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Eye ON THE SAINTS |
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June 2008
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Tom Planchet: November 2006 ArchivesDennis Georgatos of the Mercury News says the 49ers want the Saints to pass and pass often noting that they are only 2-3 during Brees' streak of 300-yard passing games. ...The Sports Network's Scott Garbarini says the Saints have been both lucky and good this season. ...Marques Colston participated in a few light drills, but was listed as questionable on the team's injury report. His status included an asterik that indicated that he did not practice. Colston is expected to be 'day to day' and did not play last week against the Falcons. He was injured early in the loss to Cincinnati. ...Saints starting tight end Ernie Conwell was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, ending his season, because he was unable to come back from a knee injury as quickly as coaches had hoped. Conwell suffered a medial meniscus tear in the Oct. 14 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. After sitting out several weeks, he played in Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons, but for only about a dozen plays. ...The Saints game with the Cowboys will be moved to national television on Sunday, Dec. 10. The move is part of the league's new flex policy that allows attractive games to be selected for the national spotlight late in the year. ...Cris Schmidt of the Daily Texan says no one in the NFL deserves the league MVP award more than Drew Brees, at least through 11 games. ...Michael Vick gave some heckling fans the finger after the loss to the Saints . He later apologized. ...Troy Johnson of the McClatchy Newspaper group says don't blame Michael Vick for the Falcons' shortcomings, especially in Sunday's loss to the Saints. ...
Ralph Malbrough says he's happy when the Saints are catching Hail Mary passes and the Falcons are squabbling. ...Head Coach Sean Payton said he held Marques Colston out of the game after watching him in a pre-game drill. Payton said Colston improved a lot during the week, but that he was worried that if he aggravated the injury that he could miss 2-3 weeks, so he decided to keep him out. ...FOX broadcasters said Sunday that the Saints game at New York against the Giants on Christmas Eve has been switched to a 3 p.m. kickoff as part of the league's 'flex' scheduling. It is the second game switched this year by the league. The game was originally scheduled for Noon in New York. ...The Saints were the choice of all but three of ESPN's experts for this weekend's game with the Falcons. ...Unlike the season opener, this time Paul Newberry says there is no fanfare leading up to the Saints game with the Falcons, just two desperate teams looking for a win. ...NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT ATLANTA FALCONS -- New Orleans Saints: DOUBTFUL: S Bryan Scott (Foot). QUESTIONABLE: RB Aaron Stecker (Ankle); CB Fred Thomas (Thumb); WR Marques Colston (Ankle). Atlanta Falcons: OUT: CB Jason Webster (Groin). QUESTIONABLE: CB Jimmy Williams (Ankle). ...The Sports Network says Sunday's game between a Falcons team that has lost three straight and a Saints team that has lost three of four could be a lifeline for the winner and a lethal blow to the loser. ...Actually, according to Atlanta Journal Constitution writer Terence Moore former Saints head coach Jim Mora agreed with a radio announcer that Michael Vick is a 'coach killer' and he lamented Vick's inability to pass and what that may do to his son's coaching future. ...As expected, the Saints have dropped in the power rankings. They are now 13th in the latest ESPN rankings and their defense, not the turnovers, is getting most of the blame. ...Head coach Sean Payton said that Marques Colston has a sprained ankle and his injury will be treated and evaluated daily. He gave no indication if it would have him out for a game or several games or if he might even play next week. ...The recent rash of turnovers and having the team shoot itself in the foot reminds Kevin Foote of the Louisiana Sports Bureau of a team he used to know - old Saints teams. ...An obviously downbeat Saints coach Sean Payton harped on the theme of turnovers in the post game. He said that considering last week's problems with fumbles and this week's problem with interceptions and dropped passes, that no one part of the offense was immune from the problems they are having. 'I think our guys are playing with effort and energy, but we're making too many mistakes,' he said. 'The only thing I know how to do now is t... CBS announcer Randy Cross near the end of the Saints loss to the Bengals. 'When you run for close to 100 yards and pass for over 500 yards you have to do something monumental to screw that up.' Cross was commenting on the Saints total offense of 595 yards in the loss to Cincinnati. ...Kevin Kelly of the Cincinnati Enquirer says Drew Brees is the biggest reason for the Saints success so far this season. ...Sean Payton's hot start and makeover of the Saints is very similar to what Bengals coach Marvin Lewis did in Cincinnati. ...Writer Larry McClatchy says the Bengals are having their troubles and they bring them to the Superdome today. ...Dale McKee of the Laurel Leader-Call says things seem to be going almost 'too good' for the Saints but he's loving every minute of it. ...The rock band Green Day says the the Saints return to the Superdome was the inspiration for their recently-released single, 'The Saints Are Coming.' ...Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said Sunday that the Saints looked like the Steelers have all season long. ...Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Reggie Bush is dropping the marketing agent who helped him get $50 million in endorsement deals prior to signing a contract with the Saints. ...Several emotional pre-game speeches by Steelers players helped fuel their strong effort against the Saints. ...The touchdown fumble recovery by Deuce McAllister was not intentional and the Saints narrowly averted a fourth turnover, according to the players involved. After the game Drew Brees said the snap from center Jeff Faine 'stuck in the ground' and rolled back to Deuce McAllister. Brees said he didn't even know the ball had been snapped and said he was looking non-chalant because he thought Faine still had it. Deuce McAllister said... Jim Henderson is among those who believe that Reggie Bush will be just fine. And he weighs in on why the Saints team that struggled in preseason is not playing like gangbusters. ...Steelers linebacker Joey Porter has guaranteed Steeler fans a win over the Saints Sunday, according to what he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette. ...Sean Payton said he understands that it's the media's job to look ahead and even talk about playoff scenarios, but he wasn't ready to do so during his post game chat with reporters Wednesday. 'I'm sure the playoff discussion is rolling along,' Payton said. 'This is the ninth game of the season ... There's a time when you begin to discuss that ... but I don't think the time is yet. It's halftime.' 'I can only control the message... NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS -- Saints: OUT: TE Scott Garbarini of the Sports Network can't stop gushing about the job that Sean Payton is doing with the Saints. Garbarini says he's well on the way to Coach of the Year hardware. ...
Contributing writer and Saints fan Ralph Malbrough said he loves a big Saints win even though it sometimes leads to inane discussions. ...The Saints big bounce back against the Bucs has the top sports media web sites believing. ESPN has them up a spot to eighth and says the league definitely has a "top8." Head coach Sean Payton made several comments about Reggie Bush at his Monday press conference, including saying that he is Bush's 'number one fan.' 'I see the Reggie meter and it’s silly. The meter is 6-2. He’s a big reason why we’re winning. There’s some things he’d like to be doing, but look at what he and Deuce saw yesterday was some tough fronts. The guys are putting the team in front of their individual accomplishme... Drew Brees was nearly perfect in the first half and had the Bucs reeling, according to the Tampa Tribune's Ira Kaufman. ... |