Saints' road trip could be first of many
SEATTLE - A year ago, the New Orleans Saints rode the raucous enthusiasm of the Superdome through the NFC playoffs to the first Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Hope they waved goodbye to the Superdome on their way out of town earlier this week. There’s a good chance if these Saints are going to get all the way back to the league’s title game, they’ll be asked to do it on the road.
The first stop on their postseason road trip begins today in Seattle, against the Seahawks in the first round of the NFC playoffs.
It doesn’t quite seem right the defending champs and an 11-win team this season would be asked to travel 2,000 miles on a short week to face the first division champs in league history with a losing record — and a team the Saints beat 34-19 in Week 11.
“We all have a formula for getting in. We all know ahead of time. No one was upset about it or complaining about it before the start of the season,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I think that value of winning your division means something. Just as a season ago when the postseason began, the teams that are in now really are 0-0. That’s just the truth. I think our players understand that more than anything.”
What first looked like a glorified scrimmage for the Saints to get ready for the next round of the playoffs has turned, leaving just the slightest bit of possibility to the thought: “Can Seattle actually pull the upset?”
“It’s a home playoff game, it’s going to be loud, and it is going to be crazy,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “It’s one of the louder venues in the league. I think they showed how well they can play last week.”
With Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas out with injuries, Reggie Bush is likely to get plenty of touches. And his opportunity just so happens to be with Pete Carroll on the other sideline in the fourth playoff game of his career as a head coach.
But this position Carroll finds himself in is unfamiliar — in the postseason and a decided underdog.
But “underdog” wasn’t uttered this week around the Seahawks practice facility.
“It’s kind of funny because Pete always says, ‘Hey, I don’t care who they bring in here — they could bring in the world champs!’ And the irony is they are really bringing in the world champs, so there you go,” Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “But he has been saying that from day one, and he’s been saying it for practice even.”