NEW YORK (AP) -- Comments on the New Orleans Saints by the AP Pro32 panel (ranking in parentheses):
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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (14)
Chris Berman (ESPN, 17) - Shocker of Week 1.
Clifton Brown (Sporting News, 9) - Drew Brees will play better than he did Sunday. But their defense could be a problem.
Cris Collinsworth (NBC Sports, 17) - Struggling Saints defense a real concern.
Rich Gannon (CBS Sports/SiriusXM NFL Radio, 13) - Too good not to get things corrected this week at Carolina.
Bob Glauber (Newsday, 14) - They got good news off the field when bounty-related suspensions were vacated for the time being. On the field? Not so much. Saints are stunned by RG3's Redskins, as Drew Brees can't get untracked and Steve Spagnuolo's defense comes up empty.
Rick Gosselin (Dallas Morning News, 9) - The NFL also taught the Saints a lesson last postseason - you need to attempt to play some defense to win a championship. The Saints didn't learn, either.
Clark Judge (CBSSports.com, 15) - These guys should be ... and will be ... better than they showed. They have too much talent. My question: After what happened, how come Drew Brees doesn't demand an explanation?
Ira Kaufman (Tampa Tribune, 19) - Even an attack as prolific as the Saints couldn't overcome three turnovers, 12 penalties and a defense that couldn't get off the field.
Pat Kirwan (SiriusXM NFL Radio/CBSSports.com, 14) - New Orleans found out how hard it can be to win without their head coach and a defense that couldn't stop the Redskins. Right now the Saints have to outscore teams until Steve Spagnuolo gets the defense up and running. The same thing happened to the Giants under Spags.
John Lynch (Fox Sports, 12) - The emotional lift involved with the overturning - however temporary it may be - of the bounty suspensions of Will Smith and Vilma couldn't hide what we all should have seen. The Saints are going to miss Sean Payton! RG3 made sure they did in Week 1.
Alex Marvez (Foxsports.com, 14) - Unless the defense shows improvement quickly, an 0-2 start isn't out of the question with a Sunday road game upcoming against Carolina.
Dan Pompei (Chicago Tribune, 14) - That ringing phone you heard was Sean Payton's agent calling asking for a raise when he comes back.
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