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METAIRIE, La. (AP)—The silence in the locker room and on the plane back to New Orleans told Drew Brees(notes) all he needed to know about how dissatisfied the Saints were with their latest performance.
“It was very quiet,” Brees said Monday while describing the trip home from a stunning, and humbling, 31-21 loss to previously winless St. Louis. “That’s because we have a lot of guys who really care.”
Halfway through the season, the Saints (5-3) are in first place in the NFC South. They see themselves as a Super Bowl contender and would like the rest of the football world to see them as such.



“Unfortunately, I don’t think those two things are matching up right now,” Brees said.
“The truth hurts. We’ve lost two out of three and we’ve lost them in similar ways,” Brees added. “We’ve turned the ball over, which will get you beat. We haven’t been as balanced as we should be on offense, so that’s a matter of execution.”
Although Brees was brilliant in a 62-7 victory over hapless Indianapolis on Oct. 23, throwing more touchdown passes (five) than incompletions (four), that performance came between two losses in which he was intercepted a combined five times. The Saints also lost a fumble by Pierre Thomas(notes) against Tampa Bay and had a punt blocked in St. Louis.
Brees blamed himself for the interceptions against the Rams, saying he forced those throws. Then again, he might not have played so desperately if not for six drive-stalling sacks and a running game that managed only 56 yards.
Left tackle Jermon Bushrod(notes) said he was “in shock” after the game and described it as the worst loss the Saints have had since he joined the club as a rookie in 2007.
“It kind of felt like a nightmare,” he said. “We’ve got to refocus and put this tough one behind us … because the more we harp on yesterday, the more it’s going to eat us up.”
Saints defensive players, meanwhile, berated themselves for giving up touchdowns instead of field goals when the Rams converted a blocked punt and interception into 14 points in the last two minutes of the second quarter to take a 17-0 halftime lead. Steven Jackson’s 159 yards rushing was another sore spot.
“We didn’t match their intensity,” Saints safety Roman Harper(notes) said. “We’ve got to respond better to adversity. At the end of the day, we’ve got to find a way to win that game, no matter how ugly it is or anything like that. We’re not supposed to lose yesterday like we did.”
Coach Sean Payton was up in the coaches’ booth for the second straight game since breaking his left leg.
While it did not seem to matter much against the Colts a week earlier, Payton acknowledged it was a little frustrating for him in St. Louis.
“You want to get the attention of a player, stress the emphasis of a situation or where you’re at in a game,” Payton said.


However, he also.......... *Read the rest here*

Danno

Drew, stop throwing picks.

halloween 65

He knows, I know, You know, the world knows we are confident we can play better. Just do it, please!!!!!

Halo

If you don't think revenge isn't on their minds, you're crazy. Bring on the Bucs. I think we have a bone to pick!

Euphoria

Well you got some guys on the team that signed on thinking it was going to be easy to win and get to the SB and not have to do much themselves. Just show up.

saintfan

Yeah you rite. Tampa better bring their big boy pads, and even if they do I doubt it'll matter much.

JPPT1974

Losing a game isn't the end of the world. But this weekend, they better not let the fans down.

QBREES9

Must win can't lose this weekend, CAN'T DO IT. Drew take what the defense is giving you. You don't have to win it on one throw.

|Mitch|

I can't put all of the blame on Drew, the line has to give him something that resembles protection.

Marlboro Man

"Jermon Bushrod(notes) said he was “in shock” after the game" Really Jermon, you constantly miss blocks, you constantly give half hearted effort on sweeps or screens to your side of the field, you constantly don't put out effort to get a block in the second level on plays to your side of the field and you are basically useless on any run blocking play or pass protection play, so what are you shocked about? These losses and problems are a direct result of YOUR poor play. Same for you Charles Brown.