New Orleans Saints rip the Oakland Raiders 40-20
 

They would never admit it, but the New Orleans Saints needed a better performance against Oakland than they had gotten in the previous week against Houston.
http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...3779-large.jpg
Ted Jackson/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram slams the football into the railings after scoring a touchdown in the Saints win against Oakland at O.co Coliseum.
By beating the Raiders 40-20, they got it.
The offense looked sharp in the early going with quarterback Drew Brees and the first team carving up the Raiders defense. Brees was 15-of-23 for 189 yards. He led them to within scoring position three times and three times they scored.
Rookie running back Mark Ingram scored his third touchdown in as many preseason games with a 1-yard plunge at the 10:45 mark of the first quarter. Pierre Thomas got on the board with a diving 1-yarder with 0:33 in the quarter.
Another bright spot was the running of Joique Bell, who gained 50 yards on six carries and 92 yards on six catches. He turned a short pass from Chase Daniel into a 60-yard gain, running over and around would-be tacklers. He was rewarded with a TD run a few plays later.
The Saints defense still has some question marks, but after giving up a pretty methodical drive to the Raiders on their opening series, they settled down some and held the Raiders to a couple field goals --one a 58-yarder -- by Sebastian Janikowski.
The Saints will come back to the Superdome on Thursday to take on the Tennessee Titans at 7 p.m. in the final preseason game. They will open the season at defending Super Bowl champs Green Bay at Lambeau Field on Sept. 8.

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It was a much better performance than last week, and next week we'll see nothing but rookies, FA's and UFA's. Lets get ready for GB. WHO DAT!!!

Let the game-planning begin!

514 yards total offense .. not bad ...

NFL Game Center: New Orleans Saints at Oakland Raiders - 2011 Preseason Week 3

With the way Bell looks, is there a chance we keep five running backs?

Where are the Drew doubters now?----O-Line looked better

I still have concerns about the D. Tackling is atrocious and I was having Marshawn Lynch flashbacks... Could NOT enjoy the otherwise outstanding offensive performance because of it!

:annoy:

I'm enjoying your avatar. :bugeyes:

This is what really gripes my butt.

Here we are going into the 4th week and the next game is the most lack-luster of all. When is the NFL ever going to fix this problem? Why am I the only one that cares?

dont get the NFL fixing nothing. everything is fine like it is. you dont want "fixing." trust me... you THINK you want "fixing," but really, you dont. smile and be happy that there are puppies.

I LOVE PRESEASON! its the most ... wonderful time.... of the yeaaaaaaaar!

Its like being a kid on december 23rd. (christmas adam)

OK...but have fun watching all the guys that are going to get cut for about 50 of the 60 minutes next week. It will be so wonderful!!

Pfreseason has its goods & bads. For Cobb last night that may be his only time in a NO Saints uniform - looking that good!!

Especially after the lockout preseason is really needed.

Does it need tweaked - of courase, no questions BUT you still need it.

Kindof like women - can't live with them. Can't have heterosexual sex without them!!

but some of them ARE going to make it. And some arent... These guys are fighting for a job. Its Who Wants to be a Saint. not that I like reality tv, but this is some fascinating realty.

hell, come over to my house and watch it... you wont be bored. we play poker and tell stories. hahaha...

That's funny. I had it a little tough in that area as well. You see, my birthday is on Jan. 15th. Being so close to Christmas and not having been born with a silver spoon in my mouth, my folks were usually tapped for a few months after Christmas.

When you compound that with the fact that I had a brother with a birthday on Jan. 28th, it wasn't uncommon for my parents to throw a "combined" party for both my brother and I. Now, that's really a pisser when you have to share your birthday with someone else. I think I might have even got a few "IOU's" from my folks back then. :)

Your opinion but I got to disagree. $200 for tickets and parking to watch guys that will be unemployed in a week. Not good.

oh hell no, Buds, I'm not going to a preseason game... I sell those tickets.

this is the reason I think all preseason games should be played somewhere like Shreveport or Jackson. shoot, they treat it like its the SB.

Sorry I am not that pleased with the victory. Its pre-season. Score means NOTHING.

What is alarming is that we can't seem to stop a run to save our lives. We really don't need our D to play like pro-bowlers until late in the season when the run gets here but we at least have to be competitive until that part of the season gets here.

I know a lot of you , especially the season ticket holders don't like pre-season and the costs associated with it but it serves a purpose. The fans get to see new talent showcased, and get a feel for how the team looks overall. The staff gets a chance to evaluate new players, and old ones too in a game situation. IMO the current format of 4 and 16 is as close to perfection as they will ever get. And as much as I love the NFL, I don't want to see them add more regular season games, nor do I want the play-off formula changed. The only changes I want to see are putting the KO back where it was last year and get rid of the funny overtime rule for the play-offs.

I agree about the KO's and am wondering if they are gonna call an emergency meeting of the rules committee to change it back before the season starts because of all the bad press it's been getting...and for good reason. The KO is an exciting part of the game. A team can really take the wind out of another team's sails if they run a KO back after a team just drove for 8 minutes to get the same thing.

I will never agree with the length of preseason. I understand that they have things they need to look at, but they don't need 80,000 people observing them observing. I could give them a break if they would tweek the price of the ticket...but that ain't never gonna happen.

My only recourse is to sit back and complain with every 2 out of 3 of my posts during preseason.

I know preseason serves a purpose and don't have a problem with that. Only changes they need to do with the preseason is either do like Skymike says and play them in a neutral site, charge half price or don't force season ticket holders to buy those tickets! You shouldn't half to pay full price for half price talent!

Drew went hard after a rookie CB and made him pay

Raiders were without their starter at CB and put in a rookie that Drew just tore arse on.

Oakland was without Richard Seymour, McFadden, Ford, Chris Johnson and other starters. 20-17 Raiders led when the starters for both sides left the field

Welcome Chronic...so are you a Saints fan?...

With a name like Chronic, I want to tailgate with him even if he is a Falclowns fan.

Unfortunately, you are 100% correct. Our offense looked good, but our starting D looked bad. Drew would have smoked their starters too.:p

I think Oakland challenges for the AFC West. If San Diego struggles just a little, Oakland may take that division. I can see 9 or 10 wins for Oakland.

but the kickoff USED to be at the 35... we're just going back to the old rule.

I can think of a lot of old rules I'd like to see back.

I dont like replay. Am I the only one? Am I crazy?

Good points. Raider fan? Even though Al Davis is their owner, they've got a lot of things to be excited about. If McFadden was healthy and playing, both teams would have been in the 40s... easily. They're a pretty tough team, especially at home. Some consistent quarterback play and who knows.

For yet another take on Sunday night's game...
 

New Orleans Saints Preseason Recap: Week 3: Dominate at Oakland Raiders 40-20

The New Orleans Saints flew into Oakland from Oxnard, California, where they had spent the past week practicing to improve their defensive play, and dominated the Raiders the way a Super Bowl contender should. The final score was 40-20 Saints with 514 yards of total offense from New Orleans versus 380 total yards for the Raiders and 29 first downs for the Saints to 21 for Oakland.

Read the rest here:

New Orleans Saints News

That last statement of "20-17 Raiders led when the starters for both sides left the field" is a sure indication that the Raiders full compliment of starters surely would have whipped the Saints in a real game that counted in the regular season no doubt (sarcastic voice here).

Be sure to bring all your starters to the party next time and we'll bring ours too! The Saints were playing without their starting left tackle on offense in Carl Nicks with 2nd year pro apprentice guard Brian De La Puente starting in his spot for the first time ever in an NFL game, let alone on the National stage, Lance Moore was out with a groin injury, Roman Harper was out with a fractured/splinted ring finger, Aubrayo Franklin was out at DT, Sedrick Ellis was far from 100% in his short-lived start at DT and Tracy Porter still isn't 100% after offseason knee surgery (scope), just so you know...

If the NFL could do it the way the college football does it there would be no issue. For some reason the NFL, like so many other institutions I could name but will not for the sake of keeping the peace, has a talent for taking something simple like the boogaloo and completely effing it up. :brood:

Thanks man, actually a Raiders fan, my wifesa huge Saints fan...my family goes back a couple generations with the Raiders- Saints are my 2nd favorite team, and also for the fact I cant stand the Bucs. Lived in Orleans for a couple years on a job assigment back in late 90's. Man I loved it there. Kinda grew into a Saints fan, the Ditka days... Met and married my wife while I was there.. 13 years later still married to the greatest woman on earth. You guys are the coolest fans in the NFL. And I've been to alot of stadiums.

We go back a couple times a year to visit the wifes family.

I like replay when used very little during a game. Quit slowing the game down. Now they replay every touchdown? Ridiculous.

So much for tempo.

I must respectfully disagree on your point of checking the replay every score. In the end, it's about getting it right. As far as I know, the coaches are still limited to two red flags; that should be enough.

naaa... we lived 100 years without replay...

the purpose of replay was to prevent the game changing referee goof, a-la- Mike Renfro in the 79 AFC Championship.

And why do they have to run across the field and go into the peep-show? Can they not get TV upstairs? Why do they have to look over and over again. If once in slow motion doesnt solve the question, then its not obvious-- how did you expect the ref to get it in fast motion?

One red flag per game. and you got 30 seconds. for that one call you would otherwise cry all monday morning about.. thats what it should be.

the rest of it, call it on the field and accept the call, quit whining, and call the next play.

I could be full O' crap...

In today's game you have to have replay because of the advances in TV technology. The media would beat to death bad calls all week between games also. Can you imagine what would happen to an officiating crew without replay reversals after they show the play on the stadium screen. Remember the bottle incident in Cleveland? That's why we can't buy beer after the 3rd quarter. I agree it takes too long and it could be done a lot faster up in the booth but with anything that involves a union you can't take away control from the man on the ground.

...and they will get to the place where the reviews are done by the time the celebration is over. No need for 6 different angles when a guy scampers in from the 17 untouched.

I liked the Raiders as a kid..........the Bad Boy attitude was compelling.

I only liked them when the played the steelers or cowboys