The Saints aren’t feeling very optimistic these days.  In fact, they weren’t even optimistic during their November 30 game against the Atlanta Falcons, their number one rivals.  Heckling and even egg throwing began before they even landed on Falcon home turf, and fans were battling it out in the stands as much as the team was battling on the field.  The sad news is, assistant coach, Joe Vitt, wasn’t convinced the team would win, and they didn’t.  The Falcons intercepted quarterback, Drew Brees, five times for their 23-13 win against the Saints.  It looks like the Saints need a confidence booster, but it might be a little too late, even for that.

With 5-7 wins, the Saints need a wild card spot to make it into the play-offs, and that might take nothing short of a miracle.  Much of the blame has been placed on losing their head coach, Sean Payton, for the season, who faces charges in the Bounty scandal.  Payton was a lion to the team, pushing the boundaries and giving no quarter.  Vitt tries hard, and the Saints have played a good game, overcoming numerous obstacles, but a little more is needed than trying hard to get this once ferocious team back into the playing field.

In the meantime, the Giants have been stomping the field, with 7-4 wins.  Beginning the season a little cold by losing their first game to the Dallas Cowboys, they didn’t cringe, but went on to beat them in their second game, as well as other leading contenders, such as San Francisco, Washington, and their recent game against the Green Bay Packers.  The Giants have every right to expect they will be in the play-offs.  Not only are they confident of a win against the Saints, they feel their upcoming game against the Redskins will be as decisive as the first one.  They still have Eli Manning, who recuperated their game in the last minute and a half with a 77-yard touchdown.

While it looks a bit dreary for the Saints, miracles have been known to happen.  They have a good team, have not suffered a substantial number of injuries, and have played well throughout the season.  The Bounty hearings have handicapped their game; their attention more on the fate of Sean Payton than in wrapping up the season by going into the play-offs, and even taking time away from Joe Vitt, as he’s brought forward to testify.  It hardly seems like a fair way to bring a good team down, but New Orleans was never a team to take defeat in stride.  In their upcoming games, they just might decide to show everyone the type of mettle they are made of, giving the Giants a run for the money; and everyone else while they’re at it.

Be sure to catch the game between the Saints and the Giants on December 9th, as the season begins winding down to its grand finale.  You never know when a game makes history, and there are always surprises in store.