Brees, Team Mardi Gras Headed to 16-0

NEW ORLEANS -- One still can find no shortage of wicked trouble on Bourbon Street, much of it involving Hurricane juice, beads, karaoke bars, strip joints, drag shows, zydeco music, Huge Ass Beers and the more-frequent-than-usual mugger. But nothing, not even Mardi Gras, ever has generated the joyful, thunderous noise exploding these days inside the mammoth, mushroom-shaped club on Poydras Street.

Where once there were empty seats and brown-bag-headed fans in the Superdome, now there is nothing but bedlam and glee. You'd never have known on a rocking Monday night that this city remains devastated by crime, unemployment, homelessness, hopelessness and post-Katrina despair. At one point, when Drew Brees and the Saints were making Bill Belichick's defense look amateurish -- five more touchdown passes, MVP voters -- I looked around and tried to find one fan who wasn't standing, jumping and screaming.

I couldn't. All 70,000 in the stands were in lockdown party mode, except for Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who had said, "This is probably the best team in football we're playing, better than the Colts.'' If there are debates today, they're coming only from Minnesota and Indianapolis. Certainly, no one in New England is questioning the premise, including Tom Brady, who rarely has played so poorly and looked so out of sorts as he was battered by defenders.

The legitimacy of the Saints as an NFL powerhouse no longer can be doubted. Not only did they pummel the Patriots, 38-17, but they also made a very robust claim that they could repeat New England's 16-0 season of two years ago. Have you looked at the schedule? Next weekend, they're at Washington, a lousy, poorly coached team racked by injuries. Then they're at Atlanta, normally a difficult draw, but not when Matt Ryan and Michael Turner are injured. The only losable game is against Dallas, but it's at the Dome on a Saturday night before Christmas, not a favorable assignment for the skittish Tony Romo and the buffoonish Wade Phillips. Tampa Bay at home? Rout. At Carolina? History.

"It only gets nuttier in the Dome,'' said Brees, who isn't technically the mayor but has united this city more than any politician could. "Every time we win, it kind of brings this city together. That's what special about the bond we have with our fans.''

Just think what would happen if the Saints are playing for an NFC title late next month. "I don't think about how good we've been. I think about how good we can be,'' Brees said. "We have not peaked. We've played some pretty good games, but we have not peaked. We need to keep getting better and put this arsenal together and make a run for it.''

"We were able to accomplish something pretty special. ... You want to continue to try to be perfect. You never get there, but you
can try."
- Saints QB Drew Brees From the Metallica music in the stadium to the "Who Dat!'' chants in the French Quarter, New Orleans is basking in a football season that gives new meaning to the Big Easy. They are 11-0, as are the Colts, giving the NFL a unique story line heading into a final month that normally does little more than confirms the already identifiable playoff teams. The Saints have a better shot than the Colts at a perfect regular season, simply because Indianapolis still must get past the suddenly tough Titans and decent Broncos, then go to Jacksonville on a Thursday night before closing with the Jets and Bills. But the Saints and Colts certainly have similarities. Both are inspired by quarterbacks playing at the highest level, and both have opportunistic defenses that allow yards but force turnovers in critical situations. If they end up playing in the Super Bowl in Miami, the sporting world will be fortunate.

For now, Brees is taking his turn on the wild merry-go-round he has shared all season with Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. It is the hottest MVP race in recent memory, and Brees singlehandedly knocked Brady out of the mix, completing 18 of 23 passes for 371 yards, no interceptions and a perfect 158.3 passing rating in a breathtaking performance. He played pitch and catch all night with Devery Henderson and Marques Colston, both of whom exceeded 100 yards in receiving, and Brees now has 115 touchdown passes as a Saint in what has become a Hall of Fame career. From the game's first play from scrimmage, a 33-yard deep pass to Henderson, Brees riddled the Patriots with an aerial extravaganza that made Brady and Randy Moss look like novices by comparison. This was fast-break football at its best and most fun, and at one point, the Patriots completely blew a coverage when cornerback Jonathan Wilhite blitzed and the safeties left Henderson open for a 75-yard scoring romp and a 17-7, break-it-open lead.

"We took some shots. The way Drew was playing, that's easy to do,'' Saints coach Sean Payton said. "Listen, you guys can write about the hierarchy of quarterbacks in the league. I thought he was outstanding. I thought he was special. Let's just say he's playing real well. I thought his location, the confidence in what he was seeing was something else. A great job by him. Magnificent.''

Brees, humble as always, didn't want to hear it. "You always think about the ones you missed,'' he said, shunning the "perfect'' rating. "There certainly were a couple I wish I could have back. But overall, we got the job done. We were able to accomplish something pretty special. We averaged 10 years per offensive play, which is pretty ridiculous. You want to continue to try to be perfect. You'll never get there, but you can try.''

Um, 16-0 is perfect. And it's attainable, as we saw with the Patriots once upon a time. Those days are gone, though, with New England likely to play the first weekend of the postseason and relinquish the all-important off week to the Colts and either Chargers or Bengals. With more than five minutes left and the Saints up by 21, Belichick gave America another reason to doubt his mindset. He yanked Brady -- who finished just 21 of 36 for 237 yards, two interceptions and no TD passes -- and inserted rookie Brian Hoyer. It was a shocking white flag that represented the complete antithesis of The Hoodie's absurd decision last month, when he went for the win in Indianapolis on 4th-and-2 at his own 28-yard line while leading by six points with two minutes left.

That night, he trusted Brady and the offense too much and lost.

Monday night, he didn't trust them at all late.

"They were better than we were in every phase of the game,'' Belichick said. "I don't know how to put it any other way. They were better coached. They played better on offense and defense. They covered better than we did. They were obviously the better team.''

"There's a reason why they are 11-0. They played really well and played well as a team,'' said Brady, maybe taking a shot at his team's lack of focus and unity. "We obviously didn't play up to their level. There's obviously a big gap between us. It wasn't nearly as competitive as we all were expecting."

Said Moss, who caught three balls for 67 yards: "To lose a game like this really hurts. Everyone saw how they put it to us. They played real good football, something we haven't really seen from anyone we've played so far.''

Are these Saints as good as the 2007 Patriots, who went 16-0 but lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl? "You know, that was so long ago,'' said Brady, avoiding the question. "I will say it's good to be in that position. They are the ones who are 11-0. Give them all of the credit.''

It's hard to see any team coming into this madhouse and beating the Saints, including the Vikings in a foreseeable NFC title game. Gone is the losing stench of decades past, replaced by the daring and attention to detail of Payton and the go-for-the-jugular brilliance of Brees. And to think he'd refused to put himself in Brady's class, noting that he's barely six feet tall -- normally anathema for an NFL quarterback -- and that Brady is the classic 6-foot-4, drop-back prototype for the ages. Never mind that Brees has thrown for 5,000 yards in a season, joining only Dan Marino in that club. "It's an honor to be put anywhere near the same category as him,'' Brees said. "He'll go down as one of the best of all time. If you just stood the two of us next to each other, we wouldn't look anything alike, so maybe you'd say that our styles are a little different. But in the end, you want the result to be the same: You win football games and you win championships. Obviously, he has three [Super Bowl titles], and I'm still trying to get that first one.''

A championship is possible. Guts alone suggest that much. Payton shows no hesitancy in letting Brees pile up points, going for a first down on 4th-and-2 at the New England 21 when trailing 7-3. Pierre Thomas picked up the yardage on the ground, then scored on an 18-yard pass from Brees. The Saints never trailed again, leading America to speculate about a perfect regular season. The coach and quarterback don't want to hear about it.

"I'm glad we won, but we have to move on,'' Payton said.

"I think people are going to talk about this one game and maybe blow it out of proportion,'' Brees said. "Certainly, this game doesn't entitle us to anything. It's just another win in the win column. In fact, if anything, you have the challenge of teams wanting to knock us off. But emotionally, these types of wins can mean a little more. Anytime you can win, and win that way, it builds confidence for you."

Everyone knows Brees and the offense will show up, an arsenal that included dependable running from Thomas and Mike Bell, even on a night when game-breaking Reggie Bush was out with a knee injury. The uncertainty Monday night was how an injury-riddled Saints secondary would respond against Brady, Moss, Wes Welker and one of the sport's all-time potent passing offense. Your answer came early, when Mike McKenzie, signed last week as an emergency cornerback after a year out of football, picked off a Brady pass. Late in the third quarter, as the Patriots were trying to stay in the game, he glued himself to Moss and broke up a pass on 4th-and-4 at the Saints' 10.

"This group is very special. I feel honored just to have an opportunity to go out there and play with these guys,'' said McKenzie, who was signed along with another veteran defensive back, Chris McAlister. "If we keep working hard, good things are going to happen for this team. It's a different game when the other team feels like it has to keep pace with a high-powered offense. I feel like we complement the offense well.''

Wait, another curious fourth-down call by Belichick. Explain. "It was no doubt we needed some points at that point,'' The Hoodie said. "I thought we needed more than a field goal the way the game was going. McKenzie made a good play over there.''

All week, the Saints spoke of wanting to emulate what the Patriots have accomplished. Can they win three Super Bowls? They have a Bill Parcells disciple building a foundation and creating the Payton Way. They have an aggressive, complex defense schemed by Gregg Williams. And they have a driven franchise quarterback who has become a leader in the community, whether he's getting up in the wee hours on his off day to shoot a TV spot with President Obama at the White House or helping New Orleans try to heal with his tireless charity work.

Can the Saints be the next Patriots? Can they be the county's next great, heartwarming sports story? Why not? Who dat?

"We've got a lot of respect for what they've been able to achieve,'' said Payton, not dismissing the thought. "When we first got here, it was just good business to play attention to a team that has done it as well as they have for as long as they have. Their formula has been good. It's something we recognize. It's just being smart, paying attention to their success. It would be silly not to.''

They are Team Mardi Gras, party animals of the NFL. Imagine Bourbon Street if the Saints ever won the Super Bowl. Would anyone live to tell about it?