THE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS Volume: 62 Issue: 12
NOVEMBER 28, 2018
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SAINTS CONTINUE TO SMASH THE COMPETITION
This Thanksgiving, the Saints took on their biggest rival for a satisfying win, scoring 31 points to the Falcons’ 17.
BY JOSEPH BELLOTT Contributor The Saints are doing really well. They are doing so well that the games are starting to feel like religious festivals. This week, they beat the Falcons, perhaps the team’s biggest rival. The Falcons flew into town with their worst record through ten games —four wins and six losses — since 2014. The game commenced with an 18-yard run from Alvin Kamara. The momentum of that run carried over to the rest of the drive, which finished with a 28-yard pass from Drew Brees to Tommy Lee Lewis. You’d have to be an attentive fan to know about him. Lee had not had a single catch or touchdown the entire season before that play, although he did play as a kick returner in week one versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons’ first possession went well up until the end. With
the help of a few catches from Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, Matt Ryan, the quarterback, took the Falcons all the way down the field from their own 25 to the Saint’s 11. On the third down and two at the Saints’ three-yard line, Matt Ryan was stripped of the ball by Marcus Williams. Unfortunately, the Saints turned the ball over just three plays into their drive, from a Brees pass intended to Keith Kirkwood. Albeit, a potential pass interference call was missed. In support of that, Rodney Harrison, a commentator for the game said, “I look at the cornerback and he was grabbing and holding the wide receiver…” The Saints’ defense frolicked back to the field with no complaints and held the Falcons to only a field goal, thus creating more momentum for the Saints because the Falcons were already in field goal position to begin the drive. As the game went on the “who’s who” continued as players contin-
ued to score. First, it was Lee; then it was Austin Carr, and after that it was Dan Arnold and Keith Kirkwood, all of whom were undrafted. “Undrafted, drafted, it don’t matter. If somebody found you on Poydras and you put a uniform on him, it don’t matter. You know everybody’s here for a reason, and they’re doing their job,” said Kamara. With Sean Payton creating the plays and a future hall of fame member throwing the ball, it can’t be that hard, right? Brees has always scanned the entire field for open receivers, and more so in this game than any other game of recent memory. This is a trait that the great quarterbacks have always had. Some notable stats from the game: Brees threw for 171 yards from his 15 completions off 22 attempts. Arnold led the Saints in receiving, going for 45 yards on four catches. Michael Thomas followed
De-stress with the ASPCA and their friendly dogs -Photos by Destiny Carter
On Wednesday, Nov. 28, the New Orleans branch of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) stopped by to welcome all students to a free petting session with three dogs, two young and one old. About once every semester, ASPCA volunteers spend a couple of hours in the quad to help students relieve school-induced stress by meeting a few dogs.
-Photo provided by flickr user David Reber
with 38 yards on four catches. The rookie catalyst Tre’Quan Smith, however, was out for the game. Alvin Kamara rushed for 89 yards on 14 carries and Mark Ingram got 52 yards on 11 carries. The Falcon’s Matt Ryan threw for 377 yards from 35 completions on 47 attempts. Julio Jones got 147 yards from his 11 catches. Calvin Ridley had 93 yards off of eight catches, and Mohamed Sanu caught four for 78 yards. Tevin Coleman rushed for six yards on eight carries. The Saints defense played “lights-out.” They held Atlanta to just 26 rushing yards, which is the lowest rushing yardage allowed for any game played this week, and they also created four turnovers. Their defensive performance kept them at first place in rushing yards allowed per game — 73.2 yards, well ahead of Da Bears, who allow 80.2 rush yards per game. Also, Da Bears and the Saints are way ahead
of the pack with the next team, the Ravens, who allow 92.1 rushing yards per game. Incredible. Sacks, fumble recoveries, interceptions, pass break-ups, and more were created by the Saints’ defense. Each player contributed; no player was getting “exposed” or “having a bad game.” The leaders played as expected. Cam Jordan racked up two sacks and three tackles for a loss; Sheldon Rankins had a key sack and two big tackles for a loss, while Marshon Lattimore had two pass break-ups and caused a huge fumble from stripping the ball from Ridley when he was just a couple yards away from scoring. Also, Demario Davis violently hit Ryan five times. 70,017 people were jammed in the Superdome Thursday to witness the game. They say defense wins championships. We’ll see. The next victory will be on Thursday, Nov. 29 in Dallas.