James Varney, The Times-Picayune

In what was surely welcomed news for New Orleans Saints fans, quarterback Drew Brees was not listed in the team’s injury report Wednesday, although he practiced with a brace on his sore left knee and expects to play with it.

Brees took a shot on the knee from Atlanta Falcons defensive end John Abraham – a tackle Brees said was not late or dirty – late in the fourth quarter of the Saints’ 27-24 loss Sunday at the Superdome. But the swelling and pain have subsided since Monday, Brees said.

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James Varney, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees practiced Wednesday with a brace on his left knee, a device he said provided, “stability and comfort,” and he expects to wear it Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

The knee took a hit in the fourth quarter of the Saints loss to the Falcons, on a 4th and 1 on which he hit tight end Jeremy Shockey for a first down. But Brees said the joint has improved considerably from day to day and he expects to be 100 percent on game day.

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Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is not listed on the team’s injury report this week, though he was wearing a brace on his left knee during practice. He has “soreness” in the knee, according to Coach Sean Payton. But Payton said Brees, “functioned fine.”

Tailback Pierre Thomas, meanwhile, did not practice with a left ankle injury. But Thomas has not been ruled out of Sunday’s game at Carolina. Payton wants to see how he progresses as the week goes on. Backup Chris Ivory fully practiced on Wednesday as he continues to recover from a knee injury. He and veteran Ladell Betts could pick up extra carries if Thomas can’t play. DeShawn Wynn could also be activated from the practice squad

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Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Saints released receiver Adrian Arrington to make room for new kicker John Carney. If Adrian passes through waivers, they could bring him back on the practice squad.

The Saints also brought back offensive tackle Jermey Parnell to their practice squad Wednesday.

Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Saints have signed 46-year-old kicker John Carney to a one-year contract, a league source said Tuesday afternoon.

Financial terms were not released, but it is believed to be for the veteran’s minimum. Kicker Garrett Hartley’s status with the team is unknown. But the team carried both kickers for much of the 2009 season.

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Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

Atlanta’s Matt Bryant hit a 47-yard field goal with 1:55 left in overtime to lead the Falcons to a 27-24 win against archrival New Orleans Saints.
The game was one of big numbers put up by both teams.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns, but he had two interceptions.

Receiver Lance Moore had his best day as a pro with 149 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns and tight end Tony Gonzalez caught eight passes for 110 yards.

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James Varney, The Times-Picayune

No new injury reports were released Saturday, which means most of the players who were limited at practice this week will probably play Sunday when the New Orleans Saints host the Atlanta Falcons.

In the case of the Saints, that means tight end Jeremy Shockey, who dinged a quad at practice Thursday, remains probable, as Coach Sean Payton listed him Friday.

And for the Falcons, running back Michael Turner, who has been nursing a groin injury but nevertheless participated fully in practice Thursday and Friday, is expected to go. Wide receiver Michael Jenkins, another starter, is still listed as questionable.

Payton had already made it clear that cornerback Randall Gay, who suffered a concussion at San Francisco and was not cleared through his independent examination, is scratched. So is linebacker Anthony Waters, who is nursing a hamstring injury. Running back Reggie Bush’s broken tibula has him out for an undetermined number of weeks.

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Mark Lorando, The Times-Picayune

When Saints players and coaches fall short of our expectations, we let them hear it. So when Saints fans play poorly, it’s only fair that we be subjected to the same sort of criticism.

And let’s face it, my fellow Who Dats: Right now, two games into the 2010 season, we stink.

The Saints are 2-0. Saints fans are 0-2.

We followed up an embarrassingly flat crowd-noise performance in the Sept. 9 season opener with a spoiled, whiny, narrow-minded, loser-mentality, negative-Nancy overanalysis of Monday’s miraculous win in San Francisco.

If pundits covered fans the way they cover teams, some “SportsCenter” anchor would be asking right about now: “Has success gone to the Who Dat Nation’s head?”

And his sidekick would answer: “Clearly. Let’s go to the videotape.”

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