The Saints 31-24 win over the Cardinals got them back to the .500 mark and a 7-7 record with two games left to go in the regular season.
My, have things changed over the past couple of weeks.
The Saints are playing winning football because they finally got back to what won for them in 2006 and that is to play to the strength of their best football player, quarterback Drew Brees.
Ever since running back Deuce McAllister went down to a knee injury early in the year, the Saints’ offensive mindset seemed to be more set on making sure that they put the ball in the hands of Reggie Bush than concentrating on building this offense around its most potent weapon in Brees.
With Bush on the sidelines rehabbing a knee injury the Saints had no choice but to go to more of a team oriented attack and play to the strength of Brees and that is to set up the running game with the pass.
And it has worked.
Over the past two weeks Brees has completed 54 of his 71 pass attempts for 643 yards, 5 touchdowns and zero pass interceptions.
That is a completion rate of 76 percent, and in the NFL that is a phenomenal number.
Brees has also concentrated on getting the ball to his most consistent and most talented offensive weapon in wide receiver Marques Colston.
Colston has now posted back to back 1,000 yard receiving seasons in the black and gold. Over the past two weeks the former Hofstra star end has caught 17 passes for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns and he looks as though he is well on his way to gaining an invitation to play in the 2008 Pro Bowl.
While the Brees/Colston hook-up have gotten defenders back on their heels, it has also opened up the running lanes for halfback Aaron Stecker,
Let’s be honest there are bigger, faster, quicker, stronger and more talented backs in the league than Stecker, but he is tough, a smart runner and more importantly, a decisive runner.
Well into Reggie Bush’s second season he did not show the decisiveness that Stecker has and he is a much tougher inside runner.
Over the past two weeks Stecker has rushed for 195 yards on 42 carries and scored 2 touchdowns.
Nothing fancy about what has happened over the past two weeks, but it has been effective and that is all that you can ask for at this stage of the season.
While the offense has seemingly gotten its groove back, the defense has started to come up with big plays also.
The Saints defense has come up with 5 quarterback sacks, 4 pass interceptions, one pass interception returned back for a score and forced 1 fumble.
While Brees has done a great job protecting the football and not put up the untimely interception, the Saints defense has come to life and they are not giving up the big plays via the air.
Against the high-powered Cardinals the longest pass play given up was a 25-yard completion to Anquan Boldin.
The Saints must win out the final two games of the season against a feisty Philadelphia Eagles football team and a very disappointing Chicago Bears club, but the pulse to make it back to the playoffs is still there.
The Saints need a little help along the way, but maybe, just maybe this football club has realized that the success last season was playing to the best player they have on offense, Drew Brees, excellent distribution of the football either running or throwing the ball, and causing turnovers on defense.
That reality has come late, but better late than never, for a team that can turn and see what kind of success teams like the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts have had over the past five to six years building around their star quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
This team seems to play their best football when their backs are up against the wall and over the next two weeks it is either win or start talking about the 2008 NFL draft.
You have to give the Saints full credit, they sure have made the final two weeks an interesting ride on the sports rollercoaster.
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