A TIME TO WIN
Saints’ Payton more focused on Falcons than dome anniversary
NEW ORLEANS — Saints coach Sean Payton sees tonight’s matchup with rival Atlanta as a separate event from the 10th anniversary of the Superdome’s reopening after Hurricane Katrina.
The game and the celebration will be going on in the same place at the same time, and the same two teams will be playing. Yet Payton sounds wary of blurring the line between the two, if for no other reason than respect for the unique, transcendent qualities of what was the Saints’ first true home game after being displaced by the storm for the entire 2005 season.
“Having been through the actual opening — that was emotional,” Payton said of the Saints’ 23-3 victory over the Falcons on Monday night, Sept. 25, 2006.
The reopening of the Superdome, and the rebirth of a community it symbolized, “is not as significant to this game,” Payton continued. “This is an important division game … one team is 0-2 and trying to get a win, and another team that’s 1-1.”
That winless team happens to be the one from New Orleans, where only a handful of players remain from the 2006 squad.
The Saints have a relatively youthful roster now. A number of players were in high school — some in middle school — a decade ago. By the time they joined the Saints, New Orleans was again home to a vibrant night life and restaurant scene, and the blue tarps covering roofs of damaged homes from horizon to horizon had long since vanished.
So while the 2006 Saints drew a profound sense of purpose from playing for fans struggling through the early stages of disaster recovery, current realities in New Orleans simply do not provide for such a scenario, said veteran right tackle Zach Strief, who was a rookie when the dome reopened.
“You can’t create that type of emotion. You can’t create that type of a feel,” Strief said, adding that the motivation to win this NFC South matchup has more to do with the fact that “guys are tired of losing, and it’s a lot of work and there’s a lot of prideful people in here.”
Falcons coach Dan Quinn still expects the energy in the Superdome to exceed that of a typical game. He was a defensive assistant with Miami in 2005, when the Dolphins played the displaced Saints at LSU’s Tiger Stadium.
In 2006, Quinn caught moments of the Superdome’s reopening on television at Dolphins headquarters. He remembers how the Falcons were run out of the building from the moment special teams standout Steve Gleason blocked a punt on Atlanta’s fourth play from scrimmage.
Quinn and his team sound pleased to be involved in another game in New Orleans with special billing.
“Getting a chance to play in games where the crowd is unique and there is a buildup for it, honestly, it is a real honor and a privilege to get to coach and play in games where it is rocking and loud,” Quinn said. “It is why we love to compete, because you get to be in moments like that.”
The Falcons expect rookie strong safety Keanu Neal to make his NFL debut tonight. A firstround draft pick from the University of Florida, he had arthroscopic knee surgery in the preseason and missed the first two weeks of the regular season. Still, Kemal Ishmael has played well as the fill-in starter, so the Falcons have no reason to rush Neal’s return. Quinn said Ishmael “played a terrific game” last week.
“When (Neal) comes back, Ish will certainly still have a role,” Quinn said. “He’s very reliable in terms of his tackling and approach.”
Atlanta star receiver Julio Jones didn’t practice this past week until Saturday, missing Thursday and Friday with a calf injury incurred in last week’s win at Oakland. He was limited Saturday, but Quinn said the All-Pro is no longer bothered by the ankle injury that slowed him before the calf injury.
His presence would certainly be a plus for quarterback Matt Ryan, who needed a strong start this season following a decline in his first year in offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s scheme in 2015. Ryan has delivered so far — he’s second in the NFL with 730 yards passing, and he has thrown five touchdowns with only one interception.
He completed passes to nine receivers last week, and Jones and tight end Jacob Tamme each had five catches.