Sean Payton said Thursday that he hopes injured tight end Jeremy Shockey and receiver Marques Colston are back for Sunday's game against the Panthers.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees leads the NFL with 1,993 passing yards, despite not having Shockey (sports hernia) and Colston (thumb) for much of the season. Shockey has missed three games and the Saints haven't been gaining much yardage on the ground either,
"Shockley;s been a tremendous player in the league," said Panthers coach John Fox.
It's not like he hasn't played this season and that he hasn't been a part of it."
Payton said he thought his team would ba competitive advantage against the Chargers when they play next Sunday in London. The Saints face a flight of about eight hours when they leave Charlotte for London on Sunday night.
Payton originally figured the Chargers would have about a 15-hour flight from San Diego. But the Chargers are playing on Sunday at Buffalo and will leave from there.
"So much for our flight advantage," said the coach.
In a mid-week conference call, Payton as asked if the way teams defend Carolina defensive end Julius Pepper has changed in recent years. Peppers was shifted from left defensive end to the right side this year, where he now lines up against left offensive tackles, usually the opponents' top blocker.
Payton and Fox coached together as assistants with the Giants.
"Here's one thing that obvious thing that takes place," explained Payton. " A lot of times offenses are right handed (with a right-handed quarterback) and so when I call more right formations, chances are my tight end goes right, And that doesn't mean that Peppers necessarily gets double-teamed, but that means that the end in on the tight end side of the offense, and on the strong side.
"The left side tends to have more split end, with the end lining up on the tackle. And that's just purely right-handed quarterbacks right formations. Now some teams in our league become a little left-handed because maybe because their personnel dictates that. Minnesota's got a real good left tackle and left guard and they want to run behind them. So you have a little bit more opportunity as an end that lines up on the right side because of that statistic alone. I think a lot of teams have put their pass rushers at that position.
"I know John (Fox) in New York when we were there, had a lot of success with Michael Strahan lining up on the left end position. So I think that the change right now for Julius Peppers has helped him. And I think they're playing real good team defense, so you see his improvement and you see the improvement across the board."
The Panthers, despite a poor game at TampaBay on Sunday, are ranked No. 3 in the NFL in total defense, allowing 264.5 total yards a game. Peppers, who has 3 sacks so far after finishing with 2.5 last season, had none among his 5 tackles on Sunday.
The Saints (3-3) and the only NFC South team with a home loss this season. If they defeat division-leading Carolina (tied with TampaBay and Atlanta at 4-2) they'll be back in the division race.
Payton hated to cut receiver Terrance Copper to make roster room for a defensive lineman rotation. "That was a tough one," said Payton. "Terrance is a guy who who has really been with us since the beginning here 2 1/2 years ago. He's a special guy."
Prediction: Saints +3 over Carolina.
After LSU's defense was shredded by Florida 51-21 last Saturday night (Florida gained 265 yards rushing) and folks are taking a second look at the Tigers' defense because LSU was expected to have one of the best defenses ion the country.
Entering Saturday night's game against South Carolina, the Tigers are No. 52 nationally in scoring defense (22.4 ppg). Both Auburn and Miss.State, two of the worst offenses in the country, moved the ball pretty effectively against LSU.
Florida doesn't have as many weapons as Florida. It's not even close. But Stephen Garcia is going to get his first start at quarterback for the Gamecocks after looking good in the fourth quarter against Kentucky last week. Wide receiver Kenny McKinley is now back from a hamstring problem and South Carolina's offense is much better with him on the field.
Heads didn't roil in Baton Rouge after the thrashing by Florida, but that could be next. The Tigers were too cocky entering the Florida game.
"I think there's a chance that certain players will play a greater time as we look at them than maybe in the past," said coach Les Miles. :I can tell you that some of our veterans are not playing the style of football that they are used to playing."
True freshman quarterback Jordan Jefferson may still have a chance for a red shirt this year, meaning he would still be considered a freshman next season. Jefferson played against North Texas and Miss. State He suffered a shoulder injury against Miss.State. He could get the red shirt through an appeal to the NCAA because of the injury if he does not play any more this season.
Prediction: LSU -3 over South Carolina.
THIS WEEK'S NFL PICKS (to be read to the sound of rolling drums and clashing cymbals): Titans -8 over Chiefs (Titans will win by 28), Chargers P over Bills, Steelers -9 1/2 over Bengals, Dolphins -3 over Ravens, Rams +6 1/2 over Cowboys, Bears -3 over Minnesota, Giants -10 1/2 over 49ers (Giants win by 20), Texans -8 1/2 over Lions, Jets -3 over Raiders, Browns -7 over Redskins, Colts -1 over Packers (Colts win by 11). Bucs -10 over Seahawks (Bucs win by 18), and Pats -3 over Broncos.
COLLEGE PICKS: Kansas -19 1/2 over Oklahoma, Tennessee -7 1/2 over Miss. State, Alabama -13 over Ole Miss, Vandy 14 1/2 over Georgia, USM +3 over Rice, Arkansas +8 over Kentucky, La. Tech -20 over Idaho, North Texas +19 over :ULM and Ark. State +3 over ULL.
BOTTOM 10: I'm welcoming three Louisiana football teams into the Bottom 10 this week.
The list: 1, Syracuse, 2, San DiegoState. 3, LLM, 4, Fla, International. 5, Army. 6, Tulane. 7, Virginia. 8, UAB. 9, UtahState. 10, Washington. Waiting list: Auburn, Memphis, Michigan State, Rutgers and UTEP. Pillow fight of the week: Troy at Fla. International.
(add at bottom of some hither, others yon:
Price of Super Bowl tickets will reach $1,000 for the first time this season. You can buy a 30-second commercial on the broadcast for $3 million. Tickets for last year's game in Glendale, Ariz., between the Patriots and the Giants were priced at $700 and $900. The game this season is a Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.Ticket prices for the first Super Bowl, played at the LA Coliseum 43 years ago, were $6, $10 and $12. The game wasn't a sellout...NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's indefinite suspension of Pacman Jones He should boot the bum out of the league once and for all. It's a privilege, not a right, to play in the NFL His named should be changed to Conman Jones...John Carney, 44, has been replaced as the Giants kicker by their regular guy, Lawrence Tynes. Carney hit 12 of 12 field goal attempts for the Giants and will remain with the team until next week...In the battle for the supremacy in the FIRST FAMILY of the NFL, Eli Manning has overtaken older brother Peyton as the best Manning in football. Eli leads in every significant quarterback measuring category...
Art Thiel of the Seattle Post-Intelligenncer took out the sharp knives after the Seahawks' 27-17 home loss to the Packers last Sunday. "The game began with an unwanted third-string quarterback throwing his first pass to a recovering alcoholic, recently jobless until the emergency hire by the Seahawks, who once fired him. Movies are made of such weeper stories. First downs, however, are not."...Those NY Titans throwback jerseys the Jets wore last weekend were awful. If the club had any taste, they'd throw them back to where they came from...
Sean Payton said Thursday that he hopes injured tight end Jeremy Shockey and receiver Marques Colston are back for Sunday's game against the Panthers.
