Saints Gab

Quarterbacks Drew Brees and Mark Brunell each tossed touchdown passes to lead the Saints to a 17-7 win over the Bengals in Friday night’s preseason opener for both teams. Brees threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey in the second quarter, and Brunnell hooked up with Robert Meachem for a 64-yard strike in the third quarter. Garrett Hartley added a 54-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

The New Orleans Saints have one of, if not the best QB in the league in Drew Brees. While that much is fact, who is going to be Brees’ backup for the 2009 season is very much still up in the air. The News Star reports that the battle for the backup job appears to be coming down to two veteran guys – Mark Brunell and Joey Harrington.

“Those two are going to compete for that position, much like most of these jobs,” coach Sean Payton said about Brunell and Harrington. Harrington was the third-string QB most of 2008, but is looking to come in and unseat the veteran Brunell, who has also played with the Packers, Jaguars and Redskins.

“I feel good because we have experience there,” Payton said. “We have a relatively young player in Harrington and I do think we’ll have competition at that (No. 2) spot. With just three on the roster now, that will afford us an opportunity to give those guys plenty of reps in training camp, especially in the preseason games.”

Harrington played with the Falcons in 2007, and the former first-round pick also has played for the Lions and Dolphins.

When it comes to the backup QB spot for the Saints, Pro Football Weekly reports that Mark Brunell is the leader right now for the position over Joey Harrington. Here’s the report:

Sources say Mark Brunell is still ahead of Joey Harrington on the Saints’ depth chart at quarterback. New Orleans re-signed Harrington in late March, but head coach Sean Payton still has more confidence in Brunell, should he need to go to a backup if Drew Brees were to suffer an injury that kept him out for a few games. Word is the Saints view Brunell as a near-perfect fit as a primary backup — he doesn’t have great arm strength, but he is known as a sound decision maker, which is a trait Payton values.

After months of speculation about how good they really are, the New Orleans Saints did little to distinguish themselves in their 2008 pre-season opener, with the exception of Robert Meachem. Perhaps the most impressive was that there was not a noticeable drop-off in talent once the starters rested and the team had only one turnover.

Drew Brees (6/7, 40 yards) scored first with a pass in the end zone to David Patten, capping an 80-yard drive that used up close to seven minutes of the quarter. Mark Brunell (10/12, 119 yards) saw action for the rest of the half, coming out rusty and unable to score in the red zone. Brunell did connect with Meachem for 49 yards on a drive that ended with Pierre Thomas stepping out of bounds before reaching the goal line near the end of the second quarter and missing a second attempt to run it in. Pierre Thomas was the highlight of the special teams with a kickoff return for 57 yards.

The running game took over in the beginning of the second half. Aaron Stecker gained 39 yards and ran in for a touchdown halfway through the third quarter. Tyler Palko (6/11, 144 yards) came in with about five minutes to go in the third quarter and quickly hit Adrian Arrington for 33 yards. Rookie Taylor Mehlhaff hit a 33-yard field goal near the end of the third quarter. Palko’s bright spot was a short pass to Robert Meachem in the fourth that he turned into a 60 yard touchdown run. Palko did turn the ball over halfway through the fourth.

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From: Pro Football Weekly

We hear veteran Mark Brunell looks firmly entrenched as the Saints’ backup quarterback and the apparent No. 3, Tyler Palko — who spent last season on the practice squad — is still getting accustomed to the pro level and the team’s offense. Brunell has been a quick study, and his experience gives him an edge on Palko. The signalcallers are about the same size, and both are left-handed and have similar styles, relying on accuracy rather than great arm strength.