Where exactly is the new rule that the officials are no longer allowed to call a penalty against the New Orleans Saints?
It didn’t matter what the Saints’ offensive tackles did all night long, they were rarely, if ever, called for holding. On every drive, including three times on the Saints’ opening drive of the game, both guys could have been called for holding but, of course, never were.
This is the Saints we’re talking about, after all. The media has anointed them the brand new “America’s Team,” so going against them is as blasphemous as getting a chuckle out of Jesus’ nipples exposed on the cross.
No penalties — that would mean anything — were called against the Saints. Outside of something so obvious a blind person would scream over it, they called nothing. The non-calls led to at least one touchdown, and that’s all it took for the refs to steal the season opener from Brett Favre and the Vikings.
Every ticky-tack call was made against the Vikings, and even a challenge that so clearly should have been overturned in the Vikings’ favor was ignored.
Anyone could see that ball hit Jim Kleinsasser’s hands and bounced into his chest. Everyone except, of course, the refs.
But, the Vikings did their fair share to give the game away as well. Adrian Peterson was running like a man with something to prove throughout the first half. He was wearing down the Saints defense and opening up the pass for Favre, but went unused in the second half.
For head coach Brad Childress, that’s absolutely inexcusable. Favre was clearly not in game shape yet, but even if he was, why not keep giving the ball to your best player in a five-point game? Instead, he completely abandoned the run and watched his offense stall out repeatedly.
Bernard Berrian couldn’t get open, and dropped the ball when he did. Greg Camarillo had trouble getting the timing down in his new offense, but was able to contribute a little bit. Percy Harvin was constantly making the wrong read, causing obvious frustration for Favre.
Visanthe Shiancoe, one of Favre’s favorite weapons in 2009, caught everything that came his way, but the Saints did a good job of shutting him down in the second half and, in turn, shut down the Vikings’ passing offense.
The Vikings defense wasn’t much better. They were absolutely gouged on the ground and could not make a stop when it mattered most. The Saints ran the same play over and over, but the defense never adjusted. They just washed the Williams Wall down and had the running back cut back, leaving the linebackers on an island with their momentum moving them in the opposite direction.
The Saints defense did a fine job of stepping up when they had to, and Drew Brees was on point as always, but it’s hard not to watch that game and not have a bad taste in your mouth. The two teams, in my eyes, were treated differently by the guys in stripes and it will ultimately reflect poorly on the entire league and its brand.