Drew Brees may not play against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night in the final game of the preseason.

"There will be some starters that won’t play at all, others that will play based on the snaps they have received to date," said coach Sean Payton after Monday's practice. "There are others like Deuce McAllister, Mike McKenzie, Jeremy Shockey and Josh Bullocks that we will want to give snaps to and then there's another group of guys that won't play at all in this game.."

The coach doesn't want Brees to get hurt before the opener against Tampa Bay.  Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer suffered a broken nose and a cut lip against the Saints last Saturday.

The Saints waived five young backups to get their roster down to the required 75 players. They released fullback Kevin Dudley, receiver Todd Blythe, offensive lineman Rob Hunt, safety Curome Cox and punter Waylon Prather. The next cuts will be more significant when they cut at least 22 more players by Saturday at 3 p.m. to get down to 53 before the start of the regular season.

The improved Dolphins are 2-1 and shut out awful Kansas City 24-0 last Saturday night. After last season's embarrassing 1-15 run, the Dolphins believe they have a chance at .500 this season.

But August results in the NFL are roughly as reliable as mortgage brokers. For this point I note the current 0-3 fake game record of New England putting not the smallest dent in the Patriots' status as Super Bowl favorites.

Saints fans are feeling much better after their team shut out an awful Cincinnati 13-0 last Saturday. It is called "feeling good" again and "being optimistic" after a poor defensive showing against Houston.

Against the Bengals, receivers Marques Colston and Devery Henderson dropped passes that should have been caught for touchdowns. Colston left the field against the Bengals with bruised ribs, but said he is "100 per cent." Reggie Bush suffered a bruised thigh returning a punt last week and may not play Thursday night. The status of No. 1 draft choice, defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis (ankle) is unknown.

Payton was pleased with his team's performance against Cincinnati after being disappointed with its performance against Houston. "I thought defensively we did a good job in our third down situations," said the coach. "I thought we tackled well, helped up against the run early. I though our effort to the ball and pursuit went well. There weren't many big plays. It was a big improvement from the week before and that's encouraging. Offensively, although we moved the ball, there were situations that were somewhat frustrating. We had a turnover, a couple of drops and a couple of field goals. I thought the kicking game was solid I thought we played with good energy and that was noticeable."

Payton was asked how much this fourth preseason game matters in terms of players being able to prove they should have a spot on the roster.

"It matters in some cases, depending on the positions," answered the coach. "I've been at a few other teams where in this game there have been players that have done something very well and merited making the team. Yo answer your question, the evaluation isn't over. It will basically end when the game ends.Thursday night and then it's time for us to get our roster down. As best we can, we're trying to gather all the information we have on these player and give them the fairest opportunity to make this team."

No. 2 draft choice Tracy Porter played well at cornerback against Cincinnati and the coach was asked if he would start against Tampa Bay.

"I though he played pretty well," said Payton. "In his first start he did a pretty good job. We're not at Week 1 yet so I don't know if he will start. We still have time."

Did the defense's effort against Cincinnati boost its confidence? "You want them to play well and I thought they were vastly improved," said Payton. "That helps going into the season."

The defense put pressure on Palmer and the other Bengals quarterbacks. "Each week once we get into the regular season we'll have a set of base and nickel pressures based on the opponent," said Payton. "They key is to not be as predictable and to have flexibility. I thought we did a good job of executing the pressures. I liked the tackling on their ground where the ball was thrown near the sticks and we got them off the field."

Are the veteran cornerbacks such as Jason Craft and Aaron Glenn still auditioning?

"I think there will be a lot of discussions about them and some of the other topics we're talking about right now such as kicking," said the coach.

Will Jason David make the team?

"I wouldn't want to elaborate whether a player is d\safe or whether he's involved in discussions, but we're evaluating all of our players for this final roster," said Payton. "Jason has quick feet. He gets to the ball quickly. He's someone who can transition to cover real well. Those are some of the things that he can do well. He keeps working with technique, but specifically his transition and ball skills are good."

Will this game, a week before the season opener, affect Payton's decision-making process of who will play against Miami?

"I think the decision on who plays and who doesn't is based on how much work these guys have gotten or not gotten when you talk about the front-line guys," said Payton. "You'll see a lot of the other guys play. In the case of Josh Bullocks or Mike McKenzie or Deuce McAllister or Jeremy Shockey, those guys will be guys that we want to see "x" number of snaps from just because they haven't had as many reps as some of the other players have had."

SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON: LSU is a 24-point favorite over Appalachian State on Saturday. Look for Andrew Hatch to start at quarterback for the Tigers although Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson will play. The talk is Hatch is in the mold of Matt Mauck and Matt Flynn--smart athletes who made good decisions and relatively few mistakes. Hatch, who is a 22-year-old sophomore, is the guy to play that role this season. The Tigers will use more than one quarterback in the early going this season in order to provide a change of pace. But as the Tigers get into the SEC schedule at Auburn on Sept. 20, look for coach Les Miles to pull in the reins and be more conservative on offense. The Tigers will have a first-time starter at quarterback for the first time since 2002 when Mauck lost to Virginia Tech. A year ago, Flynn entered the season with no regular-season starts. However, he did start in that 40-3 win over Miami in the 2005 Peach Bowl.

App State has a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Armanti Edwards, and enough speed at the skill positions to scare any team--even the Tigers. "They always bring up the upset over Michigan,: said Edwards. "It kind of gets annoying.:We didn't win a ring off of Michigan." Edwards accounted for 38 touchdowns last season. The Mountaineers have won 36 of their last 40 games, averaged 42.7 points per game last season and are the overwhelming favorites to win a fourth straight national title. "Probably a lot of the big schools are tired of hearing about Michigan and Appalachian State," said Mountaineers coach Jerry Moore. "In my mind, I think LSU probably one of those schools. They're tired of hearing about these guys, a I-AA school. I think we'll have to play as close to our peak as we can for an opening game."...In case you can't get enough of Brett Favre, that may change. The Jets' last six game, and a total of 12, are scheduled to be televised by CBS. Said broadcaster Jim Nantz: "We should be paying part of his salary."...My time is up. Ed Staton can be reached at edcoachstaton@yahoo.com.