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Injuries to trio adds to Saints' loss to Seattle


By LES EAST
Special to The Advocate


Advocate staff photo by LIZ CONDO
New Orleans' Jimmy Williams, center, is sandwiched between Seattle's Niko Koutouvides, left, and John Howell during a first-half kickoff. Williams is a Baton Rouge native.
NEW ORLEANS -- Injuries to wide receiver Devery Henderson, linebacker Cie Grant and cornerback Fred Booker added to the disappointment of the New Orleans Saints' 34-15 loss to Seattle in the preseason opener Friday night in the Superdome.
Henderson suffered a Grade II sprain to his right shoulder, Grant, who has missed most of the last two seasons because of knee problems, injured the patellar tendon in his left knee, and Booker strained his right hamstring. Henderson and Booker played at LSU. Grant is scheduled to undergo an MRI.

Remember me?

Former Saints receiver Jerome Pathon, who signed with the Seahawks in the offseason after New Orleans didn't offer him a contract, caught three passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.

Pathon, who played three seasons with the Saints, caught a 5-yard pass from Seneca Wallace on third-and-4, setting up Wallace's 24-yard scramble for a touchdown. On the Seahawks' next possession, Pathon caught a 9-yard pass and a 28-yard touchdown pass from Wallace.

The top candidates to succeed Pathon as the Saints' third wide receiver accomplished less. Az-Zahir Hakim did not play because of a hamstring injury, Henderson caught one pass for 17 yards before getting hurt, and Talman Gardner caught one pass -- an 11-yard touchdown from Bouman.

Player of the game

Wide receiver Michael Lewis, whose role in the passing game is sometimes limited because he doubles as the Saints kickoff and punt returner, was the top receiver, grabbing three passes for 81 yards.

Key stat

The Saints committed three first-half turnovers -- a fumble by Deuce McAllister, and a fumble and an interception by Bouman -- each of which led to a Seahawks touchdown and a relatively quick 21-3 lead.

Big play

Kliff Kingsbury, who's battling fifth-round draft choice Adrian McPherson for the third quarterback position, threw a 57-yard completion to Lewis on the first play of the fourth quarter, his first snap with the Saints.

Mixed bag

Only about 5,000 fans remained when McPherson entered the game midway through the fourth quarter with the Saints losing, 34-15, but he still got one of the louder cheers of the evening. He further excited the crowd by completing his first three passes, scrambing 12 yards for a first down, and scrambling again for 9 yards.

The possession ended less auspiciously as McPherson had to call a timeout after lining up behind the right guard, then turning the ball over on downs at the Seattle 5.

Bad play

Midway through the fourth quarter, Seattle backup long snapper Tim Galloway snapped the ball over the head of backup punter Chris Kluwe, who illegally swatted the ball through the end zone, resulting in a safety for New Orleans.

Injury report

The following Saints did not play because of injuries – tight end Ernie Conwell (groin), linebacker James Allen (knee), Hakim (hamstring), tight end Shad Meier (knee), guard/tackle Spencer Folau (shoulder), linebacker Roger Knight (knee), linebacker Terrence Melton (calf), and tackle Jon Stinchcomb (knee). Zach Hilton started for Conwell and Sedrick Hodge started in Allen's place.

Tight battle

With Conwell and Meier sidelined, Hilton and Boo Williams moved up from third and fourth to first and second, respectively, on the depth chart at tight end. Williams caught two passes for 17 yards and Hilton caught two for 15 yards.

Dome changes

The Superdome features two new video boards, one in each end zone above the seating area. The boards are 26 feet high and 34 feet wide and feature brighter, sharper images than their predecessor.

'Buddy D' honored

The new screens featured a video tribute as part of a pregame remembrance of longtime New Orleans sportscaster Buddy Diliberto, who died in January. The Saints presented a framed No. 1 Saints jersey inscribed "Buddy D" to Diliberto's family.

The organization plans similar remembrances of former Saints coach Hank Stram, who died in July, before the preseason game against Baltimore on Aug. 26, and of former Saints linebacker Sam Mills, who died in April, before the regular-season opener against the New York Giants on Sept. 18.

Lagniappe

Seattle has two Louisiana natives on its roster -- rookie guard Matt Miller, who's from Lafayette and played at Louisiana College, and safety Terreal Bierria, who's from New Orleans and played at Georgia. … Former Saints director of pro personnel Charles Bailey, who's now in Jacksonville's front office, and former Grambling quarterback and coach Doug Williams, who's now in Tampa Bay's front office, watched the game from the press box.


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