Saints Gab

Saints fans knew that this was going to be a tough game against a division opponent and one they desperately wanted to win. The last meeting between the two teams was in week one as the Saints won 24 to 20 but that game wasn’t over until the defense intercepted Garcia with 44 seconds left. However, the Buccaneers have 8 victories since then, including being 5-0 at home this season and have won their last three games.

Saints QB Drew Brees (24,/47, 296 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) has been on fire this season as he leads the league with 3,870 yards and is on the verge of breaking Dan Marino’s single season record for most yards passing. The Saints had the number one ranked passing offense coming into the game but they were going up against the number two ranked passing defense. The Buccaneers have been a hard team to beat this season and they proved it again by intercepting Brees three times.

Buccaneers QB Jeff Garcia (9/23, 119 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) put up fewer yards and struggled completing his passes but was effective for his team on the ground as well with 42 rushing yards, more than any Saints player.

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The Saints have been without fullback Mike Karney for the past two games, but it appears he will try to at least practice this week. He’s been out with a torn medial collateral knee ligament, but said today that he will try and test the knee tomorrow when the team gets back on the practice field after the Monday night win. Look for Karney to be eased back into the lineup, and likely to still sit this week.

After an offensive shootout in the first half, the New Orleans Saints pulled away in the third quarter with a real team effort that included three interceptions, Deuce McAllister breaking the franchise record for rushing touchdowns, and their explosive passing game.

This was an important game for two teams trying to reach the playoffs. Coming into the game, both teams had even records after 10 games but had not broken .500. However, the Green Bay Packers are more competitive in the NFC North while the Saints will need some help to catch up to their division rivals in the NFC South.

This was also a special victory for New Orleans who has been trying to put together two wins all season and to show that the team has more going for them than just the record-setting season of Drew Brees.

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Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will take on the New Orleans Saints in what looks to be like a haymaker in the Superdome tonight. The primetime matchup on Monday Night Football will be the 21st game between these two teams. Both teams enter tonight’s matchup with records of 5-5 and are pursuing an intense playoff race.

Green Bay joined a three-way tie atop the NFC North with the Bears and Vikings last week defeating the Bears at home, 37-3.

Last week, New Orleans defeated the Chiefs 30-20 at Arrowhead Stadium. In a heated NFC South, the Saints currently find themselves at the bottom in 4th place.

This becomes a critical game for both teams as the race in each of their respective divisions has significantly tightened, leaving no room for error.

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According to head coach Sean Payton, it’s still too early to tell if leading rusher Reggie Bush will be back for this week’s big game vs the Packers on Monday night. Payton said that the team will see how the injured knee of Bush will hold up in practice before they rush him back into action. He was slated to miss 2-4 weeks, but he’s missed more than that and some are wondering just how bad that knee is and when he’ll be back on the playing field if at all in 2008.

A 12-play drive that ate up close to 6 and a half minutes in the fourth quarter was exactly what the doctor ordered Sunday for the Saints in their 30-20 win over the Chiefs. It was the type of drive the team has been looking for the whole season. They were able to run the ball, have some success with Drew Brees making big throws, and they ate clock at the same time.

The drive only ended with a field goal, but it made a statement that the Saints were not going to give up this fourth quarter lead. They needed that field goal, and they got it when Garrett Hartley nailed the 35-yard kick to make it 30-20 with just over three minutes left. It would have been real easy, based on how this crazy season has gone, to have gone three-and-out on that drive that then have to sweat it out.

Instead, the Saints did the right thing, which was take care of business against the 32nd ranked defense with their number one ranked offense. Brees and company did what they had to do, now they can look ahead to another huge challenge this week as they get ready for the Packers on Monday night.

Although the New Orleans Saints got their first road win against a struggling Kansas City Chiefs team, the team faces a long road ahead if they want to make a run for the playoffs. This was a game that the Saints were expected to win and they did not disappoint.

However, the Saints still could not get a 100-yard rusher against the worst rushing defense in the league and the defense showed that their lack of a pass rush has been because the secondary doesn’t cover man-to-man very well. Rather than being something to crow about, this game showed that the season isn’t yet over. The real tests still lie ahead.

Saints QB Drew Brees threw for 266 yards, completing 25 of 36 attempts, making one touchdown and one interception. He now has 3,251 yards this season and, with a 325.1 yards per game average, is predicted to throw for 5,201 yards. He was helped by good field position most of the game thanks to a solid special teams effort. Chiefs QB Tyler Thigpen threw for 235 yards, completing 19 of 38, with two touchdowns and one interception.

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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Practice Report

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
CB Aaron Glenn (ankle), C Jonathan Goodwin (knee), RB Mike Karney (knee), T Jon Stinchcomb (calf)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
RB Reggie Bush (knee), WR Marques Colston (knee)

FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
K Garrett Hartley (back), RB Aaron Stecker (hamstring)

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

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Now at 4-5 on the season, the New Orleans Saints are hoping that a trip to KC this weekend to play the 1-8 Chiefs is just what the doctor ordered to get their season back on track so they can make a serious run at the playoffs in the NFC. Last week the Saints were blitzed by the Falcons at the Georgia Dome, losing 34-20.

The Chiefs are playing better, but are still looking to get better. Tyler Thigpen is playing well at the QB spot, but the team has gotten only so close before losing. The same thing happened last week, as they got the TD that got them within 20-19 against the Chargers, but with the team banged up on defense, Herm Edwards decided to go for two and the win, and the pass was incomplete, and the team lost by one.

As for the Saints, they are 0-4 on the road, so while they are playing a team that on paper they seem better than, winning on the road for sure has not come easy. They may get a lift with the return of RB Reggie Bush, but they simply have to be more consistant both on offense and on defense, as last week they were not very good in the 14-point loss.

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Although it has been hard to watch some of the losses this season for the Saints, one thing that I am completely impressed with is the passing game of QB Drew Brees. Much of the talk has been on whether Brees will break former Miami Dolphins QB Dan Marino’s season-setting record of 5,084 yards set back in 1984. I wanted to look a little deeper to see how good this guy really is.

1984 was an impressive year for Marino, his first as a full-time starter. He averaged 317.75 yards per game that year, threw for 48 touchdowns, only 17 interceptions, and finished the season with a 108.9 passer rating. Miami also went to the Super Bowl that year, losing to San Francisco by a score of 38 to 16. I doubt that the Saints will enjoy that level of success this year. However, Brees does look like he will surpass 5,084 yards and make a mark as one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game.

Brees leads the league in passing yards with 2,985. He is followed by Arizona QB Kurt Warner who has 2,760 and looks like his biggest competition this season. Brees also averages 25 more yards per game than Warner. Warner beats Brees in completion percentage, touchdowns, interceptions, and has a higher passing rating. However, Brees has more big plays. He leads the league in passes of 20 or more yards with 40 (Warner only has 28) and of 40 or more yards with 12 (Warner has 6). Brees is fourth in the league with an overall passer rating of 96.1.

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