include covering kicks and punts; every team looks like they have Pro Bowl special teamers when they play the Green Bay Packers. We can’t seem to return a kick for more than a handful of yards, and the opposing team seems to always get a few dozen yards every time a Packer foot touches the ball. Ahmad Carroll added to his rap sheet of misdemeanors and felonies downfield. When will that experiment be over? After they have to force Carroll to wear boxing gloves on the field instead of just in practice?

Next week the Packers hit to the road for the Motor City and another team looking for it’s first win. Somebody’s gotta win…

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