SB Nation - Skyler Green

New Orleans Saints Announce Roster Cuts

Saintsational — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:06:59 -0000

The Times-Pic has just released the full list of New Orleans Saints players who were cut today. Including Joey Harrington and Adrian Arrington, whose names were released earlier today, those players are:

Position	Player
WR	Courtney Roby
WR	Skyler Green
WR	Matt Simon
RB	P.J. Hill
RB	Herb Donaldson
LB	Anthony Waters
DT	DeMario Pressley
G	Tim Duckworth
CB	Danny Gorrer
DT	Early Heyman
TE	Martrez Milner
TE	Jermey Parnell
DE	Paul Spicer
G/T	Anthony Davis
T	Michael Brown
C	Digger Bujnoch
G	Nate Bennett
S	Chip Vaughn placed on IR

The only surprises here are the release of Paul Spicer, DeMario Pressley and Anthony Waters. Can't say we didn't see Chip Vaughn being placed on IR. He's just missed too much time for a rookie this pre-season. Chris Reis, Jonathan Casillas, Buck Ortega, Leigh Torrence and Rod Harper all survived the cut and have made the squad.

Here's a look at how the 53-man roster looks now:

Offense

*Position*	*Player*	*Player*	*Player*	*Player*	*Player*	*Player*
QB	Drew Brees	Mark Brunell
RB	Pierre Thomas	Reggie Bush	Mike Bell	Lynell Hamilton
FB	Heath Evans
WR	Marques Colston	Robert Meachem	Lance Moore	Devery Henderson	Rod Harper
TE	Jeremy Shockey	Darnell Dinkins	Buck Ortega	David Thomas
C	Jonathan Goodwin	Nick Leckey
G	Carl Nicks	Jamar Nesbit	Jahri Evans
T	Jammal Brown	Jon Stinchcomb	Zach Strief	Jermon Bushrod

Defense

*Position*	*Player*	*Player*	*Player*	*Player*	*Player*	*Player*	*Player*
DE	Will Smith	Charles Grant	Bobby McCray	Jeff Charleston	Anthony Hargrove
DT	Sedrick Ellis	Kendrick Clancy	Remi Ayodele
LB	Jonathan Vilma	Scott Fujita	Scott Shanle	Jo-Lonn Dunbar	Jonathan Casillas	Troy Evans	Marvin Mitchell
CB	Jabari Greer	Tracy Porter	Malcolm Jenkins	Randall Gay	Leigh Torrence
SS	Roman Harper	Pierson Prioleau	Chris Reis
FS	Darren Sharper	Usama Young

Special Teams

*Position*	*Player*	*Player*
Kicker	John Carney	Garrett Hartley
Punter	Thomas Morstead
Long Snapper	Jason Kyle

You'll notice the depth chart contains Will Smith, Charles Grant and Garrett Hartley, all three of whom are suspended for the first four games of the season. They will not count against the 53-man roster during those games, so at least two players (David Thomas was brought in) will need to be signed to take their place in the interim. It appears the Saints are light at the defensive tackle spot so I would hope to see one of those signings be used on that position.

Poll

Which player cut surprises you the most?

DeMario Pressley

136 votes

Paul Spicer

295 votes

Joey Harrington

98 votes

Adrian Arrington

208 votes

Anthony Waters

55 votes

Danny Gorrer

4 votes

796 votes | Poll has closed

Strength in numbers; an examination of who the Bengals started the regular season since 2006

Kirkendall — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:05:45 -0000

When the preseason marches towards a welcomed conclusion, discussion and debate takes place on who the team cuts and keeps. Sometimes the topic goes into salary cap causalities; veterans that are cut, like Willie Anderson and Rudi Johnson last year. Other times, the debate talks about players that surprisingly make the roster. As jsl413 broke down, the Bengals depth is strong in some areas, weak in others. Which means the Bengals could strengthen weaken positions by increasing the depth. It's a numbers game.

You see that notably with linebackers. In 2006, Brian Simmons was nearing retirement; his production was falling. David Pollack, while great with potential, was only then starting to adjust from being a defensive end in college to an outside linebacker in the NFL. Rashad Jeanty was a rookie. Landon Johnson was arguably our best linebacker. If you look back to that season, only one linebacker remains (Jeanty) with the Bengals and as far as I can tell, three are still in the NFL (Jeanty, Johnson and Ahmad Brooks). The position didn't improve in 2007 and grew worse when it was decimated by injury. Dhani Jones, an unlikely stability force who would join the team later in the year, became the most productive middle linebacker during Marvin Lewis' tenure. By 2008, the linebackers were on pace to be the most talented group assembled, taking less into the regular season while numerically increasing their numbers at other spots, like running back, defensive tackles -- two spots with limited production. You'll obviously see that again this year, with Jones, Jeanty, Rivers, Brandon Johnson and Rey Maualuga as the depth leaders.

Running backs is another example. In 2006, and even 2007, Rudi Johnson was considered the team's feature back. No competition. Hands down. After all, he set franchise rushing records in 2004 and 2005. However, along with the offensive line's degradation, he started degrading (some will note his inadvisable weight loss regiment, losing all of his strength in 2006) until he was finally cut in 2008. More importantly, the Bengals decided to take two fullbacks because Jeremi Johnson was simply not the force he used to be and the team liked Coats' enough to make room for him. While the talent level dipped, the team decided to strengthen the depth with numbers.

Take note of this. Am I saying that the depth and position is stronger because there's more players? Obviously not. You either have talent or you don't. A combination of average talent still makes that position average. But it is a luxury that most teams have, which largely depends on play-calling philosophy, as well as projecting your opponents philosophies. If you take on more defensive backs in any given year because your passing defense is poor, it allows you additional packages. But it's also dictated by strength. You will note how once the team had Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, they believed the position strong enough to only take four cornerbacks in 2008, as opposed to five in 2007 and 2006. Safeties increased because a long-standing issue of giving up big plays was still unanswered. You can bank on at least six safeties this year.

After the jump, you can see which players the Bengals took after cutdown day and how many players the team took at each position.

First thing we should note are the roster cut deadlines:

DATE	EVENT
September 1st	Roster cutdown to maximum of 75 players
September 5th	Roster cutdown to maximum of 53 players

Here's a breakdown on what positions the Bengals after final cutdown heading into the regular season.

Position	2006	2007	2008
Quarterbacks	3	3	3
Running backs (including FB)	4	4 (1)	5 (2)
Wide Receivers	6	6	6
Offensive Linemen	9	8	9
Tight Ends	2	3	2
Total on Offense	24	24	25

Defensive Ends	4	5	4
Defensive Tackles	4	3	5
Linebackers	8	7	6
Cornerbacks	5	5	4
Safeties	5	6	6
Total on Defense	26	26	25

Specialists	3	3	3

After the jump, we chart which players the Bengals kept since 2006.

2006

Position	#	Players
Quarterbacks	3	Carson Palmer, Anthony Wright, Doug Johnson
RB / FB	4	Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Quincy Wilson, Jeremi Johnson (FB)
WR	6	Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry, Tab Perry, Antonio Chatman, Kelley Washington
O-Line	9	Levi Jones, Eric Steinbach, Rich Braham, Bobbie Williams, Willie Anderson, Andrew Whitworth, Eric Ghiaciuc, Stacy Andrews, Scott Kooistra
TE	2	Reggie Kelly, Tony Stewart

DE	4	Justin Smith, Bryan Robinson, Robert Geathers, Frostee Rucker
DT	4	Sam Adams, John Thornton, Domata Peko, Shaun Smith
Linebackers	8	Brian Simmons, Landon Johnson, David Pollack, Rashad Jeanty, Marcus Wilkins, Ahmad Brooks, A.J. Nicholson, Caleb Miller
Corners	5	Deltha O'Neal, Tory James, Johnathan Joseph, Keiwan Ratliff, Greg Brooks
Safeties	5	Dexter Jackson, Madieu Williams, Kevin Kaesviharn, Ethan Kilmer, Herana-Daze Jones

Specialists	3	Shayne Graham, Kyle Larson, Brad St. Louis

2007

Position	#	Players
Quarterbacks	3	Carson Palmer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jeff Rowe
RB / FB	4	Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Clinton Dawson, Jeremi Johnson (FB)
WR	6	Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Tab Perry, Glenn Holt, Skyler Green, Antonio Chatman
O-Line	8	Levi Jones, Willie Anderson, Bobbie Williams, Andrew Whitworth, Stacy Andrews, Scott Kooistra, Eric Ghiaciuc, Alex Stepanovich
TE	3	Reggie Kelly, Daniel Coats, Nate Lawrie

DE	5	Justin Smith, Robert Geathers, Bryan Robinson, Frostee Rucker, Jonathan Fanene
DT	3	Domata Peko, John Thornton, Michael Myers
Linebackers	7	Ahmad Brooks, Rashad Jeanty, Landon Johnson, Caleb Miller, Lemar Marshall, Andre Frazier, Anthony Schlegel
Corners	5	Deltha O'Neal, Leon Hall, Johnathan Joseph, Keiwan Ratliff, David Jones
Safeties	6	Dexter Jackson, Chinedum Ndukwe, Madieu Williams, Marvin White, Herana-Daze Jones, Ethan Kilmer

Specialists	3	Shayne Graham, Kyle Larson, Brad St. Louis

2008

Position	#	Players
Quarterbacks	3	Carson Palmer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jordan Palmer
RB / FB	5	Chris Perry, Kenny Watson, DeDe Dorsey, Jeremi Johnson (FB), Daniel Coats (FB)
WR	6	Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Glenn Holt, Antonio Chatman, Andre Caldwell, Jerome Simpson
O-Line	9	Stacy Andrews, Levi Jones, Eric Ghiaciuc, Bobbie Williams, Andrew Whitworth, Dan Santucci, Kyle Cook, Scott Kooistra, Anthony Collins
TE	2	Reggie Kelly, Ben Utecht

DE	4	Antwan Odom, Robert Geathers, Jonathan Fanene, Frostee Rucker
DT	5	Domata Peko, John Thornton, Jason Shirley, Pat Sims, Michael Myers
Linebackers	6	Keith Rivers, Rashad Jeanty, Dhani Jones, Darryl Blackstock, Brandon Johnson, Corey Mays
Corners	4	Leon Hall, Johnathan Joseph, Simeon Castille, David Jones
Safeties	6	Dexter Jackson, Kyries Hebert, Herana-Daze Jones, Corey Lynch, Chinedum Ndukwe, Marvin White

Specialists	3	Shayne Graham, Kyle Larson, Brad St. Louis

Cincinnati Bengals @ New Orleans Saints: The View from Section 140

Saintsational — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Bill Feig - AP

4 months ago: New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma (51) intercepts a pass in front of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell (87) in the first half of their NFL preseason football game in New Orleans, Friday, Aug. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)

Browse more photos »

Bittersweet.

That's what tonight was for me. Not so much because of the Saints on-field performance, though it did leave a bit to be desired, but because of the location of my new season tickets. While I was excited about being closer to mid-field this year and on the Saints side of the Dome, I was a little nervous about just how low and close to the field I was actually going to be. As it turns out, my fears were well founded.

After arriving late, being held up at the gate by the Ticket Fiasco of '09 (see below) and losing my friend I hurried through the concourse and rushed to my seats making it in time just to see the first series begin. I was both elated and pissed when I discovered that I would spending the season in the second row. Sure, it sounds awesome to be sitting only two rows back and with the team so close I can spit on them. I also think I'm surrounded by friends and family of the players. But it's a double-edged sword my friend. The damn players block my view of the field! And if it's not the players, it's the down markers or the television crane. Son of a...

I spent most of the game brooding and trying to rationalize this most recent turn of events in an effort to make myself feel better about the situation. Fortunately, I did realize two things. First of all, the Dome will be undergoing major renovations over the next two years and I thought I had remembered them saying the Plaza Level seats would be upgraded. Just checked the Superdome's webpage and my suspicion proved correct:

New Sideline Seating--Complete replacement of the Plaza Level (lower bowl) sideline seats, moving them closer to the action, resulting in improved sightlines,

Perfect. I also remembered that this was pre-season and there are 80 players standing around. Once the season starts there will be 27 less people obstructing my view. Sweet.

So I'm willing to stick it out and see what happens. These things usually turn out alright for me. Regardless, this season is going to be interesting from the bottom of Section 140 and I genuinely think that the proximity of my seats to the Saints sidelines will completely change my perspective of the team. Though I may not have the best view of every down, I will be able to see the emotions and interactions betweens players and coaches as each play unfolds throughout the course of a game. Surely this will remain an eye-opening experience.

Enough about my own personal tribulations, let's get down to what we all came here to talk about: The game. After the jump are my initial notes in no particular order, personal pictures from the game and the open thread roll call. Remember that I haven't watched the game again on television and with the crummy new view from my seats, I could really be off base on some of these observations. Make sure to click the picture for all of the AP's photos from last nights game.

The Ticket Fiasco of '09. For the last few years the Saints have printed their season tickets in booklets, with each page being it's own ticket. This year they went all cheap and put the entire seasons tickets on one big perforated sheet. Each individual ticket, however, has two perforations; one that separates each ticket from the next and one that separates the stub of the ticket that contains the barcode. Apparently, a lot of fans didn't look too carefully when ripping their game ticket from the whole sheet and failed to rip the entire ticket, leaving the barcoded section at home. This led to mass confusion, holdups at the gate and separate accommodations being made.
We've been expecting Jonathan Vilma to play a huge role in Williams' new defense and to be the "quarterback" on that side of the ball but this was a hell of a start. It almost makes you think that Williams knows what he's doing and is actually getting the results he wants. Crazy notion. If you're pissed off about the fumble at the end of Vilma's run, don't be. Dude had to be tired. Besides, the end result of the play pushed the Bengals all the way back to their four yard line. That would never have even happened last year and Cincinnati would still have been in Saints territory so it's a step in the right direction.
How fitting that the Saints defense starts their season off with a big turnover thanks to Darren Sharper and Jonathan Vilma, who play the two key positions in Williams' defense. Two turnovers from Vilma is great and they followed through on that "scoop and score" mentality we've heard so much about about. Overall, the Saints won the turnover battle +1. Good signs and a step in the right direction. So if the defense is fixed, what aspect of the team will begin to break down and lead to failure?
The answer to the above question could very well be the running game. I didn't see anything worth writing about. They're still having problems with short yardage. Last night seemed to be Lynell Hamilton's chance to show what he's made of but I certainly wasn't impressed. I wasn't impressed by anyone in fact. And you cannot put the ball on the ground three times. Not good at all. Pierre barely touched the ball, though, so that should count for something.
Robert Meachem looked pretty good and saw a lot of playing time. Still, his touchdown catch was against Cincinnati's second team so I'm not so sure that's a completely accurate gauge. Got a little nervous when he took his time getting up after that one play.
Malcolm Jenkins wasn't given a chance to play until late in the game but he used his time wisely and was responsible for causing the Casillas interception. Not a bad start. I would like to see him get more time with the second and even first team.
When I got back home I quickly scanned the game thread and was glad to see that everyone else seemed to agree with me. Jason David is done. He really needed to shine tonight and prove that he could thrive in Gregg Williams' new system but he did just the opposite. Rather, he kept doing the things that made everyone hate him in the first place and it felt like old times in the Dome last night with everyone cursing David's name.
While we're on the subject of cornerbacks, I'm still not sold on Randall Gay. I never was, not even last year, and I really don't understand why some people continue to think he's good enough to start. He's not. Certainly not now. Your starters are Greer and Porter. End of discussion.
Congratulations to Jeremy Shockey for getting his first touchdown as a Saint and getting that monkey off his back early. Hopefully, this is a sign of great things to come. We know how dangerous a good tight end can be in Payton's system.
They were advertising on the jumbotron for a local television show called, "The Sean Payton Show" that will begin this fall. I have know idea what the format will be but my interest in piqued. I'll keep you updated.
I've got to be honest, Garrett Hartley's missed field goal really had me nervous. Like a bad omen. But he made up for it with the 54-yarder so I'm not as worried anymore.
I caught a brief glimpse of one of those remote controlled stadium blimps at the start of halftime but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Probably malfunctioning. Anyway, look out for that this season if you're attending the game.
I think Skyler Green can kiss his job goodbye. I know he gets the local love every year, being from LSU, but I just don't think he can cut it.
Brunell was solid and clearly better than Harrington. No surprise. We learned last year how good of a backup Brunell is.
It looked like Morstead was the better punter. Pakulak kicked a short one out of bounds. Morstead pinned a very nice one inside the 10-yard line and another mediocre one.
Charles Grant may have looked fast while running after Ochocinco but he also pulled up with a limp while chasing down Carson Palmer. All he was doing was running and minutes later he's got ice on his knee. That, to me, seems like a sign of poor conditioning and I don't like the look of it.
Rod Harper has got to be the surprise of the game. He looked pretty decent last night, making two big receptions. He also shined during the Black & Gold scrimmage last week. If any of the young guys are actually going to crack the wide receiver lineup, Harper seems to be it.
Darren Sharper looked good. He was responsible for causing the first fumble. And how about that big hit over the middle on the attempted pass? To quote Borat, "Vary niiiice."
Actually attending pre-season games sucks. Now I know why season ticket holders usually give them away every year or just don't use them. It's just not the same. There is no energy.

The Dome at dusk.

I've already had my lawyers contact their lawyers regarding naming rights. They're gonna pay for this.

The stadium was nowhere near full.

Gumbo close up.

Shockey interacting with the crowd. He really is a ham.

Mike Nabors doing his thing.

For the single guys.

More for the single guys.

The new defense.

I can barely see the damn field.

Lovely. Couldn't have found a better place for that thing.

What I wish the view looked like.

Just some game action.

Hartley keeping fresh.

The offensive line.

Reggie icing up the knee.

Here is the roll call for last nights open thread. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. It was great to see so many names on there.

Total Users: 34

Total Posts: 463

Total Threads: 1

Name	# of Posts
satchmo26	74
nanvinnie	51
Monkey Poop Battle	35
Just Some Guy	32
fruly	30
carolinasaintsfan	27
Norml912	26
knucklesmalone	23
FriarBob	20
vicvega26	18
SaintBevo	18
N_O_1saintfan	17
FuSoYa	13
skinnykinney	12
FrenchFreak	8
Steve the fan	7
HansDat	6
dell00	5
AKAY47	5
DaymanCometh	5
BayouRebel	5
nosaints8700	5
MtnExile	4
TonyChachere	4
SBookerSaintsFan	3
YESSaints	2
saintsfan77	1
ShadowFlash	1
Realsaint	1
GSO Saints Fan	1
Ditka'sGhost	1
janepriceestrada	1
pukenbowl	1
Philinwood	1

Poll

Are you satisfied with yesterdays performance?

Very much

53 votes

A little

149 votes

Not really

32 votes

Not at all

8 votes

242 votes | Poll has closed

2009 Saints Minicamp: What Have we Learned?

Saintsational — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:00:24 -0000

I hope you all got your fill of New Orleans Saints football for the time being because that's it. It's over. You won't be seeing anymore until training camp gets underway later next month. The team has just a couple of weeks of OTA's remaining, all of which are closed to the public, before they get some final vacation time. As we say goodbye to this three day tease they call minicamp I wanted to recap some of the major (and not-so major) themes I think are most important and open this bad boy up for one last discussion.

Shockey's Back

You know how I know Jeremy Shockey is going to return to form and have a great season on the field in 2009? Because off the field he has become the attention-grabbing, media magnet that all NFL fans have come to know and love. Shockey has done a pretty good job of staying out of the spotlight since coming to New Orleans. Unfortunately, he's also done a fine job of staying out of the end zone too. But The Shockmeister has made a return to national headlines with this most recent incident in Vegas. And wouldn't you know it - he had a damn good minicamp weekend too. I'm starting to think the off-field controversy and on-field production go hand it hand. Regardless, Shockey is creating a buzz and as of now it's the good kind. Don't kill my buzz.

Secondary No Longer Primary Concern

If Who Dat Nation wasn't talking about Shockey this weekend than they were talking about the ridiculously upgraded secondary. Though nothing is guaranteed when it comes to Saints football, with so many new talented faces on this years team the odds just have to be in favor of improvement. And if the increased depth doesn't get you excited, the fact that the secondary actually looked good this weekend should. Sharper, Jenkins and Greer all made interceptions on Saturday while Harper, Porter, Torrence and Reis each knocked down passes. Even Danny Gorrer is stepping it up. If we learned absolutely anything this weekend it's that the secondary should be better in 2009. Comforting, I know.

Is Different Better?

It was my main point when I gave my report back from Friday's minicamp and it's been a major theme of this weekend. The Saints defense has been given an extreme makeover worthy of Fox's The Swan. We're seeing different fronts and blitz packages. Gregg Williams was even tinkering with the 3-4 this weekend. I caution everyone to try and curb their enthusiasm because different doesn't necessarily mean better. It does, however, raise a million questions about what to expect this season.

Mike Bell Running Away With It

The battle for that third running back position will be intense this year but given the nature of minicamp we didn't really get a good look at the competition. If I had to pick a front-runner, though, it would have to be Mike Bell. He seemed to garner the most attention and praise from the media this weekend, moreso than Lynell Hamilton, P.J. Hill and Herb Donaldson. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens in training camp

Injuries are Scary

There were some injury scares this weekend with regards to a couple of players. First was, who else, Dan Morgan who left practice Friday with a calf injury. Darnell Dinkins was out with an ankle. Then Sedrick Ellis tried to hack Pierre Thomas's wrist off and Jammal Brown did his best Shockey impression (dehydration). Don't forget Scott Shanle missed time with a calf injury as well. All of which should hauntingly remind us of last season. It's frustrating to be reminded how quickly the potential for a great season can come crashing to an end at the hand of injury but unfortunately it's part of the game. All we can do is hope for some better luck this season.

Sean Payton is the Next Steven Spielberg

I don't know about you but I thought the story about Payton shopping his "XBox Kid" movie script was the most interesting news of the weekend. I'm sure it will be just a shell of it's original self once Hollywood gets its hands on it, but learning about Payton's creative side was certainly the most shocking fact of the weekend.

Biggest Surprise Players

Mike Detillier says Danny Gorrer and Jermy Parnell have been impressive.

Why Didn't We Hear Much About...

Chip Vaughn? DeMario Pressley?

Whose Job is in Jeopardy?

Glenn Pakulak. Thomas Morstead drew praise for his big leg and his hang time.

Who Picked Up Right Where They Left Off?

Billy Miller. He continues to be underrated and a fan favorite.

Quote of the Weekend

Billy Miller again...

"If Jeremy Shockey is at the best of his ability, Billy Miller in year 11 is going to win a Super Bowl," Miller said. "And that's all that matters. Nothing else really matters at my age but winning. Not money, not any of that. Just winning ball games.

"Jeremy Shockey was brought in to be the starting tight end and to provide me with a nice shiny ring."

Popular Minicamp Trend

The Times-Pic reports that Courtney Roby, Roman Harper, Jason David, Skyler Green and Anthony Waters all have mohawks.

Completely Stupid Random Fact

There are three players on the current roster with the last name Evans. Jahri, Heath and Troy.

Feel free to now discuss anything else you think I've missed and offer your final thoughts on Saints minicamp.

Transcript of Sean Payton's Minicamp Press Conference

Saintsational — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:03:28 -0000

Per the Times-Pic.

Opening Statement:

"The one player that wasn't here was Thomas Morstead, our punter. He was excused for a funeral and he'll be getting back tonight. It was our first morning of the minicamp and so far, so good. We just have a lot of work ahead of us."

How do you prepare for the looming four-game suspensions for Charles Grant and Will Smith?

"One of the things we'll do out here is to rotate the order of how these guys are getting reps. In minicamp here, with eight more OTAs, all of training camp - we have a lot of time to mix up the repetitions and we'll be mindful of that."

Are you comfortable with the personnel you have behind those guys heading into the season?

"Yes. Purposefully we've been able to go out and acquire some guys at that position and get some depth, some guys with experience. We'll be prepared."

Did Marques Colston have a setback or do you just decide to hold him out this morning?

"With him and Reggie (Bush) both, we're just gradually increasing their workload. Both of them are getting some work in after practice. They're at that stage where we just don't want them getting tangled up in a drill. We'll be smart and continue to increase their workload as we see fit. There hasn't been any setback."

Do you still have Reggie Bush and Lance Moore penciled in as your top punt returners?

"Obviously we're going to look at Reggie; we're going to look at Lance Moore; we're going to look at Skyler Green; we're going to look at Tracy Porter and Jason David. So if you look at five right now that are going to be getting some reps along with some of these younger guys, that's how it will start off."

So you're not shying away from having Bush and Moore back there?

"Not at all."

How has Darren Sharper fit in with the defense so far?

"So far pretty well. He obviously has a lot of experience and he's been here throughout the whole offseason as we've added and really installed the new defense. He's been involved with it just like everyone else. It's not like some of these new players coming in are behind because we're really looking at a new installation for everybody. He's been able to handle it from the beginning."

Is it the same for Jabari Greer?

"Yes, it's the same for Jabari and really quite honestly for all the veteran players that have been here."

What have you seen from Anthony Hargrove and Paul Spicer so far?

"Both of those players have played in the league and have experience. They're different types of players; Spicer is someone that we feel like is stout at the point of attack and plays the run well. Anthony Hargrove is someone that can get up the field and rush the passer. Their skill sets are a little different and yet they are at key positions for us, especially if we're looking at possibly losing some players to start the year."

When you bring those guys in, do they know about the possible suspensions for the other players?

"I think so. I think they're aware of it. The better question would be, 'Are we bringing those two players in if that looming suspension doesn't sit out there?' And the answer to that would be, probably yes."

It looked like Devery Henderson has improved on catching the ball cleanly. Have you seen that?

"I think that's accurate. He's taking some reps at 'X' right now, which is really the other side of the formation with Marques (Colston) not going full-speed yet. It's helpful when you can move him a little bit. Certainly he knows the 'Z' position, but outside of the specific position, he's catching it cleanly and playing with confidence and he's done a good job. He had a good morning practice today."

Is this the Jeremy Shockey that you wanted to get, the player we saw on the field today?

"It was our first practice and he's healthy, so you were able to see him move around better. But it's early and we'll see."

Is he as healthy right now as he has been since you traded for him?

"I think that's true. He came here off the injury in New York and then he had the sports hernia. There has been enough time between both of those injuries now to where if he's not 100 percent, he's getting back into a rhythm."

Has he been at the OTAs?

"We had four OTAs that he was excused from. I use that term although he doesn't have to be excused from them. There were four OTAs that he wasn't able to be at, and we're here at minicamp with eight more OTAs left."

What has been your early evaluation of having Tracy Porter back on the field?

"It's a big plus having him back. We felt like he was playing at a pretty high level when he got injured and he's certainly going to be in the mix at the corner position. We feel like he has a good skill set and understands the defense. He has good cover skills and range and it's a big plus."

How does Dan Morgan look right now?

"He's picking things up pretty quickly and he seems to be moving real well. His movement skills have been real impressive and that's encouraging."

This will be the fourth straight year of sellouts at the Superdome. What are your thoughts on that?

"It's a credit to our fan base. To some degree, the fan base has shifted a little bit after '06 and regionally you're seeing not only the local fans from New Orleans but more of the state, you're seeing Mississippi, you're seeing Florida, Alabama and that's all a positive thing, especially with the economy now. I think the fans are pretty smart in their decisions as to how they want to spend their money and it's a positive for the organization. It just keeps getting back to putting the right product on the field and certainly we're appreciative of it."

What happened to Darnell Dinkins and did Adrian Arrington hurt himself out there?

"Arrington is coming off a hamstring from the last OTA so we really didn't see him do much except for the walkthroughs. We feel like we'll have more of him here in the next two weeks. Dinkins and (Dan) Campbell were the two guys that got nicked up a little bit. Dinkins looked like he twisted his ankle and Campbell twisted his knee so we'll get those two guys examined. But Arrington had a hamstring from our last OTA practice."

Have you seen progress from Robert Meachem?

"Yes. He's healthy and he has a real good grasp of what we're doing. He's someone that has been involved the whole offseason and is playing with a lot more confidence."

There were a couple of skirmishes out there this morning. Does that just show the players are feisty and ready to compete?

"I think that's fairly common when you get together here and you start working against each other. The key is just being smart and understanding what time of the year we're at. We have a long way to go."

What was your reaction to Shockey's hospitalization? Did you talk to him?

"No, I didn't. I'm sure I'll have a chance to visit with him here. Really, outside of that, I know it happened on the weekend and out of town. What's important is that he's healthy and he gets back to what we're doing here and getting on the same page with what we're doing offensively and our quarterback. These repetitions for him - not only at the minicamp but at these next OTAs - are going to be important, especially coming off his injury."

Are you happy with his attitude throughout the offseason?

"This is the first offseason to my knowledge that he's been around and been working. I would speak first from a group standpoint and I say this at the team meeting last night, we have a chance to where we're over 35 players now that are over 100 percent of the workouts and that's probably double where we have been in the last two or three years. This is the first year where everyone has been here; in other words we haven't had a player holding out or not involved. There are various degrees of how much each player has been involved, but overall it has been our best offseason by far."

In the practices that we've seen it's looked like Dan Campbell has been catching the ball well and looks smooth out there. Is that what you've seen?

"He catches it well. I don't know about looking smooth, but he catches it well. He's someone I'm familiar with; obviously we had him in New York. He's a guy that gives you a presence in his blocking. He's strong at the point of attack in the run game, he can block defensive ends in the passing game, and he's functional as a receiver, which is important. If you look at his assets or his skill sets, it would start with his ability to block in the run and the pass. He made a real nice catch out here in the one drill."

How much catch-up will Malcolm Jenkins have to play when he finally gets back here?

"Fortunately, he has graduated and he's flying in tonight. He was able to get his exams done and he'll be in tonight and you guys will see him on the field tomorrow. That's pretty important. That gives us Saturday, it gives us Sunday and that gives us all these OTAs coming up, and he's already been at the rookie minicamp. I think the learning curve for him will be smaller than it would have been had he had to wait longer."

Did Mike Bell seem impressive to you out there?

"He has been doing well. He's done a good job. He still hasn't been here a full year but he knows what we're doing. He's big and he's a guy that is relatively young when you look at the age of a running back. He's someone that is in the mix and will have a lot of opportunities."

Considering Rob Ninkovich's ability to play defensive end, do you think this will be the most competitive battle you've had at long snapper here?

"One of the things that we've looked at with Rob is making sure that his focal point starts with being a snapper and then having the flexibility of being able to play on the defensive line. You're seeing him spend more and more time with the specialists than maybe in years past or when he was in Miami. You're always trying to develop that position and have depth at that position and have competition, and I think we have that right now. We'll see how that plays out."

Do you have him listed as a long snapper more than a defensive end now?

"I think that would be fair to say right now, long snapper first. With the depth at defensive end, it gives him the opportunity and the flexibility to go play on defense, but still that's the mindset as to how he's going to make the team."

Will you give that job to whoever performs best as a long snapper or does Ninkovich have an edge because he can do two things?

"We still have to look at the results at the position and make sure that whoever is our long snapper is someone that we have confidence in. Obviously it's an added bonus if a guy can play another position on the field because you're always looking to see how many snaps we can get these guys in when it comes to the game. That will factor in, but it still starts with snapping."

Saints Wide Receiving Corp is "Full House"

Saintsational — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:21:43 -0000

Poll

Who do you think won't be on the 2009 Saints team?

Devery Henderson

14 votes

Lance Moore

46 votes

Skyler Green

326 votes

Robert Meachem

26 votes

Adrian Arrington

48 votes

Courtney Roby

143 votes

603 votes | Poll has closed

Final Defensive and Special Team Stats for the 2008 Saints Season

Saintsational — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:00:07 -0000

As promised, here are the final defensive and special teams statistics for the 2008 season. As you would expect, these aren't as impressive as their offensive counterparts.

Rushing Defense

Left End

Left Tackle

Left Guard

Up the Middle

Right Guard

Right Tackle

Right End

Plays: 62

Plays: 58

Plays: 65

Plays: 87

Plays: 62

Plays: 51

Plays: 45

NFL Rank: 10

NFL Rank: 15

NFL Rank: 3

NFL Rank: 28

NFL Rank: 4

NFL Rank: 23

NFL Rank: 20

Avg Gain: 5.19

Avg Gain: 4.72

Avg Gain: 3.66

Avg Gain: 3.75

Avg Gain: 4.32

Avg Gain: 3.86

Avg Gain: 5.89

NFL Rank: 15

NFL Rank: 24

NFL Rank: 12

NFL Rank: 22

NFL Rank: 13

NFL Rank: 26

Passing Defense

Short Left	Short Middle	Short Right	Deep Left	Deep Middle	Deep Right


















Plays: 165	Plays: 82	Plays: 161	Plays: 55	Plays: 29	Plays: 35
NFL Rank: 7	NFL Rank: 27	NFL Rank: 23	NFL Rank: 1	NFL Rank: 9	NFL Rank: 20
Avg Gain: 5.80	Avg Gain: 7.09	Avg Gain: 5.87	Avg Gain: 8.00	Avg Gain: 18.10	Avg Gain: 8.03
NFL Rank: 13	NFL Rank: 24	NFL Rank: 25	NFL Rank: 7	NFL Rank: 31	NFL Rank: 2

Team Rankings

Team	Yds / Game	Yds / Play	Rush Yds / Game	Rush Yards / Play	Pass Yards / Game	Pass Yards / Play	Int. Rate	Sacks / Pass Att	First Downs / Game	Punt Return Avg	Kickoff Return Avg	3rd Down Pct	4th Down Pct	Red Zone Pct	Goal to Go%	Points / Game	Point Diff. / Game	Yard Diff. / Game
NO	339.5	5.44	117.8	4.24	221.7	6.74	2.85%	5.32%	18.7	10.7	24.0	39.81%	57.14%	48.33%	70.97%	24.6	4.4	71.2
Rank	23	22	17	19	23	21	14	22	18	25	23	19	19t	9	21	26	10	3

Individual Stats

Interceptions	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
J.David	5	83	16.6	42	0
S.Fujita	2	19	9.5	17	0
K.Kaesviharn	2	13	6.5	13	0
U.Young	2	3	1.5	3	0
T.Porter	1	25	25.0	25	0
J.Bullocks	1	23	23.0	23	0
M.McKenzie	1	14	14.0	14	0
J.Vilma	1	8	8.0	8	0
Team	15	188	12.5	42	0
Opponents	18	270	15.0	95t	2

Punting	No	Yds	Avg	Net	TB	In	Lg	B
S.Weatherford	26	1094	42.1	34.2	3	5	61	0
G.Pakulak	24	1144	47.7	37.8	2	3	70	0
B.Graham	3	126	42.0	35.3	0	1	44	0
Team	53	2364	44.6	35.9	5	9	70	0
Opponents	66	2711	41.1	35.2	4	23	65	0

Punt Returns	Ret	FC	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
R.Bush	20	3	270	13.5	71t	3
L.Moore	6	13	40	6.7	11	0
S.Green	0	1	0	0	0	0
Team	26	17	310	11.9	71t	3
Opponents	34	7	363	10.7	42	0

Field Goals	1-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+
G.Hartley	0/ 0	5/ 5	4/ 4	4/ 4	0/ 0
M.Gramatica	0/ 0	0/ 0	3/ 3	2/ 5	1/ 2
T.Mehlhaff	0/ 0	1/ 1	1/ 2	1/ 1	0/ 0
Team	0/ 0	6/ 6	8/ 9	7/ 10	1/ 2
Opponents	0/ 0	13/ 13	15/ 16	5/ 7	1/ 3

Kickoff Returns	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
P.Thomas	31	793	25.6	88	0
C.Roby	19	472	24.8	62	0
S.Green	4	133	33.3	60	0
T.Copper	2	35	17.5	18	0
A.Stecker	2	10	5.0	10	0
L.Moore	1	36	36.0	36	0
R.Meachem	1	9	9.0	9	0
B.Ortega	1	8	8.0	8	0
M.Campbell	1	0	0.0	0	0
M.Karney	0	0	0	0	0
Team	62	1496	24.1	88	0
Opponents	76	1827	24.0	83t	1

Defensive Player Statistics

Player	Tkl	Ast	Comb	Sack	Sk Yds	QH	Int	PD	FF	FR
J.Vilma	98	34	132	1	5	4	1	6	2	3
S.Shanle	60	27	87	2	12	3	0	5	1	0
R.Harper	73	7	80	0	0	1	0	9	1	0
S.Fujita	62	18	80	0	0	0	2	3	1	0
W.Smith	43	19	62	3	23	11	0	1	1	0
K.Kaesviharn	47	14	61	0	0	1	2	4	0	0
R.Gay	49	4	53	1	6	1	0	15	0	0
J.Bullocks	28	7	35	0	0	1	1	6	0	0
K.Clancy	26	8	34	2	8	4	0	3	0	1
C.Grant	27	6	33	3	20	9	0	2	0	0
U.Young	27	6	33	0	0	0	2	8	0	0
S.Ellis	20	10	30	4	16	8	0	4	0	0
B.McCray	25	4	29	6	35	13	0	0	1	0
T.Porter	23	2	25	1	8	1	1	5	0	0
J.David	21	2	23	0	0	0	5	10	0	1
M.McKenzie	21	1	22	0	0	0	1	3	0	0
B.Young	11	2	13	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
J.Charleston	9	1	10	3	25	3	0	0	0	0
A.Glenn	6	1	7	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
H.Thomas	6	1	7	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
J.Dunbar	4	3	7	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
J.Craft	2	4	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
L.Torrence	4	1	5	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
A.Lake	4	1	5	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
C.Reis	3	1	4	1	3	1	0	0	0	0
R.Ayodele	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
J.Savage	1	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
T.Evans	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
M.Mitchell	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Team Totals	703	188	891	28	161	62	15	90	8	5
Opponent Totals	724	172	896	13	92	55	18	107	10	7

**Tkl=Tackle Ast=Assist FF =Forced Fumble FR=Fumble Recovery BL=Blocked Kick**

Special Teams Defensive Stats

Player	Tkl	Ast	FF	FR	BL
U.Young	15	2	0	1	0
J.Dunbar	13	0	0	0	0
T.Evans	12	1	0	1	0
C.Reis	9	1	1	0	0
R.Harper	9	0	0	0	0
M.Mitchell	8	1	0	1	0
J.Charleston	6	2	0	0	0
B.Ortega	5	1	0	0	0
J.Bullocks	5	0	1	0	0
P.Thomas	4	1	0	0	0
L.Torrence	3	1	0	0	0
A.Stecker	3	0	0	0	0
K.Kaesviharn	2	1	0	0	0
J.Craft	2	1	0	0	0
C.Roby	2	0	0	0	0
S.Weatherford	2	0	0	0	0
S.Fujita	1	0	0	0	0
A.Glenn	1	0	0	0	0
J.Savage	1	0	0	0	0
D.Barnes	1	0	0	0	0
G.Hartley	1	0	0	0	0
G.Pakulak	1	0	0	0	0
T.Holt	0	1	0	0	0
Team Totals	106	13	2	3	0
Opponent Totals	85	12	1	2	1

**Tkl=Tackle Ast=Assist FF =Forced Fumble FR=Fumble Recovery BL=Blocked Kick**

Turnovers

Fumbles Lost: J.Shockey 2, R.Bush 2, S.Green 1, P.Thomas 1, O.Sobomehin 1, D.Brees 1 Total: 8

Opponent Fumble Recoveries: J.Vilma 3, J.David 1, U.Young 1, K.Clancy 1, T.Evans 1 Total: 7

Final Offensive Stats for the 2008 Saints Season

Saintsational — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:00:07 -0000

I know a lot of you have been in off-season mode since the second Drew's final pass hit the turf against Carolina on December 28th and you could care less about the NFL playoffs. That's cool. We've got a long way to go until the draft and even longer until 2009 training camp starts. That means we have plenty of time to analyze and over-analyze what went wrong this year with the Saints and believe you me, we will definitely get into all of that. Hopefully you haven't thought I was dragging my feet.

I thought before we got started on all of that however, we should all know just what the hell we're talking about instead of throwing bogus stats around. Below you will find a detailed breakdown of the Saints offensive performance in 2008. This will, of course, be followed be defensive figures. This is the Saints season in number form. So when we get into the inevitable Reggie Bush/Pierre Thomas debate this summer (and you know it's coming!), we will all have facts and figures to reference and call each other out on. Give these a look over and commit them to memory. Learn 'em. Live 'em. Love 'em.

Make the jump for all the rest. Feel free to comment on these stats and discuss anything you find interesting or surprising.

Team Stats

	New Orleans	Opponent
Total First Downs	354	299
Rushing	103	100
Passing	232	180
Penalty	19	19
3rd Down: Made/Att	97/200	82/206
3rd Down Pct.	48.5%	39.8%
4th Down: Made/Att	10/18	8/14
4th Down Pct.	55.6%	57.1%
Possession Avg.	30:23	29:37
Total Net Yards	6571	5432
Avg. Per Game	410.7	339.5
Total Plays	1047	999
Avg. Per Play	6.3	5.4
Net Yards Rushing	1594	1885
Avg. Per Game	99.6	117.8
Total Rushes	398	445
Net Yards Passing	4977	3547
Avg. Per Game	311.1	221.7
Sacked/Yards Lost	13/92	28/161
Gross Yards	5069	3708
Attempts/Completions	636/413	526/299
Completion Pct.	64.9%	56.8%
Had Intercepted	18	15
Punts/Average	53/44.6	66/41.1
Net Punting Avg.	35.9	35.2
Penalties/Yards	86/797	84/637
Fumbles/Ball Lost	18/8	16/7
Touchdowns	57	41
Rushing	20	14
Passing	34	21
Returns	3	6

Offensive Rankings

Team	Yds / Game	Yds / Play	Rush Yards / Game	Rush Yds / Play	Pass Yds / Game	Pass Yds / Play	Int. Rate	Sacks / Pass Attempt	First Downs / Game	Punt Return Avg	Kickoff Return Avg	Field Goals Made	3rd Down Pct	4th Down Pct	Red Zone Pct	Goal to Go%	Avg Time of Poss.	Pts. / Game
NO	410.7	6.28	99.6	4.01	311.1	7.83	2.83%	2.04%	22.1	11.9	24.1	81.48%	48.50%	55.56%	61.29%	75.00%	30:23	28.9
Rank	1	1	28	23	1	2	17	2	2t	4	8	23	2	12t	4t	8t	15	1

Scoring

Score By Periods	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Pts
Team	67	154	115	127	0	463
Opponents	80	141	69	100	3	393

Scoring	TD	Run	Pass	Return	PAT	FG	2Pt	Pts
P.Thomas	12	9	3	0	0/0	0/0	0	72
G.Hartley	0	0	0	0	28/28	13/13	0	67
L.Moore	10	0	10	0	0/0	0/0	0	60
R.Bush	9	2	4	3	0/0	0/0	0	54
D.McAllister	6	5	1	0	0/0	0/0	0	36
M.Gramatica	0	0	0	0	16/16	6/10	0	34
M.Colston	5	0	5	0	0/0	0/0	0	30
R.Meachem	4	1	3	0	0/0	0/0	0	24
T.Mehlhaff	0	0	0	0	9/10	3/4	0	18
D.Henderson	3	0	3	0	0/0	0/0	0	18
M.Campbell	2	0	2	0	0/0	0/0	0	12
M.Karney	2	2	0	0	0/0	0/0	0	12
B.Miller	1	0	1	0	0/0	0/0	0	6
D.Patten	1	0	1	0	0/0	0/0	0	6
A.Stecker	1	0	1	0	0/0	0/0	0	6
M.Bell	1	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	0	6
C.Grant	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0	2
Team	57	20	34	3	53/54	22/27	0	463
Opponents	41	14	21	6	37/37	34/39	3	393

Individual Stats

Passing	Att	Cmp	Yds	Cmp%	Yds/Att	TD	TD%	Int	Int%	Long	Sack	Lost	Rating
D.Brees	635	413	5069	65.0%	8.0	34	5.4%	17	2.7%	84t	13/	92	96.3
L.Moore	1	0	0	0.0%	0.0	0	0.0%	1	100.0%	0	0/	0	0.0

Rushing	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
P.Thomas	129	625	4.8	42t	9
D.McAllister	107	418	3.9	19	5
R.Bush	106	404	3.8	43	2
A.Stecker	8	43	5.4	12	0
M.Bell	13	42	3.2	15	1
D.Henderson	4	33	8.3	30	0
R.Meachem	1	20	20.0	20t	1
M.Karney	8	10	1.3	3	2
D.Brees	22	-1	0.0	9	0
Team	398	1594	4.0	43	20
Opponents	445	1885	4.2	46	14

Receiving	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
L.Moore	79	928	11.7	70t	10
R.Bush	52	440	8.5	42t	4
J.Shockey	50	483	9.7	26	0
M.Colston	47	760	16.2	70t	5
B.Miller	45	579	12.9	41	1
D.Henderson	32	793	24.8	84t	3
P.Thomas	31	284	9.2	24	3
D.McAllister	18	128	7.1	20	1
R.Meachem	12	289	24.1	74	3
M.Campbell	12	121	10.1	29	2
D.Patten	11	162	14.7	39t	1
A.Stecker	9	52	5.8	12	1
M.Karney	9	18	2.0	7	0
O.Sobomehin	2	8	4.0	10	0
S.Ryan	2	7	3.5	5	0
M.Bell	1	14	14.0	14	0
B.Ortega	1	3	3.0	3	0
Team	413	5069	12.3	84t	34
Opponents	299	3708	12.4	67t	21

Combined Yards	Rush Yds	Recv Yds	KO Rt Yds	Pt Rt Yds	Cmb Yds
Thomas, Pierre	625	284	793	0	1702
Bush, Reggie	404	440	0	270	1114
Moore, Lance	0	928	36	40	1004
Henderson, Devery	33	793	0	0	826
Colston, Marques	0	760	0	0	760
Miller, Billy	0	579	0	0	579
McAllister, Deuce	418	128	0	0	546
Shockey, Jeremy	0	483	0	0	483
Roby, Courtney	0	0	472	0	472
Meachem, Robert	20	289	9	0	318
Patten, David	0	162	0	0	162
Green, Skyler	0	0	133	0	133
Campbell, Mark	0	121	0	0	121
Stecker, Aaron	43	52	10	0	105
Bell, Mike	42	14	0	0	56
Copper, Terrance	0	0	35	0	35
Karney, Mike	10	18	0	0	28
Ortega, Buck	0	3	8	0	11
Sobomehin, Olaniyi	0	8	0	0	8
Ryan, Sean	0	7	0	0	7
Brees, Drew	-1	0	0	0	-1
Total	1594	5069	1496	310	8469
Opponents	1885	3708	1827	365	7785

Panthers 33 @ Saints 31: Pictures

Saintsational — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 05:37:25 -0000

Here are the pictures from the game, as promised. They were all taken by NYSaint and I think you will find him to be a better picture take than I.

I have never seen a Kevin Houser jersey before. These people must be related. There was a large group of them.

I call this one..."Deep in Thought (Why Josh Bullocks)"

See how NYSaint get's what he calls "foreground elements" in this picture, giving it more depth? Much better picture.

Shhhhhh...Drew is trying to carve up the Panthers secondary.

This is my favorite! It's right after Skyler's fumble on the return. Check out Mike Bell telling Skyler Green to keep his butt in the endzone. I can hear him pleading with Skyler.

NYSaint. In case you're wondering...it was foam finger give-away day.

It's the wave!!!

Foreground elements.

The new windows on the corners of the Dome.

Panthers 33 @ Saints 31: The View from Section 108

Saintsational — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:28:38 -0000

I'm not upset. Really. I'm not. I wanted them to lose. Better draft position. And why waste a good performance on a meaningless game. I can't even imagine how pissed I would be if the Saints lost this game the way they did and it actually meant something. We have to give the Saints credit because they did a great job getting back into the game. They are definitely getting better at the 4th quarter comeback thing. They just need to tweak it a bit more. The only disappointing part of this game was Drew coming up short of the record even when it was practically handed to him. But the rest of it and this season is all just water under the bridge.

Let's do this bullet style. I should have some pictures up later tonight hopefully.

I went to the game with a friend of mine from NY (you know him as NYSaint) and his girlfriend. We all took the streetcar downtown. Chef Who Dat and his crazy cohorts were standing at Lee Circle, cheering and shouting at passersby and streetcar passengers.
Deuce was the last starter announced.
Theresa Anderson sang the National Anthem.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was in for the coin toss as an honorary team captain.
There seemed to be more Pierre Thomas jerseys than I have ever seen before.
The tackling was weak! How many guys does it take to bring down Jonathan Stewart anyway?
If this was early in the season I would probably be very angry with Skyler Green but I didn't care about this game and I am not sure he will be on this team next season. He looked pretty good on his first return but you just can't give the ball up like that. Everyone got a laugh on the ensuing kickoff when Mike Bell motioned at Skyler to stay and kneel in the end zone.
The Dome was pretty quiet and tame most of the game. Only until the very end when the Saints made it a game did the crowd finally get into it.
It also took the defense three and a half quarters to wake up and not look like pure crap. No wonder the crowd never got into it. The secondary looked bad and the line got no pressure most of the game.
I will give props to Jason David who made that nice hit on 3rd down to jar the ball loose and force the Panthers to punt.
Glad to see Meachem getting some playing time and making the most of it. We all said it last year and I will say it again now...next year will be the year he breaks out.
The crowd was upset about quite a few pass interference calls. Or lack thereof. A couple of them looked to be just good defensive plays.
The text message poll given during the game revealed that 79% attending fans prefer the Saints home black jerseys over the away white. Didn't they used to wear white at home? When did that change?
It looked like they brought in Zach Strief quite a bit to help on either side of the line. The Saints line gave up two sacks but that was enough to break the single season franchise record by two. Congrats to those guys this season.
Vilma had yet another great day and finds himself at the top of the tackles list. He may not get signed before free agency but how could the Saints not sign him the second he hits the market?
Colston had a great day and he could have had another touchdown had he caught that ball in the endzone that hit him right in the hands.
Also, I could have sworn that the bottom of Drews shoes were gold plated or something very shiny. Can anyone confirm this?
Aren't you glad Lance Moore is on our team? I am.
Atlanta beat St. Louis today but because the Saints couldn't take care of business Carolina has officially won the division, thus ending the long and incredible streak of teams going from worst to first in the NFC South. This doesn't bode well for the Saints next year.
As most of the team ran off the field after the game, many fans stayed and chanted "Deeeeeeeuuuuuuuuccce" as he ran off. Have we seen the last of him?
And then, of course, there is Drew. Breaking the record was the only thing I cared about seeing today and it just wasn't meant to be. We could probably go back and find a couple of dropped passes that would have added up to at least the 16 yards he needed to break Dan Marino's record. I am thinking of an easy one specifically by Deuce early in the game. And how serendipitous was that last play the Saints got to run with one second left? Couldn't anyone have caught that final pass? There's always next year...

Here is the roll call for today's open thread. Thanks for those of you who stopped by the hang out.

Total Users: 10
Total Posts: 175
Total Threads: 1

Name	# of Posts
Steve the fan	50
SaintBevo	38
pukenbowl	33
MtnExile	24
Dave the Falconer	15
Jaxon	8
Nez	3
SSreporters	2
Juncti	1
hakimdropstheball	1

Poll

Who was the Saints player of the game?

Drew Brees

40 votes

Deuce McAllister

2 votes

Marques Colston

0 votes

Lance Moore

3 votes

Jonathan Vilma

4 votes

49 votes | Poll has closed