Saints Team Report

INSIDE SLANT

For weeks, the undefeated Saints have been talking about how things were only going to get tougher considering how they were going to be a marked team the longer their franchise-record winning streak went on.

Well, the bull’s-eye on their chest got a lot bigger with Sunday’s easy 38-7 win against the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Saints extended their winning streak to 10 games just in time to face the New England Patriots (7-3) in a huge showdown on Monday night in the Superdome.

Considering the Patriots have won three Super Bowls in the decade, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say it could be the biggest regular-season game in the 43-year history of the Saints organization.

That the Saints could possibly wrap up the NFC South title with a win over the Patriots—combined with a loss by the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday—has almost taken a back seat to the matchup itself with New England.

A rare appearance by future Hall of Famers Bill Belichick, Tom Brady(notes) and Randy Moss(notes), coupled with the memory of the Patriots’ dominance in the 2000s—not to mention their undefeated regular season in 2007—is more than enough to whet the appetite of any Saints’ fan. But not to the Saints.

“From the outside, people have been talking about this for three weeks now,” Saints right tackle Jon Stinchcomb(notes) said. “(But) this locker room has stayed focused on that next opponent, and that doesn’t change this week.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for the Patriots, obviously,” he said. “I think across the league there’s not a franchise that has stood the test of time (any better). So we’ll have our hands full just like every week.”

That the Saints are still unbeaten and trying to do what the Patriots did in becoming the first team to go 16-0 two years ago isn’t the biggest thing, of course.

Getting a chance to test themselves against the team of the decade and perhaps following in the Patriots’ giant footsteps is something the Saints are striving to do.

“I think it’s fairly common in business to look at groups or businesses that are having success and to pay attention to why teams are successful, and I think that exists in a lot of areas—not just football,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “New England’s been one of those franchises.”

And there’s nothing wrong with trying to be the team they’ve been.

“It’s been one of those organizations that have found the right formula,” Payton said. “There’s a lot to that. When you play a team like that, you begin to observe from afar the things that they are able to do and how that really relates to or transcends to winning games.

“I think there are a lot of teams wanting to get to where the New England Patriots have been,” he said.

Series History:   12th regular-season meeting. The Patriots lead, 8-3. They’ve won the last three matchups after the Saints prevailed in the previous three encounters. The Patriots will play in the Superdome for the first time since upsetting the heavily-favored St. Louis Rams, 20-17, in Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002.

NOTES, QUOTES

—Newly-signed cornerback Mike McKenzie(notes) said Wednesday it was too early to tell if he’ll be able to help the Saints in Monday night’s showdown with the New England Patriots.

McKenzie played for the Saints from 2004 to 2008, but was released during the off-season after finishing the last two seasons on injured reserve with knee injuries.

He was re-signed Monday to add depth to a team that’s struggled with injuries at the position with Jabari Greer(notes), Tracy Porter(notes), Randall Gay(notes) and Leigh Torrence(notes) all missing playing time in the last three games.

McKenzie, who played three seasons under former defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs, said the biggest thing is learning the playbook of new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

“It’s night and day, it’s a totally different scheme,” McKenzie said. “I’m pretty familiar with the guys here, so it’s just a matter of me getting familiar with the terminology.”

• Saints coach Sean Payton said left tackles Zach Strief(notes) and Jermon Bushrod(notes) would continue to alternate at the position as they did for last week’s game against the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Strief, a four-year veteran, was a surprise starter after Bushrod had started the eight games he was healthy for earlier in the season. Bushrod was filling in for Pro Bowl tackle Jammal Brown(notes), who is out for the season after having sports hernia and hip surgeries.

Payton said the coaching staff just wanted to get Strief some playing time after performing well in recent practices.

“We really came out of the St. Louis game (on Nov. 15) wanting to get him some work, and we were able to do it in this week’s game,” Payton said. “We’ll continue to look at both of those players as options as we move forward. Both of those guys are going to play.”

• After 10 games, the Saints remain on pace—barely—to break to break the NFL record for scoring in a season with 369 points.

Coach Sean Payton’s team is averaging 36.9 points a game and is on pace to score 590 points—one more than the Patriots, this week’s opponent, put up in going 16-0 in the regular season in 2007.

The Saints have had 18 players score a touchdown so far this season after tight end David Thomas(notes) joined the club with an 11-yard catch from Drew Brees(notes) in a 38-7 win at Tampa Bay. The Patriots had 21 different players score a touchdown in 2007.

“It just shows how many great players we have on this team—and how unselfish they are,” said Thomas, who joined the Saints in a trade with the Patriots on Sept. 5.

• The Patriots have never lost to the Saints in New Orleans, winning once in Tulane Stadium and three times in the Superdome since it opened in 1975.

The Patriots won in 1972 (17-10) at Tulane, then beat the Saints in the Superdome in 1980 (38-27), 1986 (21-20) and 1998 (30-27).

New England has also played in three Super Bowls in the Superdome, falling to the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX (46-10) and the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI (35-21). They won it all against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI (20-17).

• Right guard Jahri Evans(notes) made his 58th straight start last Sunday, which moved him past former All-Pro tackle William Roaf for most consecutive starts by a Saints’ offensive lineman to start a career.

An unheralded fourth-round draft pick from Bloomsburg (Pa.) State in 2006, Evans moved in with the first-team offense in the first week of training camp that summer and has started every game since then.

While the Saints have been solid in protecting Drew Brees the last four seasons, Evans is one of the reasons the Saints rank fifth in the NFL in rushing this season with 154.3 yards per game.

• With funds collected from players and coaches, several Saints and their families helped distribute turkeys and food baskets to 1,000 New Orleans-area families on Monday.

Among the players taking part in the Thanksgiving giveaway were running backs Reggie Bush(notes), Pierre Thomas(notes) and Mike Bell(notes), and wide receivers Robert Meachem(notes) and Lance Moore(notes).

By The Numbers:   12-0—The Saints’ record when they have no turnovers since Sean Payton became their coach in 2006. They’re 2-0 this season after not giving it away against the New York Giants in Week 6 and the Tampa Bay Bucs last Sunday.

Quote To Note:   “We’re on our way to fixing things. We talk about no turnovers, we talk about no sacks … eliminating negative plays and that kind of thing. You look at us historically, especially this year, when we take care of the football and can eliminate negative plays, we’re very, very hard to beat.”—Saints QB Drew Brees, on eliminating turnovers in their 38-7 blowout of the Bucs.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

The Saints got more help for the cornerback position on Monday when 10-year veteran Mike McKenzie was signed to take the roster spot of Leigh Torrence, who was put on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

McKenzie played five seasons with the Saints, but was released last off-season after finishing the last two seasons on injured reserve. He tore his right ACL late in the 2007 season and fractured the kneecap in the same knee last Nov. 9.

McKenzie will join rookie Malcolm Jenkins(notes) and Chris McAlister(notes) in trying to fill in for injured corners Jabari Greer, Tracy Porter and Randall Gay. Porter will miss Monday night’s game with the New England Patriots, but Greer, who has missed the last two games, hopes to return for this one.

Player Notes  

• RCB Tracy Porter won’t play against the New England Patriots on Monday night because of a sprained MCL in his left knee. He’ll likely be sidelined another 2 to 4 weeks.

• RB Reggie Bush, who did not play last week against Tampa Bay because of a bruised right knee, had limited participation in Thursday’s walkthrough.

• RCB Randall Gay was limited in the walkthrough after tweaking his right hamstring in the win over the Bucs.

• LCB Jabari Greer, who has missed the last two games with a left groin injury, worked on a limited basis Thursday.

• MLB Jonathan Vilma(notes) was limited in the walkthrough because of a knee injury.

• DE Bobby McCray(notes) was limited in Thursday’s walkthrough with knee and back injuries.

• WR Lance Moore, who has been out for the last three games with a left high ankle sprain, was limited in the walkthrough.

• C Jonathan Goodwin(notes) has been bothered by an ankle problem but worked on a limited basis Thursday and should be ready for Monday night’s game.

• DT Sedrick Ellis(notes), who worked on a limited basis last week, could be ready to return after being sidelined for the last four games with a sprained right knee.

• CB Leigh Torrence was put on injured reserve Monday after injuring his left shoulder in Sunday’s game with the Bucs.

• CB Mike McKenzie, who was released in March, practiced with his old team for the first time Wednesday after being signed to take Torrence’s roster spot.

Game Plan:   The NFL’s top offenses will be on display, which could result in an old-fashioned shootout with Drew Brees and the Saints’ top-ranked offense trying to outdo Tom Brady and the Patriots’ second-ranked unit. While it will be extremely important to get the passing game going, the Saints could try and open things up with a running game that ranks fifth in the league at 154.3 yards a game. Ball control and ball security could also be a key for the Saints, who didn’t turn the ball over in last Sunday’s win at Tampa Bay after committing 13 turnovers in the previous four games. On defense, the Saints’ injury-plagued secondary will have to keep Randy Moss and Wes Welker(notes) in check as much as they can to have a chance.

Matchups To Watch:   Saints cornerbacks vs. Patriots WR Randy Moss. It’s not known how much Jabari Greer will be able to play—if he plays at all—after missing two games with a left groin injury, but the Saints are hoping that he’ll be able to return to give them someone who can at least match Moss’ leaping ability.

Saints front seven vs. Patriots QB Tom Brady. Defensive ends Will Smith(notes) and Charles Grant(notes) have rebounded nicely this season with 13 sacks between them. But they’ll have their work cut out for them in trying to get to Brady, who has been sacked 14 times. Applying pressure at least occasionally will give their battered secondary a chance to do what they do best this season—force turnovers.

Saints RBs Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell vs. Patriots front seven. The Saints rank fifth in the league in rushing while the Patriots rank 15th against the run. If Thomas, who averages 5.6 yards per carry, and Bell, who gets 4.5 yards a pop, get going the Patriots could find them a tough 1-2 punch to contain because of the way Sean Payton alternates them.

Injury Impact:   RCB Tracy Porter will miss his second straight game against the New England Patriots with a sprained left medial collateral ligament.

• RCB Malcolm Jenkins will likely make his second straight start in place of Tracy Porter, who has a sprained MCL in his left knee.

• LCB Jabari Greer hopes to return Monday night after missing two games with a left groin injury.

• LCB Randall Gay could get the start if Greer still isn’t ready to return. However, Gay is nursing a strained right hamstring as well.