By Stephanie Sigafoos Sep 11, 2007, 19:35 GMT
- After falling apart in the fourth quarter of last season's NFC Championship game against Chicago, the New Orleans Saints came into the 2007 campaign with renewed hopes and a super-charged offense ready to showcase itself in the NFL's season opener on Thursday night.
Instead, the Indianapolis Colts ran roughshod over New Orleans, which lost 41-10 and was held without an offensive touchdown for the first time since December 24, 2005.
The Saints managed only 293 yards, their second-lowest output under head coach Sean Payton, and 18 first downs. Drew Brees was held to just 192 yards in the air, completing 28-of-41 passes with two interceptions, while Reggie Bush ended with a paltry 47 total yards (38 rushing, seven receiving and two on punt returns).
Tight end Eric Johnson had a team-high eight receptions and led New Orleans with 57 yards, while wide receiver Marques Colston had six receptions for 47 yards.
Another guy who had a profound impact -- for both sides -- was Saints cornerback Jason David, who started for the Colts in their Super Bowl win over Chicago but left town as a free agent and landed in the Big Easy. He was victimized by Marvin Harrison on a 27-yard touchdown pass in the first half, and burned twice by Reggie Wayne on a pair of later scores.
'Anytime you play your former team you want to play your best game,' said David. 'I went out there and didn't have my best game.'
But David also produced the Saints' only TD, stripping Wayne after a second- quarter completion, scooping up the ball and rumbling 55 yards to the end zone.
TURNING POINT
The tables were turned midway through the second quarter, with the Saints holding a 10-7 lead and facing 2nd-and-12 from their own 38.
Brees rolled left and completed a nine-yard pass to Johnson, who coughed up the ball but recovered his own fumble at the 45. Then, on 3rd-and-5, Brees practically force-fed a swing pass to Bush, who held onto the ball but was manhandled by linebacker Freddy Keiaho and the once-maligned Colts defense for a five-yard loss.
Indianapolis scored on its next five possessions, resulting in the blowout.
'Looking at the film, I felt it was disappointing because you had a great opportunity playing an excellent football team and at halftime, you're in the game and it gets away from you in the second half,' said Payton. 'The crowd gets into the game and you get to where you need to throw the football. It becomes a tough situation. Indianapolis deserves credit. I think they did a great job, played with effort and energy, tackled well, hit some big plays offensively against us the second half, really limited us on third down and defensively contained us.'
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
The Saints may not face another offense as good as Indy's all year. That may be the best news of all for a defense that failed to stand up to the challenge and was almost non-existent beyond the first half.
The bad news? No matter which way you look at it, the secondary was nearly dreadful. To top it off, the defensive line was equally porous against the run, allowing former LSU running back Joseph Addai to gain 118 yards on the ground.
It was certainly a troubling start for a New Orleans team talked up as a legitimate Super Bowl contender before being steamrolled in the season's opening jaunt.
IN THE LONG RUN
This loss could be a distant memory for New Orleans, which was given the weekend off to recoup but hopes to return to the practice field and figure out why nearly every aspect of its game failed in Week 1.
What the fans should realize is that it is way too early to hit the panic button (and leap off the bandwagon) at the start of a 16-game season.
UP NEXT: THE DIVISION-RIVAL BUCCANEERS
The Saints march South on Sunday to battle Tampa Bay and veteran signal-caller Jeff Garcia, who was knocked out in the third quarter of his team's season- opening 20-6 loss in Seattle.
Trailing 10-6 midway through the stanza, Garcia scrambled for three yards to pick up a first down, but took a low hit from Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson. Garcia looked dazed, and was eventually led into the locker room. He returned midway through the fourth, and ended 12-for-19 for 152 yards, but was sacked three times and hit on six other occasions.
The Bucs also took a hit when lead rusher Carnell 'Cadillac' Williams was gang-tackled on the series before Garcia left, sustaining a rib injury after Lofa Tatupu's helmet was buried in his left side.
While the status of Williams remains uncertain at this point, the Saints will have to prepare for Tampa Bay linebacker Barrett Ruud, who led all players with 13 tackles, a forced fumble and fumble recovery in his first game since taking over for the retired Shelton Quarles.
'We have to do two things: we have to get on to the next game, and secondly and more importantly we have to learn and make the corrections and improve from Week 1 to Week 2,' added Payton. 'I think we have the players in the locker room that understand that and they'll do that. As coaches, as players, all of us, we have to hunker down and get ready to play Tampa Bay.'
The bottom line is that Payton is going to have to stress to his team that it needs to make big plays rather than give them up. Only then will the momentum shift in favor of New Orleans.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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