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One of the uglier trends in the New Orleans Saints' otherwise exquisite 9-0 start has been their propensity for turnovers.

New Orleans has 19 giveaways this season. Only four teams in the league have committed more. The Saints and Cardinals are the only two teams in the bottom 10 of giveaways with winning records.
The Saints have succeeded largely because they've offset their own miscues by forcing a bushel of their own. The Saints lead the NFL in takeaways with 25.
Clearly, they are living dangerously because, as Drew Brees said Wednesday, "without a doubt it's the biggest statistic in football."
Surprisingly, Brees has been the primary culprit behind the Saints' charitable ways. The normally reliable quarterback has lost four fumbles and thrown nine interceptions, halfway to his career high of 18 interceptions in a season. That shouldn't be the case in a more balanced Saints offense.
Upon further review, though, Brees' mistakes are more understandable.
Two of his interceptions occurred after fluky batted balls, including last week's classic tip-drill pick by O.J. Atogwe. Another came after a miscommunication with Devery Henderson in Miami. And three of Brees' four fumbles came after blindside hits in the pocket, hardly his fault.
This isn't to excuse Brees for the mistakes. Certainly he's responsible for better ball security and decision making. But it's not like he's suddenly gone Jay Cutler on us.
Still, the no-nonsense Brees isn't taking the issue lightly. In an attempt to correct the program, he said the team has emphasized ball security and decision-making this week in practice.
"There's being aggressive and there's being reckless, and reckless is not what we want to be," Brees said. "I don't think we are. We just need to continue to make an emphasis on taking care of the football, because it is without a doubt the biggest statistic in football.
"If we keep going at the pace we're going then it will get us beat at some point, not once, but again and again. We need to fix the problem."
Something tells me he will. Sooner rather than later.
... And 10 (more observations)
1. Casual locker-room observation: It was not uncommon to find linebacker Jon Vilma taking his traditional afternoon nap in one of the locker room bean bags last year during the media's open locker room session with players. I suspect Vilma has found more private sleeping quarters this season. He's rarely seen during the media period and usually arrives just before the team's afternoon meeting around 3 p.m, Maybe he's in Darren Sharper's hyperbaric chamber.
2. Tweets of the week:
"everyone trust me Lebron James could not play in the NFL! espn is crazy to even think he could even make a practice squad. hes a 4.9 40 time" - Jeremy Shockey, 5:55 p.m., Nov. 18.
"ain't notin worse than sumone farting on the plane nxt to u...not gonna say no names..." - Anthony Hargrove, 5:15 p.m., Nov. 15.
"First the fat boys break up and now the Patriots makin bad decisions! What is the world coming too!" - Reggie Bush, 10:55 p.m., Nov. 15.
3. Quote of the week: "Are you kidding me? He doesn't make mistakes. ... He's the ultimate quarterback. He's kind of like a robo-quarterback, so to speak." - Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris, asked if he was encouraged by Brees' recent spate of turnovers.
4. Didya notice?: New fullback Kyle Eckel earned the first start of his Saints career against the Rams. After playing only eight snaps in his debut against Carolina two weeks ago, Eckel's workload increased to 22 snaps last week. He also gained six yards on two carries as Payton worked him into the offensive rotation to keep defenses honest.
David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints guard Jahri Evans is is getting ready to start his 58th consecutive game.
5. Fact of the week: Jahri Evans is scheduled to start his 58th consecutive game on Sunday in Tampa. No Saints offensive lineman has started more consecutive games to begin his career. Tackle Willie Roaf also started 57 consecutive games to start his career from 1993 to 1996.
6. Encouraging stat of the week: Courtney Roby's 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown made him the 17th different Saint to score a touchdown this season. That's the most in the league. New England has had 13 players score touchdowns.
7. Disturbing stat of the week: The Saints' 13 giveaways over the past four games is the highest total any team has recorded in four consecutive wins since the Rams had 13 turnovers in four straight wins in November 2003, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
8. Something I liked from Week 10: Second-year defensive tackle DeMario Pressley played impressively as a reserve along the interior line for the second consecutive week. His seven tackles tied starting end Will Smith for the most by any defensive lineman in the game. In two games since being promoted from the practice squad, Pressley has made 11 tackles.
9. Something I didn't like from Week 10: Randall Gay really struggled in single coverage against Rams receivers. St. Louis targeted him on third down and in the red zone and were successful. He was victimized for both of the Rams' touchdown passes. The Saints can expect more of the same tactics from future opponents when Gay's in the lineup.
10. Fearless prediction for Week 11: The Saints will return to their larcenous ways this week after experiencing a mini-interception drought the past two weeks. Usama Young's first quarter interception against the Rams was the only interception the Saints had against the Panthers and Rams. That should change this week. Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman has played well in his first two starts. But something tells me Gregg Williams will have an especially exotic package for Freeman on Sunday. The potential return of Darren Sharper helps, as well.

New Orleans Saints first-and-10: Don't worry about Drew Brees' turnovers | New Orleans Saints Central - - NOLA.com

Rugby Saint II

Fact 4 & 5 stuck out to me the most..Kyle Eckle is getting a lot of reps, so he must be picking up the system pretty quickly and so far he's blocking well. Also, Evans is tied with Roaf for most consecutive games to start their career.

Crusader

This is really encouraging. Pressley might be a great find for us once he gets some more experience. I like it!

CantonLegend

good read

im very worried about drew's turnovers lately

especially going into a game against a defense that has historically made drew look silly

the tampa 2 is not our friend

Danno

Shockey. He's a Tampa 2 killer.

BIGEASY504

Yes this was good to hear, I think as he plays along he'll get better and before you know it he and Ellis will be a tandem