New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - Article Saints say they're serious about taking underdog teams seriously

If the defending champion New Orleans Saints could play well against the worst teams on their schedule, they'd be in excellent shape.

Instead, they returned to work on Monday trying to figure out why they're good enough to convincingly beat a team such as Pittsburgh and handle Tampa Bay on the road, but are stuck in third place in the NFC South because of losses to Arizona and Cleveland during the past month.

Quarterback Drew Brees said the Saints' early season stumbles have humbled them, which may turn out to be a good thing in the long run.

"The big thing is, you've got to believe that sometimes these things happen to you for a reason. And, you know, it is what brings you together, it strengthens the team, you face a little adversity," Brees said Monday. "It's one of the ways you become battle-tested. It's not just winning the close games, but also fighting through some of the tough times and some of the losses that you feel like are somewhat humiliating."

Even when the Saints have beaten struggling teams, it's been uncomfortably close. They needed a last-second field goal to escape San Francisco with a win over the 49ers, who are now 2-6.

Two weeks later in the Superdome, New Orleans survived a 16-14 victory over Carolina only after a big defensive play by Usama Young took the Panthers out of potential game-winning field goal range.

This week, the Saints get their latest test against a struggling team in a rematch with the Panthers (1-6) in Carolina. A victory could be pivotal for the defending champs, who have been bothered by injuries to key players all season, but have a bye to get an extra week after they return from Carolina.

Full Article from Cox.com