The Saints played a pretty complete game as they looked good in winning their first game of the season.  The scoring all started when reserve running back Pierre Thomas picked up a fumble by center Boone Stutz and returned it 5 yards for a TD.  Drew Brees was outstanding as he completed 25 of 36 passes for 246 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions.  Reggie Bush had his best game of the season as he carried the ball 19 times for 97 yards (5.1 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 44 yards (7.3 avg).  Aaron Stecker was also busy as he carried the ball 8 times for 17 yards (2.1 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 10 yards.  David Patten was the leading receiver for the Saints as he caught 8 passes for 113 yards (14.1 avg).  Lance Moore was also busy as he caught 3 passes for 35 yards (11.7 avg) and he also carried the ball 1 time for a 7-yard TD.  Eric Johnson (2 rec, 12 yards) and Marques Colston (1 rec, 2 yards) each caught a TD pass.  The Saints finished up with 121 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 36 passes for 246 yards.

The defense was in bend but don’t break mode in this game.  Safeties Josh Bullocks (8 tackles, interception) and Roman Harper (6 tackles, 2 sacks) both made their presence felt in this ball game.  The Seahawks rushed for 92 yards on 21 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 43 passes for 333 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=271014026

The Saints need a win in a big way as they almost won last week….but they are still 0-4 on the season.  The Seahawks are tied for first place with the Cardinals in the NFC West, but they were shut out by the Steelers and they looked really bad in the game.

The Saints would like to run the football to balance the offense a bit, but that will be hard against the Seahawks despite how many yards the Steelers ran up last week.  Reggie Bush (147 yards rushing, 2.9 ypc) has not run the ball too well this season and the Seahawks have small and fast linebackers who should be able to stop him.  The Saints would be smart to quit throwing so many short passes and try to stretch the field with the passing game.  Drew Brees only has 1 TD pass and 9 interceptions so far this season so the Saints could have some troubles but the Saints don’t have any other options at the position so they must stick with him.  Still, Marques Colston (22 rec, 216 yards), Eric Johnson (21 rec, 128 yards) and Devery Henderson (8 rec, 146 yards) could find openings against the Seahawks who are allowing 215.0 yards passing per game.

The Seahawks will throw the ball a lot against the Saints on Sunday Night.  The Saints are allowing 218.0 yards passing per game and QB’s have a 114.7 QB Rating against them.  Part of the reason for that is the utter lack of a pass rush by the Saints who only have 1 sack so far this season.  Matt Hasselbeck (90.5 QB Rating) should be able to throw the ball all night long against the Saints but the question is who will he be throwing to?  Look for Bobby Engram (19 rec, 275 yards, 2 TDs) and Nate Burleson (13 rec, 173 yards, 2 TDs) to get most of the work in the passing game.  Don’t be surprised if Seneca Wallace has a big game catching the ball too based on how many injuries the Seahawks currently have in the receiving corps.  Shaun Alexander (378 yards rushing, 3.7 ypc, 2 TDs) could also have a big game against the Saints’ defense which has allowed 109.3 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  The Seahawks should win this football game as they will be fired up at home and they will be ready to put up some healthy points against the soft defense of the Saints.  The Saints must be able to throw the ball to keep up with the Seahawks but in the end they will fall short again.

The Saints flat out should have won this football game.  The defense was outstanding and it was led by defensive end Will Smith who had 7 tackles and a sack.  The Saints held the Panthers to 88 yards rushing on 88 carries (3.1 ypc) and the Panthers only threw for 155 yards on 11 of 19 passing.  The special teams and offense conspired to kill the Saints yesterday.  Olindo Mare continued his horrible kicking this season as he was 2 for 4 on field goals, missing from 54 yards and 20 yards!

Drew Brees continued to look lost in the pocket as he completed 29 of 47 passes for 252 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 interceptions.  Reggie Bush was busy but ineffective in his first game as the feature running back of the Saints.  He carried the ball 21 times for 67 yards (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 9 passes for 52 yards (5.8 avg).  Devery Henderson was the only standout on offense as he caught 4 passes for 101 yards (25.3 avg).  The Saints finished up with 89 yards on 28 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 47 passes for 252 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=271007018

At the beginning of the season I thought the Saints would be a very respectable team.  I thought their toughest battles would be the 4 AFC South teams.  Everybody had conceded the NFC South to them.  What made the wheels come off?  After the Carolina game is was even more obvious that these guys aren’t ready for prime time.  How do you take the same team that almost went to the Super Bowl last year and go 0-for-four this year.  Right!  There are no excuses.  These guys need a real good gut check.  How do you drop balls that hit you in the hands?  Does Devry Henderson know he gets paid to “catch” balls, not just run routes?  Where is Marques Colston?  It seems like he is no longer a threat.  Brees doesn’t seem to throw to him much this year.  And will somebody please tell Reggie Bush he is a running back, not a dancer.  He seems to prefer east and west over north and south.  Last season the big weakness for this team was the defense, especially the pass defense.  Why didn’t they fix it in the offseason?  I just can’t believe Fred Thomas still wears a Saints uniform.  Any other team would have cut that guy long ago.  The D-line is playing as soft as a plate of beignets.  The best, most consistent player was John Karny.  We traded him for Olindo “can’t find the goal post” Mare.  Nobody on this team is playing like he wants to win.  Nobody is hungry.  This time I don’t blame the coaches (okay I do blame them for the defensive secondary problems), but they don’t get on the field and play.  I have wanted to back this team since I was a child.  But I’m sorry.  I want to back a winner.  Anybody else out there with me?

Reggie Bush only has returned 2 punts for 12 yards (6.0 avg) but he likely won’t be returning punts anymore now that he’s the main man in the running game.  Backup WR Lance Moore might return all of the kicks for a while.  He has returned 1 punt for 30 yards and 9 punts for 169 yards (18.8 avg) so far this season.  RB Aaron Stecker has returned 3 kickoffs for 79 yards (26.3 avg) so far but he will also be needed on offense so the Saints might not let him return kicks for now.

The Saints have been a mess all season long as they are 0-3 having been outscored 103-38!  The Panthers have been like two different teams this season as they are awful at home going 0-2.  But, on the road the Panthers are 2-0 having outscored their opponents 54-33!

The Saints have been lost this season on offense and things have gotten a lot tougher with Deuce McAllister going down for the season.  The Saints are planning on using Reggie Bush (80 yards rushing, 2.8 ypc) as the main man in the running game.  At least, that’s what they are saying in public but I have a feeling that undrafted rookie Pierre Thomas will get a big chance to show what he can do soon as Bush can’t handle running between the tackles.  Teams have rushed for 118.0 yards per game against the Panthers so look for the Saints to try to run a balanced offense this week.  Drew Brees (677 yards passing, 1 TD pass, 7 interceptions) needs to be more careful with the football and this week he could have some success as the Panthers don’t have any pickoffs yet this season.  Look for Marques Colston and TE Eric Johnson to have big games this week.

It looks as if David Carr is going to start again this weekend so look for the Panthers to attempt to run the football often.  The Saints are allowing 116.3 yards rushing per game but only 3.7 ypc so DeShaun Foster (302 yards rushing, 5.0 ypc) and DeAngelo Williams (145 yards rushing, 4.0 ypc) will likely have to fight for every yard they get.  The Saints pass defense has been awful this season as they are allowing 239.0 yards passing per game and they have also allowed 7 TD passes and only have 1 interception.  The Saints also don’t have a sack yet this season so David Carr will likely have a lot more time to throw the football this week.  Look for Steve Smith to have a monster game this week (21 rec, 313 yards, 4 TDs).

PREDICTION:  The Saints are lost right now and I don’t see how a bye week will cure all of their ills.  The Panthers will win this game in the Super Dome as the Saints look forward to next April’s Draft.