The Saints came into this game flat and they ran into a buzzsaw as the Rams were inspired by a visit from the Cardinals.  Drew Brees was pretty bad yesterday as he completed 30 of 44 passes for 269 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (one was returned 27 yards for a TD by Rams’ safety Darian Stewart).  Pierre Thomas led the way on the ground for the Saints with 23 yards rushing on 7 carries (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 4 passes for 11 yards (2.8 avg) in this game.  Darren Sproles only rushed for 16 yards on 6 carries (2.7 ypc) but he also caught 6 passes for 60 yards (10.0 avg) in this game.  WR Lance Moore led the way for the Saints’ passing game yesterday with 7 grabs for 74 yards with a TD grab.  WR Marques Colston (3 rec, 50 yards) and TE Jimmy Graham (4 rec, 39 yards) also pitched in for the Saints in the passing game yesterday.  The Saints finished up with 56 yards rushing on 20 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 44 passes (68.2%) for 227 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:37.

The Saints got pushed around by the Rams’ offense in this game.  Safety Malcolm Jenkins (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 sack and 1 QB hit), LB Scott Shanle (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and DE Will Smith (5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Saints on D yesterday.  LB Jonathan Vilma recovered an A.J. Feeley fumble in the end zone for the Saints’ TD.  The Rams finished up with 183 yards rushing on 31 carries (5.9 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 37 passes (54.1%) for 140 yards.  The Saints are now 5-3 on the season.

The New Orleans Saints destroyed the Colts 62-7 last weekend in the SuperDome.  They are facing another sorry team this Sunday in a St. Louis Rams’ squad that is only scoring 9.3 points per game so far this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Rams are giving up 183.8 yards rushing per game and 5.5 yards per carry, so look for the Saints to be balanced again this weekend.  Mark Ingram is going to miss this game due to a heel injury.  That’s o.k. as Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles are more than capable of handling the load in the running game.  The Rams don’t have much of a pass rush, so look for Drew Brees to have plenty of time to slice and dice the secondary.  He will spread the ball around to keep all of his WRs, TEs and RBs happy.

When the Rams have the ball:  The Saints are giving up 5.4 yards per carry so far this year, so look for the Rams to give them a very heavy dose of Steven Jackson.  If the Saints can slow down Jackson this Sunday, they will be able to put a very heavy pass rush on A.J. Feeley, who will be starting at QB again this weekend.  Newly acquired Brandon Lloyd is already the #1 WR for the Rams, so the Saints will have to pay him special attention.  The rest of the Rams’ WRs and TEs don’t scare anyone.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 31, RAMS 10

The Saints have an outstanding set of WRs for Drew Brees to throw the ball to.  It all starts with Marques Colston, who has caught 26 passes for 374 yards (14.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year despite missing a couple of games due to injury.  Devery Henderson is the speed demon of this bunch.  He has caught 15 passes for 297 yards (19.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  Robert Meachem has also been excellent so far this year for the Saints as he has caught 25 passes for 278 yards (11.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Lance Moore has pitched in with 32 grabs for 264 yards (11.5 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  The Saints have a nice quartet of WRs to team with the RBs and TEs, to give them a very explosive passing game.

The Saints have re-signed 28-year old TE Tory Humphrey.  Humphrey played in six games for the Saints last year and he caught 1 pass for 12 yards.  He has now played in 7 games in parts of two years for the Saints and he has caught 2 passes for 19 yards (9.5 avg).  He will help the Saints out with depth at TE behind Jimmy Graham.

UPDATE:  (10/30/2011) – The Saints have released Tory Humphrey.

The New Orleans Saints laid a epic beatdown on the poor Indianapolis Colts last night in the SuperDome.  Drew Brees was amazing as he completed 31 of 35 passes for 325 yards with 5 TD passes and 0 INTs!  Mark Ingram led the way on the ground for the Saints with 91 yards rushing on 14 carries (6.5 ypc).  Darren Sproles was very effective last night with 12 carries for 88 yards (7.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 6 passes for 19 yards (3.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Pierre Thomas pitched in with 57 yards rushing on 10 carries (5.7 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 68 yards (13.6 avg) last night.  Fullback Jed Collins only had 1 carry for 1 yard last night, but he scored a TD on it.  WR Marques Colston (7 rec, 98 yards, 2 TDs) and TE Jimmy Graham (6 rec, 54 yards, 2 TDs) led the way for the Saints in the passing game.  The Saints finished up with 236 yards rushing on 38 carries (6.2 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 35 passes (88.6%) for 321 yards as they had possession of the ball for 38:19.

The Saints were outstanding for the most part on D last night.  LBs Jonathan Casillas (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and Jonathan Vilma (4 tackles and 1 fumble recovery) led the way for the Saints last night.  Rookie DE Cameron Jordan (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble recovery) and CB Leigh Torrence (interception that he returned 42 yards for a TD) also made some big plays for the Saints last night.  The Colts finished up with 155 yards rushing on 23 carries (6.7 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 22 passes (54.5%) for 97 yards.  The Saints are now 5-2 on the year.

The Saints have to be ticked off about how last week’s game went against the Bucs and they are likely going to take it out on the Colts tomorrow night.  The Colts have played decent in national T.V. games, but they are still downright awful.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints are going to pass to get the lead and then grind it out on the ground in the second half.  The O-Line is going to have to keep DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis out of the backfield.  If that happens, the Saints might put 40+ points on the scoreboard tomorrow night.  Brees is going to spread the ball around in the passing game to keep everyone happy against a Colts’ D that is giving up 255.8 yards passing per game.  The three-headed RB (Ingram, Sproles and Thomas) will be taking aim at a Colts’ D that is allowing 136.7 yards rushing per game this year.

When the Colts have the ball:  The Saints are going to blitz Curtis Painter a lot in this game.  They will also likely double Pierre Garcon and force Painter to throw to someone else.  The Colts are likely going to run the ball a little more than usual tomorrow night with Joseph Addai, Delone Carter and Donald Brown as the Saints are giving up 109.2 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 33, COLTS 17

The Saints have to be pleased with the overall production that they are getting at RB so far this year.  The Saints are averaging 107.8 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so far this year.  Rookie Mark Ingram has been leading the way as far as touches in the running game this year.  He has played in all six games for the Saints so far this year and he has carried the ball 71 times for 238 yards (3.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Ingram has also caught 7 passes for 23 yards (3.3 avg) so far this year.  Darren Sproles has been awesome for the Saints so far this year.  He has played in all six games for the Saints in which he has carried the ball 27 times for 201 yards (7.4 ypc) and he has caught 39 passes for 310 yards (7.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He is by far the most explosive back that the Saints have.  Pierre Thomas has played in all six games for the Saints this year and he has carried the ball 41 times for 165 yards (4.0 ypc).  He has also caught 15 passes for 138 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  I don’t see any reason for the Saints to change what they are doing now at RB, as all three guys have been effective.

34-year old center Olin Kreutz has walked away from the New Orleans Saints.  He has been placed on the Left Team List and he will be eventually released.  He said that he lost his passion for the game.  Kreutz played in 4 games (all starts) for the Saints this year.  He has played in 195 games (187 starts) in his first fifteen years in the NFL.  26-year old Brian De La Puente will now be the starting center for the Saints.  He has played in 6 games (2 starts) so far this year for the Saints.  This should help the Saints running game as Kreutz was a little light in the shoes weight wise.

The New Orleans Saints ran into a buzzsaw yesterday in Tampa.  Drew Brees was way off as he completed 29 of 45 passes for 383 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 21 yards (7.0 ypc) in this game.  Mark Ingram led the way on the ground for the Saints yesterday with 22 yards rushing on 9 carries (2.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Darren Sproles only carried the ball 1 time for 16 yards but he also caught 8 passes for 46 yards (5.8 avg) in this game.  Pierre Thomas pitched in with 11 yards rushing on 7 carries (1.6 ypc) and he also lost a fumble.  TE Jimmy Graham (7 rec, 124 yards) and WR Marques Colston (7 rec, 118 yards, TD) led the way for the Saints in the passing game yesterday.  The Saints finished up with 70 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 45 passes (64.4%) for 383 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:33.

The Saints didn’t play much D yesterday against the Bucs.  Safety Malcolm Jenkins (7 tackles, 2 passes defensed), LB Scott Shanle (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 passes defensed), safety Roman Harper (6 tackles) and DE Cameron Jordan (6 tackles) led the way for the Saints’ D in this game.  The Buccaneers finished up with 117 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 41 passes (56.1%) for 303 yards.  The Saints are now 4-2 on the year.

The New Orleans Saints are playing their 3rd road game in a row this weekend in Tampa.  They have won the first two games of the road trip.  The last time the Saints paid a visit to Tampa, they pounded the Bucs 31-6.  The Buccaneers are 2-1 at home this year, but they are coming off a 48-3 beatdown at the hands of the Niners last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints have been rotating their RBs so far this year and the results have been good.  Look for that to continue this weekend against the Bucs, who are allowing 123.4 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram will handle the tough stuff between the tackles while Darren Sproles will handle the outside stuff.  If Drew Brees has time to throw the ball (and he should tomorrow), look for him to have a huge game.  He likes to spread the ball around to a lot of different receivers which puts huge pressure on the opposing secondary.

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  With LeGarrett Blount out due to injury, look for the Bucs to throw the ball a lot more than usual.  The Saints are going to need to blitz Josh Freeman a lot tomorrow, because if he has time to throw the ball, he’s going to make some plays.  His favorite targets in the passing game are likely to be WR Mike Williams, TE Kellen Winslow and RB Earnest Graham out of the backfield.  Arrelious Benn and Preston Parker are a couple of WRs on the rise, so the Saints will have to keep eyes on them too.  Earnest Graham and Josh Freeman are going to try to get a running game going this Sunday, but they don’t scare the Saints much.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 33, BUCCANEERS 17