Lance Moore is dealing with a bruised shin in the aftermath of the Saints victory over the Falcons on Monday night, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. His status has not been updated as of yet, but it’s hard to imagine it affecting his Week 9 availability.
The Saints are looking forward to another record-breaking year of offense, and are hoping to have wide out Lance Moore healthy and ready to go when they kick if off.
Moore had a tough offseason, tearing his labrum and dislocating his shoulder while lifting weights back in April. Though it all, Moore thinks he’ll be ready to go by two or three weeks into training camp.
The good news is that Moore was running routes on the field by the end of OTA’s. Last year he had a team high 79 catches for 928 yards 10 TD’s.
Moore has even more incentive to come out strong, as he will be playing the 09 season under a one-year contract as a restricted free agent, meaning he could cash out big-time with a big 2009 season.
Before the game started, the big question was how well newly-signed Kicker Garrett Huntley would do. As it turns out, Huntley was perfect for the day but you couldn’t say the same for the rest of the team with the exceptions of Brees and Colston who had outstanding days.
Drew Brees continued his passing streak finishing the day with 422 yards, completing 31 of 58, with two touchdowns and three interceptions while Atlanta QB Matt Ryan had 248 yards, making 16 of 23, with two touchdowns and no interceptions This was the seventh 300 plus yard game this season for Drew Brees. It was also his second 400 plus yard game of the season and his highest yardage. Brees threw for 421 yards in the week three loss to Denver.
In the first half, Atlanta made touchdowns while New Orleans could only make field goals. The Saints started their first possession of the game by throwing a deep pass to WR Devery Henderson in double coverage that was intercepted by Safety Erik Coleman. Starting from midfield on their next possession, Atlanta quickly drove down to the red zone and made their first touchdown of the day with a 16-yard pass to WR Roddy White.
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Lance Moore has worked his way up the depth chart after spending the majority of his first two seasons as a member of the team’s practice squad. Last season, Moore caught a career-high 32 receptions for 302 yards and two touchdowns, while also serving as the team’s primary punt returner. On Sunday, he posted a career day, finishing with seven catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the Saints’ 31-17 win over San Francisco. In this exclusive interview with NFLPLAYERS.COM, Moore talks about the challenges he faced moving up from the Saints’ practice squad and much more.
Q: What is something people might not know about you and what do you like to do in your spare time?
A: Something people might not know is that I’m a black belt. I don’t do too much in my spare time, other than sleep.
Q: What was the biggest challenge that you faced when trying to move up from the Saints’ practice squad to the active roster?
A: Just trying to understand that sometimes you have to wait your turn and as long as you keep working there’s a possibility that things can change and you’ll get your opportunity.
The Saints got some bad news today in their passing game, as tight end Jeremy Shockey is expected to miss between three and six weeks to surgery for a sport hernia. He has been somewhat silent in the passing game so far for New Orleans, as he has 16 catches for 151 yards in the team going 1-2.
It’s Shockey’s second big injury in two years, as last season he broke his left leg in December with the Giants and missed the teams postseason run that ended with an upset of the Pats in the Super Bowl. The Saints have already lost Marques Colston for a few weeks, that took place in week one in a win over Tampa Bay. He had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb and is not expected back for another month.
Right now that will put the pressure on wides outs David Patten, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Robert Meachem and Terrance Copper. The teams other tight ends are Billy Miller and Mark Campbell.
Tidbit from Pro Football Weekly:
“Sources tell us WR Lance Moore has been the breakout star at Saints camp. The emergence of Moore, who is set to return kickoffs and is battling for the No. 4 WR job, made longtime return man Michael Lewis expendable.”
