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.