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Rookie starting strong safety Roman Harper has been placed on IR with a torn ACL. Harper had been playing real well, and this is a large loss for the Saints. Veteran Omar Stoutmire will start the rest of the season. The Saints re-signed Jay Bellamy whom they released early in the season.
The Saints special teams have been very effective so far this season. The Saints are allowing an average of 8.0 yards per punt return this season and 22.4 yards average on kick-offs.
John Carney was almost replaced before the first game, but he has been solid this season. Carney has hit 11 of 12 FGs and all 11 XPTs this season. Punter Steven Weatherford is averaging 44.4 yards per punt, 38.4 net yards per punt and has pinned the opposition inside their 20 23.1% of the time.
Punt returner Reggie Bush has been electric. Bush has an 11.0 yard average on punt returns including a 65-yard TD return that proved to be the game winner last Sunday. Lance Moore has also returned 6 punts for 45 yards (7.5 avg). Aaron Stecker has returned 9 kick-offs and averaged 20,6 yards on those returns.
The Saints special teams definately has aided the overall teams improved play this season.
The Saints finally started to show cracks on their defense allowing 406 total yards to the Bucs, but Reggie Bush came to the rescue returning a Bucs’ punt 65 yards for the game winning TD. Drew Brees had his usual efficient game throwing the ball, completing 21 of 33 passes for 171 yards and a TD. Deuce McAllister was very tough on the Bucs, carrying the ball 15 times for 123 yards (8.2 ypc) and a TD. Reggie Bush was all over the field. Buch carried the ball 9 times for 23 yards (2.6 ypc) and caught 11 passes for 63 yards. TE Ernie Conwell caught 2 passes for 14 yards including a TD.
The Saints defense got pushed around by the Bucs. The Bucs carried the ball 33 times for 187 yards (5.7 ypc)! The Bucs also completed 20 of 31 passes for 219 net yards passing. Safety Josh Bullocks had 10 tackles. The LBs were very busy for the Saints. Mark Simoneau had 8 tackles, Scott Shanle had 8 tackles and Scott Fujita had 7 tackles and a sack.
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The Bucs are free-falling and the Saints have risen from the grave.
The Saints defense is allowing 4.6 yards per carry and is vulnerable to the the running game. RB Cadillac Williams (42 carries, 107 yards) must have a good game to take the pressure off of rookie QB Bruce Gradkowski. Gradkowski had a good pre-season, but he did well against a bunch of guys that aren’t NFL players anymore. Look for Gradkowski to throw alot of short passes in his first NFL start to Joey Galloway and Michael Clayton.
The Saints should be able to run the ball well against the Bucs, who have allowed 170.0 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry! RBs Deuce McAllister (257 rushing yards) and Reggie Bush (147 rushing yards) will probably split alot of carries on Sunday. Teams have been very efficient passing against the Bucs and Drew Brees (1,063 yards passing) should have little problem passing against them. Rookie WR Marques Colston (20 rec, 336 yards) has been the best offensive rookie of the Saints, and will use his tight-end size to bully the Bucs DBs. WR Joe Horn (15 catches, 223 yards) and RB Reggie Bush (23 rec, 187 yards) should also have good games.
The Saints should have no problem stopping the Bucs offense, and should be able to move the ball well against the Bucs. Look for the Saints to win by at least 10 points on Sunday.
Drew Brees looks like he never hurt his shoulder. After years of watching Aaron Brooks, Saints fans view Brees as a breath of fresh air. Brees is a leader that has a QB rating of 92.8! Brees has completed 90 of 137 passes (65.7%) for 1,063 yards with 4 TDs and only 2 INT. The Saints offense has been very efficient so far this season and Brees is the glue that holds in all together.
The Saints sure have alot of heart and are a fun team to watch. Drew Brees led a furious comback in the 4th quarter but the Saints came up a little bit short. Brees completed 28 of 38 passes for 349 yards and a TD. Deuce McAllister carried the ball 11 times for 39 yards (3.5 ypc) and a TD. Reggie Bush carried the ball 11 times for 22 yards (2.0 ypc) and caught 4 passes for 48 yards. WR Marques Colston had another fantastic football game as he caught 5 passes for 132 yards and a TD. Joe Horn caught 5 passes for 63 yards and TE Ernie Conwell caught 5 passes for 37 yards.
CB Fred Thomas had a huge game with 12 tackles. LBs Mark Simoneau (8 tackles) and Scott Shanle (4 tackles and a sack) also had decent games. The Saints couldn’t stop the Panthers from running the football, as the Panthers ran for 167 yards on 29 attempts (5.8 ypc). The Panthers also completed 19 of 29 passes for 157 net yards passing.