Fleur-De-Links September 22, 2010: Betts is Back and the Falcons are Next

Wednesday is here. That means it's 4 days 'til Gameday.  Satch is laid up by a bad cold, so I'm pinch-hitting for him.  Send him some good thoughts for a speedy recovery.  We certainly can't win if he's out of the game.

First off, is anyone else still high off the win, but also still tired from staying up to watch the whole game and post-game coverage?  I am a tired old man.

The Saints had yesterday off, and today they got started on their preparations for the Atlanta Falcons.  Are you ready for the Falcons?  I am.  I'm also ready for the Saints to play a regular Sunday afternoon game with the rest of the NFL gang. 

Biggest newsbits of the day - the re-signing of Ladell Betts, Reggie's injury updates, and how the Saints will cope with it.  I will cope with it by just calling us Citizen Cope, both because I like his music and his name has the word "cope" in it.

Shuffle along over the jump to find today's selection of links and videos, and tweets.  Vote in the Betts poll, too.  Elaborate and criticize my burger option in the comment section.

Tweets

HeathEvans In all seriousness...congrats to SanFran! Those boys have a heck of a TEAM! They made us earn that 1. They will end up having a good yr! #fb
Jmack37 Golf
jgoody76 He prolly deserved it lol RT @usama_young28: I jus saw Ohio State's mascot getting beat up by Ohio U's during pregame last week.... comedy
Harp41 Thanks everybody for all the shouts the last 48 hrs.. It's time to focus on Atl now
reggie_bush Thank you guys for your well wishes I'll be fine. Be back in not time. More importantly the Saints are 2-0. Getting ready for Falcons next.
reggie_bush *No time....correction
reggie_bush Prayers go out to the family, friends and teammates of Kenny McKinley...I didn't know him but I'm sure he was a great person! R.I.P
dmpressley My boy @reggie_bush will be back in no time I know it..
reggie_bush It puts life into perspective when you hear about people dying or killing themselves. Life is precious and short never take it for granted
reggie_bush It makes you think that your problems are tiny compared to the people who are no longer living and experiencing life.
LanceMoore16 Had a different kind of day off today, but good one of course. Now its time to get some rest n get back to work tomorrow. #improvement
JonVilma51 alright guys we had enough time to celebrate CRUSHING the 49ers..we're looking to atl now,, more importantly,, 3-0!!!

Reggie's Injury and the Running Back Situation - BETTS IS BACK

Reggie Bush should recover from his broken leg for the second half of the season | NOLA.com
Nakia Hogan - The injury won't require surgery. HansDat - So that's...good? Article includes a history of Reggie's injuries.

Sean Payton has to come up with a New Orleans Saints game plan without Reggie Bush | NOLA.com
Finney - We'll see how much Bush means to the offense. HansDat - A lot. He means a lot.  Column includes a graphic of Reggie, showing exactly where his broken right fibula is.

Atlanta Falcons Coach Mike Smith says New Orleans Saints have plenty of options beyond Reggie Bush | NOLA.com
Triplett - Smith says Bush's absence creates 'a little bit of an unknown' HansDat says, "Mike Smith knows how to handle the media."

New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas has great chance to show worth | neworleans.com
B A-W says, "It's Bruiser time!" HansDat says, "He'd better average more than 4 yards per carry."

NFL.com Blogs | Saints not as feared without Bush
Brian Badfinger, er, Baldinger gives us eight sentences on the matter.

Saints re-sign Ladell Betts, release DeShawn Wynn | neworleans.com
Staff report. What goes up, must come down. Spinning wheel of running backs, got to go round. THANK YOU Grumps for first jumping on this story around lunchtime.  Also thanks to SAINTSCHICK for sniffing this out in the rumor stages last night.

Saints bring back Ladell Betts | wwltv.com | Eye on Black and Gold
AP Report - The New Orleans Saints have brought back veteran running back Ladell Betts, who the club had released after the preseason.

Saints shuffle backs, add Ladell Betts - NFC South Blog - ESPN
Pat Y's take on the RB situation. - With Reggie Bush out for the forseeable future, the New Orleans Saints are scrambling to adjust their situation at running back.

Lingering Looks at the MNF Win

Saints simply found ways to win | wwltv.com | Eye on Black and Gold
Jim Henderson - Winners simply find ways to win. And again this night, the Saints did.

These are the kinds of games the New Orleans Saints should expect | NOLA.com
DeShazier - Everybody will be out to knock off the Super Bowl champs. HansDat - They can keep knocking, but we don't have to let them in.

Opportunistic defense carries New Orleans Saints again: film study | NOLA.com
Jeff Duncan's weekly breakdown of the Saints game. HansDat calls this essential reading.

New Orleans Saints kicker Garrett Hartley named NFC special team player of the week | NOLA.com
Nakia Hogan. HansDat says, from goat to G O A T (Greatest Of AllTime)...that's how it is in this league.

New Orleans Saints "Monday Night Football" victory scores big TV ratings | NOLA.com
Dave Walker - Other teams want to be us and everyone wants to watch us.

Focus on the Falcons

Saints Move On From 49ers To Atlanta Falcons | neworleanssaints.com
Justin Macione recaps the Niners game and sets up the Falcons match.

Ryan And Smith Discuss Saints Matchup | neworleanssaints.com
From a media conference call with the ENEMY.

The View from the Falcon's Perch

Can Falcons and ‘D block’ defense contain Saints? | ajc.com
Jeff Schultz

An ode to Jerious Norwood | ajc.com
D. Orlando Ledbetter - Perhaps coach Mike Smith just didn't want to jump the gun on Monday. But we don't why he's gone all Bill Belichick on the media over injuries.

Falcons Vs. Saints: Jenkins And Turner Return, Coleman Still Out - SB Nation Atlanta
News, analysis and opinion from the fan perspective. By Jason Kirk

Falcons make moves to replace Norwood - NFC South Blog - ESPN
Pat Y. Does he count as a Saints media member, or a Falcons media member?

Lagniappe

Which 2-0 teams for real or just fake? - FOX Sports on MSN
Alex Marvez. Guess which one the Saints are.

V-Roll Roll Call

Also, Brian Allee-Walsh of neworleans.com reports from his kitchen without really looking at the camera.