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Eye ON THE SAINTS |
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June 2008
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December 2006 ArchivesDrew Brees told the post-game media gathering that he was supposed to only play two snaps Sunday, but that his second snap was a mishandled handoff, which he didn't want to be his last snap, and then he hit a few passes and they were deep in Carolina territory. Brees said at that point, he couldn't come out. He said on the sidelines Payton then told him, 'you're running one play, a run play, and then coming out.' ...NEW YORK (AP) -- Dallas will be at Seattle next Saturday night and the New York Giants will be at Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon in the first round of the NFC playoffs. The dates and times for the AFC games were to be announced later Sunday. The Cowboys-Seahawks game will start at 7 p.m. CST. The Giants-Eagles game will start at 3:30 p.m. CST. ...Sean Payton had a brief statement after the game before taking questions. He basically said that he was glad to have not incurred any new injuries and he said he was pleased with the first drive. After that, he said it's 'time to move on' (to the playoffs). ...The Saints finished with a rather unimpressive 4-4 record at home this year. Of course, they well could have won Sunday had they played their starters. Still, with the postseason coming, it is curious that the team is continuing what has been a trend in recent seasons, that of not playing better at home than they do on the road. Also eye raising is the fact that the team won its first three in the Superdome this year, then lost four of... The Saints defense has yielded an average of 12.6 points per game in winning four of their last five games. Read more. ...Guys like Jamie Martin, Jamaal Branch, Jamal Jones and Trevor Johnson could fill spots normally filled by marquee names like Brees, Bush, McAllister, Colston and Smith. Read more. ...With sportswriters and pundits taking sides in the MVP sweepstakes between Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson, Connor J. Byrne says both men have done so much for their respective franchises and cities that they should share the coveted award. Read more. ...Matthew Postins of the Charlotte Sun-Herald, and a voter for the Pro Football Writers Association, says his ballot has Drew Brees as league MVP and Mickey Loomis as Exec of the Year. Read more. ...Adam Schein of FoxSports.com sat down with Saints GM Mickey Loomis to trace the steps of the Saints' Cinderella season. Read more. ...From The Associated Press: Five injured Saints missed practice Wednesday. Wide receiver Joe Horn (groin) and running back Aaron Stecker (hamstring) are listed as doubtful for Sunday. Safety Omar Stoutmire (knee), tight end Mark Campbell (knee) and wide receiver Terrance Copper (foot) are questionable. ...In an effort to cut down on "sports myth" as he puts it, columnist Michael Salfino says the Saints pass defense isn't all it's cracked up to be. He eventually goes on to call talk of considering Drew Brees as Comeback Player of the Year to be "silly." Read more. ...The headline says it all. Jake Delhomme, the former Saints backup QB who left town for a starting with the Panthers, may return from a December 4 injury that left him with torn ligament damage in his throwing hand. Read more. ...While the head coach says his focus is on beating the Carolina Panthers this Sunday in the Superdome, Sean Payton admits that he's considered benching some players or giving them limited playing time. Read more. ...Sports Illustrated's Andrew Perloff handicaps the NFC teams' chances of success in the big game, and goes so far as to call the Saints "overrated." Read more. ...New York Times sports columnist William C. Rhoden says it's easy to root for the Saints now that they've become the nation's focal point of recovery for New Orleans. Read more. ...The Saints leapfrogged the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts to place fourth in ESPN's Power Rankings. They're behind the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears. Read more. Conversely, the Saints are ranked third in Peter King's "Fine Fifteen" Poll, which he r... Clark Judge of CBS Sportsline says the Saints have turned it around for one reason and that is the hiring of Sean Payton. ...The Detroit Free Press uses the Saints as an example of a case study of how to turn around a losing team in one year. See what they said were the keys to the Saints success. ...From the Associated Press - 'I feel badly for all Giants fans to come here on Christmas Eve and then for us to lose the game the way we lost it,' Coughlin The sellout crowd let Coughlin know it was upset, twice chanting 'Fire Coughlin' before heading for the exits. The Giants wrap up the regular season at Washington on Saturday night. 'I didn't expect them to cheer us," Giants center Sh...
From the Charlotte Observer: "Wide receiver Joe Horn remembers fans dressed in Giants jerseys cheering for him, if for only a few moments. Defensive end Will Smith won't forget how one end zone at Giants Stadium had 'Saints' painted on it. And safety Steve Gleason recalls walking out of the cramped visitors locker room feeling weird that he was wearing his New Orleans home black jersey." >> Continue reading: Saints players remember what "home game" versus New York was like Once a 6-2 team, the New York Giants have lost five of their last six games. They're reeling not only from the losses, but from plenty off-the-field issues. The Saints, coming off their own letdown game against the Redskins, look to add even more trouble to a floundering franchise. Read more. ...In the hopes to prevent another sluggish performance this Sunday, Coach Sean Payton eased up a bit on his team with a shorter, more convetional schedule. Read more. ...The New York Times has a feature article on the probable next owner of the Saints Rita Benson Leblanc. ...EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- With the playoffs in doubt, Michael Strahan is back on the field for the New York Giants -- at least in practice. The seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end practiced Wednesday for the first time since spraining his right foot in a game against the Houston Texans on Nov. 5. 'Michael did everything and I thought he did all right," coach Tom Coughlin said after the practice. "He did not look tentative or ... New York Post columnist Paul Schwartz puts it bluntly when he says the Giants just aren't a good team. He says it's still likely that one win in the last two games will allow them to limp into the playoffs, and a pair of wins nearly guarantees it. ...Bill Williamson, a contributing writer for MSNBC.com, says the Saints' signing of Drew Brees was easily the best move of the entire off-season, and that Brees deserves a lions share of the credit for turning around the franchise. Read more. ...With a win against the now desperate New York Giants, the Mobile Register's Neal McCready says the Saints would have that number two seed all but wrapped up in the NFC playoff hunt. Read more. ...Peter King continues to be a big supporter of the Big Easy, whether answering emails about why he thinks the Saints are better than the Bears or why Drew Brees is more valuable to his team than LaDainian Tomlinson. But now he says Saints GM Mickey Loomis should win the award for Executive of the Year, hands down. Read more. ...Quarterback Drew Brees, offensive tackle Jammal Brown and defensive end Will Smith have made the NFC Pro Bowl team. Receiver Marques Colston was not named to the team. He likely lost a spot after missing nearly three entire games with an injury. ...That 16-10 loss against the 'Skins is still a sore spot for some writers, as the Saints have dropped from third to sixth place according to ESPN.com, just behind the Patriots. Meanwhile, FOX Sports also has the Saints ranked sixth in the NFL, just one spot ahead of the resurgent Dallas Cowboys. Sports Illustrate... New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan said he might be able to play this Sunday against the Saints for the first time since injuring his ankle against the Texans on November 5. Read more. ...Courtesy of The Associated Press: Coach Sean Payton was still searching for answers after watching game film Monday. He was wondering what could have caused the Saints to look so lethargic Sunday, when a victory at home before a sold-out Louisiana Superdome would have set up them up for a postseason berth. Read more. ...From the Associated Press: NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ex-Saints quarterback Adrian McPherson is suing the Tennessee Titans because their mascot hit him with a golf cart before the second half of an August exhibition. McPherson filed his civil lawsuit Friday in Davidson County Circuit Court and also is seeking $5 million in compensatory damages for the Titans' negligence and $15 million in punitive damages. A team spokesman said Monday... Head coach Sean Payton said in his Monday press conference that he is pleased that the team is the NFC South champions, but, 'It had a chance to be a real special day,' he said. 'We didn't play well enough so it was hard to get excited about the other accomplishment.' Payton said it was the first loss this year in which he thought the team was sluggish, sloppy and played with a lack of energy. ...Appearing on the Eyewitness Morning News, WWL football analyst Archie Manning said a letdown by the Saints was only natural considering the magnitude of what happened the week before. ...Saints linebacker Scott Fujita said while is disappointed in Sunday's game, he wants people to remember what this team has done. 'We are division champs, and that is an accomplishment. We could have set ourselves up well to get that first round bye,' he said. 'Their defense out played our defense and that's the bottom line.' ...In a very short post game session with the media, Saints head coach Sean Payton decried his team's effort and readiness for Sunday's game with Washington. 'I thought we were sluggish. I thought we were flat,' he said, adding, 'I don't have an explanation for you.' Payton also said that while the defense eventually settled down, the offense was flat all day. He said he thought the team had a good week of practice. 'Evidently, I ... With all the attention being focused on Drew Brees and his MVP race with LaDainian Tomlinson, as well as his chase of Dan Marino's single season passing record, some may have forgotten about the number of other Saints player's who've stepped it up this year to make an impact. Read more. ... |