Joseph Matis
August 6, 2007
Felma Arceneaux
August 8, 2007
It was a loss. It was also a lesson.
The New Orleans Saints head back to training camp with plenty of incentive for another week of two-a-days.
“Tonight was a first step, and one that showed where we need to keep working,” Saints tailback Reggie Bush said of the Saints’ 20-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers _ a score that wasn’t a true indication of how much the Steelers dominated.
Pittsburgh dominated on both sides of the ball during the first half, when the first- and second-stringers were in the game. At one point, the Steelers led 17-0 and had outgained the Saints 288 yards to 29.
Pittsburgh completed 10 of its first 14 passes for 202 yards. The Saints completed one of their first 11 passes for 6 yards.
“Just like I told the team after this game, you really can’t spin it any other way than the way we played,” Saints Coach Sean Payton said. “I thought we were sloppy, sluggish. I thought they were more physical than us. We struggled on third down in the first half.”
In fact, New Orleans did not make it past the 50-yard line in the first half of the game.
The Saints first preseason game fell just a week and a half after they reported to training camp. And they were a long way from picking up where they left off last season _ one game short of the Super Bowl.
“Obviously we wanted to start faster, be a little bit more crisp and efficient. They got up on us early,” said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who completed one of six passes for 6 yards before calling it a night after two series.
“Hey, for the first preseason game, I’m just glad to have it under our belts,” he said. “I think we learned something in this game, that we obviously need to be better prepared. And we need to come out and play with a little more energy.”
The good news is that last year, the Saints looked just as bad after three exhibition games and wound up going to the NFC championship game.
So what does the team need to working on heading back into training camp?
“Offense, defense, special teams, penalties,” Payton said. “I can point to 15 things here. That’s the thing that was disappointing,” Payton said. “I’ve got to do a better job. Our staff’s got to do a better job, and that’s really all you can say about it.”
*Saints center Jeff Faine strained a calf and left in the second quarter … The crowd of 22,302 was decidedly filled with Steelers fans, most of them waving Terrible Towels … Saints first-round draft pick Robert Meachem, a wideout from Tennessee, was laid out by a superb hit by rookie cornerback William Gay in the fourth quarter. Gay later picked off a pass.
New Orleans Saints center Jeff Faines (left) fights off nose tackle Hollis Thomas during drills at training camp. (Photo by Rogelio V. Solis
- Associated Press)
