Mike McCarthy garnered quite a bit of attention earlier this season when it was revealed he fired up the Cowboys by smashing watermelons with a sledgehammer the night before their Week 11 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Well, it appears Dallas’ head coach now has some competition for the most atypical motivational tactic this season.
The Saints improved their win streak to nine games Sunday afternoon with a 21-16 triumph over the NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons. With the victory, New Orleans became the first team to secure a playoff berth this season.
Following the Week 13 contest, Saints quarterback Taysom Hill caught up with Pro Football Talk and shed light on a message the team received from Sean Payton earlier in the week. In an attempt to stress the importance of avoiding complacency, Payton put baskets of cheese in all of his players’ lockers.
Why cheese, you ask? Payton’s former colleague, Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, used to implore his teams to not “eat the cheese.” In other words, don’t pay attention to the noise and instead focus on the ultimate goal.
The Saints appear to be following this guideline, as they seemingly are improving week in and week out, especially on defense. New Orleans will try to keep it rolling against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 14, which reportedly could mark the return of Drew Brees.
