Saints: 11-0 | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

Saints: 11-0

Update: The New Orleans Saints surprised the New England Patriots (and a fair bit of the sports media) with a healthy drubbing in the New Orleans Superdome in front of a national crowd on Monday Night Football.

In a game that was billed as a potential preview of SuperBowl XLIV, the New England Patriots, down by 21 points, pulled Tom Brady with five minutes left in the game (apparently to keep him from being injured) and put in second-string quarterback Brian Hoyer in a move criticized after the game.

The Saints went up 38-17 after quarterback Drew Bress threw five touchdowns against a defense directed by Patriot's head coach Bill Belichick. Brees was nearly perfect in the game, with the Saints capitalizing on a first quarter interception of Brady, and never really looked back.

Said Belichick after the game, "They're a better team than we are."

Some fun news out of New Orleans -- City Hall and a number of city offices plan to close early today because of the Saints game. Their excuse? Traffic. Uh-huh.

But, let's cut them some slack...it's a big game. Here's a preview from NewOrleans.com. Money quote:

AT STAKE: The NFC South-leading Saints are trying to remain unbeaten and ahead of the Minnesota Vikings (10-1) in the race for homefield advantage in the NFC. The magic number remains at 2 for the Saints to clinch the division. Atlanta moved to 6-5 with a 20-17 win against Tampa Bay on Sunday, meaning any combination of Saints wins or Falcons losses totaling two will give the division crown to New Orleans.

Meantime, some discussion about the intangibles that the Saints bring to the field as a team and with Brees as a leader. Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune writes talks about Quarterback Drew Brees' pregame huddle and chant with the team. He goes on to point out how infectious and involved the Saint's fans are in these games.

Some might find it a stretch to think rich NFL players are motivated by anything other than the decimal points on their paychecks, but there's clearly an intangible at work here. Something more meaningful appears to be in the Saints' huddle this season. You see it on the weekends of road games, where Saints fans fill planes, hotel lobbies and the stands of visiting stadiums. That kind of passion normally is reserved for college football outposts such as Tuscaloosa, Ala., and State College, Pa. -- not the NFL.

How seriously are the people of New Orleans taking this year's team? One Mardi Gras krewe has already canceled its parade scheduled for Feb. 7, Super Bowl Sunday. WWL-870, the team's flagship station, ran a news item recently about a Southwest Airlines sale on round-trip flights to Fort Lauderdale for the month of February. And Commander's Palace officials announced this week their plans to close the restaurant Feb. 7 if the Saints play in the big game.

Nakia Hogan writes for the Times-Picayune on the matchups between the Saints and New England Patriots. Of particular concern to the Saints is New England's Wes Welker, their small, fast receiver whose precision could overwhelm the Saints depleted backfield. The Saints could field some backfield veterans in the form of their recent acquisitions Chris McAlister and Mike McKenzie, along with rookie Malcoln Jenkins who had an interception last week.

Of particularly concern to the Patriots is defensive lineman Will Smith (with six sacks in the past four games) and the entire New Orleans offense, particularly the balanced attack that has relied less on Drew Brees' 300+ yard passing days and more on a few hundred yards of running offense split among two or three different backs.

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