For all the technical jargon coaches like to spout, sounding like scientists trying to explain nuclear fusion to an eighth-grade dropout, there really are only two ways to win games.
One is to outscore the other team.
The other is to prevent the other team from scoring more points than you do.
Although Plan A and Plan B sound remarkably similar, in planning and execution they are not. Winning a game 38-35 and winning one 3-0 is as different as a Kiss concert is from an evening of black-tie chamber music.
In recent years, and not entirely by their choice, the New Orleans Saints have been proponents of high-scoring, pinball-style football. Their best defense often is a very good offense, and early returns suggest that the 2009 edition, orchestrated by maestro quarterback Drew Brees, isn't markedly different than the three teams that preceded it.
A week after they opened the season by outsprinting the Detroit Lions in a 45-27 track meet, the Saints blew into Lincoln Financial Field - an apt description for any team led by a guy named Brees - and blew out yesterday with a 48-22 victory. It marked the first time an NFL team had opened a season with back-to-back 40-point games since the Indianapolis Colts in 2001.
But appearances can be deceiving. Oh, sure, these Saints might have more weapons than a Pentagon testing facility, but the accommodating defense that often gave up even more points than New Orleans scored is undergoing an overhaul that just might lead to a historic postseason way down yonder. In the franchise's 43 years of existence, the Saints not only have never won a Super Bowl, they've never played in one. Only once, in 2006, did they advance even as far as the NFC Championship contest.
Excised from 2008 are frequently torched defensive backs Jason David, Kevin Kaesviharn and Josh Bullock, their places in the retooled secondary taken by such upgrades as free safety Darren Sharper, cornerback Jabari Greer and first-round draft choice Malcolm Jenkins.
And while the Saints still can go off on offense like a Fourth of July fireworks display, coach Sean Payton took care to point out the play of his defense and special teams, which might have contributed as much to the outcome of this early season showdown of NFC playoff hopefuls.
Sharper, a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Minnesota Vikings, scored New Orleans' final touchdown on a 97-yard interception return with 55 seconds remaining, his third pick of the young season. In the beginning of the second half, the opportunistic Saints also converted a recovered fumble into a quick touchdown on a short field, turning what had been a taut 17-13 lead into a more comfortable 11-point spread.
"The turnover to start the second half on our kick-coverage team was a big play," Payton noted. "We turned it into a touchdown and that separated us a little bit."
But Payton is enough of a realist to understand that all anybody is going to want to talk about when discussing the Saints is that offense, which is going to embarrass more than a few other teams before all is said and through.
"We just go into the game trying to win," Payton insisted. "We're not really caught up in the statistics. Honestly, if we had won 3-0 today, we'd have been excited about that."
Perhaps, but the focus remains on Brees and Co. until the defense improves enough that the concept of a shutout becomes at least semifeasible.
The Saints' aggressive philosophy was evident from the pregame coin flip, which they won. Electing to take the ball - none of that deferring-to-the-second-half stuff for this bunch - New Orleans marched 74 yards in eight plays to draw first blood on Brees' 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marques Colston.
It was the second straight game that the Saints scored a TD on their first offensive series.
"We believe every time we touch the ball we're going to operate with great tempo, dictate to the offense and score points," Brees said, matter-of-factly.
It was Colston's turn to be shine as he caught all eight passes thrown his way for 98 yards and two TDs. Next week, who knows?
"Each game, you never know whose day it's going to be," Brees said. "Did we know it was going to be Marques' day today? No.
"We get into it and all of a sudden, he has the hot hand so we're feeding him. The next game it might be [tight end Jeremy] Shockey. The game after that it might be Devery [Henderson] or [Robert] Meacham or Lance Moore."
Shockey, the former New York Giant who recalled his former team's NFC East blood feuds with the Eagles, caught four passes for 49 yards. He said it was a special treat for him to return to Lincoln Financial Field, and he said it wouldn't surprise him if the Saints and Eagles got together again, maybe in January, when the playoffs roll around.
"I can't believe I'm back in Philadelphia and winning like this," Shockey said. "But you know what? That's a helluva team we beat. We could wind up facing them again. That would be interesting."
