Defensively, they baited Jake Plummer into an interception when Sammy Knight, the strong safety, hung toward the middle of the field, giving Jake a look of single coverage down the sideline, and then broke toward the ball at the last minute. They got another pick, this one for the go-ahead touchdown, when linebacker Keith Mitchell popped up from Plummer's blind area underneath the route. I thought the sideline shots of Haslett, who had been a very passionate player, were interesting in that he always appeared unruffled. Everything was calm and businesslike. Even when La'Roi Glover got his second sack of the game, down near the Saints' goal line in the dying moments, virtually closing the door on Arizona, Haslett showed no emotion.
Emotion is a weird thing in a coach.
Personally, the thing that motivated me most was the feeling that the coach absolutely knew what he was doing. Without that, well, all the chest-pounding was entertaining, but mainly a distraction. It's funny, during the days after the Jets' recent overtime victory over Miami, the convenient follow-up angle for every paper without exception was Al Groh's halftime tirade. No, not really. Well, maybe a stool.