The Picayune Item

Sports

November 5, 2009

Saints till have concerns

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Drew Brees sounds like a man who’s embarrassed, and not because of all the compliments he’s getting over the New Orleans Saints’ perfect record through seven games.

The Saints’ past two victories have been riddled with errors, starting with eight turnovers, six of which were committed by the quarterback with four interceptions and a pair of fumbles.

“You look at it — four turnovers against Miami, four again against Atlanta — and those were good football teams we played and we were able to overcome them because of great defensive play and making some big plays offensively when we had to,” Brees said. “But the fact of the matter is: That stuff gets you beat. At some point it catches up to you and we need to fix it. It’s sloppy football and it’s not what we preach around here. It’s not what we teach. It’s not how we work. So it’s a bad reflection on us and we don’t like that.”

Apparently, this 7-0 start, which matches the 1991 Saints for the best start in the franchise’s 43-year history, hasn’t gone to the heads of these Saints.

There’s still plenty of time for things to wrong, be it poor play or things that are out of the Saints’ control, such as injuries. The 1991 Saints lost five of their last nine games, did not clinch their division until the last game of the season and lost their first playoff game.

Injuries, including starting quarterback Bobby Hebert’s shoulder sprain, contributed to that team’s slide. And as this season wears on, the Saints’ depth is beginning to be tested as well.

Several Saints regulars sat out practice on Wednesday with injuries of varying severity.

Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis is in his second week of recovering from a right knee sprain, Kendrick Clancy had swelling in his right knee, center Jonathan Goodwin has a contusion in his right knee, linebacker Scott Fujita is in his third week recovering from a left calf strain and receiver Lance Moore has a sprained left ankle. Clancy, Goodwin and Moore all played against Atlanta.

Ellis, a 2008 first-round draft choice who has become one of New Orleans’ premier run stuffers, and Fujita, a starting strong-side linebacker, both sat out Monday night’s game.

Falcons running back Michael Turner had 151 yards rushing and a touchdown. It was by far the most yards the Saints have allowed to a single running back this season.

The Saints also have given up 68-yard touchdowns in each of the past two weeks. Miami’s Ricky Williams did it on a run as Miami jumped out to a 24-3 first-half lead. Atlanta’s Roddy White did it on a pass from Matt Ryan in the third quarter.

There were a pair of fumbles, one by Pierre Thomas and one by Mike Bell, that kept Atlanta in the game on Monday night.

“I don’t know that we’ve been playing at a high level the last couple of weeks,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “In the first half at Miami we didn’t play at a very high level and there were times (Monday night) where we didn’t play at a high level. We turned the ball over four times and we gave up some big plays. The good news is that we were able to come up with the win, but you’re not going to be able to do that very often when you have four turnovers offensively. ... I think we can play a lot better than we have the last two weeks.”

Payton said he is confident that his players are responding well to criticism and remaining focused on getting better.

Midseason, he said, is not the time to step back and look at what the team has accomplished. “Because of the work required to game plan and prepare for the next opponent, you don’t spend a lot of time reflecting,” Payton said. “When we reflect, we’re trying to really critique and really remove yourself from the win or the loss. ... When you put the tape on, let’s watch what we’re seeing and find where we can improve. From this past weekend’s game, there are a lot of things that we have to do better. Not just any one thing, but a number of things.”

Text Only
Sports
  • League tourneys set

    With regular season play wrapping up over the weekend, local prep basketball teams now look forward to their respective district tournaments which begin this week.
    All area teams will begin postseason play on Tuesday night, with two local teams hosting tournaments.

    February 4, 2012

  • Super Bowl today

    MVP quarterbacks on marquee franchises. A rematch of a nail-biter from four years ago, featuring many of the same key characters. Madonna and plenty of Manning — Eli, and Peyton, too.
    This Super Bowl certainly has all the makings of another thriller, the perfect finish to a season that began in turmoil and wound up the most successful in league history.

    February 4, 2012

  • Picayune sweeps Pearl River Central

    Shemar Williams hit four of six free throws in the final minute and his Picayune teammates completed the task at hand as the Maroon Tide turned back Pearl River Central 70-62 on Friday night.

    January 28, 2012

  • Green County beats Lady Hornets

    A small sign in green and gold hung on the fence at the Poplarville High Stadium, reading, “We believe! Go Hornets!.”
    And certainly, while a little belief can go a long way, it simply wasn’t enough for the Lady Hornets in Saturday afternoon’s semifinals of the Class 4A South State girls soccer playoffs.

    January 28, 2012

  • Blue Devils face forfeitures

    Pearl River Central’s Boys basketball team is in the midst of one of its best seasons on the hardwood in a decade. The Blue Devils, however, face the possibility of having to forfeit many, if not all of their 15 wins.

    January 24, 2012

  • Local teams split hoops games Local teams split hoops games

    The struggles continued for both Poplarville High teams Friday night.
    Homestanding Ocean Springs swept a pair of games from Poplarville, as the Hornets fell 83-35 and the Lady Hornets dropped a 48-36 decision.

    January 21, 2012 1 Photo

  • River splits

    Pearl River Community College splits with Hinds in women’s and men’s MACJC South Division basketball action here Thursday with the Lady Wildcats pulling off a 66-53 victory, while the Wildcats fell 62-59.

    January 21, 2012

  • Moultrie’s big numbers lead MSU

    When Arnett Moultrie and his Mississippi State teammates watch basketball highlights on television, the conversation often evolves into a discussion about the lack of respect the 18th-ranked Bulldogs feel they get on the national level.

    January 19, 2012

  • Seal paces PRC to big win

    Only two local prep teams managed to earn a win on the hardwood Tuesday night.
    The Pearl River Central Blue Devils and Picayune Lady Tide were the only fortunate ones to pull out wins as the high school basketball season heads down the homestretch.

    January 19, 2012

  • 49ers beat, Saints 36-32

    What a way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of “The Catch.”
    Joe Montana to Dwight Clark then.
    Alex Smith to Vernon Davis now.
    Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and resurgent San Francisco capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory Saturday.
    “This is big for us,” Davis said. “It’s history. It’s legendary.”

    January 14, 2012

Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
House Ads
Seasonal Content
AP Video
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria Murder Trial for Ex-U.Va. Lacrosse Player Begins NY Giants Touch Down Victorious Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time US, UK Pressure on Syria; More Homs Violence Raw Video: Mass Killer Wants Medal, Freedom Few Answers in Death of Sons of Missing Utah Mom Court Strips Contador of Tour De France Title Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is... Raw Video: Deadly Helicopter Crash in Australia Raw Video: Smoke, Purported Gunfire in Syria Romney Latest Poll to Join Let-me-explain Club Blast Kills Husband of Missing Utah Mom, 2 Boys Obama: US, Israel Will Work Against Iran Nukes NJ Museum Finds 19th Century Recording Snow Causes Disruptions in Much of Europe Clinton: Vetoed U.N. Syria Resolution 'travesty' Romney Picks Up Decisive Win in Nevada Caucuses
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
Twitter Updates
Follow us on twitter
Follow me on Twitter