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Eye ON THE SAINTS |
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June 2008
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November 2007 Archives
The Saints have climbed back from the brink of disaster twice this season, but their chances of repeating as NFC South Champions hinge on the outcome of Sunday's game against the Bucs. Read more. ...Courtesy of Sheldon Mickles of the Baton Rouge Advocate: "Going down the stretch, will the Saints be the team that opened the season with a four-game losing streak? Or the team that later won four straight and demolished the Panthers, 31-6, after two disappointing setbacks?" Read more. ...Cardinals signed 13-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowl punter Mitch Berger on Thursday. Read more. ...Believe it or not the Saints are considered one of the better shots to make the playoffs among the NFC's mediocre 5-6 teams. ...The Tampa Tribune's blog updates the status of some key injured Bucs. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: Saints starting defensive tackle Brian Young, who has missed four games with a knee injury, practiced Wednesday and is set to return for Sunday's crucial NFC South matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Read more. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: KANSAS CITY, MO -- The Kansas City Chiefs today signed free agent place kicker John Carney to replace the inconsistent Dave Rayner. Carney, over a 20-year NFL career, has played in 269 games with Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego, New Orleans and Jacksonville. He appeared in eight games this season with the Jaguars, filling in for an injured Josh Scobee, and was 9 of 1... FOX Sports has the Saints ranked 18th - up one spot from the week before, however they face the 'Most underrated team in the NFL' Sunday in the Bucs. In other Power Rankings' news, the Saints' up and down season continues to be reflected by the ranking systems: ESPN. Jeff Garcia's injured back was still very sore Monday, but he could start against the Saints in a key NFC South contest Sunday. ...A red-hot Marques Colston is helping rejuvenate the Saints offense according to the Baton Rouge Advocate. ...The Charlotte Observer says the loss to the Saints was as 'bad as it gets' for a team in total disarray. ...Yeah, it's a day late, but we've got a "professional team has much be thankful for on Thanksgiving" column. And we owe it all to Sheldon Mickles of the Advocate. Read more. ...Courtesy of The Sports Network: "The New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers were thought to be this year's top contenders in the NFC South, but only one of those teams figures to remain a player in the division race after the two square off in a key matchup this Sunday from Bank of America Stadium." Read more. ...10 games, 21 turnovers. The Saints gave the ball up 23 times in 16 regular season games last year. And 23 TOs seemed excessive then...Read more. ...Without DE Charles Grant and LT Jamaal Brown, the Saints dropped two in a row and ended their four-game winning streak. Read more. ...Both teams at 4-6 and cling to fading playoff hopes. Each team desperately NEEDS a win...or else. Read more. ...Panthers haven't won at home since Nov. 19, 2006, against the Rams. They're eagerly awaiting the Saints' visit. Read more. ...The Charlotte Observer looks at the Saints ahead of Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers. Read more. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: CHARLOTTE, NC -- Carolina Panthers coach John Fox has changed his strategy on naming a starting quarterback. Fox says today that Vinny Testaverde will start. ...If there's multiple tiers in the league, it would go something like this: Group A: New England. David has been beaten by opposing wide receivers during the season, most recently Andre Johnson, but Coach Payton remains steadfast in his support of the embattled cornerback. Sean Payton stressed urgency during his weekly news conference, according to the Advocate's Les East: “We have six games left and we are two out so I can’t think of being in a more urgent position,” Payton said. “This is it and we are hitting a stretch now where we are going to play three division opponents in a row starting with Carolina and they are going to have that same sense of urgency and they need a win just like us." ... Courtesy of Sheldon Mickles, the Baton Rouge Advocate: "After digging themselves a huge hole to start the season, the New Orleans Saints have the shovels out again. This time, the Saints are slowly but surely playing themselves out of the crowded NFC wild-card playoff picture." Read more. ...In a battle of the number one and two draft picks from last season Mario Williams scored a victory Sunday as did his team. ...Yes, a four-game win streak earlier makes it tough to write off the Saints, even now, especially because the NFC is so weak. However, there are some troubling signs that this team is headed in the wrong direction. Saints play-by-play man Jim Henderson pointed during the Texans' game that only two of the Saints '07 draft picks were even active for Sunday's game and neither really figured in pivotal action. Two of the te... Drew: On the loss: On Bush's fumble on the 1-yard line: Wide receiver Andre Johnson will be back for the Saints game and he's probably licking his chops after looking at game film of the Rams receivers against the Saints defensive backs. ...
Fox Sports has their own preview of Sunday's game. Read more. ...From the Houston Chronicle: "Texans running back Ahman Green will not suit up against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Coach Gary Kubiak said Ron Dayne will get the start because of continued swelling in Green's knee." Read more. ...One game out of first, one game from being dead last. The NFC South is in such a sorry state that the Saints can still be relevant this late in the season, according to the Monroe News-Star. Read more. ...Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter said Reggie Bush may not be talking about his first game against the team that passed on him in the 2006 draft, but he's likely to be focused on that come gameday. Read more. ...Brian Young will miss his third consecutive game, according to the Biloxi Sun-Herald. Read more. ...Jammal Brown sat out Wednesday's practice and the Baton Rouge Advocate says Sean Payton sounds more unsure about his availability for Sunday's game. Meanwhile Charles Grant participated fully in practice. ...RealGM.com says they don't know who the real Saints are after nine games they've been both Jekyll and Hyde. ...Courtesy of the Associated Press: The top three offensive players for the Houston Texans should be healthy for Sunday's game against New Orleans. That outlook comes for the first time since the second week of the season. ...A compilation of NFL power rankings from across the internet. The theme? Nobody knows what to make of the Saints after nine games. ESPN.com. Some good news from the Saints game with the Rams is that two of the team's main offensive cogs , offensive tackle Jammal Brown and running back Reggie Bush appear not to have suffered serious injuries. ...Rick Cleveland of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger says he can't figure out this year's Saints team and he's not sure anyone can. ...It’s a disappointing loss. We can’t get this one back. The game wasn’t as close as the score indicated. We struggled, defensively, offensively. They converted the third downs and we didn’t. It was painfully obvious which team played better. You hit a setback like this and it’s disappointing, it’s frustrating but you have to go back to work. We had high expectations. On David: I think there was a lot of poor play today.... Hey folks, hope you're enjoying your Sunday morning. If you've got no TV, and want more than to listen to only Jim Henderson on the radio, join me for a day of stats, information and observations about the Saints' game against the Rams. Check back in periodically for updates. Hope you enjoy. ... |