NEW ORLEANS SAINTS FAN ZONE

Saints Football News, Schedule, Pictures and Players

Talent and expectations, along with a 2-3 record, can often lead to questions about what a team is missing.

So what is the diagnosis for the Saints, who have lost three games by a combined 10 points and find themselves at the bottom of the NFC South, with the Raiders coming to the Superdome today? What has been missing?

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints hope to eschew the miscue" »

A warm, Big Easy welcome to Saints rookie kicker Taylor Mehlhaff, the team's sixth-round pick from Wisconsin.

Who knows? Maybe Mehlhaff will be the second coming of Morten Andersen, the Saints' fourth-round selection in the 1982 NFL draft and sure-fire first-ballot inductee in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Andersen also kicks left-footed and played at a Big Ten school (Michigan State).

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints still trying to fill Andersen's kicking shoe" »

"He conned me like he conned all you people."

That's what Al Davis told the media the other day, the day he fired Lane Kiffin, his eighth head coach in the past 13 years.

How I wish Jim Finks were still around to hear those words, tossed out by the boss of the Oakland Raiders, who are in town to play the Saints today.

Continue reading "Vintage Al Davis continues to keep us guessing" »

GAME TO WATCH: Carolina (4-1) at Tampa Bay (3-2). A pivotal game in the NFC South. Saints fans should be pulling for the Buccaneers to defend home field and prevent the Panthers from pulling away in the division. At this juncture, it appears both NFC wild cards will come from the East, meaning only the South champion will get in the playoffs.

Continue reading "Week 6 Inside Slant" »

OAKLAND AT NEW ORLEANS
noon, CBS

LINE -- Saints by 7.

ST. LOUIS AT WASHINGTON

noon

LINE -- Redskins by 15.

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -- Jim Haslett makes Rams head-coaching debut, replacing Scott Linehan, who was fired before bye week. ... Redskins are only NFL team without an offensive turnover; Jason Campbell is only starting QB without an interception. Campbell set franchise record of 175 pass attempts without an INT, passing Joe Theismann's mark of 161.

Continue reading "Week 6 NFL caps" »

AROUND THE NFC SOUTH

ATLANTA: Thanks to Michael Turner, the Falcons are second in the league in rushing with 180.6 yards a game.

Continue reading "Week 6 NFL notes" »

RAIDERS (1-3) AT SAINTS (2-3)

Kickoff: Noon at the Superdome

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints vs. Raiders Inside The Game" »

Here's the rest of this week's mailbag. There were a lot of leftover questions about Monday night's loss to the Vikings. Since many were repeats from Thursday's installment, I tried to address only the ones that addressed this week's game against Oakland, the rest of the season or big-picture issues.

Here's the Q&A:

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints Insider Saturday mailbag" »

With the number 17 being a prime number, you can't split the NFL season into quarters, halves or even thirds. So, I'm just going to say that after this Week 6, we will be more than a third of the way.

We only have three divisional matchups this week, so history on some of these games was hard to come by or non-existent. We do have some interesting contests though, as St. Louis look to get their season back on track after a bye with a trip to Washington, Dallas head to Arizona, who will be without Anquan Boldin for a second straight week, and the Browns host the Giants.

I apologize for my picks not coming with explanations this week, but my time is short right now for various reasons. I promise I'll get back to my usual format in two weeks when I come back from vacation.

Continue reading "NFL Week 6 Studs and Duds" »

Did you feel the earth move Friday morning?

That tremor was caused by an axis-shifting confession from former Saints Coach Jim Haslett.

Continue reading "Haslett confession a start in the right direction" »

Since losing to Tampa Bay 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, the Oakland Raiders have fallen on rock-hard times -- 20-64 to be exact -- and no sniff of the postseason the past five seasons.

Continue reading "Scouting report: New Orleans Saints vs. Oakland Raiders" »

Receiver Marques Colston is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders. However, in his mind, he expects to be ready to go after a good week of practice.

Tight end Jeremy Shockey, however, is doubtful after missing practice for the second consecutive day Friday.

Continue reading "Colston might return for New Orleans Saints" »

A side dish of Saints gumbo before Sunday's must-win game against the Raiders at the Superdome:

First (take) ....

The Saints need to go to basics this week.

They've become their own worst enemy in recent weeks and it has cost them.

After committing 24 penalties and six turnovers the past two weeks, it's time to simplify things and reverse the disturbing trend.

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints Insider: First-and-10" »

Receiver Marques Colston is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders. But in his mind, he should be good to go after a good week of practice.

Tight end Jeremy Shockey, however, is doubtful after missing practice for the second straight day Friday.

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints Oct. 10 practice report" »

With so much going on in the New Orleans sports community, it's easy to lose sight of things.

That's where NOLA.com comes in. David Gladow offers a weekend preview of sorts every Friday at 1 p.m. in the form of a live chat with the New Orleans community.

Want to talk about the Hornets' offseason moves or the upcoming Saints game? Want to vent your frustrations over Tulane or LSU? This is your time to sound off. Send in your questions and comments, and Dave will touch on your hot topics every week.

Continue reading "Live chat: Friday sports talk" »

After a return to the practice field Wednesday, Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey missed Thursday's session. Receiver Marques Colston practiced on a limited basis for the second consecutive day, prolonging the hope he could be back on the playing field as soon as Sunday.

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints' Marques Colston showing progress" »

Reggie Bush came shooting down the right sideline at a maximum speed of 22.6 miles per hour during the first of his two punt return touchdowns Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings.

He topped out at 21.5 mph on the second one, at least according to the graphic displayed by ESPN during its coverage of the game.

But it was more than Bush's breakaway speed that led to those spectacular plays. It was a well-orchestrated group effort that sprung him free

Continue reading "Reggie Bush's spectacular returns for New Orleans Saints are a group effort" »

What on Earth is going on with Adam "Pacman" Jones?

The man who made it rain (before Roger Goodell made it rain on him) is back in the headlines for being involved in a fight at a hotel.

Seriously?

Details have yet to emerge about the troubled cornerback's involvement, but how does he even get himself anywhere close to an incident whilst being watched like a hawk by the league and the press?

Continue reading "Some random NFL thoughts: Week 5" »

The Saints had six players miss Thursday's practice: tight end Jeremy Shockey (hernia), cornerback Aaron Glenn (ankle), defensive tackle Antwan Lake (groin), safety Kevin Kaesviharn (back), receiver David Patten (groin) and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis (knee).

Receiver Marques Colston (thumb) practiced on a limited basis for the second straight day, while center Jonathan Goodwin (hamstring) also was limited again. Right tackle Jon Stinchcomb (back) and cornerback Mike McKenzie (knee) were back at practice participating on a limited basis, and safety Chris Reis (hamstring) had a full session.

If you missed our third live Fantasy Football chat of the season, you can replay it below and recap everything we discussed.

I answered questions regarding Marques Colston's return, the value of Robert Meachem and Lance Moore, and whether you should trade Drew Brees for Michael Turner straight up!

I'm on vacation next week, but will return for our next chat on October 23.

Continue reading "Replay our Fantasy chat" »

Wow, the mailbag overfloweth this week. Nothing like a big come-from-ahead Monday night home loss to stoke the fire of Saints fans.

The 30-27 setback to the Vikings elicited more questions by far than any other game this season. So much so that I had to separate the questions into two installments. The second batch will run Saturday.

Among the hot topics in today's Q&A: the controversial onside kick call by Sean Payton, the infamous officiating work of Ed Hochuli and the Saints' inconsistent rushing attack.

Continue reading "Saints Insider: Thursday mailbag" »

I need to be quick today as it's been a crazy week and there are only two of us in the CBSSports.com Fantasy department today thanks to Yom Kippur!

It was an interesting Week 5 in the NFL as DeAngelo Williams emerged from nowhere to have a monster day (I called it), Andre Johnson had a big game with a temporary QB (I got that one wrong!) and the Detroit Lions' QB situation is even worse now than it ever was.

Don't forget our weekly Fantasy chat today (Thursday) at 1 p.m. CT and check back Saturday for my Week 6 selections.

Continue reading "A look back at Week 4, and CHAT TODAY!" »

The crazy Monday night game is over, now the New Orleans Saints turn their attention to the Oakland Raiders.

So can a team, with former LSU star JaMarcus Russell, give the Saints a battle? Can the Saints get things back in gear after a tough loss?

These could be some of the questions you want to ask of Times-Picayune beat reporters Mike Triplett and Teddy Kider at noon today for our weekly Saints chat.

We'll start taking your questions sometime after 11:30.

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints noon chat" »

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From the human perspective, it's important to remember NFL players are people who have families, that there's no intent to fail, that they're probably more upset by their errors than anyone because what they're doing is their job and passion.

Continue reading "John DeShazier: Sean Payton couldn't afford to stick with Martin Gramatica" »

For the fourth time in five seasons, and with the same distinctive owner at the helm, the Oakland Raiders are hoping for a new and improved team with a change in coaching leadership, beginning with Sunday's game against the Saints.

Tom Cable, who was the offensive line coach in the Raiders' last game, is the latest man to take over as head coach, replacing Lane Kiffin on an interim basis. He has had a little more than a week to figure out how to improve the Al Davis-owned team, which has been a league-worst 20-64 since losing in the Super Bowl after the 2002 season.

Continue reading "Oakland Raiders await breakout game from QB JaMarcus Russell" »

Finally, some good news on the injury front. Receiver Marques Colston and tight end Jeremy Shockey were both back in practice on a limited basis. They should still be considered questionable for Sunday's game against Oakland, but Coach Sean Payton said he was more optimistic than earlier in the week.

"I was pleased with what I saw today, and I saw more than I expected to see," Payton said. "Both of them actually took reps and moved around pretty good. You know, we'll see tomorrow how they feel, especially when it comes to Jeremy. But Marques looked good."

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints Oct. 8 practice report" »

Despite what anyone in the organization wants to say about not being backed into a corner or about this being a move necessitated by injury, the New Orleans Saints effectively ended Martin Gramatica's season Wednesday afternoon because of a couple of missed kicks.

Two potential game-winners, to be precise.

Gramatica's misses at the end of both the Broncos game and the Vikings game (resulting in losses in both contests) caused such an uproar among fans that any inaction on the Saints' part following Monday night's 30-27 loss would have ignited the kind of public criticism normally reserved in these parts for Tom Benson or Ray Nagin.

Continue reading "Booting Gramatica the right move" »

Sorry for the lateness in posting this week's film review. The Monday night game threw the schedule completely off and I'm still trying to catch up.

Lots to dicuss this week, from officials' calls to big plays to mental mistakes, so bear with me on the length of the file.

Let's go to the video tape:

Continue reading "Wednesday film study: Vikings-Saints" »

The Saints signed kicker Taylor Mehlhaff, tight end Sean Ryan, defensive end Jeff Charleston and defensive tackle Montavious Stanley on Wednesday to replace several injured players.

Kicker Martin Gramatica, cornerback Tracy Porter and fullback Olaniyi Sobomehin have been placed on injured reserve, and tight end Buck Ortega has been waived.

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints sign four players" »

The Saints have signed rookie kicker Taylor Mehlhaff to replace Martin Gramatica, who was placed on injured reserve because of a groin injury.

Mehlhaff was flown in Wednesday morning for a physical, according to his agent Scott Smith of X-A-M Sports, and he will practice with the team this afternoon.

Continue reading "New Orleans Saints replace Martin Gramatica with Taylor Mehlhaff" »

No Saints player's approval rating has suffered more damage in the past three weeks than kicker Martin Gramatica.

The diminutive Argentine is being disparaged around town almost as bad as referee Ed Hochuli these days.

In his first 5 1/2 games with the Saints since being signed to replace Olindo Mare last season, Gramatica nailed all nine of his field-goal attempts.

Continue reading "Martin Gramatica gives New Orleans Saints a kick in the gut" »

Heads didn't roll at Saints camp Tuesday morning -- or feet, for that matter.

Martin Gramatica was still the Saints' kicker after he missed another critical fourth-quarter field goal in Monday night's 30-27 loss to Minnesota.

Continue reading "Simple mistakes costing New Orleans Saints" »

The Saints have placed starting cornerback Tracy Porter on injured reserve, ending his first season in the NFL.

Saints Coach Sean Payton said Tuesday in a news conference that Porter needed surgery on his right wrist, which he dislocated against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. Greg Bensel, the Saints' vice president of communications, later confirmed that Porter was placed on the season-ending injured reserve list.

As you can imagine, there's no shortage of opinion about the Saints' head-spinning 30-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.

A quick scan of the Internet finds some interesting viewpoints about the game:

Continue reading "Who's sayin' what about the Who Dats" »