Saints Team Report

INSIDE SLANT

The Saints might have ended their mini four-game funk just in time with Sunday’s easy 38-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Despite winning four straight games in which they didn’t play their best—especially on the offensive side of the ball—the undefeated Saints shook off their recent poor play by kicking aside the Bucs in Raymond James Stadium.

That they did it with the next team on the schedule being the New England Patriots was significant to the Saints (10-0). It means they finally begin to think about Monday night’s showdown with the three-time Super Bowl champions instead of simply being aware of that looming game.

That they corrected the mistakes that resulted in 13 turnovers in the previous four games with no giveaways against the Bucs before facing the Patriots was a relief to many—including coach Sean Payton.

“I like where we are at, I mean we are 10-0,” Payton said after his team set a club record for consecutive victories. “We beat a division opponent on the road. I was pleased we eliminated some of those mistakes offensively.”

While they struggled early, the Saints’ offense looked like the team that buzzed through the first five opponents—winning those five games by a total of 99 points. They scored 31 points with four touchdowns and a field goal in six possessions that spanned the second and third quarters.

Combined with a strong effort by a defense that allowed just 219 yards—including 144 after the Bucs got 75 on their first drive—and came up with four more takeaways to push their season total to 29, the Saints showed that they were ready to face the Patriots.

Free safety Darren Sharper(notes) said it was good to see the Saints playing at the level they were earlier with the biggest game of the season on the horizon.

“There are things we can still improve on,” he said, “but this is the type of game you want to have. That’s dominating teams for four quarters, and that is a good sign because we all know our next opponent is a tough one.”

NOTES, QUOTES

—The Saints had a surprise starter at left tackle when they faced the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday as four-year veteran Zach Strief(notes) got the call instead of third-year pro Jermon Bushrod(notes).

Strief and Bushrod rotated in the first half before Strief, who made his fifth career start, played the majority of the second half in the Saints’ 38-7 victory.

After the game, Saints coach Sean Payton said Strief has had some good practices recently and the staff wanted to see what he could do in a game.

Bushrod started the last three preseason games and eight of the first nine regular-season games in place of Pro Bowl tackle Jammal Brown(notes) after he had surgeries for a sports hernia and a hip problem. Brown has since been put on injured reserve.

• After committing 13 turnovers and allowing nine sacks in their previous four games, the Saints’ offense played a clean game against the Bucs.

The 13 turnovers in the last four games was the most in a four-game span since Sean Payton took over in 2006, topping by one the 12 giveaways they had in the first four games of the 2007 season.

But on Sunday, the Saints had no giveaways and didn’t even put the ball on the ground, while Drew Brees(notes) did not come close to being sacked by the Bucs’ defense.

• While the offense was doing what it does best, especially late in the first half and the second half, the Saints’ defense was solid after the Bucs stung them for a 95-yards touchdown drive on their first possession.

The Bucs actually gained 75 total yards on the first series when you throw in 20 yards on two Saints’ penalties. After that, however, the Saints’ defense limited the Bucs to 144 yards on the next 47 snaps for an average of 3.1 yards per play.

The Saints also came up with four turnovers—three interceptions and a fumble recovery—and recorded three sacks of rookie quarterback Josh Freeman(notes).

• The Saints’ fourth touchdown against the Bucs, a 3-yard run by tailback Mike Bell(notes) with 4:50 remaining in the third period, was the team’s 200th in 58 games since Sean Payton became head coach in 2006.

• Prior to the Saints’ 31-point blowout of the Bucs on Sunday 15 of the last 18 games in the series had been decided by a touchdown or less.

• Saints left defensive end Charles Grant(notes) made the 100th start of his NFL career against the Bucs. Grant was a first-round draft pick of the team in 2002.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Player Notes  

• RB Reggie Bush(notes) did not play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Bucs because of a bruised left knee and his status for Monday night’s game with the New England Patriots was not immediately known.

• LCB Jabari Greer(notes) was inactive for the second straight game Sunday because of a left groin injury and it wasn’t known if he’ll be able to play Monday night.

• RCB Tracy Porter(notes) did not play against the Bucs because of a sprained MCL in his left knee and will definitely be out against the Patriots.

• DT Sedrick Ellis(notes), who has missed three games with a sprained right knee, could return for Monday night’s game against the Patriots after practicing on a limited basis last week.

• WR Lance Moore(notes) missed his third consecutive game with a sprained left ankle and his return is unknown.

• LCB Randall Gay(notes) suffered a right hamstring injury in the second quarter against the Bucs and his status for Monday night’s game was unknown.

• FS Usama Young(notes), who was a cornerback in his first two NFL seasons, moved back to that position after Gay was injured.

• CB Leigh Torrence(notes) twice injured his left shoulder against the Bucs, but he said after the game it was only a stinger.

• RB Mike Bell left the field in the second quarter against the Bucs with a right knee injury, but he came back in the second half to score two touchdowns.

Report Card Vs  . BUCCANEERS

Passing Offense:   B—The Saints didn’t have a prolific passing day, but they didn’t need one after opening up a 24-7 lead on their first possession of the second half. After throwing it 23 times in the first half and twice on their first series of the second half, Drew Brees threw just four more times before leaving in the fourth period. Brees completed 19 of 29 passes for 187 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. He also wasn’t sacked and had a passer rating of 118.0. Wide receiver Marques Colston(notes) shook off a couple of poor games to catch five balls for 74 yards and second tight end David Thomas(notes) had four receptions for 66 yards and a TD. Wide receiver Robert Meachem(notes) had two receptions—both for touchdowns.

Rushing Offense:   A—With the game in hand early in the third quarter, the Saints worked on the running game and pounded the Bucs for 183 yards and a 5.1 average on 36 carries. The Saints, who had 36 yards on just nine attempts in the first half, piled up 147 yards and a 5.4 average on 27 carries in the second half with touchdown runs of 1 and 3 yards by Mike Bell. He produced runs of 13, 18 and 28 yards en route to 75 yards on 13 attempts and Pierre Thomas(notes) had a 23-yard burst en route to 92 yards on 11 tries.

Pass Defense:   A-plus—Even though they were missing their two starting cornerbacks and also lost their top backup in the second quarter, the Saints made life miserable for rookie quarterback Josh Freeman all day. He was just 17-of-33 for 126 yards with a TD and three interceptions for a 33.1 passer rating. Freeman was also sacked three times for 26 yards, leaving the Bucs with 100 net passing yards for the game. Freeman completed just three passes 10 yards or longer with gains of 21, 18 and 13 yards—with the 18-yarder to Michael Clayton(notes) accounting for the Bucs’ only score on their opening possession.

Rush Defense:   B-minus—For the first time in four games, the Saints did not allow an individual to rush for 100 yards against them. Actually, no Buc player got close as Carnell Williams(notes) was held to 32 yards on 11 attempts, Earnest Graham(notes) netted 31 yards on three carries and Derrick Ward(notes) got 26 yards on seven tries. Quarterback Josh Freeman added 30 yards on a pair of 15-yard scrambles, however, to help the Bucs finish with 119 yards and a nice 5.2-yard average on 23 carries.

Special Teams:   A—Punter Thomas Morstead(notes) had a monster day in averaging 48.8 yards on four punts with a net of 46.0 yards. One of his high, hanging kicks was fair caught at the Bucs’ 5 and another was downed at the 1. Also, six of his seven kickoffs reached the end zone, with three resulting in touchbacks. Even though their top three punt returners were out because of injuries, the Saints had no major disasters and averaged 5.3 yards on three returns, while Courtney Roby(notes) averaged 25.5 yards on two kickoff returns. Roby and Usama Young teamed up to keep the ball out of the end zone with just inches to spare on one of Morstead’s punts. Kicker John Carney(notes) had a 38-yard field goal in swirling winds.

Coaching:   A—After getting a scare from the one-win St. Louis Rams a week earlier, Sean Payton and his staff made sure their team wouldn’t look down on the one-win Bucs. The big emphasis was on not beating themselves after they had 13 turnovers in their previous four games. The result was no giveaways and they also did not allow Drew Brees to be sacked after he was dropped nine times in those four games.