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Saints report: Strategy and personnel
--TE Mark Campbell did not play in the season opener with the Indianapolis Colts because of a back injury. He had a second epidural this week in an attempt to calm down a disk problem.
--RCB Fred Thomas, a 12-year veteran who lost his starting job in training camp to Jason David, was a healthy inactive against the Colts.
--WR David Patten served as the third wide receiver behind starters Marques Colston and Devery Henderson on Thursday night. Patten caught two passes for 18 yards.
--DE Rob Ninkovich, who missed all five exhibition games with a sprained knee, was waived prior to the game with the Colts.
--QB Tyler Palko, an undrafted free agent who was cut on Sept. 1, was signed from the practice squad to take Ninkovich's roster spot.

REPORT CARD VS. COLTS


PASSING OFFENSE
F -- After leading the league in passing yards last season, everyone was expecting more from the Saints. But Drew Brees and the Saints struggled to get going against the Colts' defense. Brees hit on 28 of 41 passes, but finished with just 192 yards -- most that coming long after the outcome was decided. He threw two interceptions, with one returned 83 yards for a touchdown, and he lost a fumble while being sacked. His passer rating of 58.2 was the worst of his 19-game career with the Saints. Tight end Eric Johnson led the team in receptions and yards with eight catches for 57 yards and the Colts held wideouts Marques Colston and Devery Henderson to a combined nine receptions for 81 yards.
RUSHING OFFENSE
D -- The Saints averaged 4.1 yards a carry in picking up 106 yards on 26 attempts, but their main weapons -- Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, hardly scared the Colts. McAllister had 38 yards on 10 attempts and Bush gained 38 on 12 carries, averaging 3.8 and 3.2 yards, respectively. Most of their yards came between the tackles as the Colts' defense did a good job of pursuing the ball on sweeps and stretch plays, refusing to allow McAllister and Bush to cut back into the seams.
PASS DEFENSE
F -- Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison had a field day in making the Saints defensive backs look bad most of the night. Manning was 18-of-30 for 288 yards with three TDs and a long throw of 45 yards. He was not sacked and compiled a passer rating of 125.4. Wayne caught seven passes for 115 yards with TDs of 28 and 45 yards, while Harrison had four receptions for 83 yards and a 27-yard TD. When Manning wasn't abusing the Saints cornerbacks, especially former teammate Jason David, he was finding tight end Dallas Clark running free. He had two catches for 48 yards.
RUSH DEFENSE
F -- The Saints had trouble stopping the run a year ago and their problems continued Thursday night. Joseph Addai rushed for 118 yards on 23 carries with one TD and had seven runs of seven yards or more. He had bursts of 8, 8, 10, 12 and 15 yards, as the Saints had trouble getting a good shot at him. Backup Kenton Keith added 32 yards on five carries as the Colts pounded the Saints for 29 carries, gaining 164 yards and averaging 5.7 yards per attempt.
SPECIAL TEAMS
B-minus -- This was the highlight of the night for the Saints even though Olindo Mare missed his first field-goal attempt, a 52-yarder, with his new team. He later kicked a 34-yarder to give the Saints their only lead at 10-7 in the second quarter. Punter Steve Weatherford had a big night with five kicks for a 48.4 gross average and a net average of 42.6. He also dropped two punts inside the 20. Lance Moore returned one punt for 30 yards and averaged 21.7 yards on three kickoff returns. The Saints had decent coverage on punts and kickoffs, allowing 9.7 yards per punt return and 22.0 yards on kickoffs.
COACHING
C -- It's hard to blame the coaching staff for this one. When the Saints offense struggles, the entire team is going to struggle. No matter what Sean Payton tried to get his explosive offense on track, it didn't work as the Colts played aggressively on defense and flew to the football every chance they had. They also did a solid job of covering the Saints receivers and not giving them any room to catch the ball.

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"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins