Aug 23, 2010

Saints Beat Texans in Preseason Week 2

The Saints played their first home game since winning the Super Bowl and defeated the Houston Texans 38-20. There were a lot more positives to take away from this game than last week's:
  • Chase Daniel is making a case for the #2 QB job. He played most of the game and completed 15/21 passes for 182 yards, 3 TDs and 1 Int. Besides the interception, which was a terrible decision, he looked great. It's surprising that Patrick Ramsey didn't even see the field, but I guess the coaches wanted to see what Daniel could do and he delivered.
  • Adrian Arrington is making the WR cuts really difficult. Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and Lance Moore have the top four WR spots nailed down. Arrington is competing for the 5th spot with Courtney Roby, but Roby brings much more to the table via special teams. This will force the Saints to consider keeping six WRs.
  • The backup RBs continue to impress. Both Chris Ivory and P.J. Hill once again showed that Lynell Hamilton's injury may not hurt the Saints. Ivory runs hard and Hill contributed on offense and special teams. Unfortunately, Hill suffered an injury and was placed on season ending IR today. The Saints have signed DeShawn Wynn to take his roster spot, so just when you think the backup RB spot is in good hands, there's more uncertainty now.
  • Pierre Thomas may be the best RB in the NFL on the screen pass. How many times has he taken a screen to the house in the past two years? He did it in the Super Bowl and he did it again this week.
  • Reggie Bush is running like a man possessed. He looks like he has set out to earn the $8 million that many feel he is overpaid to earn this year. On the Saints first drive, I was seeing #5 running for the Trojans, not the indecisive #25 of the Saints we've seen in the past.
  • The Saints forced two Texan turnovers so Gregg Williams won't have to make them do extra work this week. On special teams, there's still some work to be done on coverages and thanks to Trindon Holliday still having trouble holding onto the ball, one of the turnovers came on a return.
  • On defense, Sedrick Ellis and Troy Evans each recorded a sack but Anthony Hargrove still gets stupid penalties. Two weeks in a row, he's been flagged for something.

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