saintz08

Shaky Saints have 'a long way to go'

N.O. has trouble with the basics

By Jeff Duncan

GREEN BAY, WIS. -- Deuce McAllister and Aaron Brooks reached the same sobering conclusion after the Saints' ugly 19-14 exhibition loss to Green Bay on Saturday night.

We got a long way to go, Brooks said.

And unfortunately, a short time to get there.

The Saints have a lot to accomplish in the three weeks that remain before the Sept. 12 regular-season opener against Seattle. In 21 days, they must heal Brooks' strained right thigh, mend their injury-riddled offensive line, find a running game, school their receivers on the fine art of catching the ball, and along the way establish some semblance of offensive continuity and execution.

We have a ways to go, said McAllister, who supplied the bulk of the offensive production with 40 yards on 11 carries.

The inept performance was difficult to watch, unless you were one of the 69,666 green-and-gold-clad crazies who packed refurbished Lambeau Field on this crisp August night.

For most of the evening, the Saints offense played like a bunch of cheeseheads. They dropped half a dozen passes, committed 10 penalties and four turnovers, failed to convert short-yardage opportunities and rarely blocked anyone.

Brooks, seeing his first action of the preseason, played four series before re-aggravating his strained right thigh in the second quarter. He completed seven of 13 passes for 44 yards, but four of the incompletions were dropped passes: two by Joe Horn, one by Boo Williams and one by Donté Stallworth.

I felt pretty good, but obviously I'm not where I want to be, as I aggravated my injury, said Brooks, who reinjured his leg on a 3-yard scramble early in the second quarter. We've got to learn to catch the ball. We've got to catch the ball, the first thing, and we've got to eliminate some of the penalties. We've got a long way to go.

The Saints' first eight drives ended this way: punt, punt, punt, interception, punt, punt, punt, punt. The interception ended the Saints' deepest penetration of the first half at the Green Bay 35-yard line. It took the offense until midway through the third quarter before it reached the Packers' red zone.

Execution is what it's all about, McAllister said. Catching the ball, us blocking, everybody doing their job. It's about us.

The execution didn't get any better when the second team entered. In fact, it got worse. On backup quarterback Todd Bouman's first pass and second play overall after subbing for Brooks, he underthrew an open Jerome Pathon, who had beaten Darren Sharper on a post pattern down the middle. Sharper picked off the pass at the 10 and returned the ball 90 yards for a score.

I just read the receiver's route and looked back at the quarterback, Sharper said. He tried to sneak it in there and throw it low. When I got the ball in my hands, I had a flashback to my punt return days in college. But I don't have the same speed, so I got a little bit tired at the end.

The Saints' best offense was the pass-interference penalty. Green Bay, which left its cornerbacks in single, bump-and-run coverage most of the night, was penalized six times for pass interference or defensive holding for 119 yards. Eight of the Saints' 22 first downs came by penalties.

The lone offensive highlight was a 70-yard touchdown reception by rookie Devery Henderson in the fourth quarter that trimmed the Packers' lead to 19-14. Henderson caught a short pass from J.T. O'Sullivan.

The offensive line, playing without starting tackles Wayne Gandy and Victor Riley, was overmatched most of the evening. The front five struggled to protect the quarterback or clear running room. Five Saints backs combined to rush for 42 yards on 23 carries and a 1.8-yard average.

We came out, our minds made up about getting after the quarterback and stopping the run, said Packers defensive tackle Cletidus Hunt.

For the most part, the Saints' defense held its own against Brett Favre and the high-powered Packers offense. The first unit allowed only one Ryan Longwell field goal. The Packers missed two other scoring chances when Longwell shanked a 40-yard field goal attempt and Bubba Franks fumbled at the Saints' 19.

The Saints played conservatively on defense. They rarely blitzed, choosing to drop seven players into coverage and prevent big plays. The secondary had as much trouble holding on to the ball as the receivers. Jason Craft, Tebucky Jones and Colby Bockwoldt dropped easy interceptions.

The run defense was improved from the preseason opener against the Jets. The Saints held Green Bay to 98 yards on 30 carries.

I think it went well, defensive end Darren Howard said. Green Bay runs a different kind of offense with a different kind of positioning. We matched up well. They looked to run to the right side, and I think we held our ground.

The Packers' starting offense has not scored a touchdown in two preseason games.

It's the preseason, and I think this group will be able to get a touchdown, Packers coach Mike Sherman said. You want to get a touchdown every single time, but I think we'll be able to come away with a touchdown in the second half.

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