By Kevin Spain, The Times-Picayune
Oakland, Calif. — They would never admit it, but the New Orleans Saints needed a better performance against Oakland than they had gotten in the previous week against Houston.
By beating the Raiders 40-20, they got it.
The offense looked sharp in the early going with quarterback Drew Brees and the first team carving up the Raiders defense. Brees was 15-of-23 for 189 yards. He led them to within scoring position three times and three times they scored.
See more of the starters:
The starters are expected to play through halftime, possible a series or two into the third quarter. Look for a sharp Saints team against Oakland, they’ve had a really good week of practice in Oxnard.
Dat’s a wrap:
Before today’s game, the Saints held five days of practice in Oxnard California. The team looked different. I don’t know, it’s hard to put my finger on it, but they just looked rejuvenated. The decision to move training camp to Oxnard for a week might not have been all that popular, but you can see what it did for the team. The practice sessions were intense. The entire offense and defense is pretty much installed. Because players weren’t battling extreme heat, the Saints weren’t in survival mode during practice. The team practice every day for two and a half hours. Water breaks were at a minimum, and the heat didn’t zap their energy. They’ve looked as crisp in these five days as I’ve seen over the last three years.
By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune
Oakland, Calif. – Timing is everything.
A week ago, dynamic rookie wide receiver Joe Morgan had practically forced his way onto the Saints’ 53-man roster with his breakout performance in practices and preseason games. Now his status is more in doubt because of a knee injury that could sideline him for a month.
Earlier this month, the defensive tackle spot was one of the deepest on the Saints’ roster. Now the Saints might have to carry a fifth tackle into the opener just to have enough healthy players ready for the Green Bay Packers.
By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
Oakland, Calif. – You might recall the last time the New Orleans Saints played at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
It was Week 3 of the 2009 preseason, and the 45-7 rout of the Raiders served notice of special things to come.
They say exhibition games are meaningless, but with the benefit of hindsight, there was plenty of meaning in the Saints’ dominant performance that night. The Saints scored touchdowns on their first three drives and the defense forced and recovered three fumbles.
By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune
Oxnard, Calif. — Don’t bother trying to sort out the Saints’ pecking order at outside linebacker. They haven’t even sorted it out yet.
Rookie Martez Wilson might be the latest guy to get an extended look at the starting strongside linebacker job Sunday night at Oakland. And the Saints plan to “cross-train” veterans Scott Shanle, Will Herring and Jonathan Casillas over the next week. Shanle has already been taking snaps at the position this week, and Herring and Casillas likely will flip-flop during practices next week.
By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune
Oxnard, Calif. — New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees treated his fellow quarterbacks, offensive linemen and tight ends to a day at the historic Del Mar Racetrack on Sunday, where they got to watch the horses up close and mingle with the jockeys afterward.
By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
Oxnard, Calif. — Does Sean Payton have another ambush up his coaching sleeve? The man who famously unleashed the second-half onside kick in Super Bowl XLIV appears to be planning another surprise attack.
By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune
Oxnard, Calif. — Pierre Thomas’ surgically-repaired ankle has been a non-issue so far during New Orleans Saints training camp.
He hasn’t missed a day of practice, and he’s been running strong – as evidenced by his 13-yard run to open Saturday night’s preseason game at Houston.
Thomas also gained 15 yards on a pass from quarterback Drew Brees against the Texans and finished the game with six carries for 33 yards.
By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune
HOUSTON — Two games into the preseason, the only thing that can be said for certain about the New Orleans Saints’ defense is that it won’t be as good as it looked in Week 1, and it won’t be as bad as it looked in Week 2.
In a span of eight days, the defense went from a dominant performance to a disastrous one. They gave up 24 points and 323 yards in the first half of Saturday night’s 27-14 loss to the Houston Texans.
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