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Haslett seeks smooth offense
He says he wants his starters 'ready to go'
Friday, August 12, 2005
By Jeff Patterson
Staff writer
Saints coach Jim Haslett has been impressed with his team so far. But tonight the team will face its first test when it hosts the Seattle Seahawks in the preseason opener at 7 p.m. at the Superdome.

In addition to winning, Haslett's goals for the game are simple.

"We want to see the offense move the ball and do the things we have practiced on," Haslett said. "Make it move smoothly. On the defensive side, more than anything, play good, sound football."

The starters will play a quarter and a half, Haslett said. Quarterbacks Aaron Brooks and Todd Bouman each will play a quarter and a half, and Adrian McPherson and Kliff Kingsbury will split the fourth quarter.

Haslett wants his first-team units to be on the field more than they have in the past in the first three exhibition games.

"We're going to make sure they're ready to go," he said. "We've got a line that hasn't played together too much. We've got to get them squared away."

This preseason, the Saints will face some of the NFL's top running backs in Seattle's Shaun Alexander, New England's Corey Dillon and Baltimore's Jamal Lewis.

"We'll have a good understanding of where we are at the end of these games," Haslett said.

Even though the marquee players will spend the majority of the time on the bench, players are treating this game as a big deal.

"I don't even look at it as a preseason game," receiver DontÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â© Stallworth said. "This is just another game to go out and put a hurting on some DBs. I've been looking forward to this since the night of Jan. 2."

INJURY REPORT: Tight end Ernie Conwell (groin), receiver Az-Zahir Hakim (hamstring) and linebackers Roger Knight (knee), Terrence Melton (calf) and James Allen (knee) will not play against the Seahawks, Haslett said.

With three linebackers out, Haslett said he's pleased to see Sedrick Hodge improve his play.

"This is the best camp he's ever had," Haslett said. "He's in attack mode, and I think he's doing a good job."

Haslett said he expects Allen to resume practice in about a week. Allen, who has missed almost two weeks, first with a strained MCL, then with a bone bruise, saw orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday.

It's harder to put a timetable on Knight, who also met with Andrews. Knight, who tore his ACL late in the 2001 season, had surgery in January to drill holes in his knee and increase blood flow, which promotes healing. But in training camp, the knee swelled.

Knight could return in a few days, but the results vary with such surgeries. Saints defensive tackle Willie Whitehead had a similar procedure in March of 2004 and didn't return until November.

PATHON RETURNS: If Seahawks receiver Jerome Pathon catches a pass and runs out of bounds tonight, he might want to avoid the sideline stacked with his former teammates.

Pathon, a seven-year veteran, will return to the Superdome for the first time since he was released by the Saints in February after three seasons.

"It'll be interesting," Stallworth said. "We are going to be messing with him. He better not come to our sideline -- we are going to mess with him. I'm sure he'll probably do the same thing to us."

Expect to see the Saints' receivers laughing and exchanging words with their former teammate.

"Probably some stuff you can't print, just messing with him a little bit," Stallworth said. "It'll be my goal to get him to laugh when he is lined up. If I can do that, I have won that battle."

QUICK HITS: Since tonight's game didn't sell out in time, it will not be televised live due to blackout rules. The tape delay will be broadcast at midnight on WUPL in New Orleans . . . The Saints are giving flowers to all women attending the Seahawks game. Also, some Saints staff members will be wearing tuxedos.

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