In the 43 year history of the New Orleans Saints, only 2 teams have started season 7-0. The 1991 squad got off to a 7-0 start and this year's version of the Black and Gold has raced out to 7-0.
On Sunday Saints head coach Sean Payton hopes to lead his team where no fleur-de-lis wearing New Orleans football team has gone before, to 8-0.
To remain undefeated the Saints will have to beat a 3-4 Carolina Panther team which has defeated New Orleans 7 straight times in Louisiana (in 2005 the Panthers beat the Saints in Baton Rouge, the rest were in the Superdome).
On why his team has been so dominant against the Saints on the road, Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme says except for the '06 dome contest, being division rivals is one of the top reasons.
"You look back a couple of years ago when we played them at the end of the 2006 season. I don't really think the Saints have to play for anything at that point. They had a bunch of inactives and they had already clinched a bye and everything and they couldn't improve their seed, but that's a throw out game. I think to me, it's always division games," Delhomme said. "When you play someone in your division, you know them well, they know you well. I think Atlanta, Tampa, New Orleans, ourselves, the comfort level, you're not going into a new environment. Everybody knows what it's like to play on the road at their stadium, so you kind of know their personnel. I think that's kind of the mindset that everybody in that division takes."
Saints Coach Sean Payton, who has never beaten Carolina in the Dome, says the Panthers have just performed well in the Big Easy. "I think that they have played very good football. Last year they got up early on us and then we battled back and then they found a way to finish at the end. I don't know that there is one specific area. They do a number of things well."
Looking ahead to Sunday, Payton says the Panthers are a little different than his team's first 7 victim's of the season.
"They run the ball as well as anybody in our league. I think they're extremely well-coached. If you go back and look at the history of John (Fox)'s teams over the years, they've won more games in the NFC since he's been there than any other NFC team," Payton said. "They understand what wins games; they understand that very well. Last week against Arizona they were opportunistic on defense and came up with turnovers and offensively had great balance. When you have a real good running team and an outstanding receiver, it presents problems in regards to how you go about defending that type of challenge. I think they're very good and very well-coached and obviously I've worked with John and have a background with a number of the coaches on that staff, and I think their success over the years is proof of that."
If the Saints are to push their record to 8-0 on Sunday, Payton knows his team will have to contain a Carolina rushing attack that is averaging 149 yards per game.
"They have two real good running backs (DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart). They also have a very veteran offensive line and receivers that have blocked very well in the run game. You look at Muhsin Muhammad and you can take a game a year ago against Tampa on a Monday night. When you're running the ball the way that they're able to run it, it's not just the runner or just the offensive line, it involves a lot of aspects of it, and they're a challenge because of that." The Saints run defense is yielding 102 yards per contest.
With his team knocking on the door of a franchise record for most wins to start a season, Payton says he wants to keep the focus on improving and not worry about the standings.
"I've said before that because of the work required to game plan and prepare for the next opponent, you don't spend a lot of time reflecting. When we reflect, we're trying to really critique and really remove yourself from the win or the loss. We do the same and we've done the same when we've lost games. When you put the tape on, let's watch what we're seeing and find where we can improve. From this past weekend's game, there are a lot of things that we have to do better. Not just any one thing, but a number of things. Certainly there is a game plan aspect to the game you're playing against the opponent you're playing, but it's also being able to not repeat things that you didn't do well the week before. I think the tally or the totals come later and you look at it and keep playing. The most important game is the one we're playing this week, and that's really the truth."
New Orleans Saints Center Jonathan Goodwin practiced Thursday with the team as they get ready for the Carolina Panthers. He was hurt in the second half of Monday night's victory over Atlanta. Meanwhile, injuries kept a handful of other Saints off the practice field. Linebacker Scott Fujita is still sidelined; as are receiver Lance Moore and defensive linemen Sedrick Ellis and Kendrick Clancy.
Remember WWL AM and FM is your radio home for the New Orleans Saints. Be with us on Sunday when the Saints take on the Panthers in the Superdome. Our pregame coverage starts at 12pm, kickoff is set for 3:05pm, then talk about the game with Bobby Hebert and Deke Bellavia until 10pm on WWL!
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