NEW ORLEANS — Ted Ginn Jr. was grooming himself at his locker wearing what one of his Saints teammates called an “ostrich” jacket.
But when he turned around to face the media, he looked as happy as a peacock.
The Panthers did a great job of silencing the Saints dynamic running back duo of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, holding them to 69 yards , well below the 193 per game from scrimmage they averaged during the season. But that meant they left themselves open to the New Orleans air attack.
And while Michael Thomas caught eight passes from Drew Brees for 131 yards, Ginn put an early dagger in the Panthers, his former team.
Most notably was an 80-yard TD reception that represented the game’s first touchdown — a play on which Ginn was not the primary receiver.
“I’m really the clear out guy,” said Ginn, the Saints deep threat. “It happens like that sometimes.
“I seen (safety) Kurt (Coleman) come down and I knew I had a shot, I knew I had a chance. I just tried my hardest to get to my spot. Drew found me. The rest is history.”
Ginn wound up with four catches for 115 yards.
Asked about the slow start the offence had, he gave credit to his quarterback for getting the ball moving.
“That’s Drew. Once Drew gets into the game, he takes off. That would make him great.
“It’s been a blessing, man,” Ginn added of the victory. “Today was a blessing for us. We put all the hard work into this week. We knew what we were getting ourselves into and just tried to come out and execute. It wasn’t as easy we wanted it to be.”
-Don Brennan