NEW ORLEANS — Are the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers rivals now? Only if a bug can be a rival with a windshield. The Saints becoming the kryptonite to 657-year-old Tom Brady is one of the true delights of being a Saints fan right now.
Save your, "Well actually Ralph, Tom Brady won the Saints-Bucs game that really mattered in the playoffs." No he didn't Karen, Jared Cook fumbled. Tom Brady didn't even throw for 200 yards that day so go peddle that nonsense somewhere else.
Brady in his last 4 regular season games against the Saints has 8 interceptions and 6 touchdowns. Tom has thrown 33% of his interceptions as a Buc to a Saints player. Against every other team in the NFL Tom Brady is an ageless wonder defeating father time, against the Saints he looks EXACTLY how you'd think a 45-year-old quarterback should look.
In 2017 the Saints played the Patriots and I was like,"I simply have to get to this game, it's going to be my last chance to see Tom Brady play in person." That was six seasons ago!
Brady is in year 3 with the Bucs and he's as good as he's ever been. His arm looks stronger and he somehow looks more nimble in the pocket. Poor Drew Brees at the end was held together with duct tape and how he managed to keep the Saints offense in the top 10 while not being able to throw a ball 10 yards is a magic trick we never fully appreciated.
Brady has thrown 83 touchdowns in Tampa the last 2 seasons. He threw 113 in his last 4 seasons in New England COMBINED. His refusal to age, retire, or even attend training camp would be incredibly annoying if not for the fact the Saints defense humiliates him regularly.
From Tommy Boy's violence against Microsoft tablets to the dearly departed Ceedy Duce openly mocking him, I never dreamed I'd enjoy Tom Brady being a Buccaneer so much.
Brady is probably going to play forever but it might not be in Tampa, so savior the Saints owning the guy who has GOAT status perhaps one last time in the Caesar's Superdome.
It's 2032 and 55-year-old Tom Brady hopes to turn around his poor luck against Arch Manning and the New Orleans Saints....
Saints Fan Mood and Meditation Music: Back in the Saddle --Aerosmith My son LOVES guitars. He loves playing them, talking about them, and watching people play them. His current obsession? Watching Joe Perry of Aerosmith and Queen. 1980's and later Aerosmith is mostly terrible but 1970's Aerosmith rocks. I've listened to this song like 9,000 times cause Max loves it so now you can too. The Saints are back in the Dome Sunday with another big game against Tom Brady so it fits. The Games Last Week: 3-2 Season: 3-2
New Orleans (+3) vs. Tampa Bay: The Saints defeating Tom Brady 4 straight times in the regular season has been cool. The fact they've done it while playing 4 different quarterbacks is uproarious beyond words. The Saints beat the great Tom Brady with Taysom Hill throwing to Marquez Callaway and Trevor Siemian throwing to Kevin White. The only reason I know that last sentence is true and not lies is we watched it happen last year. Why does Tom Brady look immortal against everyone else, yet against the Saints he looks like he should have retired five years ago? I could tell you it's mystery, but the Saints just beat Brady to a pulp by pressuring him and sacking him seven times in 2021. Tom Brady with time to throw could probably play forever. Tom Brady under pressure looks like he should've listened to Gisele and stayed retired for more than a month. The good news for a Saints defense that only hit Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota one time is the Bucs offensive line is devastated with injuries and could be without even more starters as left tackle Donovan Smith is battling a hyper-extended elbow. Can the Saints continue their fourth quarter fireworks in Atlanta an entire game against Tampa? Yes. Jameis Winston won't say it but we know he'd love to stick it to the Bucs. I'm taking my son to his first Saints game and it'd be really cool if Jameis burned the Bucs defense to the ground. New Orleans is about Mardi Gras, Bourbon St, beignets, and humiliating Tom Brady. Same as it ever was. Saints 31-10
New York Giants (-2.5) vs Carolina: The Panthers aren't bad or anything, Baker Mayfield is kind of like Jameis with his ups and downs, but if Carolina starts 0-2 the Matt Rhule employment watch commences. Giants 23-17
Atlanta (+10.5) at Los Angeles Rams: The Rams shouldn't be favored by 10 over anyone. Even the Falcons. Rams 27-20
Cincinnati (-8.5) at Dallas: Can we get the WWL graphics department to build us a 'Sean Payton Cost' calculator? After the Cowboys looked lousy and Dak Prescott got hurt the price for Sean Payton to coach Dallas is rising like inflation. Bengals 35-13
Minnesota (+2) at Philadelphia: The Vikings might have had a major upgrade at head coach but Kirk Cousins is still annoying though. Vikings 23-16
Ralph Malbrough is a contributing writer and Saints fan living in Houston. Email him at saintshappyhour@gmail.com, find him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter at @SaintsForecast or download the Saints Happy Hour Podcast.