Saints Gab

The Saints dominated the 49ers early in the game as they took a 24-0 lead into halftime. Marques Colston snapped out of his sophmore slump catching 3 TD passes as the Saints won their 3rd game in a row to improve to 3-4. Drew Brees was on point all day as he completed 31 of 39 pass attempts for 336 yards and 4 TD’s without an interception. Reggie Bush carried the ball 10 times for 64 yards and caught 7 passes for 49 yards while his counterpart in the backfield Aaron Stecker gained 35 yards on 12 carries. Colston led all WR’s in catches with 8 for 85 yards. David patten caught 8 balls for 109 yards. Terrence Copper gained 10 yards and scored 1 TD on 2 catches.

Marques Colston caught eight balls for 85 yards and three touchdowns as the Saints rolled past the Niners 31-10 at Monster Park.  Drew Brees had a nearly perfect game, completing 31-of-39 passes for 336 yards and four touchdowns.  Reggie Bush ran for 64 yards on 10 carries, and caught seven passes for 49 yards to help New Orleans win their third straight game and improve to 3-and-4 on the year.  Vernon Davis had six catches for 71 yards and a score, and Joe Nedney connected on a 29-yard field goal to complete the scoring for the Niners.  Alex Smith threw for 190 yards and a TD in the loss.  San Francisco fell to 2-and-5 with the setback.

The Saints hope they can continue their winning streak in San Fran on Sunday, but may have to do it without starting center Jeff Faine.  The anchor of the line is suffering from a left pectoral injury.  Head coach Sean Payton said that the injury won’t require surgery, but could cause him to miss this Sunday’s game.  Faine did not come back in after leaving the game against the Falcons in the third quarter.  He had X-rays this past week, and it showed there were not tears.  “There’s no surgery; there’s no procedure. It is what it is. It will take time to where he feels strong enough in that area,” Payton said.  Another player that may be out of the lineup is defensive tackle Brian Young.  He was limited in practice with knee stiffness, and missed practice on Wednesday.

Two teams on different streaks, but with identical records, will meet when the Saints take on the 49ers at Monster Park in a battle of 2-and-4 teams.  San Francisco has dropped four straight after opening the season with two victories.  The 49ers were crushed 33-15 by the New York Giants last week at the Meadowlands.  Trent Dilfer started at quarterback and tossed for 209 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Niners.  Alex Smith will get the star at quarterback for San Fran after missing the last two games due to a shoulder injury.  After losing their first four games, the Saints have posted back-to-back victories over the Seahawks and Falcons.  Drew Brees threw for 219 yards and a pair of scores in the Saints’ 22-16 win over Atlanta in Week Seven.  The Saints have won three straight over the 49ers, including last years 34-10 victory in New Orleans.

With the crowd chanting his name, Reggie Bush finally came up big Sunday as the  Saints continued to try to revive their 2007 season with a 22-16 win over the Falcons. Drew Brees hit Bush with a 4-yard TD with 5:04 left in the contest to seal the win.  “I was just excited to make a play for my team. We struggled throughout the game. We really didn’t have the game we wanted to,” Bush said. “I just kept fighting, kept my feet moving and refused to go down.”

Bush was not done, as after the Falcons punted with under two minutes left, the back put the game away with a seven-yard run that gave them a first down and allowed them to run out the clock.  He finished with just 54 yards rushing and 19 through the air, but came through in the clutch, which is something the Saints are going to need in 2007 if they are going to rebound from an awful start.

The Falcons actually looked solid with new starter Byron Leftwich, as he led the offense for some points.  Problem is Leftwich was injured early in the third quarter with a high ankle sprain and left the game for good.  Joey Harrington took over, and while he was better than the past two outings, he was not able to lead the Falcons on that last drive that could have won the game.

New Orleans improves to 2-4 with the win, and with a winnable game at San Fran next week, could be 3-4 before back to back home games vs the Jaguars and Rams.  The Falcons fall to 1-6, and get a bye week next Sunday before they host the 49′ers on Novmber 4th at the Georgia Dome.

Leftwich completed 15 of 23 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown pass to Roddy White.  Brees went 22-of-34 for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

Both the Falcons and Saints will be going for their second victory of the season when they meet in Week Seven for an NFC South tilt at the Superdome.  The Saints picked up their first win of the year 28-17 last week over the Seattle Seahawks.  Drew Brees threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns and Reggie Bush piled up 141 yards of total offense for New Orleans.  The Falcons were decimated 31-10 by the New York Giants on Monday night football.  All of Atlanta’s offense came in the first quarter, with a 67-yard touchdown run from Jerious Norwood and a 47-yard field goal from Morten Anderson.  Joey Harrington continued to struggle, completing just 18-of-39 passes for 209 yards with an interception, so the Falcons will turn to Byron Leftwich for the rest of the year.  Leftwich, who was released by Jacksonville before the start of the season, signed as a free agent following Week Two.  The Saints swept both meetings between the two teams last season.

The Saints quest for a win finally ended on Sunday night, and of at all places – usually unfriendly Qwest Field in Seattle. The home of the Hawks was a place of comfort for the once 0-4 Saints, as they put on a first half show in a 28-17 win. The victory puts the Saints at 1-4, trailing two division front runners in Tampa Bay and Carolina, who are both 4-1. The win ends a four week stretch of nightmares for the Saints, who many thought would be a contender to represent the NFC in this years Super Bowl. The Saints got off to a fast start, building a 21-0 lead and then adding a late first half score with :30 left to go up 28-7. Their defense allowed a last-play field goal to end the first half up 28-10, but in the second half, allowed just one score to wind up 11-point winners.

The offense finally found some cracks, as Reggie Bush had possibly the best game of his career, rushing for 97 yards and adding another 43 on catches to end the night with 141 combined yards. He and Drew Brees seemed on the same page, and the QB was on target most of the night, throwing for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Brees had entered the game with just one TD pass and 9 interceptions. Sunday night in Seattle he had none.

New Orleans also stuffed the running game of the Hawks, who were led by Shaun Alexander, who ran for just 40 yards on 14 carries, a sick 2.5 per carry average. Take away a 37-yard run by back Leonard Weaver, and Seattle ran for just 55 yards on 20 carries, an average of 2.7 yards per carry. Not what one would come to expect for a team that stated all week they would get the running game back to up to snuff.

A bad snap on a punt that led to a Saints score when Pierre Thomas picked up the loose ball and took it in for a score. New Orleans converted 7-of-14 third downs, Bush, who finally looked like a star in the making, kept the Hawks on their toes all night. “This was us,” Brees said. “We did a great job. For the Saints, it looked more like 2006 than the early part of this season, in which after four games they looked more like the Aint’s again, and not the high powered Saints of a year ago.

The Seahawks will look to get back on the winning track when the winless Saints march into Qwest Field on Sunday night.  The Saints are one of three remaining teams that have failed to post a win this season and sit in last place in the NFC South.  The Saints fell victim to a last-second 52-yard field goal in Week Five’s 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers.  Drew Brees had 252 yards through the air with two interceptions in the loss.  The Seahawks are coming off a disappointing 21-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The offense struggled to get going, as Matt Hasselbeck finished with just 116 yards through the air and Shaun Alexander was held to 25 yards on the ground.  Seattle will be without receiver Deion Branch, who suffered a sprained foot.  The Seahawks won 21-7 in New Orleans the last time these two teams met in 2004.

John Kasay hit a 52-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Panthers over the winless Saints, 16-13 at the Superdome.  Kasay had three field goals on the afternoon and Steve Smith caught a 17-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to cap off the comeback.  David Carr battled a back injury to complete 10-of-17 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.  Jon Beason recorded 13 tackles en route to helping Carolina get back on track and improve to 3-and-2.  Drew Brees had 252 yards passing, but threw two interceptions in the loss.  Reggie Bush was held to 67 yards rushing on 21 attempts.  The Saints are 0-and-4 after making it to the NFC Championship game last season.  The Saints travel to Seattle in search of their first win next Sunday.

One of the NFL’s most disappointing teams this season will desperately be seeking a victory when the Saints host the Panthers at the Superdome.  A fashionable Super Bowl pick, New Orleans is one of just three winless teams remaining in the league at 0-and-3.  The Saints hope to regroup coming off a bye.  New Orleans was waxed at home by the Titans in Week Three and has been outscored 103-38 thus far.  Drew Brees, who led the NFL in passing last season, has just one touchdown pass and seven interceptions with a quarterback rating of 57.1.  Carolina is 2-and-2 on the year after a 20-7 setback against the Buccaneers at home.  The Panthers were stymied by the Bucs, getting a touchdown in the final minute to avoid being shut out.  David Carr was just 19-of-41 for 155 yards in place of injured QB Jake Delhomme.