Sports Illustrated’s Peter King turned his vacation-season “Monday Morning Quarterback” column over to Saints cornerback Jabari Greer this week. And while some of Greer’s stories might hard to follow if you haven’t had that second cup of coffee, what’s clear is the confidence that’s clearly flowing from the Saints after a disappointing 2012.
Weathering the bounty scandal, losing their coach, finishing 7-9 and missing the playoffs clearly left a mark on them, and clearly will be used as motivation.
Greer wove a tapestry of Biblical and musical metaphors, and the point is obvious.
“What was not told in the headlines or on the news, however, was the spirit of our men in the locker room,” Greer wrote. “Experiencing an unprecedented ordeal in the history of the NFL, our men never wavered. Although our spirit wasn’t reflected in the final score of nine of our games, we endured Goliath’s wrath last season, and now Goliath has to pay.
“So forgive me if I sound the trumpet of preseason enthusiasm. It was out of tune for a year, in the shop being repaired. This year holds no promise of a better timbre for the orchestra that is the Saints; but now, in our coach, we have our first chair back, and he has brought in a badass sax player in defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, some new songs and some new steps.”
So obviously, they’re fired up, and ready to go beat on Goliath with a trombone, or something.
They’ll need the motivation, as some of the more tangible components still aren’t there yet. Ryan makes for good copy, but he doesn’t have all the parts in place to run the kind of defense he wants, a problem made worse when pass-rusher Victor Butler was lost for the year with a torn ACL.