By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

November 06, 2009, 7:54AM

First (take) …

The New Orleans Saints have gone from also-rans to favorites in the blink of seven games this season.

Their impressive 7-0 hasn’t just caught the eyes of fans and the media; it’s seized the attention of Las Vegas oddsmakers.

Once an afterthought, the Saints are now the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints’ odds have lowered with each victory this season. They now are 3-1 favorites to win the league’s signature event, which, I’m guessing, is unofficially the lowest odds they’ve had in franchise history.

The NFL’s other undefeated team, the Indianapolis Colts, is the second favorite at 5-1. New England is third choice at 11-2.

“No team has proven themselves more in bettors’ eyes when it comes to futures this season than the New Orleans Saints,” Bodog Sportsbook manager Richard Gardner said. “The Saints were 20-1 at the start of the season, but currently sit as the clear favorite at 3-1.”

The Saints are the heavy favorite to win the NFC Championship at 3-2 odds. The Vikings are next at 7-2.

The odds, of course, could change if the Saints stumble in the coming weeks, but it does help ensure one thing: The Saints aren’t going to sneak up on anyone the rest of the way.

“It only gets tougher the more you win,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “You get more of a bullseye on your chest.”

… And 10 (more observations)

1. Casual locker-room observation of the week: Tight end Jeremy Shockey is growing more comfortable with the local media. He spent a half-hour on Wednesday talking about his favorite passion – fishing – with one local reporter and then held court with reporters on Thursday on a variety of subjects, including his array of tattoos. The certainly wasn’t the case last year, his first with New Orleans, when he was aloof, distant and, at times, combative, with the local media.

2. Tweets of the week:

“Damn im still sore!!! Going to be our biggest test sun… panthers are playing well and seem to play really welly in the dome…” – Jeremy Shockey, 6:21 p.m., Nov. 4.

“B4 this gets blown up, we have a long way to go and no not all the Saints should be in the probowl but at least 10 should.” – Billy Miller, 8:40 a.m., Nov. 3.

“Y does the day off go so fast?! I was lovin bein a bum and chillaxin on the couch for the day. Right back to work tomorrow. Let’s get it” – Usama Young, 7:56 a.m., Nov. 3.

3. Quote of the week: “I said this early on, that this was a good football team, they just maybe had to have a stick put in certain parts of their body to play a little harder in certain places.” – Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

4. Did ya notice: The Saints were only credited with four turnovers last week but in my book they had five: four fumbles and an interception. The league does not recognize the Saints’ failed onside kick recovery as a turnover. David Thomas had a clear shot at the football and lost it, thereby allowing Atlanta’s Coy Wire to recover it. The league does not consider it a turnover because the Saints never had possession of the football, but clearly it had the same effect as a turnover.

5. Fact of the week: New Orleans had four touchdown drives of at least 80 yards in its win against Atlanta Monday night. The Saints were only the second team in the last the past three seasons to have four such drives in one game, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The Vikings did it on October 11 of this season at St. Louis.

6. Encouraging stat of the week: The Saints have now scored points in 25 of the 28 quarters they have played this season (89 percent). The only three quarters in which they were blanked were all third quarters. According to Elias Sports Bureau, only one NFL team has scored in a higher percentage of quarters played this season: Minnesota (29 of 32, 91 percent).

7. Disturbing stat of the week: Reggie Bush had a career-low four touches — two carries, two catches — continuing a trend. His touches have steadily declined — from 16 to nine to seven to six to four – the past five games. Since running backs Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell have returned to health, the former Heisman Trophy winner has now seen his production dip to record lows in his career. Not sure if this is a function of the game plan or the opposing defensive strategy but it’s clearly not the kind of role the Saints expected Bush to play when they made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2006 draft.

8. Something I liked from Week 8: The hands of the Saints receivers. Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey each made spectacular catches against Atlanta. The Saints did not drop a pass in 33 attempts by Brees. Saints receivers have dropped just nine passes in 230 pass attempts this season, according to STATS, LLC. Only six teams in the league have dropped fewer balls.

9. Something I didn’t like from Week 8: Four – by my count, five — turnovers. The Saints now have nine turnovers and seven sacks in the past two weeks. They committed just six turnovers and allowed only four sacks in the first five games. Not a good trend with Julius Peppers and the Carolina defense coming to town.

10. Fearless prediction for Week 9: The Saints will end their seven-game losing streak to the Panthers in the state of Louisiana. The Saints haven’t beaten the Panthers since a 27-23 victory in 2001. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme has never lost a game at the Superdome as a starter, including a 2-0 record with Southwestern Louisiana, now Louisiana-Lafayette. But I expect this one to be closer than folks think. Carolina is playing much better football of late and John Fox’s team will not be embarrassed.

By John DeShazier, The Times-Picayune

November 04, 2009, 7:19AM

Ted Jackson/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush didn’t say anything wrong when he said the Saints ‘could’ go undefeated. He should think that way.

Each and every time a New Orleans Saints player mumbles something these days about going undefeated this regular season, it’s headline news. The wisdom of the proclamation is debated and the arrogance-versus-confidence angle comes into play, and a big to-do commences.

And you have to wonder: Just what, exactly, is Reggie Bush, or Pierre Thomas, or Drew Brees, or any other Saint, supposed to say?

That he sees a loss on the horizon? That a future opponent is a better team? That the Saints are playing with house money, on borrowed time, and can’t possibly navigate the regular season without emerging blemished?

The truth is, athletics overflows with bravado, false and justified. Football, probably more than any sport, is built on machismo. The day when a team doesn’t believe it can enforce its will upon an opponent probably is going to be a long day, because the game exponentially is more about the forcing of will rather than the practice of deception.

Think about it: In defeat, players are more likely to blame themselves than to credit the opponent.

Just as Giants and Dolphins players this season wouldn’t just ladle credit all over the Saints in lopsided losses, and offered that they’re own mistakes did as much damage as did New Orleans’ execution, Saints players in past – less successful – seasons haven’t rushed to heap praise on the opposition when they were on the bottom side of some of the punishment the 2009 team is administering.

That’s the way of the athletic world. It’s a universe of they-played-well-but-we-shot-ourselves-in-the-foot reasoning.

So, based on the mantra that a team believes it mostly controls itself, it stands to reason that the Saints this season truly would believe they can win their remaining nine games. If they’d believe it – and probably be willing to say it – with a 4-3 record, why in the world wouldn’t they believe it and say it at 7-0?

I know, I know.

Often, fan preference is subterfuge. Fans, on most days, want their team to creep under the radar, to be the underdog every week, to sneak up on opponents. They want all that on the days when they aren’t complaining that their team isn’t getting enough national respect and certain announcers aren’t lavishing enough praise.

Heck, team executives and coaches aren’t all that bothered about flying under the radar, either. The better to play the no-respect card for all it’s worth.

But no fan – or coach – wants a team full of players who don’t believe they can win every game. No fan or coach wants a team full of players who are afraid to say what they believe, either.

So a Saints player or two has intimated that, yes, he believes New Orleans can win all its regular-season games. There’s no news there. That’s what he’s supposed to say.

The worry should be if he says anything else.

Deke Bellavia Reporting

The city of New Orleans, Louisiana, was awarded an NFL franchise on November 1, 1966. In December John W. Mecom, Jr. became the majority shareholder and thus president of the team; later that month Tom Fears was named head coach. In January the team was named “Saints” due to its birthday on the Roman Catholic Church‘s All Saints Day–a fitting nickname for a team in the largely Catholic New Orleans area. The team’s original stadium was Tulane Stadium, which could seat more than 80,000 fans. The team was placed in the Capitol Division of the NFL’s Eastern Conference; their division foes were the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins The team started off well, with a 5-1 pre-season record; then, on the first play of the regular season, wide receiver John Gilliam returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. However, this was not enough for the Saints and they lost their regular season opener to the Los Angeles Rams 27-13. Their first win came on November 5 as they defeated the Eagles 31-24. That would be one of the Saints’ only triumphs in their inaugural campaign; they ended the season 3-11, the second-worst mark in the league and three-and-a-half games behind their nearest Capitol Division rivals, Washington.

Check out more from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia !

VOTE NOW FOR THE SAINT PLAYERS !

It’s that time of the year again, time to vote for the players you think deserve to play in the Pro – Bowl ! I know what you are saying the Pro – Bowl is on Jan 11th and the Super Bowl is on February 7, 2010, well it’s ok to have the Saints players voted in even if they cannot play so VOTE NOW !!

Tell your friends to Vote Now !

Let’s keep and eye on Drew, thanks to ESPN !

By Doug Tatum, The Times-Picayune

October 25, 2009, 9:00PM

Grading the New Orleans Saints’ performance in their 46-34 against the host Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

OFFENSE: Four fleurs-de-lis

Eliot Kamenitz/The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees scores after calling his own number in the huddle for a quarterback sneak that put his team ahead for the first time in the fourth quarter.

Even though Drew Brees turned over the ball four times (three interceptions and a fumble),  this has to go down as one of his best performances as a Saint. His touchdown dive over the pile at the end of the first half made the deficit manageable,  and then he spread the ball around in the second half and made another great play on his quarterback sneak for a score. Mike Bell’s tough running forced the Dolphins to respect the ground game, which helped open the passing alleys for Jeremy Shockey,  Marques Colston and Co. Reggie Bush looked like he was back in college with his gravity-defying touchdown leap.

DEFENSE: Four fleurs-de-lis

Tracy Porter/The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tracy Porter iced the victory with his interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter Sunday at Land Shark Stadium.

This unit continues to make big plays. Linebacker Scott Shanle’s fumble recovery and safety Darren Sharper’s third interception return for a touchdown this season turned the game in the Saints’ favor,  and then cornerback Tracy Porter iced the victory with his pick-six. It is the first time in team history that the Saints have returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Two of the touchdowns this unit gave up were the direct result of turnovers by the offense and for the fifth time this season the defense didn’t surrender any points in the fourth quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Two fleurs-de-lis

The Saints still need to work on the snapper-holder-kicker exchange as the missed extra point in the fourth quarter by John Carney (with Mark Brunell holding and Jason Pyle snapping) could have been costly. Carney’s leg looks plenty strong,  though. Reggie Bush hasn’t been effective all season returning punts. Courtney Roby’s long kickoff return in the first half helped the Saints get on the board.

COACHING: Four fleurs-de-lis

Trailing 24-3 with his team at the goal line with five seconds left in the first half,  Sean Payton listened to quarterback Drew Brees and allowed him to dive into the end zone for a touchdown that made the deficit 24-10. Payton continued to make all the right moves in the second half,  giving the ball to Mike Bell,  finding tight end Jeremy Shockey and dialing up two great plays for touchdowns  —  the reverse to Reggie Bush and Brees’ quarterback sneak. Give defensive coordinator Gregg Williams credit for emphasizing turnovers since the day he was hired. Can’t do much better than two interceptions returned for touchdowns.

By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

October 25, 2009, 11:31PM

MIAMI GARDENS,  FLA.  —  Mostly in private and occasionally in public,  the New Orleans Saints have tossed around the word “special” to describe the remarkable start to the 2009 season.

G. Andrew Boyd/The Associated Press

Drew Brees gets some love from New Orleans Saints fans who had to be happy they made the trip to Miami to see their team come from behind to defeat the Miami Dolphins 46-34 at Land Shark Stadium.

Even before the first kickoff,  Drew Brees commissioned T-shirts with the word in big block letters across the back  —  SPECIAL  —  and distributed them around the locker room to teammates.

Now we know why.

If any doubts remained that the Saints are in the midst of one of the truly special seasons in club history they melted in the sultry South Florida heat and white-hot fury of their stunning come-from-behind victory against the Dolphins on Sunday.

Even the most cynical Who Dats must have converted to devout believers after watching the Saints outscore the shocked Dolphins 43-10 in the head-spinning final 30:02 of their 46-34 victory at Land Shark Stadium.

It was their sixth consecutive win by double digits and left them as the lone unbeaten team in the NFC. They are 6-0 for only the second time in franchise history. You have to go back almost two decades to find a better start to a Saints season. The 1991 bunch won their first seven.

“We have a great locker room,  a great team and we stuck by each other, ” running back Mike Bell said. “We had a great attitude coming into halftime. We weren’t feeling sorry for ourselves. We came back,  persevered,  stuck to the game plan and came up victorious.”

The classic ‘trap’ game

Everyone,  including myself,  thought this was the classic “trap” game for the Saints. Sandwiched between an emotional victory against the unbeaten Giants and a Monday night showdown against the rival Atlanta Falcons,  it seemed the perfect recipe for a letdown. The game was on the road. In the South Florida heat. In a place where they’d never  won a game.

And indeed,  the Saints opened the game as if they’d spent Saturday night partying on South Beach.

They  —  not the Dolphins  —  looked like fish out of water as they stumbled and bumbled through the first 28 minutes.

They committed three penalties before they made their fifth offensive snap. They couldn’t stop the run on defense and couldn’t protect Drew Brees on offense. By midway through the second quarter,  the NFL’s  No. 1 offense had more turnovers (two) than  first downs.

By late in the second quarter,  the Saints weren’t in a trap,  they were in a chasm. The Dolphins led 24-3 and were driving for another score just before halftime.

On the Saints’ sideline,  Brees stared at the scoreboard in disbelief: “How, ” he asked himself,  “did this get out of hand like this?”

Harper provided first spark

Then,  seemingly from nowhere,  came hope  —  a spark of life.

On a seemingly benign pass in the right flat,  Roman Harper made a diving stop and stripped the football from receiver Davone Bess. Scott Shanle fell on the loose ball. The Saints had life,  and their first break of the game.

A few plays later,  Brees looked like the Dolphins logo as he leapt over pile into the end zone for the Saints’ first touchdown. It was a do-or-die play,  from the one-foot line with 5 seconds left and no timeouts. And even then,  Brees had to convince coach Sean Payton to let him try it.

“I knew I could get the ball in on a QB sneak and I knew what a huge momentum boost that would be for our team, ” said Brees,  who spiked the ball emphatically to the turf after the score.

The defense came through again on the first series of the second half. Darren Sharper’s third interception return for a touchdown made it 24-17 and from there it was all Saints.

No punts in second half

New Orleans did not punt in the second half and scored 24 points on its final four possessions. The defense held the Dolphins without a first down on six of their first seven series of the half.

“I was just proud of the way we hung in there and hung in there, ” Payton said. “We talked about playing a full game  —  four quarters  —  and I think we did that today.”

Picked by most experts to finish third in the NFC South,  the Saints now have opened a whopping two-game lead on the rest of the division.

Moreover,  they’re making a case to be mentioned among the most prolific offenses in NFL history.

Their 238 points is the second highest total in NFL history for a team in the first six games. Only the 2000 Rams,  who scored 262,  scored more.

The Saints scored 45 or more points in a game five times in the first 642 games of club history. They’ve now done it four times this season. And none in more incredible fashion than Sunday.

The Saints entered the game having not trailed in any of their first five games. Yet on Sunday,  they found themselves behind for most of the afternoon. They trailed from the 7-minute mark of the first quarter until 8:35 of the fourth quarter.

An uncharacteristic dunk

That’s when Brees snuck into the end zone from the 2-yard line to put the Saints on top for good and continue their quixotic quest during this seeming season of destiny.

After Brees scored,  he bolted to his feet,  coiled his 6-foot frame toward the turf and vaulted skyward to dunk the ball over the goal post. It was an uncharacteristic display of emotion for the normally businesslike Brees.

“That’s all we’ve talked about,  finishing football games, ” Brees said. “We hadn’t been in a situation like this in a while. . . . We all knew that they had given us their best shot . . . and all we had to do is string a few drives together. Honest to god,  we knew it was going to happen,  and sure enough it did.”

Special,  indeed.

By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

October 25, 2009, 3:09PM

We’ve wondered what it would be like when the New Orleans Saints had to come from behind. We found out.

Eliot Kamenitz/The Times-Picayune
Scott Shanle’s fumble recovery set up a late first half touchdown for the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints fell down 24-3 against the Miami Dolphins at one point in the first half, but fought back to win 46-34 to remain undefeated at 6-0.

Quarterback Drew Brees threw two first half interceptions, finished with 298 yards passing, two rushing touchdowns and one more passing.

Jeremy Shockey had four catches for 105 yards. Mike Bell ran for 80 yards, all in the second half.

And, Darren Sharper had another interception for a touchdown, his third this season.

Here’s the in-game updates:

FOURTH QUARTER

1:53: Tracy Porter”s 54-yard interception return for a touchdown should just about do it. Incredibly, the Saints lead 46-34 and the Who Dat cheers have broken out at Land Shark Stadium. Saints have outscored Miami 43-10 in the last 28:09 of the game.

3:27: John Carney’s 20-yard field goal extends the Saints’ lead to 40-34. It’s going to be up to the Saints’ defense to close this one out.

8:35: The good news: The Saints have come all the way back to take the lead: 37-34. Brees sneaks in 2nd TD, then dunks ball over the goal post. The bad news: A bad snap on the extra point causes John Carney to shank it wide. It’s only a three-point lead instead of four.

13:23: The Saints answer on a spectacular leaping 10-yard double reverse by Reggie Bush. The score was set up by a 66-yard catch-and-run by Jeremy Shockey. It’s 34-31 Miami, but the Dolphins defense looks very tired.

THIRD QUARTER

0:07: And just like that, Miami regains the momentum. Ricky Williams’ third TD extends Miami lead to 34-24 late in third. Brian Hartline’s 67-yard catch-and-run set up the TD. Hartline beat Tracy Porter in single coverage, slipped Porter’s tackle and dodged Darren Sharper en route to the big gainer. The Dolphins scored just three play after the Saints trimmed the lead to three points.

1:15: Marques Colston’s 10-yard TD catch capped an 82-yard scoring drive by the Saints. It’s 27-24. Somehow the Saints have rallied back into this one.

5:59: The Dolphins had to settle for a field goal after the big fumble recovery. Carpenter’s 33-yarder makes it 27-17.

7:17: Jason Taylor with the sack and strip of Brees. Dolphins have ball deep inside Saints terrority. They’ve now forced four turnovers.

13:56: Huge turnaround. Tracy Porter deflection leads to 42-yard pick six by Darren Sharper. It’s 24-17 now after officials uphold the ruling on the field. The Saints could be back in business.That’s the sixth interception and third one he’s returned for a touchdown this season.

HALFTIME

0:02: BIg turn of events before halftime. The Saints get a big fumble recover by Scott Shanle in the final two minutes then drive down to the Miami red zone. A big pass play to Marques Colston gives them first-and-goal from the Miami 1-foot line with 5 seconds left after an officials’ review reverses the original touchdown call. Sean Payton elects to go for the touchdown instead of trying the field goal and Drew Brees sneaks over the top for the touchdown with 2 seconds left. It’s 24-10 at the half. The Saints have a glimmer of hope.

G. Andrew Boyd/The Times-Picayune
Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are having a lot of trouble against Miami’s defense

8:55: The Dolphins just scored again. It’s 24-3 now and the Saints look like they’ve been hit by a sledgehammer. Ronnie Brown ran threw a Jon Vilma tackle attempt and scored from 8 yards out. The score was set up by an interception by Reggie Torbor at the Miami 19 on the previous Saints’ possession. It was Miami’s second interception of the game. Both turnovers led to touchdowns.

11:25: Dan Carpenter’s 32-yard field goal makes it 17-3 Dolphins. This one is starting to look ugly. The Saints look helpless against Miami’s offense. Dolphins have driven for scores on their past three series.

FIRST QUARTER

0:00 Miami is driving again as the first quarter comes to an end. It’s been a total seal-clubbing so far. Miami has outgained New Orleans 124-27 in total offense and six first downs to one. The Saints are 0-for-4 on third down and have committed four penalties.

4:47: Ricky Williams’ 68-yard touchdown puts the Dolphins on top 14-3. He as untouched on the play. That’s the longest run of the season against the Saints’ defense. The Saints look asleep at the switch. Everyone predicted a trap game and it’s certainly looking that way early for New Orleans. MIami has scored two touchdowns on their past two plays.

5:06: John Carney’s 46-yard field goal cuts the Dolphins’ lead to 7-3. Courtney Roby set up the score with an 87-yard kickoff return. He was tripped up from behind by Vontae Davis at the Miami 16 to save the touchdown. The Saints were forced to settle for a field goal after losing 7 yards in three plays. Carney’s field goal gives him 2,000 career points, making him only the fourth player NFL history to reach the scoring threshold.

7:25: Ricky Williams just took a direct snap from center and scored standing up from the 4 to put MIami on top 7-0. It’s the first time all season the Saints have trailed.

7:37: Really ugly start for the Saints. Three penalties in first five snaps from scimmage on offense, then an interception on snap No. 7. Drew Brees and Devery Henderson had some kind of miscummunication on that play beause Henderson broke in and Brees’ pass went out, to the sideline. Safety Tyrone Culver made the easy interception at the Saints’ 27 and returned it to the 4.

Andrew Boyd/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush warms up before the game against Miami.

11:29: Bad break for the Saints. The instant replay machine “malfunctioned” preventing officials from reviewing NO challenge that Davone Bess dropped an 8-yard pass. It looked like he dropped the pass on the big screen at the stadium. But officials couldn’t review it. Thus Miami gets a first down.

12:36: The Saints’ streak of scoring on their opening drive just ended after five games. Saints had four touchdowns and one field goal on their first possession in their first five games.