The New Orleans Saints face off against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday which means the color purple is back. And Saints fans are tired of it. Purple was my grandma’s favorite color. I’m not sure why but she loved it. It made her feel alive. She wore it well. Perhaps, because she was an avid LSU fan too. Also, purple had a supposed meaning behind it. It’s the combination of blue and red that combine energy and calmness.
Purple also means creative, extravagance, mystery, wisdom, mystery, and even irritability if there’s too much purple. Just don’t tell an LSU fan that! Purple is also one of the majestic colors making up Mardi Gras. Purple, green, and gold to be exact, for people who aren’t from the “Big Easy.” Not many people know this, but each color represents something. Ironically, purple means justice! How fitting is that? Justice. That one word “justice” seems to put everything in perspective on Sunday.
The Color Purple Invokes Anger
The Vikings are not welcome in New Orleans
Saints fans don’t need a reminder of the Minneapolis Micky Mouse Miracle. Also, for older people like myself, in 1987 the Vikings came in and kicked the Black and Gold around in their first-ever playoff appearance. Yeah, that too. Be that as it may, Vikings fans will point to the year they should’ve won the NFC Championship in the 2009 season. Surely, the conversation will turn back to “Bountygate” and the cheap and dirty Saints defense. The fact of the matter is, purple is not our friend this week.
There are simply teams out there who invoke certain emotions. The Minnesota Vikings are one of them. Make no mistake, this game is going to be physical. Expect a hard-hitting melee between two teams that go way back. Both fan bases and players feel the need to get payback. And it doesn’t matter who was playing when. The color is still the same.
That being said, this game may surprise a lot of people. In other words, the game on Sunday is likely to resemble a rough and tough struggle between the trenches.
Studying up on both teams’ statistics for the 2019 season compares very closely. The Vikings run the ball a bit more and running back Dalvin Cook should be back healthy come Sunday. All eyes are going to be on quarterback Kirk Cousins. He hasn’t exactly been stellar under the lights in big games in his career.
Attack Cousins Again and Again
The key to the game for the Saints should be to make Cousins beat you. That would make logical sense. Minnesota’s receivers are more than capable to make big plays down the field, but Cousins hasn’t proven anything in the postseason. The game sets up for a shootout, which would surely benefit New Orleans. But this game is going to depend on the guys upfront–period.
There’s not even a question of who would win the battle of quarterbacks inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Not to mention, having Who Dat Nation yelling and screaming. Also, Drew Brees is playing at an extremely high level. He hasn’t thrown an interception since November 24th against the Carolina Panthers. The last five games have been simply astronomical even by Brees’ standards. The last four included 14 touchdowns thrown with zero interceptions.
Still, one game on any given Sunday anything can happen. If the Saints can protect Brees—game over. If the defensive line for the Saints can make Cousins uncomfortable—game over. The only way the Vikings can win is if the ground game doubles up the Saints. It’s hard to see that happening. This game shouldn’t be close. However, it’s all about execution. Look for the purple people and their players to be over and done with. Justice prevails…
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