BillyCarpenter1

Saints upbeat despite defeat


By SHELDON MICKLES
smickles@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Coming out of their first five games with a 1-4 record was not the way the New Orleans Saints -- or most of their fans -- envisioned their season starting.
No way, no how.

Nevertheless, it happened.

But, believe it or not, there was some good news Monday for the Saints. Namely, a tough, five-game stretch to open the season finally ended with a 19-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Record-wise, the Saints played one of the toughest schedules in the NFL in the first five weeks and it shows in their own record -- which has them tied with the Atlanta Falcons at the bottom of the NFC South.

Four of the Saints\' first five opponents have a winning record, a group that included two of the league\'s last four undefeated teams going into Monday night\'s game between the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Bucs.

Prior to that game, Saints\' foes had combined for a 16-5 record and a .762 winning percentage. Which makes their next two outings with the Chicago Bears (1-3) and Falcons (1-4) much more palatable.

Those games against teams with losing records come at just the right time for the Saints, who may have gained a bit of confidence even in defeat against the unbeaten Panthers.

The best thing was that it came just seven days after taking a 55-21 beating from the Colts, who were also undefeated going into their matchup with the Super Bowl champion Bucs.

Vowing to stick together as a team in the wake of that devastating loss, the Saints decided that they were not going to be announced individually during pregame introductions against the Panthers.

The Saints rolled up 344 total yards against the stout Panthers defense and coach Jim Haslett\'s defense gave up one touchdown after being torched by Peyton Manning for six passing touchdowns in the loss to the Colts.

That performance came at the end of a tough week in which media and fans alike questioned their toughness and desire.

\"I was proud of them for the effort they gave all week in practice,\" Haslett said. \"The extra time they put in for film work, everything they did, they stuck tight with it.

\"They didn\'t want to be introduced individually, they wanted to go out as a team,\" he said. \"They played hard, and I give them credit for that. We\'re doing a lot of good things, but we\'ve got to find a way to win a game.\"

It\'s too late for the first five games, but it wouldn\'t hurt if they found their way against the Bears and Falcons. While it wouldn\'t cure everything that ails them, it would be a step in the right direction.

\"We need a couple of wins here,\" said running back Deuce McAllister, who had a career-high 183 total yards despite a bout with the flu. \"It\'s not like we\'re putting our heads down and saying that it\'s over. We want to still compete and be able to get back in the race.\"

The Saints would do well to follow McAllister\'s lead. Ninety minutes before kickoff, he had to be given intravenous fluids but still ran for 124 yards and caught four passes for 59 yards against one of the league\'s top defenses.

While they still lost, McAllister said he saw some encouraging signs from an offense that hasn\'t been able to carry the load for an injury-riddled defense through the first five games.

\"We\'re so fast on offense, we\'ve just got to play together,\" he said. \"We were just one or two plays away from this being a different ball game. Everybody who saw that game knows it.

\"We\'re not running out of time, we\'re definitely getting better as a team,\" said the third-year pro. \"Once the wins start coming, they come in bunches. We just have to try and get a win.\"

McAllister wasn\'t the only player feeling it.

Tight end Ernie Conwell said he saw a different team than the one that went down so easily against the Colts.

\"We didn\'t win, but I was real proud of the team coming out like we did after that debacle last week,\" Conwell said. \"We were really fighting hard for one another, and if we improve as much this week as we did last week we\'re going to be a good team.\"

While the defense still gave up 159 rushing yards to Panthers running back Stephen Davis, it gave a much better effort overall. Perhaps as good as it has all season even though the Panthers made the third-down conversions they needed almost every time they needed one.

\"What you saw today was a bunch of guys fighting,\" said cornerback Fred Thomas. \"Nobody was quitting out there. Last week was real bad, but we knew that we had a chance today.

\"We could have been a mediocre team after laying the egg that we laid last week, but we weren\'t,\" he said. \"We worked hard in practice all last week and everybody fought hard against a good team on the road. So that shows you what type of team we can be.\"