32-year old QB Drew Brees continues to just get better.  He has played in all five games for the Saints so far this year and he has completed 152 of 219 passes (69.4%) for 1,769 yards with 12 TD passes and 5 INTs (102.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 9 times for 14 yards (1.6 ypc) so far this year.  Brees is the unquestioned leader of the Saints and they need him to continue playing at a high level as he helps his team overcome big obstacles.

28-year old safety Roman Harper has been a force on defense for the Saints so far this year.  He has played in all 3 games for the Saints so far this year and he has 23 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 1 forced fumble.  Harper has now played in 70 games in his first six years with the Saints and he has 429 tackles, 34 passes defensed, 4 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 12 sacks, 13 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 18 tackles for a loss.  Harper has been an enforcer for the Saints his whole career and they need him to keep up the good work.

The Saints have placed 25-year old kicker Garrett Hartley on Injured Reserve due to his hip injury, as he is now officially done for the year.  41-year old kicker John Kasay has made this decision a rather easy one based on his performance so far this year.  Kasay has played in all 3 of the Saints’ games so far this year and he has connected on all six of his field goal attempts and all 10 of his extra points.  Kasay has already scored 28 points for the Saints so far this year and that’s pretty impressive.  The Saints didn’t want to keep two kickers on the roster for the next few weeks and that’s why they placed Hartley on I.R. and it was the right move.

32-year old QB Drew Brees has been playing excellent ball for the Saints so far this year.  He has played in both games for the Saints so far this year and he has completed 58 of 86 passes (67.4%) for 689 yards with 6 TD passes and 0 INTs (114.9 QB Rating).  Brees has also carried the ball 2 times for 5 yards (2.5 ypc) so far this year.  The Saints will go as far this year as Drew Brees will take them.

Little Darren Sproles has already made Saints’ fans forget about Reggie Bush after just one game.  He only carried the ball 2 times for 7 yards (3.5 ypc) but he also caught 7 passes for 75 yards (10.7 avg) out of the backfield.  Sproles was really a beast in the return game against the Packers.  He returned 2 kickoffs for 76 yards (38.0 avg) and 2 kickoffs for 92 yards (46.0 avg) including a 72-yard TD return.  Sproles touched the ball 13 times for the Saints in the season opener and he had 250 total yards (19.2 yards per touch).  The Saints have to be ecstatic with Darren Sproles so far.

31-year old Drew Brees continues to roll for the New Orleans Saints.  Brees played in 16 games for the Saints last season and he completed 448 of 658 passes (68.1%) for 4,620 yards with 33 TD passes and 22 INTs (90.9 QB Rating.  Brees also carried the ball 18 times for -3 yards (-0.2 ypc) last season.  Brees has now played in 138 games in his NFL career and he has completed 3,145 of 4,822 passes (65.2%) for 35,266 yards with 235 TD passes and 132 INTs (91.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 262 times for 479 yards (1.8 ypc) with 7 TD runs to this point in his career.  Despite his age, Brees continues to play at a very high level.

24-year old Chase Daniels was Brees’ backup this year.  He played in 3 games for the Saints this year and he completed 2 of 3 passes (66.7%) for 16 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (79.9 QB Rating).  Daniels also carried the ball 2 times for 16 yards (8.0 ypc) last season.  That was his first taste of NFL action.

VERDICT:  Brees will continue to start for the Saints for the foreseeable future.  The Saints will likely bring in another QB to compete with Daniels for the backup job in 2011.

28-year old safety Roman Harper has been the Saints’ best playmaker so far this year.  He has played in 14 games for the Saints so far this year and he has 92 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 8 passes defensed, 1 interception, 6 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.  Harper has now played in 66 games in his first five years with the Saints and he has 400 tackles, 33 passes defensed, 9.5 sacks, 12 forced fumbles and he has 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Harper has been outstanding for the Saints in his career so far and he seems to be getting better which bodes well for them.

31-year old QB Drew Brees has led the Saints to five straight wins in which they have scored 152 points.  In those five games, Brees has completed 147 of 198 passes (74.2%) for 1,605 yards with 11 TD passes and 6 INTs.  He has now played in 12 games this season and he has completed 337 of 485 passes (69.5%) for 3,634 yards with 25 TD passes and 16 INTs (94.6 QB Rating).  Brees has also carried the ball 15 times for -8 yards (-0.5 ypc) so far this year.  The Saints need Brees to stay hot if they want to get back to the Super Bowl this year.

The Saints have really improved defensively this year and that’s a good thing because the offense has taken a small step back.  The Saints are only allowing 16.8 points per game and 277.0 total yards per game so far this year.  Payton has the Saints at 6-3 which has them tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 game behind the Atlanta Falcons.  The 46-year old Payton has a record of 44-29 (60.3%) during the regular season in his first five years with the Saints.  If Payton can get the offense clicking like it used to the Saints are going to finish this season very strongly.

27-year old TE David Thomas is doing a solid job of backing up Jeremy Shockey this year.  He has played in 9 games for the Saints so far this year and he has 27 catches for 189 yards (7.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Thomas has now played in 24 games in his first two years with the Saints and he has 59 catches for 545 yards (9.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He could start on a lot of teams in the NFL so the Saints are glad to have him.