With their thrilling 35-27 win over the Falcons on Monday night, the Saints are off to their best start in franchise history at 7-0.

They were far from perfect tonight, but it’s hard not to watch the Saints without getting a sense that this team is destined for big things. Their offense is balanced and can beat opponents in a variety of ways, while the defense is incredibly opportunistic and more aggressive under new coordinator Gregg Williams than they have been in years past.

Save for a fumble that led to a Falcons’ defensive touchdown and an interception (what a play by Atlanta cornerback Brett Grimes) that killed a potential scoring drive, Drew Brees was incredible again tonight. Some of the throws he made were so perfect that he couldn’t have walked them to his receivers any better. And speaking of his receivers, Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey and Robert Meachem made some absolutely athletic catches with defensive backs draped on top of them. The one-handed grab that Shockey made in the fourth quarter to help set up the Saints’ final touchdown was one of the best catches of the year.

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In one of the wildest games of the season, the Saints beat the Dolphins 46-34 on Sunday as Drew Brees completed 22-of-38 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for two scores as New Orleans outscored Miami 43-10 starting late in the second quarter.

The final score would suggest otherwise, but both defenses actually played well until the fourth quarter. Miami repeatedly harassed Brees while racking up five sacks and forcing three interceptions and two fumbles. At one point, the Dolphins led 24-3 but Sean Payton never abandoned the run and Brees slowly started to strike for big plays. He repeatedly attacked the middle of the field while finding Jeremy Shockey (four catches, 105 yards) for a couple of big plays in the second half.

For the third time this season, Darren Sharper intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. He now has five interceptions on the year and is making a case for being the best offseason acquisition in the NFL, which is amazing considering how several teams thought he was done at 33 years old.

The Dolphins learned a lot about themselves today. While they blew a 21-point second quarter lead, they are the only team that has put the Saints on their heels this season. They may have given the rest of the league a blueprint on how to slow the Saints down. (Or at least, slow the Saints down for two quarters.)

It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t find a way to pull out the win, but by no means are the Dolphins out of contention at 2-4. Chad Henne made a couple of mistakes today, but the youngster will learn and continue to develop.

Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey still has a bitter taste in his mouth from his days as a Giant, writes the New York Daily News. The Saints will host the Giants this Sunday at the Superdome.

Shockey gets his shot at revenge when the undefeated Saints and Giants meet Sunday in the Superdome. The defense should expect plenty of yapping from him. The Giants were thrilled to dump Shockey, who had become a divisive malcontent, and Saints coach Sean Payton, his offensive coordinator with the Giants in his rookie year, was glad to hand over second- and fifth-round picks right before training camp in 2008.

Shockey had been one of the faces of the franchise. But whether it was a bruised ego when the Giants won the Super Bowl without him or a feeling he was disrespected by management or money, it was clear his act had grown stale in New York and he forced his way out of town.

Shockey told the New Orleans Times-Picayune in yesterday’s editions that he had a “bitter taste in my mouth,” from his Giants days. “It’s just something that if you cross me once – it’s hard enough to gain my trust as it is – and if you lie to me and if you say something behind closed doors between that person and myself …

“I needed change in my life,” he said.

He had a blowup with GM Jerry Reese during a minicamp in June of ’08 and that made it impossible for him to return. He is happy and healthy in New Orleans after he was injured for much of last season, playing in 11 games and catching 50 passes with no TDs. In the Saints’ 4-0 start, he leads the Saints with 18 catches and also has two touchdowns. He is the third receiving option for Drew Brees after Marques Colston and Reggie Bush.

One of the things that always stood out to me about the Giants’ Super Bowl run a couple years ago was that Manning had so much success in the playoffs without having Shockey at his disposal. That was just one example of why individual players – no matter how talented they may be – will never be more important than the team.

Shockey has little right to be bitter with the Giants and he should just be happy with his new surroundings. Payton loves him in New Orleans, which is a perfect fit for his skill set. He should use his motivation in helping his team win this Sunday and not let his anger cloud his focus.

There’s a secret that most good fantasy football owners don’t want you to know: Knowing how good (or how bad) an offensive line is could be the difference between you making the playoffs in your league, and winning the whole damn thing.

The bottom line is that the offensive line is the key to whether or not an offense is going to be successful in any given season. They’re the reason why guys like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brews are able to rack up terrific passing yards year in and year out, and why Brandon Jacobs, Michael Turner and Adrian Peterson continue to be solid fantasy backs. So knowing which O-lines are quality and which act like revolving doors to their team’s backfield will give you an edge on draft day.

Below is a ranking of the top five best lines, the top five most improved lines and the top five worst lines in the NFL heading into the ’09 season. Use these rankings as a tool to help you make better decisions on draft day and to also aid you when you’re stuck between a couple of players in later rounds.

Granted, we’re not advocating bumping certain players to the top of your pre-draft rankings just based on these rankings. The Lions offensive line is the worst in football, but if Kevin Smith is there for the taking in the 5th round, by all means jump on him. This article is purely meant to be a helpful aid; obviously you still have to use solid judgment on draft day.

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Saints’ tight end Jeremy Shockey was rushed to the hospital after he became dehydrated and fell unconscious at a pool party at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on Sunday.

New Orleans Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey is out of the hospital and doing fine, according to team spokesman Greg Bensel, who said Shockey was dehydrated when he was rushed to a hospital in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon.

According to a report by the entertainment Web site TMZ, Shockey was found unconscious at around 2 p.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel and taken to a nearby hospital.

Sources at the hotel told TMZ that Shockey was at Rehab — the name of the Sunday pool party at the Hard Rock. The call went out to the Las Vegas Fire Department, and he was taken out via stretcher.

Paramedics tried to cover him up so onlookers — including a TV camera crew — couldn’t ID him.
A league source indicated that Shockey was dehydrated, but his medical condition has not been confirmed.

I don’t want to assume anything since I wasn’t there, but it’s quite possible that Shockey had one too many adult beverages celebrating Memorial Day weekend. It sounds like he’s fine and this isn’t a big deal, so Saint fans can breathe easy.

I don’t know if this is the most appropriate post to do this, but I just want to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day. Enjoy the day with friends and family and let’s all remember the brave men and women who have given their lives while serving this great country.

After soundly beating the Redskins 23-7 in Week 13 of the regular season, the New York Giants were unquestionably the best team in the NFC at 11-1. But two days before the victory in D.C., things suddenly changed for the G-Men.

On November 28, wide receiver Plaxico Burress brought a loaded weapon into a nightclub and instead of being responsible with it, he accidentally shot himself in the leg and forced the Giants to end his season by placing him on the non-football injury list.

The Giants never really recovered after that. They had beat the Redskins so convincingly that it gave the players and coaches the opportunity to say, “See? We don’t need him.� And the public bought it because they had witnessed Eli Manning throw for 305 yards without his star receiver being on the field.

But the Giants then went on to lose three of their final four games, including two games against divisional opponents. Manning, who had looked so good in the win against the Redskins, couldn’t even crack the 200-yard passing mark in any of the Giants’ last four games.

So New York limped into the playoffs (albeit still the No. 1 seed in the NFC), and were thumped by the six-seeded Philadelphia Eagles 23-11 last Sunday. They didn’t even reach the end zone once and Manning had trouble throwing in the swirling winds of Giant Stadium, completing just 15 of his 29 pass attempts for 169 yards and two interceptions.

While Manning’s struggles were more obvious, his receivers had issues as well. They couldn’t create separation from Philly’s defensive backs, they had trouble getting open and none of them could make a play to save Manning from his accuracy issues. They were horrible to say the least, which prompted at least one New York sports writer to suggest that Burress be given another shot next year.

It made sense – after all, he’s still under contract with the Giants until 2013. And if GM Jerry Reese even reiterated that he’s open to bringing Plax back, then why should anyone question the idea?

Here’s why: his selfish antics cost the Giants a chance to defend their Super Bowl title. What was nice about the 2007 version of the G-Men was that they didn’t have any selfish players. Granted, Burress was still on the team but he shut his mouth and played his role. He was instrumental in the Giants’ Super Bowl run and he waited until after the season to publicly demand a little contract respect from the team he had helped win a Lombardi Trophy.

On September 4, the Giants awarded Plaxico’s great play with a new five-year, $27.25 million contract. Almost three months later, Burress repaid them by shooting himself in the leg and leaving Manning and the team’s passing game in dire straits.

Every man deserves a second chance; nobody is perfect. But the Giants won last year because one of their biggest distractions – Jeremy Shockey – was on the sidelines. They certainly weren’t one of the best teams to appear in a Super Bowl (they might have even been one of the worst), but they played together and executed as one unit.

It’s easy to forgive Plax for his selfishness when you consider how bad Manning struggled with his receivers last Sunday. But don’t forget that the Giants were in that predicament because of Burress. What happens if he’s a choirboy for 13 weeks next year, just to do something stupid again right before the playoffs? Do they forgive him once more? No. They should part ways this offseason and work on re-building the receiving corps.

Receiver is one of the most overrated positions in the NFL and considering the Giants don’t have a ton of holes to fill, it’ll be easy for them to acquire a playmaker at wideout via the draft or free agency. Depending on the cap ramifications, they should part with the distraction that is Plaxico Burress and realize that they lost last Sunday because of him, not without him.

Jeremy Shockey (5-50) was frustrated after his team’s loss to the Panthers and may have aggravated his groin injury on the first play of the game. He finished with decent numbers, but keep an eye on his status this week…Dante Rosario failed to catch a pass against the Saints…Visanthe Shiancoe (4-68-1) doesn’t bring it every week, but he’s much more of a threat now that there’s a QB in Minny that can hit the open man…With Devin Hester out, look for Greg Olsen (6-74-1) to become even more involved in Chicago’s passing attack…Despite the Chiefs not agreeing to Gonzo’s trade request, the tight end still went out and caught six passes for 97 yards…Bo Scaife (3-48) continues to be the best thing the Titans have going in the passing game.

Now that we’re a quarter the way through the fantasy football season, some owners are wondering if it’s time to start benching their early round picks or if it’s appropriate to cut bait on a disappointing middle-round pick. Here is a list of 20 disappointing fantasy players, along with my take on their prospects over the next four games.

I’ve included the player’s Antsports ADP in parenthesis (for the month of August) along with their drafted and current rankings within their position.

1. Randy Moss (1.08)
Drafted: WR1
Currently: WR43
There’s no doubt that the loss of Tom Brady for the season has had a significant impact on Moss’ performance and prospects. He was a stud, but now there are owners who are (justifiably) starting to bench him for better options. He is averaging three catches for 24 yards and zero TD in the two games that Matt Cassel has started. The upcoming schedule (SF, SD, DEN and STL) looks pretty good from a matchup standpoint, and it seems like the bye week would be a good opportunity for Bill Belichick and Co. to figure out a way to use their most dynamic weapon. Unless you have a clearly better option, Moss is still worth starting.
VERDICT: START

2. Braylon Edwards (2.05)
Drafted: WR4
Currently: WR57
Edwards has looked out of it from the start, dropping a few balls against the Cowboys in Week 1. Through four games, he’s averaging 2.8 catches for 24 yards and 0.3 TD. He did catch a TD in Week 4 and his schedule gets a little easier over the next two weeks with the Giants and the Redskins, two teams that have allowed plenty of fantasy points to wideouts this season. Like Moss, unless you have a clearly better option, Edwards is still worth the start, though he’s on bye this week.
VERDICT: START

It turns out that Jeremy Shockey’s injury wasn’t the typical sports hernia.

Payton said he’s hopeful that Shockey could be back as early as the Saints’ home game against Oakland in two weeks after positive reports from Shockey’s hernia surgery earlier this week. The damage to Shockey’s ligaments wasn’t as extensive as some sports hernias can be, so the recovery time should be in the three-week range.

Payton said Shockey feels more comfortable already and said he is excited to see Shockey when he’s no longer limited by the nagging injury.

“Although he played well last week, you guys haven’t seen what I know (he’s capable of),” Payton said.

The original estimate had Shockey missing 3-6 weeks, so if he returns in Week 6, he would have only missed two games. Some impatient fantasy owners have cut ties with the tight end, so if he’s out there on your waiver wire, you’d be wise to snatch him up.

Amongst tight ends, he is fourth in average targets per game (6.7) behind Tony Gonzalez (10.0), Kellen Winslow (10.0) and Jason Witten (9.0). Half the battle for a tight end is getting enough targets to be productive, and it’s clear that Payton feels that he’s a big part of the Saints’ attack.