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Eye ON THE SAINTS |
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June 2008
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October 2007 ArchivesCourtesy of the Associated Press: JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Jacksonville Jaguars signed defensive tackle Grady Jackson to a one-year contract today and placed defensive tackle Tony McDaniel on injured reserve. ...Their turnarounds could best be explained by their ability to create turnovers, says Skip Wood of the USA Today. Read more. ...Despite a below-.500 record, one national sports media outlet has the Saints near the Top 10 in their weekly NFL Power Rankings. Guess who? ESPN.com. Sean Payton praised the Saints' offense, defense and special teams ability against the 49ers, but said the team still had a long way to go toward making the post-season, and was not looking beyond Sunday's opponent: the Jacksonville Jaguars. Read more. ...Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News - perhaps a bit biased as the team he covers was just trounced by the Saints - said that the team now has its swagger back. That might be debatable, but there's no question it isn't the same team that looked so bad starting 0-4. ...A few things to consider for those giddy Saints fans who are looking for a win against Jacksonville this weekend (yes, I know Garrard is not playing and his backup did not look too good this weekend). First, the Saints are 1-5 against the AFC under Sean Payton, winning their first game against Cleveland in the 2006 season opener, and losing 5 straight since by margins of 13, 15, 7, 31 and 17. Second, the Saints are only 5-6 at ... Of course it is FAR too early to get back on the Saints bandwagon, but consider this: After the game against Jacksonville this week, the Saints final eight games come against only one team that currently sports a winning record (Carolina 4-3) and the total won-loss mark is 21-39! That's got to be the worst in the entire league. Here's the ugly eight and their current record. St. Louis 0-8 As if the 49ers needed to add a degree of difficulty to their game against the Saints. Read more. ...Drew Brees hasn't been sacked in three weeks. Opposing teams are rushing for fewer yards. Les East of the Baton Rouge Advocate says credit the offensive line. Read more. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: When tight end Eric Johnson began his NFL career with the 49ers, he enjoyed San Francisco and hoped to spend his whole career there. But when the Niners made tight end Vernon Davis their top draft choice in 2006, it became clear to Johnson that he might have better opportunities elsewhere. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: METAIRIE -- Saints starting center Jeff Faine's left pectoral injury could cause him to miss this Sunday's game at San Francisco. ...From Sheldon Mickles of the Baton Rouge Advocate: "The Saints converted 4-of-12 third downs (and 1-of-3 fourth downs), and the Falcons converted 9-of-18 third downs and didn't attempt to convert any fourth downs. That disparity contributed to Atlanta running 12 more plays (68-56) and holding the ball for nearly 11 more minutes (35:27-24:33) than New Orleans." >> Continue reading: Payton: Off. must improve on third down Couresty of the San Jose Mercury News: "An expression of respect from an opposing coach finally persuaded the 49ers to give wide receiver Ashley Lelie some playing time. Now, an injury to Darrell Jackson might provide Lelie with a starting assignment." Read more. ...Alex Smith, Vernon Davis and Frank Gore are banged up; the offensive line can't seem to stop the pass rush and the defense has trouble with the opposing running game. Things are adding up in the Saints' favor. Read more. ...The Saints made enough noise the last two weeks to be noticed. But don't expect to be moved up more than a few spots. ESPN.com. Courtesy of the Biloxi Sun-Herald: "Being 2-4 after an insalubrious beginning to the 2007 season won't stop Payton from dissecting and correcting the Saints' mistakes, including his own." Read more. ...New Orleans City Business says the city and its fans remain staunchly behind the Saints despite their struggles this season. ...According to Randy Benson of the Louisiana Gannett News Service the Saints are still a work very much in progress. ...Joe Horn and Morten Andersen, two of the most popular Saints players of all-time were both booed on their return to the Superdome Sunday. ...Head coach Sean Payton was a little more expressive after the Saints win Sunday against Atlanta than he was last week when they got their first win over Seattle. Payton said it was a big win, especially against a division opponent, but he said the team still needs to do a better job of playing well at home. He admitted things weren't perfect and that the team's lack of success on third downs made for a lopsided Time of Possessi... With a rivalry game against those pesky Falcons looming tomorrow, it's about time we break out Archbishop Hannan's 1968 "Prayer for the Saints." Read more. ...Courtesy of the Biloxi Sun-Herald: "There's no question he's a great player and a Pro Bowler who makes a lot of plays," Brees said of Hall. "Obviously we are aware of where he is at all times, just like you do any good defender on the field." Read more. ...After making some graverobbing jokes(?), Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution says the Saints should outplay the Falcons, a team relying on Byron Leftwich to turn their season around. Read more. ...Courtesy of the Biloxi Sun-Herald: When the New Orleans Saints signed safety Kevin Kaesviharn during the offseason, free safety Josh Bullocks figured to be the odd man out. Bullocks saw what was developing and based on his play last season, admittedly grasped his job was on the line during training camp. Read more. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: Saints linebacker Scott Fujita has played before against Byron Leftwich, who will start for Atlanta on Sunday in the Louisiana Superdome. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: The Saints had no new injuries to report after practice on Thursday. Even Jason David was on the field in pads, although he is not expected to play on Sunday. David fractured his left forearm against Tennessee in Week 3 and was expected to miss at least a month. He participated in his first practice with a cast on his arm and is essentially trying to get back into game-shape before ret... Courtesy of the Associated Press: Reggie Bush, coming off by far his best game of the season, said his teammates deserve as much of the credit as he does. ...Portfolio.com has an executive feature on the Saints owner/executive vice president, examining her grace under pressure during the Katrina crisis and its aftermath, as well as her plans for the future of the franchise. Read more. (Note: This story was originally linked at SaintsReport.com. ...Going from the northwest back to the central time zone after a late night Sunday game will usually have the affect on a team. Read more. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino named Byron Leftwich to replace Joey Harrington today as the starting quarterback. ...Ned Macey, in a special column for AOL Sports, asks that question, and says part of the problem is the Saints offense seems like its looking for the next big play. Read more. ...Here there are, new NFL Power Rankings from across the net: ESPN. The offense found its spark Sunday night, writes Larry Holder of the Biloxi Sun-Herald. Read more. ...Having been anemic on offense through the first four games, Sheldon Mickles writes that the Saints couldn't have picked a better time to find themselves. Read more. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: "Talk about bad omens. An overhead NBC television camera mounted on wires collapsed onto the turf during a timeout early in Sunday night's game between the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks, almost hitting two Seattle players and causing a 10-minute delay." Read more. ...Following the game, head coach Sean Payton would have nothing of any talk of the team 'turning the corner.' 'There is no corner,' he said tersely. 'We're 1-4. We won one game and that's a good step.' ...If you were like me, you asked a few questions during Sunday's game. For instance, when the NBC crew pointed out that the Saints hadn't been calling 'pressure defenses' during the season and that they were going to start tonight, did you ask, 'Why not?' Why would a team that had so few sacks and turnovers this year not call more pressure defenses? Did you wonder where the downfield passing game had been all year? Where Patten a... Courtesy of the Baton Rouge Advocate: "Considering the New Orleans Saints are 0-4 and Henderson has dropped almost as many passes (seven) as he's caught (eight), it's been a tough early-season stretch for the former LSU standout." Read more. ...Courtesy of the Biloxi Sun-Herald: "Bush said he's more fazed by the Saints' 0-4 start more than anything else as he and the team will travel to Seattle tonight to face the Seahawks on Sunday night." Read more. ...
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