Official Game Day Thread

[Saints-Tigers]

Yea, not gonna get much going on such limited amount of carries, and he isn't going to get a ton of carries for a while, and they REALLY weren't going to risk him in a game that they were moving the ball so easily in.

I would have liked to see him get some more carries, but winning and having him healthy is more important than quieting critics.

[CJSchneider]

I'm just hoping our offense stays as high powered as it was last week. Philly's defense was pretty good (better then Detroit anyway) this week against Carolina. They only gave up 169 yards.

[Flyboy]

Week Two: New Orleans Saints @ Philadelphia Eagles

Even without McNabb in the lineup, this poses as a big big game for us as the Eagles still have tons of weapons on offense and appears to still have a solid defense even with the passing of Jim Johnson. A good test for our team going into Sunday.

[wicket]

just checked the bookies, the odds are about dead even in this one. ought to be a close match if I ever saw one

[CJSchneider]

S4L - your avatar is awesome

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Saints 4 Lyfe again.

[Auron]

This is definitely going to be a test, even without McNabb we're in for a fight I believe. The Eagles are a very aggressive, high pressure Defense. We saw what they did against Carolina forcing 7 Turnovers. The key factor on Offense has to be ball security, and not allowing ourselves to commit costly Turnovers... as that will hurt you in any game, but because of the nature of the Eagles Defense those stakes are so much higher. We did have some mistakes vs. Detroit last week that I think we won't be able to get away with if it continues this game. We have to win the Field position battle.. as I don't think we'll be able to drive at will against this Defense.

Going to be interesting to see how the Eagles Defense attacks our Offense, they occasionally blitzed with success against Carolina, but the thing that has me concerned is that they can generate enough pressure with their front 4. Bushrod is going to need RB, TE support in Pass protection. I think we're going to see us bust out a lot of screen plays, Draw plays, Drew is going to have to work the snap count as much as possible to try and prepare for the possible blitzes, and to try and slow down that rush.

Going to be an interesting game that's for sure... definitely don't like the road enviroment, and aggressive Defense combination, especially after a lulling game like Detroit.

[CJSchneider]

Having Smith and Grant back eligible to play will also have a positive impact for us.

[CJSchneider]

Winning at halftime, but we had better get it together for the second half.

[wicket]

well that went well. jay for turnovers

[Auron]

This was an early road win the Saints needed. First half of this game went exactly as I expected, we got the early score which I thought was vital... but then the Eagles matched us, and played very tough. Offense stalled a bit in that half, as expected it took a while to make the adjustments when facing the Eagles Defense. Brees certainly was under more pressure in this game.

We stayed the course though, and eventually caught some breaks... at the start of the 2nd half. Forcing the fumble on that Kickoff return, the Interception on their side of the field, and the 14 pts turned out of it was the turning point of that game and really put us up. Special teams was a noticeable improvement over last weeks shortcomings... coverage overall was solid, and the punting game didn't give them much to work.... but we still allowed a long Kick return which gave the Eagles a short field.. and eventually led to a Touchdown for them... Just can't have that.

Defense is a work in progress.. I credit them for forcing turnovers but there are still concerns on that side of the ball. Hated seeing that blown coverage early which led to the long DeSean Jackson TD... the Wildcat really confused us early on.. as they got a lot of cheap yards from those Formations. I don't think we gameplanned for them using the Wildcat that often... and it cost us. Have to get prepared for teams in the future that have similar personnel.

Mike Bell's knee injury has me very concerned, he is absolutely vital to our running game; and with Pierre Thomas already banged up if he is out for a significant time we will see some regression in that phase of the game which I thought was improved with him in the line-up. I mean short term we can still put up points solely with our Passing game, but in the long term we'll need the running element of our Offense.

[Saints-Tigers]

Want to reiterate how much I liked having Strief in as a 3rd offensive tackle on those grind it out drives where Bush and Bell were doing well.

[Flyboy]

Mike Bell's knee injury has me very concerned, he is absolutely vital to our running game; and with Pierre Thomas already banged up if he is out for a significant time we will see some regression in that phase of the game which I thought was improved with him in the line-up. I mean short term we can still put up points solely with our Passing game, but in the long term we'll need the running element of our Offense.

Right now, word is it's just a sprain. I hope it's nothing more.

[TitanHope]

Is Lance Moore even active for ya'll anymore, or what? :(

[Auron]

Right now, word is it's just a sprain. I hope it's nothing more.

I'm hearing MCL sprain, same injury as Pierre Thomas had. Going to wait until the MRI and some solid info comes out but he might be out for a few weeks.

Is Lance Moore even active for ya'll anymore, or what? :(

Payton said in his post game conference Lance Moore had a tight hammy, and was held out of the game sometime in the 1st quarter.

[diabsoule]

That's a great win for us but detractors will say it would have been a different game if McNabb would have been. We just have to keep on winning and going in as the underdog. I'm fine with that.