The Saints totally dominated the Kansas City Chiefs last night.  Drew Brees was on fire throwing the football as he completed 17 of 19 passes for 182 yards with 1 TD pass.  Jamie Martin relieved him and he was somewhat efficient throwing the ball as he completed 10 of 13 passes for 94 yards with 1 interception.  Tyler Palko finished up the game completing both of his pass attempts for 19 yards.  Undrafted rookie running back Pierre Thomas was the player of the game last night for the Saints as he carried the football 11 times for 90 yards (8.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Reggie Bush also looked sharp running the football as he toted the rock 6 times for 51 yards (8.5 ypc).  Antonio Pittman was busy again with 11 carries for 36 yards (3.3 ypc).  Deuce McAllister got his work in carrying the football 6 times for 14 yards (2.3 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 32 yards.  Lance Moore continued his fine pre-season with 6 catches for 88 yards (14.7 avg) and David Patten also had a strong showing with 6 catches for 75 yards (12.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Saints were absolute ball hogs last night as they had possession of the football for 37:13 of the game!  They carried the football 37 times for 197 yards (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 34 passes for 282 yards.

The Saints defense was super sharp against the under manned Chiefs.  The Chiefs ran the ball 18 times for 54 yards (3.0 ypc) and they only completed 13 of 29 passes for 99 yards. 

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270823012

The Saints decided that they have seen enough out of Matt Baker so they released him.  Baker played in only one pre-season game for the Saints and he completed 7 of 13 passes (53.8%) for 75 yards and he also carried the football 2 times for 8 yards (4.0 ypc). 

The Saints finally played a good game in the pre-season.  The defense looked sharp and the offense just played good enough to make it stand.  Drew Brees was very sharp as he completed all 6 of his pass attempts for 55 yards.  Jamie Martin relieved him and he was sharp completing 14 of 19 passes for 139 yards.  Matt Baker was brought in by Coach Paytonto compete for the #3 job on the Saints and he completed 7 of 13 passes for 75 yards.  Each of the three top running backs on the Saints scored a TD running the football.  Antonio Pittman (6 car, 17 yards), Deuce McAllister (3 car, 15 yards) and Reggie Bush (4 car, 13 yards) all hit paydirt on Saturday Night.  Lance Moore had an outstanding game at WR as he led the team with 6 grabs for 70 yards (11.7 avg).  The Saints didn’t put up big numbers on offense despite scoring 27 points.  They rushed for 67 yards on 23 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 38 passes for 216 yards.

The Saints defense stepped up on Saturday Night and they need to keep up the good work.  The Bengals carried the football 27 times for 87 yards (3.2 ypc) and they completed 25 of 43 passes for 180 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270818004

The signing of tight end Eric Johnson as a free agent kind of flew under the radar for the Saints but he is a big-time receiver if the Saints can keep him in one piece.  That might be easier said than done as he missed the entire 2003 and 2005 seasons with the 49ers.  He played in 13 games (9 starts) last season for the 49ers and he caught 34 passes for 292 yards (8.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.   Look for Johnson to double those numbers with the Saints if he stays healthy.  He has now played in 57 games (47 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 192 passes for 1,800 yards (9.4 avg) with 7 TD grabs.

Mark Campbell is the best blocker of the Saints’ TE collection.  He played in 14 games (10 starts) last season for the Saints and he caught 18 passes for 164 yards (9.1 avg).  Campbell has now played in 102 games (73 starts) in his career and he has caught 134 passes for 1,235 yards (9.2 avg) with 10 TD grabs.

Billy Miller was the secret weapon in the playoffs for the Saints and they might let him play a little more this season.  He played in 10 games (3 starts) last season for the Saints and he caught 14 passes for 129 yards (9.2 avg).  For his career Miller has now played in 83 games (25 starts) and he has caught 128 passes for 1,341 yards (10.5 avg) with 7 TDs.

So what if the Saints let Joe Horn walk away and sign with the Falcons!   The Saints proved they didn’t need him when he was injured plus they drafted Robert Meachem from Tennessee in the first round to replace him.  The Saints only can hope that Meachem is as good of a football player as Marques Colston turned out to be as a rookie.  Colston was a 7th round pick out of Hofstra but the Saints knew exactly what they were doing when they drafted him.   Colston went out as a rookie and played in 14 games (12 starts) and he caught 70 passes for 1,038 yards (14.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Look for him to be even more dangerous this season.

Robert Meachem is a stud in the making as he has a nice blend of size and speed.   The Saints would like him to start opposite Colston as a rookie but if he’s not ready in time they will likely bring him along as a #3 or #4 WR initially.  Make no mistake about it Meachem & Colston are going to be a dominant pair of WRs for a long time in New Orleans….starting soon!

Devery Henderson will likely be the #3 WR on the Saints unless Meachem isn’t ready by opening day.   Henderson is one of the fastest players on the planet and he’s a perfect change of pace to a lot of the possession type receivers on the Saints’ roster.  Henderson played in 13 games (7 starts) last season and he caught 32 passes for 745 yards (23.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs and he also ran the ball 2 times for 14 yards (7.0 ypc) and a TD.  Look for Henderson to get more balls thrown his way this season after his solid 2006.  Henderson has now played in 29 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 54 passes for 1,088 yards (20.1 avg) with 8 TD grabs and he has carried the ball 3 times for 23 yards (7.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.

Terrance Copper emerged out of nowhere and had a decent season in 2006.  He will likely be the #4 WR for the Saints this season.  He played in 15 games (4 starts) for the Saints and he caught 23 passes for 385 yards (16.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 1 time for 8 yards.  Copper also returned 4 kickoffs for 79 yards (19.8 avg) last year.  Copper is very fast just like Henderson and they should cause safeties and nickel backs all kinds of headaches in 2007.   Copper has now played in 41 games (4 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 31 passes for 474 yards (15.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he has carried the ball 2 times for 7 yards (3.5 ypc).   Copper has also returned 22 kickoffs for 418 yards (19.0 avg) in his career.

Jamal Jones was buried on the depth chart but he added to the Saints when called upon.  He played in 12 games (1 start) and he caught 6 passes for 108 yards (18.0 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also returned 6 kickoffs for 130 yards (21.7 avg).  Jones will likely have to make it as a 5th WR/special teams player.  He has now played in 14 games (1 start) and he has caught 6 passes for 108 yards (18.0 avg) with 1 TD grab and he has returned 10 kickoffs for 210 yards (21.0 avg).

Veteran David Patten is still around for now.  He played in 5 games (0 starts) last season and he caught 1 pass for 25 yards.  He will be a longshot to make the Saints opening day roster unless they suffer some injuries.  He has played in 126 games (65 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 259 passes for 3,761 yards (14.5 avg) with 20 TD grabs and he also has carried the football 11 times for 111 yards (10.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.

Lance Moore will also try to make the team.  Last year was his first action in the NFL as he played in 4 games (0 starts) and he caught 1 pass for 10 yards and he returned 6 punts for 45 yards (7.5 avg).

The Saints looked much better last night…especially on defense.  Drew Brees played much longer last night than he did in the first game and he was very efficient completing 12 of 14 passes for 118 yards.  Tyler Palko played the remainder of the football game as he completed 15 of 27 passes for 172 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions and he carried the football 4 times for 47 yards (11.8 ypc).  Rookie running back Antonio Pittman carried the load in the running game with 10 carries for 23 yards (2.3 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 24 yards.  Reggie Bush carried the ball 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  Deuce McAllister made a brief appearance as he carried the ball 3 times for 2 yards (0.7 ypc) and he caught 1 pass for 8 yards.  The Saints spread the ball around to 14 different receivers last night.  Lance Moore who’s in a fight to make the final roster led the team with 5 grabs for 50 yards.  Terrance Copper also had a good game with 4 grabs for 48 yards.  Devery Henderson caught 3 passes for 52 yards (17.3 avg) and Robert Meachem added 2 grabs for 20 yards and a TD.  The Saints ran the ball 23 times for 102 yards (4.4 ypc) and they completed 27 of 41 passes for 241 yards.

The Saints defense played much better last night than they did in the first pre-season game.  They held the Bills to 209 total yards of offense.  The Bills carried the football 27 times for 113 yards (4.2 ypc) and they completed 19 of 24 passes for 96 yards.  Hopefully the Saints can keep up the good work on defense.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270810018

Fullback Mike Karney doesn’t need the football to be effective because of his blocking.  But every once in a while Coach Payton lets him loose to score a TD to reward him for a job well done.  He played in 15 games (7 starts) last season for the Saints and he carried the ball 11 times for 33 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 15 passes for 96 yards (6.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Karney will likely start at fullback for the next few seasons and he deserves it.  He has now played in 47 games (29 starts) and he has carried the ball 20 times for 52 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 31 passes for 199 yards (6.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Kevin Dudley is the likely back up at fullback for the Saints but he only appeared in 1 game last season and he didn’t touch the football.

The Saints got pushed around in the Hall of Fame Game by the Pittsburgh Steelers and they didn’t have many highlights but the game doesn’t count so it’s no big deal.  The Saints really laid an egg as they ran the ball 24 times and rushed for 82 yards (3.4 ypc).  They also didn’t throw well as they only completed 13 of 30 passes for 132 yards.  Drew Brees made a very brief appearance and he completed 1 of 6 passes for only 6 yards.  Jamie Martin didn’t play much better as he completed 3 of 8 passes for 26 yards.  Third stringer Jason Fife was the only QB on the Saints roster that had any success as he completed 5 of 8 passes for 47 yards and a TD.  Antonio Pittman found running in the NFL tougher than college as he carried the ball 7 times for only 20 yards (2.9 ypc) rushing.  Running back Kevin Dudley made a decent first impression as he carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards and he caught 2 passes for 15 yards with a TD reception. 

The Saints defense got dominated by the Steelers offense Sunday Night.  The Steelers held the ball for 35:57 of the ballgame and amassed 413 total yards of offense.  The Saints couldn’t stop the run as the Steelers ran the football 37 times for 173 yards (4.7 ypc) and they couldn’t stop the pass as the Steelers completed 14 of 25 passes for 240 yards. 

The Saints have a lot of things to work on but they have three weeks to get the job done.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270805018

The Saints traded for Olindo Mare for two reasons.  1.) He can nail long field goal attempts and 2.) He will handle all of the kickoffs so that the Saints don’t have to waste a roster spot on someone that just kicks the ball off.  Mare made 72.2% of his field goals last season for the Dolphins and he converted all 22 of his extra points to finish the season with 100 points.  Mare made 16 of 18 kicks of 39 yards or less and he made 10 for 18 of 40+ yards.

Mare has now played in 155 career NFL games and he has scored 1,048 points which is an average of 6.8 points per game.  Mare has nailed 245 of 303 (80.9%) field goal attempts and he has made 313 of 318 extra points.

 

The Saints are absolutely loaded at running back for the 2007 season.  It all starts with Deuce McAllister who rushed for over 1,000 yards again last season.  He played in 15 games (13 starts) last season for the Saints and he carried the ball 244 times for 1,057 yards (4.3 ypc) with 10 TD runs and he also caught 30 passes for 198 yards (6.6 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  Look for the Saints to lessen McAllister’s workload a bit in 2007 but he will still probably lead the Saints in rushing.  He has now played in 81 games (67 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,298 times for 5,586 yards (4.3 ypc) with 44 TD runs and he also has caught 212 passes for 1,577 yards (7.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

Reggie Bush will likely shoulder a little more of the load in the running game this season.  He is an electric performer that has those freakish kind of Play Station moves that often make defenders look silly in the open field.  He played in all 16 games last season (8 starts) for the Saints and he carried the ball 155 times for 565 yards (3.6 ypc) with 6 TD runs and he also caught 88 passes for 742 yards (8.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Bush also returned 28 punts for 216 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD return.  Bush is only scratching the surface of his potential so far this season.

Rookie Antonio Pittman runs with a similar style of Deuce McAllister.  He doesn’t look like a power back because of his size but he’s a great runner between the tackles.  He also has much more speed than opponents give him credit for as he can run away from defenders if he gets behind them.  Don’t look for Pittman to get a lot of carries as a rookie but he will in the near future.

Aaron Stecker also plays a little receiver at times so he is a valuable little performer for the Saints.  He played in 12 games last season and he carried the ball 4 times for 11 yards (2.8 ypc) and he caught 19 passes for 190 yards (10.0 avg).  Stecker also returned 10 kickoffs for 216 yards (21.6 avg) this season.  Stecker might be low on the depth chart but the Saints are glad to have him and they will put him to some use this season.  Stecker has now played in 98 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 258 times for 1,020 yards (4.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he also caught 116 passes for 878 yards (7.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Stecker also has returned 159 kickoffs for 3,733 yards (23.5 avg) with 1 TD return.

Jamaal Branch will have a hard time making the team this season.  He played in 1 game at the end of the season and he carried the ball 10 times for 29 yards (2.9 ypc) and he caught 5 passes for 14 yards (2.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.