Game Report: Atlanta @ New Orleans

Fred Mackaman

Game Date:  Thursday October 15, 2015

Teams:  Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints

Network:  CBS

 Pregame Thoughts

I’m looking forward to this game for a few reasons:

  • It’s the first time I get to watch the Saints play this season, and they are one of the two teams I’ve selected to love.
  • The game is at the Superdome in New Orleans.  One of the reasons I selected the Saints was because of the connection with superstorm Katrina and the way the Saints helped in the recovery of the city (mainly in the morale of the populace).  The Superdome is an icon of that event.
  • I’ll be against Atlanta, and that’ll be easy because they’re 5-0, and while I have no particular issue with the Falcons, it would be statisfying to watch my team break their streak.
  • I’m on vacation.  Normally a Thursday night game would be a burden, but not so tonight.

Overall Response

Got off to a good start — although Petes was injured right away.  My Saints got the first touchdown of the game.  That had to feel good for them.  Competition was great for first quarter.  I didn’t care for the comment that my Saints had the worst defense in the NFL;  then the commentators seemed to backpedal as the defense was looking pretty good.  I liked the story about Delvin Breaux, hometown kid from New Orleans, had broken neck, played minors, and tried out for the Saints as a free agent.  The game was quite fun to watch and seemed to move faster than most — fewer penalties, fewer timeouts — just better pacing.  I really enjoyed looking at the Saints fans in the stands — bonus points for costume and makeup.  It was a satisfying game to watch, both in terms of action on the field and overall coverage by CBS.  This game really made me feel good about selecting New Orleans as one of the teams I would love, and it was great to see them play at home.

TV Razzle Dazzle

It seemed like more than usual complicated charts and graphs of stats, otherwise typical outstanding coverage.  I noted that they often used New Orleans-style music for scene changes and transitions, and I hadn’t noticed in any of the previous games any attempt to match the background music to the home team.

Entertainment value

5/5.    Great, fast paced start to the game.  Second TD made by Mauti was amazing.  Watson receives for TD in 3rd — and commentators thought they should’ve kicked.  Suckas.   Start of 4th we’re reminded that Falcons have come back from behind 3 of 4 previous games — added to the drama.

Commercial commentary

  • 113 separate commercials, average testosterone rating of 5.23/7.00.  That’s pretty high.
  • Only one ad for DraftKings, but plenty for FanDuel.  Any connection to the scuttlebutt in the news about the feds investigating and Nevada shutting them down?
  • Another ad for Movantik (constipation medicine).  Weird.
  • It’s common to see an ad duplicated during a game, but three times?  Nissan Maxima — it’s a cool ad because at first glimpse it looks like a man out on an adventure in the big city but then we see him pull up to his house where his wife and son (we presume) are waiting inside.
  • Promo graphic.  I never noticed this before — when they do a quick audio promo for CBS TV shows, they often superimpose a little graphic covering the bottom third of the screen so you can still see what’s happening on the field.  The Late Show graphic is custom — Stephen Colbert peeks and points upward as if he’s enjoying the game.

Interesting Extras

Holy cow what an opening.  I never knew that Steve Gleason story, and to see him in his wheelchair — very powerful.  I’ll need to do a little research on that.   Clip showing WWII museum.   Flashback shots from 2006 matchup between these teams.  That game was a big deal, I guess.   Saints visited a cancer center.   Saints fans — great creativity in costuming and makeup.  Mardi Gras World clip.  Memorial for Bill Weiler – a courier for CBS sports – passed away the previous week.  I was impressed that his passing was noted during the broadcast.  Shots of  beignets at Cafe du Monde and the Pharmacy Museum.  All of this made me want to go back to New Orleans and maybe even take in a Saints game.

So much to learn

I wasn’t taken by surprise by any terminology in this game, but there’s still a lot of stuff I haven’t researched to figure out.

Points to Ponder

Hmmmm … maybe I’ll think of something after I post this.

Here’s the commercial roster for the show.  I’ve sorted this one by category, but  you can also see which quarter the ads were telecast and in what order.  Remember, asterisks (*) mark commercials with a football theme (especially when the product advertised is NOT explicitly football-related).
Quarter Commercials:  Thu Oct 15 2015 (113 total) Category Ad Number Testosterone Factor (avg. 5.23/7.00)
2 BMW Service Center Auto 48 7
1 Dodge Ram Auto 27 7
3 Dodge Ram Auto 89 7
3 Ford F-150 Auto 78 7
3 Ford F-150 Auto 87 7
3 GMC Auto 84 7
4 Lexus GS Auto 94 6
HT Lexus IS Auto 65 7
4 Lexus IS Auto 91 6
4 Lexus IS Auto 106 6
2 Lincoln Auto 40 7
3 Mazda Auto 76 7
3 Mazda CX3 Auto 70 7
2 Mercedes Benz Auto 29 6
2 Mercedes Benz Auto 37 6
1 Nissan Maxima Auto 1 7
1 Nissan Maxima Auto 8 7
1 Nissan Maxima Auto 10 7
1 Nissan Maxima Auto 15 7
HT Toyota Rav 4 Auto 56 4
HT Volkswagen Passat Auto 63 5
1 Bud Light Beer 17 7
2 Corona Extra Beer 41 4
4 Corona Extra Beer 98 4
2 Michelob Ultra Beer 51 5
1 National Car Rental Car rental 21 7
1 iPhone 6 Cellphone 6 4
3 iPhone 6 Cellphone 74 4
3 iPhone 6S Cellphone 79 3
1 nexus Cellphone 13 3
1 nexus Cellphone 22 3
3 Samsung Cellphone 83 2
4 Sprint/iPhone Cellphone 110 7
1 Tmobile Cellphone 23 4
3 Verizon Cellphone 66 1
1 Draft Kings Fantasy Football 25 5
1 FanDuel Fantasy Football 11 7
2 FanDuel Fantasy Football 38 7
3 FanDuel Fantasy Football 75 7
4 FanDuel Fantasy Football 109 7
2 Voya Financial 35 3
1 Football Is Family Football 12 6
3 Football Is Family Football 90 6
4 Football Is Family Football 113 7
2 NFL Game Pass Football 46 7
4 NFL Ticket Exchange Football 93 7
3 Upcoming Sun games Football 85 7
HT Vikings Tickets Football 53 7
3 Lowe’s Home Improvement 82 7
4 Lowes Football Self* Home Improvement 96 7
1 Lowe’s Football Self* Home Improvement 19 7
2 Lowe’s Football Self* Home Improvement 44 7
4 Geico Insurance 103 7
1 State Farm Coneheads Insurance 9 4
3 State Farm Doublecheck Aaron Rogers* Insurance 80 7
4 Kay Jewelers (local?) Jewelry 101 2
1 Air Force Military 2 5
4 Army Military 100 6
2 Navy Military 30 6
4 Bridge of Spies Movie 95 6
2 Jurassic World Movie 31 4
2 Last Witch Hunter Movie 49 6
4 Rock the Kasbah Movie 105 5
3 Sicario Movie 73 5
3 Steve Jobs Movie 67 5
1 Bridge of Spies Movie 3 6
HT Cabela’s Outdoor Gear 57 7
1 Cialis Pharmaceuticals 18 6
3 Humira (arthritis) Pharmaceuticals 68 4
4 Movantik Pharmaceuticals 92 1
1 Applebees Restaurants 4 4
3 Applebees Restaurants 72 4
4 Applebees Restaurants 99 5
2 Chick Fil-A Restaurants 32 4
2 Chili’s Restaurants 39 4
1 McDonalds Breakfast Restaurants 14 4
2 McDonalds Breakfast Restaurants 36 4
4 McDonalds Breakfast Restaurants 97 4
4 Outback Restaurants 104 5
2 Pizza Hut Restaurants 50 5
2 Subway* Life Coach Restaurants 43 5
1 Wendy’s Restaurants 7 5
4 Wendy’s Restaurants 108 4
3 X1 Infinity Satellite TV 88 7
2 AARP Senior services 45 4
2 Tostitos* Snacks 34 7
3 Tostitos* Snacks 71 7
1 Columbia Sportswear Sportswear 26 4
HT 60 Minutes TV Show 64 4
3 60 Minutes TV Show 69 4
1 Alan Page a Football Life* TV Show 20 7
2 Amazing Race TV Show 52 4
HT Big Bang Theory TV Show 59 5
4 Big Bang Theory TV Show 111 6
2 Blue Bloods TV Show 47 3
1 Code Black TV Show 5 4
HT Code Black TV Show 55 2
1 Hawaii 5-0 TV Show 24 5
HT Late Show TV Show 61 4
4 Late Show TV Show 107 4
1 Life In Pieces TV Show 16 4
HT Life In Pieces/NCIS TV Show 54 4
2 Limitless TV Show 42 6
3 Limitless TV Show 81 5
HT Madam Secretary/Goodwife TV Show 58 2
3 NCIS TV Show 86 6
4 NCIS/NCIS New Orleans TV Show 112 4
3 NCIS:  Los Angeles TV Show 77 5
2 Scorpion TV Show 33 4
1 Supergirl TV Show 28 2
HT Supergirl TV Show 60 2
4 Undrafted NFL Network* TV Show 102 7
HT WCCO News (Local) TV Show 62 4

2 thoughts on “Game Report: Atlanta @ New Orleans”

  1. Fred, you’re starting to worry me. I thought I was obsessive-compulsive, but your commercial list puts my poor efforts to shame.

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