Saints Gab

The Saints will look to keep their playoff hopes alive when they host the Buccaneers this week at the Superdome.  The Bucs are 7-and-4 and have a two-game lead on the 5-and-6 Saints in the NFC South.  Tampa Bay has reeled off three straight wins, including last week’s 19-13 triumph over the Washington Redskins.  Jeff Garcia injured his back on the opening drive of the game, but he did return in the fourth quarter.  Bruce Gradkowski filled in and threw for 106 yards for the Bucs.  The Saints beat the Carolina Panthers 31-6 in Week 12.  Drew Brees passed for three touchdowns, and ran for another, as New Orleans climbed back into the NFC playoff hunt.  In the first meeting of the year, the Bucs beat the Saints 31-14 in Tampa.

It took them till the third quarter to do it, but the Saints finally found their offense again, and once they did, the Carolina Panthers could do nothing to stop them.  Drew Brees threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, and the Saints scored on their first three second half possessions as they pounded the Panthers 31-6 in Carolina.  The Saints broke their two game losing streak and kept their playoff hopes alive, moving to 5-6.

“I know everyone wants to pin it on the quarterback,” Panthers coach John Fox said. “I think it’s fairly evident it’s not just the quarterback. Right now we’re just not a very good football team … and the buck stops here.” The Panthers are now 4-7.

It was a must win for the Saints, and with it they got back on track after a first half when they to punt six times and turned the ball over once.  Brees knew they had to pick it up in the second half.  “We talked at halftime and we knew that we had to do whatever it takes. You saw that coming out, three consecutive touchdowns.”

The Saints will look to get some revenge next week as they take on the first place Bucs at the SuperDome. 

Second-place in the NFC South will be on the line this Sunday when the Panthers host the Saints at Bank of America Stadium.  Both teams come in at 4-and-6, two games behind the division-leading Buccaneers.  The Panthers have dropped four straight after last week’s 31-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers.  Vinny Testaverde started for Carolina and threw for 258 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.  The Saints were thinking playoffs after winning four in-a-row to get to .500, but come in having lost two straight.   New Orleans lost 23-10 to the Houston Texans in Week 11.  Drew Brees completed 33 passes for 290 yards with one score and two picks in defeat.  The Panthers beat the Saints 16-13 in their first meeting of the season in Week Five.

Saints running back Reggie Bush wanted revenge on the team that passed him up for the number one pick in last year’s draft. Sunday in Houston the Texans wanted to prove, and did so, why they went with a different selection than the explosive Bush. The Texans defense, led by last years #1 pick Mario Williams, held Bush in check, and they went on to win their second straight, topping the Saints 23-10. Bush had just 34 yards on the ground, and caught 12 passes for 70 yards, but most were check downs that the Texans were able to get to before Bush could do anything with.

The Texans also had the pleasure of having two big starters back, as QB Matt Schaub played a solid game, going 21-for-33 for 293 yards with two TD’s and no picks. Wide out Andre Johnson was a playmaker once again, as he had 6 catches for 120 yards and a score, including a 73-yard score to start the scoring for the Texans, who trailed early 3-0 after a Olindo Mare 52-yard field goal three mintues into the game.

New Orleans took a 10-7 lead when QB Drew Brees hit Devery Henderson for 6 yards for a score with 4:39 left in the second quarter to make it 10-7. It was the last lead the Saints would have, as the Texans drove down the field and took control as Schaub hit Joel Dressen with a 10-yard score to make it 14-10. Kris Brown was able to covert a 36-yard field goal with :08 left in the first half to make it 17-10 at halftime.

The Texans defense took over at that point, holding the Saints high-powered offense in check the rest of the day. The Saints had five total possessions in the second half, and were only able to manage 144 yards on those drives, ending two with downs and one with a punt and another with a pick before ending the game with a drive. The Texans were able to ice the game with two Brown field goals, one of 53 yards and the other of 23 to put the game away.

The Saints will play at Carolina next week at 1:05 as they start the first of three straight against the NFC South.

Looks as if left tackle Jammal Brown is a no-go for Sunday’s big game for the Saints in Houston.  Brown did not practice Friday due to a strained calf.  His injury opens the door for second-year backup Zach Strief, who has one start under his belt when Brown went down with an injury last season.  As far as defensive end Charles Grant goes, he is still questionable with his ankle injury, but did take part in some of practice on Friday and it looks like he will be a game-time decision. Cornerback Usama Young (hamstring) is also listed as questionable after being limited in practice Friday.

The Saints will be looking to get back into the win column this week against the Texans at Reliant Stadium.  The Saints had their four-game winning streak snapped with a 37-29 loss to the then-winless St. Louis Rams.  Drew Brees threw for 272 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss.  New Orleans scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, but could not complete the comeback and fell to 4-and-5 on the season.  The Texans are coming off their bye and are in last place in the competitive AFC South at 4-and-5.  Houston beat the the Oakland Raiders 24-17 in Week Nine.  The Texans’ offense will get a boost as quarterback Matt Schaub and wide receiver Andre Johnson are both expected to return to the lineup.  The Saints won 31-10 in their only meeting with the Texans.

With the Saints blowing a golden shot to move to 5-4 Sunday, the team now has to regroup and get ready for this weekends game against the Houston Texans.  The road game will feature two teams that are 4-5, and for the Saints, they know that they can’t keep blowing games to bad teams like St.Louis.  “We definitely have that sense of urgency,” quarterback Drew Brees said, “but we still have the division right in front of us. We are only really a game out, we are going to see Tampa Bay one more time; we are going to see all of our division opponents one more time. So we’re lucky to be in the position we are at 4-5 and still only a game out. But we have to keep working, and we have to take it one game at a time. We have a game coming up against Houston, and they have played some good football at times this year, so we are going to have to be ready.”

Houston does have weapons, and one that will be back in wide out Andre Johnson, who has been out since week three with a knee injury.  He likely won’t be all the way back this week, but his presence will add a dimension to the Texans offense that they have not had for sometime.  The Texans were 2-0 with Johnson the first two weeks.  Without them, they went 2-5.  Nevertheless, the Saints are very leary of the team they will line up against in a game that could very well be a shootout.  “It’s the same thing with the Seattle Seahawks,” Saints fullback Mike Karney said. “We were 0-4, they were riding high in the NFC West. It’s the same thing. Any given Sunday, anybody can win. (The Rams) had a bye week, a week to prepare. . . . This is the National Football League, man. It can happen to anybody. That’s the way the NFL is. We’re back to being humble.”      

The Rams take their 0-and-8 record on the road this Sunday to face the surging Saints at the Superdome.  St. Louis is coming off a bye week and expects to have running back Steven Jackson back in the lineup.  The Rams’ offense could use the boost, having scored a league-worst 99 points this season.  The St. Louis defense has also given up an NFC-worst 219 points thus far.  New Orleans is seeking its fifth straight victory after starting the season 0-and-4.  Drew Brees passed for 445 yards and three touchdowns in the team’s 41-24 win over the Jaguars last Sunday.  The Saints lost the last matchup at St. Louis in 2005.

Saints back Reggie Bush sat out practice on Wednesday with a bruised knee.  He did take part in the “walkthrough” portion of the practice, and says he’ll play Sunday vs the Rams at home.  “I just banged it up a little bit last game. That’s really it. There’s nothing broken, nothing torn or anything like that,” Bush said after practice. “Just a normal everyday football injury that you go through. (Sitting out of practice) was precautionary to get ready for the game this weekend. I was getting tackled out of bounds and a guy just twisted my leg and that was really it. It didn’t really start hurting me until later that night. It’s nothing that kept me out of the game or anything like that. … It’s just one of those weird things that don’t look like much.”

Left defensive end Charles Grant (left ankle), starting defensive tackle Brian Young (left knee), starting weakside linebacker Scott Shanle (hamstring) and reserve cornerback Usama Young (hamstring), all missed the practice on Wednesday.

What a difference a month can make for a football team. In the case of the New Orleans Saints case, it has made a lot of difference. Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw for 445 yards and 3 touchdowns and cornerback Mike McKenzie intercepted a pass and returned it 75 yards for a score as the Saints won their 4th straight contest, 41-24 over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Saints appeared to be running on all cylinders this Sunday; Brees was 35-for-49, and running back Reggie Bush did pretty well for himself, gaining 115 total yards. This would be the 3rd time in 4 games that Bush has eclipsed the 100-yard mark. After New Orleans placekicker Olindo Mare made a 46-yard field goal – he missed 2 other chances, the Saints caught Jacksonville off-guard, as they recovered an onside kick. Bush would score on a 1-yard run for a Saints 10-0 lead before 7 minutes had elapsed.

Jacksonville QB Quinn Gray’s long pass play to WR Reggie Williams made the score 10-7 New Orleans, but more New Orleans’ defensive errors allowed the Jaguars to tie the game; the Saints’ McKenzie first dropped an possible interception, then was flagged for a 15-yard facemask penalty which set up Jaguars kicker John Carney’s 30-yard FG. But the interception for a score by McKenzie turned the tide for the Saints, giving the Saints what would be an unsurmountable 31-17 lead.

The aforementioned Brees led the Saints with 445 yards in the air along with 3 TD’s, with Bush adding 72 rushing yards (including 43 yards in receptions) with WR Marques Colston adding 159 yards in receiving yards and WR David Patten adding 81 receiving yards and a TD. Jacksonville was led by Gray who had a career best 354 yards with 2 TD’s and 3 INT’s; WR Reggie Williams led all Jaguars receivers with 6 catches for 128 yards and a TD. The resurgent Saints (4-4) next host the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, while the Jaguars (5-3) travel north to face the Tennessee Titans in an important AFC South divisional matchup next Sunday.