BLAKELY, Ga. — New Orleans defensive end Charles Grant was stabbed in the neck, and a pregnant woman was shot and killed early Sunday in an altercation at a nightclub in southwest Georgia.

Grant was assaulted and had an injury to his neck, according to a statement released by Capt. Will Caudill of the Early County Sheriff’s Office. Grant was transported to Early Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and later released.

Early County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a fight around 1 a.m. Sunday at a nightclub in Blakely, which is about 190 miles southwest of Atlanta.

“We’re aware of the situation and are gathering information,” New Orleans Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said. “Until we complete the process, we will have no further comment.”

In the incident, 23-year-old Korynda Reed of Blakely was shot, police said. She was transported to Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, Ala., where she died. Early County Sheriff Jimmie R. Murkerson said Reed was pregnant.

Caudill said there was no known connection between Grant and Reed.

“We believe the altercation began inside one of the nightclubs; it was taken outside. It kind of continued down the street,” Caudill said. “It appears Mr. Grant was assaulted, and shortly after several gunshots were fired.”

No arrests have been made, and the case remains under investigation.

“Charles is continuing to assist police in recounting the events that transpired in and outside of the nightclub as needed,” Grant’s attorneys said in a statement. “Most importantly, our hearts and prayers go out to the young woman’s family who is forced to endure the pain of this loss.”

A star at the University of Georgia, Grant was drafted by the Saints in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft.

Grant, a native of Colquitt, Ga., who now lives in Kenner, La., had 2½ sacks in 2007 while starting 14 games for the Saints. During his six-year career, Grant has 38½ sacks.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

The SAINTS are in the heart of the playoff race. Yes it is true! The talk is that the VIKINGS will have to lose one of their remaining games,(I think it will be in Denver against the BRONCOS), but check out the GIANTS.

The GIANTS still have to play at Buffalo against the BILLS. It is a bragging rights game in New York. They close their season also against a North-eastern team, the PATRIOTS.

There is a possibility that the Saints can go as the first wild card seed and play in Tampa. Yes the SAINTS have a chance to play the BUCS.

All of this can’t happen unless the SAINTS win their last two. This will be an interesting two weeks. SAINTS FANS will be pulling for the BEARS tonight and if the SAINTS win against the EAGLES then they go to Chicago and try to get some sweet revenge against the BEARS.

The scenerios are such that if the SAINTS end up in the last wild card spot then they will most likely meet the SEAHAWKS. They match up well with them and could beat them. They will then have to play in Dallas against the COWBOYS. Start to make your reservations now and can always cancel them for that game. The chant “Remember last year will be heard plenty.” ” New Orleans 42, Dallas 17

This is the dynamic Saints team that we have all been looking for. Total domination of the first half on the road, what a breath of fresh air!

If only we could play the 49ers and Falcons every game!! I savor these victories a little more since it was these 2 teams who haunted the Saints during my formative years.

I can feel the energy level rising in the Who Dat Nation!! Big game next week against the Jags who did us a huge favor in beating the Bucs today!!

This is the beginning of a must win game. The SAINTS are in contention if they win the games they are supposed to win.
CAROLINA plays INDY and we can count that as a loss.

On a weekly basis the SAINTS will have to have a must win attitude. If the SAINTS play well and win then they are on there way. The upcoming divisional games will be so important. The BUCS have an easy schedule and we have to win the game as well as hope our Divisional foes beat each other up splitting the wins.

Today the game will be interesting. I believe P. THOMAS will have a few more touches today. This will be the beginning of his all pro career. (Sorry DEUCE) He will compliment the SAINTS offense and will give the SAINTS another unexpected weapon. When DEUCE was in the line-up, the opponent’s defense would load up the box up with 8 man fronts. The difference now is the play calling. Payton needs to keep the play calling varied and not go back to specific packages when certain players are in the game. BREES is beginning to get the blocking up front on the Offensive line to have enough time to pass. Is FAINE’S injury a disguised blessing and how about DEUCE?

Today’s game will also be important for
HENDERSON. He will be played and watched by the coaching staff. I have been told that I have been very critical of him, but if he drops a few catches today, he will be written out of the line-up. Hopefully he will hold onto the ball today and if he performs he will be a primary target. Let’s pull for him to have a huge game with some catches across the middle. Look for COLSTON to finally have a great game today.

On defense SMITH and GRANT are starting to play better. This is because the defensive backfield is pressing the receivers better and the DEFENSE is not as tired as earlier games. With the OFFENSE finally on the field a little longer the DEFENSE is a little fresher.

JASON DAVID is an important equation on the DEFENSE. I have consistently stressed the player that USAMA YOUNG is. He is just a rookie but he will end up being the full time starter for a long time.

Look for a few blitz packages early in the game to try to shake up ALEX SMITH. If the cornerbacks hold true then this might be a long day for SMITH. The SAINTS will have to win the turnover battle.

The Saints play the rival Falcons this Sunday in the dome. The Saints got off to a good start last week with the a fumble recovery off a bad snap and hold by the Seahawks. Drew Brees looked like he regained his form from last year. He was hitting recievers down the field for the first time all season. He seems to have found a trustworthy target in Lance Moore the third year player out of Toledo who moved into the starting line up last week for the stone handed Devery Henderson. Perhaps last week was Reggie Bush’s coming out party. Sean Payton called alot of draws and misdirections which opened up huge holes and allowed Reggie to run downhill for the first time in his career. This is the offense we should all expect for the rest of the season.

Joe Horn returns to the dome since he left last season because as he said he wanted to go to a winner. To bad for him they have just as many wins as the Saints. I hope to hear alot of boos out of Saints fans this weekend. Atlanta is ranked 23rd in passing offense in and 21st in rushing this season. The Saints defense showed up last weekend only giving up 10 points last weekend. The Falcons however gave up 31 to a potent Giants offense on Monday night. The short week will also be a factor in the Saints favor, with Atlanta having one less day to prepare for the Saints fast offensive schemes.

What a night!! The first half the of the game, I was transported to 2006! Special teams that were special. A defense who put pressure on the Quarterback, and and offense that was creative and unpredictable ( which kept the Seattle defense confused most of the night!)

Will this same Saints team show up Sunday versus the Dirty Birds?? The Who Dat Nation needs to show up Sunday and ensure we have true home field advantage.

Do not fear, Who Dat Nation, the NFC South is a weak division so there is a distinct reality that 8-8 could make the playoffs. These are things we can ponder in future days, for now let us rejoice that the Saints are off the schneid!

*get off the schneid
To break a scoreless or win less streak (i.e., a schneid). According to the Sports Dictionary, the term “schneid” comes to sports ( baseball, football) via gin rummy, and in turn comes from German / Yiddish “schneider,” one who cuts cloth, i.e., a tailor.

Announcement: Saints fans, please do not panic. Silly of us to ever think that our favorite team is among the upper echelon of the National Football League. We were hoodwinked and bamboozled into believing in paper champions. They were calling our beloved New Orleans Saints, “The New America’s Team,” and we bought into it.

There are many reasons for the unintentional deception. They should have left well-enough alone, however our psyche got screwed in the process. Here we are one quarter of the 2007 football season in and it is 2001 all over again. This is definitely our father’s Saints team and there will be no quick turnaround. If we can take off the black and gold colored glasses for a second, let’s be real. We are two years behind the rest of the NFC South. Last year’s success really put us further away than we think. In reality, I enjoyed going for the ride last year but it will get worse before we take a turn for the better.

When the announcement came in January of 2006 that Sean Payton was going to be our head coach, my first reaction was one of “huh?” After all this was the same guy that had his play calling duties stripped on a couple of occasions. Case in point, we are now near the bottom of every offensive statistic there is. On another note, the Saints defense is just what it is. There are absolutely no playmakers on the defense and we tied up a boatload of money in a defensive end who is good for nothing but turning a play back inside. Our marquee free agent signees can’t even sniff the field, and our two greatest needs from last offseason have not been addressed efficiently.

I found a couple of mock drafts that I composed for this past year’s draft and found guys names that we could’ve made plays for. Tanard Jackson, Sabby Piscatelli, Gaines Adams are all contributing heavily to the Buccaneers. Chris Houston, Jamaal Anderson, David Irons, Stephen Nicholas, Laurent Robinson are all getting valuable playing time with the Falcons. Jon Beason will be a monster for the Panthers. Exactly what do the Saints have to offer from the 2007 draft. We drafted a one year wonder in Robert Meachem who is still inactive, another small school enigma in Usama Young, gave away 1 early round pick for a 5’8 cornerback who doesn’t even play our scheme. We gave away another early round pick to draft a running back who didn’t even make the team. David Jones and Marvin Mitchell played two positions of need for us and we didn’t fill those needs with playmakers in the first two rounds. We gave up our sure footed kicker and a draft pick for Olinda Mare, who struggles with extra points. Decisions like this leave Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton on the hook. They should be taken to task for not putting this organization in the best possible position to succeed.

Here are my thoughts on personnel moves. Josh Bullocks should have been gone a long time ago. Fred Thomas should have been gone the day after the NFC Championship game. Mark Simoneau, Scott Shanle are not NFL starters. Danny Clark should have been retained. Charles Grant should have been on the trading block on draft day. Jon Stinchcomb needs to be moved before next season. Jamal Brown should be move back to the right side. Promote Jermon Bushrod to starter at left tackle. Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson need to be moved. (Stay tuned for part two of this series)

Nathan T. Rideaux

Another NFL sale for October, don’t give up on the Saints now
order your OFFICIAL NFL Jersey now and save money !!
Get $15 Off Orders Over $100 from 10.1-10.31 at NFLShop.com!

We are three games into the season. As everyone knows we have not won yet. Do not lose faith though. We still have a good shot of making the playoffs because our remaining schedule is not to difficult. The loss of Deuce McAllister will severely damage our running game with Reggie Bush not being an every down back yet. Aaron Stecker will be asked to handle some of the load which he can do since he does have seven years of NFL experience. Another last option we have is to use some of the un-drafted rookie Pierre Thomas, who showed great potential during the last few games of the pre-season. Reggie Bush can do the job, he has showed maturity in being able to run downhill and hit the holes harder and gain the more hard earned yards. We can open up the down field passing game now and hopefully with a week off Drew Brees can regain the form of last year and hit Devery Henderson and Marques Colston down the field for bigger gaines. Lastly the Defense which has not played that bad but still is allowing over 30 points a game can improve there is still time in the season to let Jason David gain control of his starting cornerback position and Usama Young will come along and help guard the oppositions slot receivers. Lastly I would like to say DO NOT LOSE FAITH we can still make the playoffs and win our division which is wide open.

First, it was nice to be back in the Dome, especially with it raining Monday night.

It was also nice to see the hallway areas in the Club level were carpeted. Last year, I saw numerous people slip and fall when the floor got wet.

The Club level social areas look wonderful, but the food was terrible. The fried shrimp po’boy was something I would expect in Nebraska. Another complaint is they took the Real New Orleans daiquiris out, and replaced them with bars that served frozen generic sugar water. I guess the Dome management is looking to make squeeze more profits out. Also the final indignation, there was NO peanuts to be found at all. Can we get a Dome Food Czar in and make some changes?!?! At the end of the day, if I was walking out the Dome celebrating a Saints victory I may not be complaining about the food…. but then again, I am a New Orleanian food counts!

Once we were in out seats, we noticed that the sound system was off. The entire time all we heard was echos. Did they test the new sound system?? I have been sitting in the same seats for over 20 years and this is the first game I could not understand what was being said. Very frustrating.

Another frustration with the Dome is the refusal to show questionable plays that are challenged by the coaches, or should be challenged. In Tampa stadium their replays are proactive and they will start replaying plays that should be challenged by the home team before the coaches throw the flag. Then during the 90 seconds of review they loop through the different camera angles like they do on TV.

My question is why don’t we do this? This is not the first year, I have noticed it before. Is it a matter of censorship or incompetence. One would think fans who pay $100+ per ticket should have the same access to information ( replays) as those sitting at home watching for free.

Another positive is the Saintsations – from my perspective it looks like we have some nice new blood. On the past I felt that the team was focused on seniority of cheerleaders rather then talent and looks. Not only were the new girls “lookers’ but they danced better as well. With the Saints season sinking fast, at least we will have something else to enjoy on the sidelines.