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Eye ON THE SAINTS |
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June 2009
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September 2008 ArchivesSaints head coach Sean Payton was fined $15,000 by the NFL for pointing out that a Broncos player was lined up in the neutral zone on the crucial 3rd and 1 play near the end of the team's loss to Denver. ...The Saints big home win didn't help them move the bar in this week's power ratings. ESPN kept the Saints at 16, while CBS Sportsline did move them up a bit from 20th to 17th.
(4:08 4th Quarter) It all started when New Orleans head coach Sean Payton went for a TD on fourth-and-goal from the 1. The play failed. And then New Orleans' porous defense returned, giving up plays of 19 and 36 yards, not to mention a big 43-yard pass interference penalty on Roman Harper. O'Sullivan hit Isaac ... John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle says that the coach every Saints fan loves to hate - Mike Martz - is leading the offensive resurgence of the 49ers. ...Bradley Handwerger reports from the Saints facility on Airline Drive that Center Jonathan Goodwin sat out practice with an injured hamstring. ...Add center Jonathan Goodwin to the injury list for the Saints. He sat out practice Thursday with a hamstring injury. Other injuries from Thursday's report: ESPN dropped the Saints a bit and cite injuries as the main problem. My weekly rankings say the Saints stay about 15th. The potential is there and this team is a whisker from 3-0 or 0-3. The deficienci... Sean Payton admits he should have called a timeout prior to the Saints unsuccessful third and 1 late in the game. ...The Denver Post's Mike Chambers notes that the Saints Drew Brees, despite a huge performance, is winless in Denver. ...Quarterback Drew Brees said the team would look back on the fumble by Bush, which was returned for a touchdown, the inability to score a touchdown despite a 2nd and goal from the 1 before halftime and the problem on 3rd and 1 at the end of the game. Brees said the team definitely wanted to convert that 3&1 at the end to run the clock down, then move it closer, kick a field goal and win. "You gotta score," Brees said about the d... I believe that Albert Einstein was quoted as saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Last week against Washington, with about 4 minutes remaining in the game and the Saints ahead 24-22, the team faced a 3rd and 1 at their own 37. Pierre Thomas got the ball and was stuffed. The team went on to lose. Just before halftime Sunday, with 2nd and 1 inside the Broncos 1-yard line and ... The Denver Post points out (you'll have to scroll down the page) that Drew Brees hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in his last 4 games against Denver. Of course, those all came when he played in San Diego, which was a long time ago. ...Woody Paige of the Denver Post said the Broncos need not apologize for their 'gift' win against the Chargers. And, absolutely, they should not...but they only won because of a lucky break and now they have a large amount of momentum going into Sunday's game with the Saints. One NFL columnist on Sunday's game with the Saints said "First one to 40 wins." ...Greg Easterbrook's weekly column on ESPN.com includes a spot on Reggie Bush and his taunting finger. You'll have to scroll down a bit to find it...I think it's the Sour Note or Play of the Week. I'm pretty certain of this fact though, not only have the Saints been pummeled after each of those finger points...they didn't score another ... The Saints have taken a stock market-like tumble in the different power ratings this week, with ESPN (12th)saying they look like last year's team, CBS Sportsline (13th) blames the Saints play on injuries. My totally unscientific power ratings have the Saints at 15...and there is big concern about this weekend's contest against the high-scoring Broncos.
It's an old saying in the NFL, to win you have to be able to run the ball and stop the run. Right now, the Saints can't do either, according to the Biloxi Sun Herald's Larry Holder. ...With Colston away, Meachem will play. But I don't think the former first round pick will be the stopgap. Sure he'll get some touches... and any touches for him will be big touches. He was the only first round pick NOT to step on the field last season, and again in week 1 of this season, he found himself in street clothes. From the Associated Press: Hollis Thomas, who already was expected to miss the first six weeks of the season with a torn triceps, has been placed on injured reserve, ending his season. The Saints also waived reserve tight end Billy Miller. Thomas, a 12-year veteran, has spent the past two seasons with the Saints, playing in 30 games and starting 26. Last season, he was credited with 58 total tackles and 3 1/2 sacks. ...As has been reported, WR Marques Colston is out. Head coach Sean Payton will speak after practice today at roughly 1:30 p.m. This can be said - he wasn't out at practice today and it appeared, at least in what the media was allowed to watch, that Robert Meachem was getting a few more reps. It certainly will be seen on Sunday as to how much he actually plays. Also not out at practice - TE Billy Miller, DL Antwan Lake, LB Scott F... FOXsports.com is reporting that Saints No. 1 receiver Marques Colston will be out for 4-6 weeks with a torn ligament in his thumb. This is not good news for the Saints, and it now forces Robert Meachem into a must-play scenario. Meachem has yet to be on the active list for an NFL game in his career. ...The rise of the Saints and the fall of some of the AFC's titans has shown up in most of the Power Rankings this week. ESPN has them ranked 4th. While Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline has them 3rd. Vic Carucci of NFL.com has a more measured idea, with the Saints ranked 9th. For what it's worth, I think the Saints... As was quite obvious Sunday, the Saints D looked much better than it did in 2007. You're not the only one who noticed; so, too, did ESPN.com ...Newest updates to this blog will come up top (7:38 4th Quarter) So, as boring as the first half was, this second half has been that much more exciting. And on this past scoring drive, Reggie Bush is largely to thank. He caught a 29-yard pass from Brees for a first down, caught another pass for 5 yards, then split two defenders and darted 42 yards into the end zone on a swing pass. He juked Tampa's Jerma... Sports Illustrated's Peter King wrote for his Web site prior to Monday's landfall for Gustav that if there was widespread devastation, the rumors of Saints to LA would ramp back up. ...CBS Sportsline's Pete Prisco has the Saints as the top NFC pick in his power rankings, though he does have them behind the Colts and Patriots overall. ...USA Today reports that the Saints aren't making themselves too available for comment on Gustav while in Indianapolis. ...With the exception of one holdout all of ESPN's football experts are picking the Saints to win the NFC South. ... |
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