Saints Nation: Gameday vs. Giants

We have finally arrived. Today your 4-0 New Orleans Saints host the 5-0 New York Giants at the Superdome for a 12 noon central kickoff (1pm eastern). The Saints have looked dominant and impressive through 4 games, but this will be the real measuring stick. How do they stack up against an elite team? Any doubters the Saints have left can be quieted starting today. Enjoy the game and GEAUX SAINTS!!

Saints Nation: Matchup vs. the Giants -- Front Four

Check out the post I wrote on the Giants vs. Saints matchup HERE. As I mentioned previously I will be writing pieces for Canal Street Chronicles a couple times a week and I'll be including links here. To me, the keys of the game this Sunday will be each team's ability to get pressure with the front four. Geaux Saints!

Saints Nation: Rod Harper placed on IR, Chase Daniel re-signed

Wide Receiver and Preseason Punt Returning hero Rod Harper has been placed on injured reserve with an apparent foot injury, unfortunately meaning he's been shelved for the entire season. While this is sad news, the Saints have used the open roster spot to re-sign rookie quarterback Chase Daniel.

Saints Nation: Catch Dat Brees available for your purchase!

In efforts to raise funds for the Brees Dream Foundation, fine art signed by Drew Brees featuring both Brees and characters from the Looney Tunes (Warner Bros.) is available for purchase. The art is named "Catch Dat Brees" and it's a tribute to Brees' 5000 yard passing season which culminated with a completion to tight end Billy Miller. To learn more about the art (pictured) check out: Catch Dat Brees. To learn more about Drew Brees' foundation, visit: DrewBrees.com

The Press Release on the art:

New Orleans, LA and Los Angeles, CA (October 13, 2009) – Catch Dat Brees, a fine art limited edition featuring Drew Brees and the famous Warner Bros. Looney Tunes characters, has just been released to commemorate the second time in NFL history that a quarterback has eclipsed the 5,000 yard passing threshold. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a numbered fine art lithograph or hand-painted cel limited edition, both personally signed by Drew Brees, will raise funds for the Brees Dream Foundation.

“I am honored to be the first football player to be featured in a Warner Bros. animated fine art lithograph and cel,” said Drew Brees. “I love this art and I’m excited for my son to see his Dad throwing a pass to Bugs Bunny,” added Drew.

The limited edition has Drew completing the pass to Bugs Bunny for this colorfully captured moment in sports. Notice that Daffy Duck has just finished turning the 50 yard line into the “5000” yard line. “Bugs Bunny is wearing Billy Miller's number since Billy caught the pass that put us over 5,000 yards,” said Drew. “This could not have been accomplished without my teammates, coaches, fans, and of course, the great city of New Orleans.”

“I get to play a fun role in this piece as I’m immortalized as the one and only Bugs Bunny” said Billy Miller. “Catching the pass that put Drew over the 5,000 yards mark means a lot to me and helping him raise funds for the Brees Dream Foundation, our team, and the city really brings it all home,” added Billy.

Catch Dat Brees is the first animated Warner Bros. sports limited edition to feature an athlete in nearly a decade. Drew Brees is the first football player to be featured in a Warner Bros. animated limited edition making him a part of American animation art history. Drew Brees joins the company of sports legends Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Wayne Gretzky, and Derek Jeter.

“I am so proud of Drew and our family is very fortunate to be a part of this great city,” said Brittany Brees. “The Brees Dream Foundation is committed to providing care, education and opportunities for children, and this wonderful project with Warner Bros. is a part of our ongoing efforts in New Orleans.”

Join the tribute to Drew and help raise funds needed for the Brees Dream Foundation for their ongoing efforts in Louisiana. Special introductory pricing is available for a limited time, so visit CatchDatBrees.com to be a part of this limited edition only available for this season.

Saints Nation: Making Comments on this Site (Administrative Update)

Thanks to some of the recent "colorful" comments made by anonymous posters, I've made a change to the comment postings on Saints Nation. Moving forward, you must be signed into a gmail account in order to comment. I hate to ask people to do that, but my hope is that it will deter people from making inappropriate comments if their identity is revealed. You can no longer make a comment as "anonymous". Please know that I encourage comments and I love hearing from YOU, the fans, but with kids visiting this site I do want them exposed to some of the language and inappropriate comments some of you can't help yourself from sharing. Thanks for your cooperation and understanding, and PLEASE, don't hesitate to comment using your gmail account. I love constructive feedback from you guys! It can even be negative feedback, just please refrain from anything offensive. Thank you. As always I appreciate the support so many of you have given this site - it wouldn't be the same without you.

Saints Nation: What's to make of Lance Moore?

Coming off a stellar season in which Lance Moore was the most pleasant surprise of the year, he's followed it up with a whopping 3 catches for 39 yards through 4 games. Mostly to blame for his incredibly slow start was a shoulder injury he suffered prior to training camp while lifting weights, and a pulled hamstring he suffered early in the season. Moore may be finally turning a corner after extended rest during the bye week and seems primed to resume his prominent role in the offense. Can we expect a big resurgence though? My thoughts are things will come slowly.

As much to blame as his injuries for Moore's inactivity is the emergence of Devery Henderson. For years Henderson was a one trick pony. He'd run the token deep route on most plays where he saw action on the field. Sometimes Drew Brees would take a shot deep at him, but mostly it was used to stretch the defense and force the opposition to respect the possibility that he COULD BE thrown to. Fast forward to today and Henderson is fresh off a new contract signing and he's being used in a variety of new ways. He's being trusted to block downfield on 1st and 2nd down, he's being trusted on slant routes, and most importantly he's seeing the football on 3rd and short passing plays. To his credit, his pass catch reliability woes are a thing of the past. His emergence this year as a more polished and balanced receiver has and will mean less looks for Lance Moore, unless Henderson suffers an injury or a serious regression. Don't forget that even with the little plays Henderson makes still comes the explosiveness that could turn anything into a homerun.

Another item that could stunt Lance Moore's performance is the the current defensive schemes the Saints are facing. If you watched the Bills and Jets games, you noticed that teams are so scared of the Saints passing on them that they're leaving the door wide open for the Saints to run the ball at will. The theory, I assume, is that Sean Payton is so hard headed that he'll insist on passing even when he's dared to run. So far he's proven the opposition wrong and you've seen Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell run absolutely wild on every team the Saints have faced. This approach in "stopping" the Saints offense has yielded two straight touchdown-less games for Drew Brees, but that's about all the good it's done. It seems as though teams are picking a different poison, but the result on the scoreboard has arguably been better for the Saints. In other words, the feature back for the Saints is as valuable as ever until it becomes trendy to adopt a new scheme when facing the Saints offense (which based on the way the Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas are running the ball could be very soon).

Despite the improvement in Henderson's game and the running game prowess, expect Moore to upgrade his usefulness in the coming weeks. He's still by far the best route runner on the team (Colston could take some major lessons from him), and his hands are as sure as anyone on the team. Moore is a master at finding that dead spot in zone coverages and Brees developed a terrific rapport with him last year. Expect him to get 3-5 touches the next few weeks per game. Depending on what develops beyond that with injuries and how Moore produces, he could start to become the Lance Moore of a year ago - but don't expect that anytime soon. Right now Colston and Henderson are the clear #1 and #2 guys, but the good news for Moore is the Saints rotate their receivers often and he'll see plenty of action. Sean Payton loves the three wide receiver set package, too. Here's to hoping Sir Lance can make the most of his return to the field.

Saints Nation: Remembering Brett Bech

Check out the article I posted HERE on Canal Street Chronicles regarding former Saints' WR Brett Bech.