The Saints have placed 27-year old RB Chris Taylor on the Injured Reserve list ending his 2011 season.  He has not played in the NFL since the 2008 season with the Texans.  Taylor has played in 7 games (0 starts) in parts of two years and he has carried the ball 42 times for 160 yards (3.8 avg) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 3 passes for 40 yards (13.3 avg) so far in his NFL career.  This is not a big loss for the Saints as they are loaded at RB.

The Saints have released 32-year old DE Alex Brown.  Brown played in all 16 games for the Saints last year and he had 39 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 3 passes defensed.  The Saints might try to bring back Brown for 2011, but he reportedly has generated a lot of interest in his services already.

The Saints have signed 41-year old kicker John Kasay.  Kasay played in all 16 games for the Panthers last year and he connected on 25 of 29 field goals (86.2%).  He also made all 17 of his extra points last year as he scored 92 points last year.  Kasay has played in 285 games in his first 19 years in the NFL and he has made 433 of 529 field goals (81.9%).  He has also nailed 524 of 535 extra points as he now has 1,723 points in his career.  Kasay might get a shot with the Saints if Garrett Hartley misses some time due to his current injury.  It never hurts to bring in a guy like Kasay as an insurance policy.

The Saints absolutely destroyed the Raiders in Oakland on Sunday Night.  Drew Brees looked pretty solid as he completed 15 of 23 passes for 189 yards without a TD pass or INT.  Chase Daniel looked pretty sharp as he completed 9 of 18 passes for 191 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Sean Canfield finished up that game at QB by completing 1 of 2 passes for 11 yards.  RB Joique Bell continued to impress by rushing for 50 yards on 6 carries (8.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 92 yards (46.0 avg) in this game!  Patrick Cobbs was also efficient as he carried the ball 4 times for 48 yards (12.0 ypc).  Pierre Thomas (3 carries, 9 yards and a TD) and Mark Ingram (6 carries, 7 yards and a TD) didn’t get  many yards, but they made them count.  Ingram also caught 2 passes for 24 yards (12.0 avg) on Sunday Night.  TE Jimmy Graham (5 rec, 73 yards), WR Robert Meachem (3 rec, 61 yards), WR Adrian Arrington (3 rec, 51 yards, TD) and TE Tory Humphrey (1 rec, 3 yards, TD) led the way for the Saints in the passing game last night.  The Saints finished up with 126 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 43 passes (58.1%) for 388 yards in this game.

The defense was so-so as the Raiders got a lot of yards in this game.  CB Jabari Greer (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and DT Swanson Miller (2 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 passes defensed) led the way for the Saints’ D in this contest.  Safety Jonathan Amaya (interception) and DE Junior Galette (fumble recovery) also made big plays in the Saints’ favor.  The Raiders finished up with 127 yards rushing on 24 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 34 passes (67.6%) for 253 yards in this game.  The Saints are now 2-1 on the preseason.

The Saints will be without rookie WR Joseph Morgan for the next 2-4 weeks due to arthroscopic knee surgery.  Morgan has caught 2 passes for 77 yards (38.5 avg) with 1 TD grab in the Saints’ first two pre-season games.  He also has returned 6 punts for 107 yards (17.8 avg) with 1 TD return and he also has returned 1 kickoff for 26 yards.  This will really hurt Morgan’s chances of making the team.  That being said, he has looked really good so far in the pre-season for the Saints.

UPDATE:  (9/3/2011) – The Saints have placed Joseph Morgan on the Injured Reserve List ending his 2011 season.

The Saints looked pretty bad on both sides of the ball against the Texans last Saturday night.  Drew Brees looked off as he completed 7 of 14 passes for 109 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also lost a fumble in this game.  Chase Daniel followed Brees into the game and he didn’t look too good either.  Daniel completed 6 of 14 passes for 127 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also lost a fumble in this game.  Sean Canfield finished up the game at QB as he completed 4 of 8 passes for 50 yards.   Pierre Thomas led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game with 33 yards on 6 carries (5.5 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 15 yards in this game.  Mark Ingram had another decent game with 7 carries for 25 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Darren Sproles pitched in with 24 yards rushing on 3 carries (8.0 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 9 yards in this game.  WRs Joseph Morgan (1 rec, 56 yards, TD) and Robert Meachem (1 rec, 43 yards) led the way for the Colts in the passing game.  The Saints finished up with 113 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 36 passes (47.2%) for 218 yards in this game.

The Saints’ D looked awful on Saturday night as the Texans pretty much did whatever they wanted to.  CB Mark Parson (6 tackles), CB Jabari Greer (6 tackles) and LB Martez Wilson (5 tackles) led they way for the D last Saturday night.  The Texans finished up with 208 yards rushing on 34 carries (6.1 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 34 passes (58.8%) for 228 yards in this game.  The Saints are now 1-1 on the pre-season.

The Saints have signed 27-year old CB Quincy Butler.  Butler played in 6 games for the Rams last year and he had 12 tackles and 4 passes defensed.  He has now played in 20 games in his first 2 years in the NFL and he has 40 tackles and 9 passes defensed.  This was a good signing for the Saints as they keep adding nice depth to the defense.

The Saints have signed 28-year old RB/KR Patrick Cobbs.  Cobbs played in 16 games (1 start) for the Dolphins last year and he carried the ball 4 times for 0 yards (0.0 ypc).  He also caught 8 passes for 91 yards (11.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year for the Fins.  Cobbs has now played in 54 games (3 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 37 times for 171 yards (4.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 32 passes for 409 yards (12.8 avg) with 4 TD grabs so far in his career.  Cobbs has also returned 52 kickoffs for 1,o42 yards (20.0 avg) so far in his NFL career.

UPDATE:  (9/3/2011) – The Saints have placed Patrick Cobbs on the Injured Reserve List ending his 2011 season due to an undisclosed injury.

UPDATE II:  (9/12/2011) – The Saints have released Patrick Cobbs with an injury settlement.

The New Orleans Saints release 31-year old OT John Stinchcomb.  Stinchcomb played in 16 games (all starts) for the Saints last year.  He played in 90 games (80 starts) in his 8 years with the Saints.  The Saints have added a lot of quality depth in the off-season to the offensive line which led to Stinchcomb’s release.

The Saints didn’t use the regulars too much last night against the Niners and they didn’t need them in a very dominating performance.  Drew Brees only completed 1 of 4 passes for 6 yards before making a quick exit from the game.  Chase Daniel was solid in relief of Drew Brees for the most part.  Daniel completed 13 of 21 passes for 129 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Daniel also carried the ball 3 times for 20 yards (6.7 ypc) but not all was good as he lost 2 fumbles last night.  Sean Canfield finished up the game at QB and he completed 1 of 2 passes for 21 yards.  RB Joique Bell led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game with 52 yards rushing on 9 carries (5.8 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 3 yards.  RB Chris Taylor also made a good first impression on the Saints as he rushed for 39 yards on 9 carries (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Rookie RB Mark Ingram also looked solid in his first game with the Saints as he rushed for 23 yards on 6 carries (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run last night.  WR Courtney Roby (4 rec, 42 yards) and TE Tory Humphrey (4 rec, 26 yards) led the way for the Saints in the passing game last night.  WR Joe Morgan made a huge impact on the game for the Saints last night despite only catching 1 pass for 21 yards.  But, he also returned 6 punts for 107 yards (17.8 avg) including one that he returned for a TD.  The Saints finished up with 138 yards rushing on 34 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 27 passes (55.6%) for 150 yards last night.

The defense was electric against the passing game last night.  LB Jonathan Casillas led the way for the Saints last night with 7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 3 QB hits.  DT Mitch King also had a very solid game with 6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 2 QB hits.  The Niners rushed for 136 yards on 29 carries (4.7 ypc) last night but they only completed 11 of 26 passes (42.3%) for 98 yards last night.  Overall, it was a very satisfying pre-season opener for the Saints last night.