Dan Morgan, 29, has been plagued by injuries throughout his seven year career in the NFL.  Along with suffering several concussions throughout his career, Morgan is currently recovering from Achilles heal surgery. If Morgan gets healthy and can pass a physical, he could be a nice addition for a team willing to give him a shot.

Thomas, 35, is a seven-time pro-bowler and has more tackles than any linebacker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  The Dolphins are rebuilding and released the aging Thomas.  Zach Thomas is scheduled to visit with the New Orleans Saints before next week's NFL Combine, and then with the Dallas Cowboys.

 

 

 

Drew Brees playing one good half was more than enough for the New Orleans Saints against the rudderless Carolina Panthers. Brees shook off a slow start to throw for 260 yards and three touchdowns and run for another score as the Saints stayed competitive in the NFC South race with a 31-6 win over the Panthers on Sunday.

Marques Colston caught seven passes for 93 yards and a TD for the Saints (5-6), who snapped a two-game losing streak. They remained two games behind division-leading Tampa Bay heading to Sunday's home game against the Buccaneers.
    
The Panthers (4-7) lost their fourth straight game, dropped to 0-5 at home and were booed again by their fans after another mistake-filled performance that led David Carr to be benched early in the fourth quarter.

Carr, getting the start after 44-year-old Vinny Testaverde was a late scratch with a sore back, threw seven straight incompletions to start the game. He wasn't much better after that, finishing 10-of-22 for 95 yards and two interceptions. He was replaced by rookie Matt Moore after his second pick.

Not that the Panthers had any running game, either. DeShaun Foster rushed nine times for minus-5 yards and lost a fumble.

Brees and the Saints slogged through the first half, as well, before awakening after halftime with three third-quarter touchdowns to turn a 10-6 game into a rout.

 

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This week’s Player of the Game for the Saints in a losing effort was quarterback Drew Brees.  Brees appears to be continuing to do everything in his power to try and get the Saints on track, but dropped passes, fumbles, & blown coverages on defense continue to plague this team.  Brees finished the game with 290 passing yards, one touch down, and 2 interceptions.  Brees played a solid game, with both interceptions coming off tipped passes, along with a few of his incomplete passes having had the opportunity to have been caught.  Hopefully the Saints will be able to build on Brees and find a way to come out with a victory next week.

            This week’s Player of the Game for the Saints in a losing effort was quarterback Drew Brees.  Brees appears to be continuing to do everything in his power to try and get the Saints on track, but dropped passes, fumbles, & blown coverages on defense continue to plague this team.  Brees finished the game with 290 passing yards, one touch down, and 2 interceptions.  Brees played a solid game, with both interceptions coming off tipped passes, along with a few of his incomplete passes having had the opportunity to have been caught.  Hopefully the Saints will be able to build on Brees and find a way to come out with a victory next week.

 

Saints vs. Panthers Game Preview

            For the Saints to win next week’s game against the Panthers, they will have to do two things.  The first is to limit the Panthers big plays.  While the Panthers offense is struggling right now, they do have enough weapons to give the Saints secondary trouble.  The Saints will need to make some defensive adjustments and focus on keeping the ball in front of them; by doing so, they can avoid getting beat deep.  On offense the Saints will have to limit mistakes and turnovers.  Dropped passes have plagued this offense this year and the Saints will need to avoid this if they are to have a chance to win.  Whoever limits mistakes in this game and avoids giving up big plays will come out with the victory, hopefully, the Saints can straighten things up before it is too late.

 


            Q & A is the question and answer section.  If you have a question you would like answered, email it to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject heading of Q&A and we will try to answer the question to the best of our ability.

Q – JB, what is the latest status on #26, Deuce McAlister?  Can Saints fans expect to see him make a comeback from the second ACL injury?  Thanks. – Jason Crane

A – Jason, so far all I am hearing is that Deuce is progressing on schedule & should hopefully be ready for next season.  However, usually ACL injuries are very touchy injuries and in a lot of cases it can take a running back 2 years to get back to the level that he was before the injury.  That being said, it is a good thing the Saints are deep at this position & hopefully will continue to bring along Pierre Thomas for insurance.

 


            The time is now, the Saints have now backed themselves into a corner where every week is a must win if they want to have any shot at making the playoffs; however, in my opinion that is going to be very difficult for them to do.  The kicking game has been inconsistent at best, defensively the team seems to be taking a step back, and on the offense it appears that mistakes are continuing to plague the squad.  What are my suggestions for the team?  First, start running Thomas more for the between the tackle yards, Bush is like Barry Sanders, better in the open field at making people miss.  This will leave more screen passes and pitch runs for Bush.  Second, consistently shift coverage in the secondary to the side opposite of McKenzie.  The big plays are killing this team.  Either do that or drop the safeties very deep and start blitzing like crazy.  The problem with blitzing is that it leaves you open to a big play, but since the Saints are struggling with that now, it should only benefit them.  With six games left, the Saints will basically need to win all the remaining games to give them a shot at the playoffs, so now is the time to put up or shut up.