Tonight the Saints kick off the preseason in a game against the Steelers at the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. My late, great dad would have been incredibly excited to see that Thurman Thomas (who, while he retired as a Dolphin, will always be remembered as a Bills great) is being inducted. Dad was a native of western New York, and tried to made a point to watch Bills games when he could. The grief is still pretty fresh, even months later, but I'll try to keep this entry from being too angsty. (To learn more about my dad, you can click here: http://www.mem.com/Story.aspx?ID=1618331
Anyhow, as D. and I sat over our weekend "coffee" (er, smoothies) at CC's on Magazine, we discussed tonight's game. While the preseason is mostly meaningless, it means something for players still battling for roster spots, and it certainly means something to New Orleans. Since Katrina, this city has arguably developed its own global brand. It's both a marketer's nightmare come to life and dream come true. Tonight gives that brand a stretch - let's see if the interest that made Bush's jersey the top-seller last season has some continuity. Here's D.'s take on it:
You'll probably see my comment on the potential outcome. While the defense is very, very questionable still, even with some solid offseason pick-ups, the offense has looked very good in training camp. So here's what I'll be watching tonight over beer and po-boys at Cooter Brown's with my blogtastic better half (naturally, I'll be wearing my Deuce McAllister jersey):
- Marques Colston - T-P staff writer Mike Triplett makes an excellent point that with the 10 lb. weight gain in the offseason, Colston has the potential to have another phenomenal season.
- Lance Moore - while he can't replace Beerman (Michael Lewis), his work ethic has made Sean Payton sing his praises.
- Olindo Mare - considering he was still in south Florida when I packed up and moved here this spring, it's comforting to know he's now a part of the Saints organization. Let's see if he can help boost an already decent special teams.
- Brees' arm. 'Nough said.
- The defense - and therein lies the rub. Even Rex "Dirty Gator" Grossman was able to shred the Saints' defense in the NFC Championship game, much to my chagrin.
- The kids - even if they only get a couple of minutes worth of playing time, it'll be nice to see if Meachem and Young show earlyearlyearly potential as impact players. Let's see how Meachem's knee is progressing, shall we? (This, kids, is why you don't report to camp overweight.)
So there you have it...tune in tonight at 7:00 PM CST. GEAUX SAINTS!
Other coverage of tonight's game:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/steelers/2007-08-05-hall-game-preview_N.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment