James Varney, The Times-Picayune

With questions about New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas’ relationship with Coach Sean Payton swirling since Sunday, Thomas’ agent said Monday the notion Thomas isn’t champing at the bit to return to action is absurd.

In a phone interview, Lamont Smith said he has no inside information about whether Thomas and Payton are at odds, as was reported Sunday on FOX Sports. He characterized the whole matter as an unwelcome and counter-productive diversion from the Saints necessary focus on football. Under normal circumstances, Smith insisted, he would not insert himself into a team matter but in this case he is  bothered by the idea Thomas, who he said has played with a variety of ailments in the past, has been too cautious about returning from an ankle injury suffered against Atlanta in week three.

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Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Saints lost to the Cleveland Browns 30-17 today at the Superdome in a performance nobody could really see coming.

Yeah, it hasn’t been great for the defending champs so far, who have struggled on offense this season. But nobody could have seen this — four interceptions for quarterback Drew Brees, two of those returned for touchdowns by linebacker David Bowens.

Cleveland is now 2-5 and the Saints are 4-3. Coming to the Dome next week is Pittsburgh, a much better AFC North team than the Browns, who were playing a rookie quarterback who was not good at all in this game.

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Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper has been added to the active roster and expects to play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, he confirmed through a text message.

“I’m back and very excited to finally be able to do what I do best. Play football,” said Sharper, who has been on the physically-unable-to-perform list since the start of training camp because of an offseason knee surgery.

Sharper returned to practice for the first time Wednesday and said he felt great and ready to play throughout the week.

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Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

The last time the New Orleans Saints played the Cleveland Browns, no one in the Who Dat Nation was complaining about a measly 19-14 victory.

It was Sept. 10, 2006 – the first game of the Sean Payton/Drew Brees era – back before anyone knew what to expect, including the coaches and players.

he Saints had struggled mightily in their preseason games before their trip to Cleveland kicked off a three-game win streak to start the regular season.

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Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

The injury cycle rotated its way through the New Orleans Saints‘ secondary Wednesday.

Safety Darren Sharper made his long-anticipated return to the practice field after being sidelined for the last eight months because of a knee injury. But New Orleans announced that veteran cornerback Randall Gay was placed on season-ending injured reserve because of persistent concussion symptoms.

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Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

In his “gut,” New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper said he feels ready to play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. But the Saints have not yet announced any decisions on his playing status after he returned for his first practice Wednesday.

Sharper spent the first six weeks of the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list after he spent the entire summer recovering from an arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, which included some microfracture techniques.

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Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

The decision to place New Orleans Saints cornerback Randall Gay on injured reserve with lingering concussion symptoms was mostly precautionary, according to both Coach Sean Payton and Gay’s agent, Albert Elias.

Elias said Gay might have been ready to play within a week or two. But he applauded the Saints for not trying to rush Gay back too quickly.

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