Tag: Drew Brees (Page 14 of 34)

      It’s official: The wedding night and honeymoon are over for the Saints

      October 10, 2010 /
      NEW ORLEANS - AUGUST 27: Head coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints watches a play during the game against the San Diego Chargers at the Louisiana Superdome on August 27, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints defeated the Chargers 36-21. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

      The Saints are currently in post-Super Bowl hell.

      Every week, their opponent acts is if its their Super Bowl, which means New Orleans will get everyone’s best effort from here on out.

      Every week, defensive coordinators want to be the one that comes up with the game plan that beat Sean Payton’s offense.

      And that means that every week, teams like the Cardinals have an opportunity to pull off an upset.

      In Arizona on Sunday, the Cardinals recovered two fumbles for touchdowns and returned an interception for a touchdown to shock New Orleans, 30-20. It was exactly the type of defensive effort the Cards needed since they were starting an undrafted rookie quarterback in Max Hall, who made his fair share of mistakes but went on to complete 17-of-27 passes for 168 yards and an interception. He took way too many hits, but he targeted Larry Fitzgerald (7 catches, 93 yards) nine times, spread the ball around effectively and most importantly, he pulled off a win in his first career start.

      Not bad for a rookie considering whom his opponent was.

      At 3-2, it isn’t time to start making definitive statements about the Saints. But it’s safe to say that this isn’t the same team that hoisted the Lombardi Trophy back in February.

      Drew Brees threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, but he was also intercepted three times and has only thrown for over 300 yards once this year (365 vs. the Falcons in Week 3). It doesn’t help that both Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas were out again this week and that the Saints couldn’t run the ball, although it may not have mattered today. Arizona’s defense swarmed to the ball and put New Orleans back on its heels for most of the game.

      After the Saints lost to the Falcons, everyone figured they would get back on track quickly with the Panthers, Cardinals, Bucs and Browns on their upcoming schedule. But they barely beat the Panthers last Sunday, were soundly beaten today and will face a 3-1 Tampa team brimming with confidence next week. If they’re not careful, the Saints are going to dig themselves a hole heading towards the midway point in the season.

      But that’s life for a defending champ. Every week they have a target on their backs.

      External Sports, NFL

      Injuries are starting to catch up with the Saints

      October 3, 2010 /
      NEW ORLEANS - OCTOBER 03: Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints throws the ball against the Carolina Panthers at the Louisiana Superdome on October 3, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. of the Carolina Panthers (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

      How does a winless, hopeless and inferior Carolina Panther team take the defending Super Bowl champs to the brink before finally succumbing to defeat?

      Injuries – that’s how.

      There’s definitely something wrong with the Saints and while we could try to search for a deeper meaning to their recent struggles, I think the reason is simple. They’re just too banged up on the offensive side of the ball and we better get used to lackluster wins like their 16-14 victory today until they’re healthy again.

      Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas were both sidelined for New Orleans against Carolina and it showed. Drew Brees still managed to complete 33-of-48 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown, but the Panthers knew New Orleans couldn’t run the ball so they stayed back in coverage and allowed Brees to complete underneath passes. To Brees’ credit, he took what the defense gave him and led his team to a much-needed victory following last weekend’s overtime loss to the Falcons.

      But Brees isn’t 100% either. He wore a brace on his sprained knee and although it didn’t look like it affected him too much, he was still hampered. Brees’ injury coupled with Bush and Thomas being held out, and suddenly the Saints look incredibly vulnerable.

      Of course, this is the price that the defending champs pay. Every game is the opponent’s Super Bowl and when injuries pop up, you just have to deal with them and find ways to win. That’s what the Saints did on Sunday and while it wasn’t pretty, at the end of the day victories are all that matters.

      Speaking of injuries, Panthers’ receiver Steve Smith suffered a high ankle sprain today and at the moment, there’s no timetable for his return. This news must make rookie Jimmy Clausen incredibly happy, as Smith has lived in the rookie’s ear for the past two weeks. I thought Smith may murder Clausen and leave his body on the Superdome carpet after Clausen wasn’t paying attention to the playclock and the Panthers had to burn a timeout.

      External Sports, NFL

      Drew Brees, Pierre Thomas banged up for Saints

      September 30, 2010 /
      Sep 20, 2010; San Francisco, CA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) throws a pass during the Saints' 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. Photo via Newscom

      Good thing the Saints take on the hapless Panthers this Sunday, because they’ve become the walking wounded.

      Reggie Bush (broken fibula) doesn’t need crutches anymore and is walking without pain. He believes he’ll be back sooner than expected, but that’s about the only injury news that favors the Saints right now.

      Drew Brees will play Sunday against Carolina, but he’s expected to wear a brace on his sore left knee. He suffered the injury late last week in an overtime loss to the Falcons and while he doesn’t think the knee will affect his performance, you never know how a player will respond to an injury until he gets on the field. The good thing is that Brees is a tremendous pocket passer and even if he had two good knees we wouldn’t be seeing his best Michael Vick impression.

      The other significant piece of injury news surrounding the Saints has to do with Pierre Thomas’ ankle. He’s going to be a game-time decision after missing practice the past two days, although the team has yet to active DeShawn Wynn from the practice squad so that’s a good sign. Head coach Sean Payton also said on Thursday that Thomas is a rare player in that he can miss practice and still be mentally ready to play on Sunday.

      The Saints struggled to run the ball last week against the Falcons and it hurt them late in the game. Their passing attack was still unstoppable, but come overtime their defense was worn down from being on the field all day and Atlanta took advantage. I don’t expect the Panthers to pull off an upset this week, but with Brees and Thomas hobbled the game could be tighter than anticipated.

      External Sports, NFL

      Phil Simms returns to chat with The Scores Report

      September 23, 2010 /
      Feb 3, 2010; For Lauderdale, FL, USA; Phil Simms emcees the FedEx Ground & Air NFL Players of the Year press conference at the Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center.

      Obviously we’re doing something right here at The Scores Report if a Super Bowl MVP quarterback is willing to chat with us two years in a row.

      Over the past four years, Giants’ legend Phil Simms has worked with FedEX to promote their “Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week.”

      What is it? Every week during the NFL season six finalists are chosen for the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week award. Three are nominated as the FedEx air player (so quarterbacks, obviously) and three are nominated as the FedEx ground player (so punters, obviously) online at NFL.com. At the end of the season, fans nominate three finalists for each category and then two players (one air and one ground) are chosen as the FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Year. Last season, two worthy receipts in Drew Brees and Chris Johnson won the awards.

      Why is it important? The winners of the awards will each receive a $2,000 donation in their name to a local Safe Kids coalition in the player’s areas. Over the years, FedEx has donated over $13 million to this program, which educates people on pedestrian safety – especially around schools and playgrounds.

      Over the past two years, we’ve been fortunate enough to chat with Phil about his involvement in the program and what it means to him. He’s also been gracious enough to talk football with us and this year we got to pick his brain about whether or not Mark Sanchez is the Jets’ Achilles heel, what quarterback (Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers) he would select if he were starting a franchise tomorrow, and what his take is on the Brandon Jacobs situation in New York.

      The video interview is below and to check out our first interview with Phil last year, click here.

      External Sports, Interviews, NFL, Video

      2010 NFL Power Rankings: Week 3

      September 21, 2010 /
      PITTSBURGH - SEPTEMBER 02: Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers calls out signals during the preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on September 2, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

      I gave the Cowboys and Vikings a mulligan after their opening week performances, but I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror if I ranked them in the top 10 again this week.

      So I dropped them sons of bitches like a Ryan Grant fantasy owner.

      Let’s do this…

      Check out Week 2’s Power Rankings

      1. Green Bay Packers
      Previous Week: 1
      No letdown for the Pack last week at home against the Bills. Their defense held Buffalo scoreless in the second half and Aaron Rodgers rebounded from a shaky Week 1 performance to throw two touchdown passes. Although…Brandon Jackson only rushed for 2.6 yards per carry? Ayeeh.

      2. Indianapolis Colts
      Previous Week: 2
      I didn’t want to drop the Colts too far down after their loss to the Texans in Week 1 and I’m glad I didn’t. That was child’s play for Peyton and the defense on Sunday night against the Giants.

      3. New Orleans Saints
      Previous Week: 4
      The Saints’ offense seems to lack the explosiveness it had last season and now Reggie Bush is out for six weeks with a leg injury. Still, Drew Brees and company are 2-0 and did well not to dump that game last night in San Francisco.

      4. Baltimore Ravens
      Previous Week: 3
      It’s a little jarring that Joe Flacco looked so bad against a defense that Tom Brady absolutely shredded in Week 1, but give credit to Cincinnati’s defense for stepping up. Flacco and the Ravens will get back on track this weekend against the Browns.

      5. Houston Texans
      Previous Week: 7
      The Texans were about five minutes away from the media crucifying them for being their inconsistent selves. But what a performance by Matt Schaub, who put the game on his shoulders and willed Houston to a victory in Washington. If he plays even half as well as he did last weekend then the Texans are going to win a lot of ballgames.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑