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Thursday, January 4
Saints: 'We got the respect now'
By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com
NEW ORLEANS -- You can't blame Saints fans for getting a little restless during the fourth quarter here Saturday. After all, these are the Saints, you know.
The same Saints that Diana Ditka once commented, "Jesus Christ himself couldn't turn them around."
The same Saints who had never won a playoff game in their 34-year history, despite being favorites in three of four postseason games.
The same Saints who were without their starting quarterback, running back and star receiver against the defending Super Bowl champions.
So when New Orleans squandered its 31-7 lead in the fourth quarter and allowed the Rams to crawl back to 31-28, you could feel the collective, "Here we go again" in the air.
But this time, another team choked. Az-Zahir Hakim muffed a late punt, allowing New Orleans to drown out the clock.
And just like that, the streak ended. The fans roared. And Bourbon Street swelled with Saints fans.
"I think it means the same thing to me as it does to every other fan that's out there," said owner Tom Benson, known for running around the stadium twirling a Saints umbrella after a big victory. "It's just so exciting and so different to what we're accustomed to. That last quarter, they're slicing the lead and I heard it myself, 'Same old Saints.' But, hey, we did it."
That they did -- without any of the starting skill players they started the season with, too. And remember, these are the Saints. They aren't exactly supposed to have the deepest bench, at least according to the experts.
Star wideout Joe Horn, who sprained his ankle on the third play of the game, had words for those experts after the victory. Dressed in black and white camouflage with a matching floppy hat and army boots, Horn sounded ready to go to war with anybody who still refused to believe in the team from the Big Easy.
"What are you going to write about now? What are you critics going to say now?" he yelled throughout the New Orleans locker room to no one in particular. "We got the respect now."
That they do. After a week in which tackle Kyle Turley boldly predicted a Saints victory and coach Jim Haslett assured the Saints "would not back down," New Orleans is boldly proud of its football team.
"No matter what anybody else says, no matter what any analysts, journalists, anybody said, we got respect now because we beat the defending world champions," Horn said. "It don't matter what anybody says now. The Rams are in their little bus, heading back home and the Saints are marching on. It's that simple."
How bad were the Saints' playoff struggles? Aside from the second-year Browns, the only other team not to win a playoff game is the Ravens, and they're only four years old. For them to catch up to New Orleans' streak, they'd have to stay winless until 2029.
Even St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk, who was limited to 24 yards on 14 carries, could sort of appreciate the scene. He grew up in the area.
"I remember working here in the Superdome and you just couldn't get people here," he said. "Now they have a packed house for a playoff game. It was fun for me. It was exciting to see my hometown folks rooting on the team and standing behind them regardless of what was going on."
The biggest difference this year, many of the players said, was the mental approach of Haslett, a players' coach as opposed to the trading ways of former leader Mike Ditka.
"It starts up top," receiver Willie Jackson said. "Everyone believes in him and gets along with him and when you have that at the top, it trickles down."
Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com.
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