Saints upbeat

To say what a difference a week makes would be putting it mildly when comparing the atmosphere in the locker room at Saints camp as opposed to last week. A week ago, the Saints had just been soundly beaten for the second straight time by a division opponent in Atlanta. This week, the team can at least smile for a few hours before preparing for yet another "do or die" game.

"It feels good to get that win. We needed to get that win, and the most important thing now is to put that game behind us... and move on to Green Bay," said receiver Lance Moore.

Enthusiasm for the win that brings the Saints' record up to just 5-5 must be tempered by the fact that they beat a 1-9 football team. The Saints did, however, play as much of a complete game as they have all season.

Moore showed once again he may very well be the team's most dependable receiver. He set career highs in the Saints 30-20 win in Kansas City by catching eight passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.

"I knew that I was capable of playing well, and it was just a matter of when I got my chance," Moore replied when asked if he is surprised by his play. "It's like that with a lot of guys. There are guys that come in and out of this league that are definitely capable players, but for one reason or another may never get that opportunity." Moore leads the team in receptions with 53, yards with 609, and touchdowns with five.

Running back Pierre Thomas again reminded fans why he is so easy to cheer for. A workmanlike 88 yards on the ground complimented by 56 yards in the air gave him 144 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. Running back Deuce McAllister had a TD and contributed 18 yards on the ground to give the Saints a total of 103 rushing yards at the end of the day, something Thomas says was a goal heading into the game.

"Some of these teams look at us, and they say, 'well, this team is more of a passing team.' You know we want to change that," Thomas said. "We want to show everybody that we can run the ball."

Defensively the Saints stepped up in moments with key goal line stands and pass deflections. "Overall the plays were made when they needed to be," said linebacker Scott Fujita a week after saying that members on the defense had to start doing their jobs. "You can't say enough about Randall (Gay), and some of the guys stepping up and making those plays on the ball, you know breaking up passes. That was huge. It should give them more confidence, and it gives the rest of us more confidence as well. "

The Saints defense had four sacks and an interception. The pick came from cornerback Usama Young, his first career interception.


INJURY UPDATE

Tight end Mark Campbell suffered an MCL injury and was to get an MRI Monday afternoon. Head coach Sean Payton said he would know then the severity of the injury and how long Campbell would be out. More information is expected Thursday.

Running back Reggie Bush will be scheduled to practice on Thursday, the day the team returns to work. Payton said that he hopes Bush will play Monday night against the Packers, but it's too early to tell.


OFF THE STREETS, ONTO THE FIELD…SACK MAN

The Saints picked up undrafted free agent Jeff Charleston to help fill a need when defensive end Charles Grant went down with a torn triceps. Charleston had a stellar game Sunday with a pair of sacks. "It was a lot of fun just to go out there and play," said Charleston. He has four solo tackles and an assist on the season.

The Idaho State alum was surprised at first by the number of media members surrounding him in the locker room. Charleston added that he simply took advantage of an opportunity on the field. "You put in the hard work every week, and you expect to do that every week, but it doesn't always turn out that way. So, I was surprised, but I was just having fun."


ON TAP

The Saints return to practice Thursday after enjoying a pair of days off. They got an extra day off because they play Monday night against Green Bay in the Superdome. The Packers beat the Bears 37-3 at home on Sunday and are also 5-5 on the season.