This is always much more fun to do and to read after a win. I hope you guys enjoy basking in the glow of this weeks victory. Make the jump for your quotage! 

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My mother said it best on Sunday. It was sometime shortly after Deuce got his touchdown.

"It's nice having Deuce back isn't it?"

Keep in mind this is a woman who knows nothing about football. She's not a Saints fan. The last time she attended an NFL game was to see the Jets play...in Shea Stadium. But her comment and the amateur opinion behind it couldn't ring more true. If it was that obvious to someone like my mother then it had to be obvious to every Saints fan.

By now we have all been reminded how much this team missed Deuce. He brings exactly what this offense has been missing and after such a long time of not seeing it, I personally forgot how important he is to this team. Having a threat in the running game like Deuce keeps the defense honest and it opens things up for Drew's passing and for Payton's play calling. Pierre Thomas is a great running back and I still love him, but Deuce is just special.

Deuce brought something else with him for the Saints in this game however, either by random coincidence or as a direct result of his play.

The rest of the team.

It has been consistency's evil twin brother, inconsistency, at the very root of the Saints woes for years. If one player has a good game another player is usually slacking. A great play is often followed by an incredibly idiotic blunder (see: River City Relay). Unfortunately, games when the Saints fire on all cylinders are few and far between. Dallas in '06 was one of those games. Thanks greatly to Deuce, his talent and the influence and inspiration he brings, Sunday was one of those games. It's an awesome feeling, like when you drive to work and catch every light and make every great lane changing and traffic avoiding decision arriving in the most efficient way possible, knowing you couldn't have done it any better. The Saints finally looked as good on the field as they do on paper and it was a thing of beauty.  

Think back to this summer before a down was ever played by the 2008 New Orleans Saints. What were some of this seasons main keys for success?

• Can Deuce McAllister get back to his original form after two knee surgeries? I think he is well on his way.
• Is this secondary improved and can it stop the big play? Yes sir.
• Will this be Reggie Bush's break out year? 440 yards, 3 TD's and a punt return for a TD in 4 games is pretty good to me.
• Will the pass rush be improved and will they get more production out of they're high paid ends? Check!

Sunday's win over San Francisco gave a lot of answers - very good answers - to any remaining questions about how good this team can actually be. Most importantly, questions about The Deuce. This was the game Deuce finally came back and proved himself. Even better, this was the game Meachem and Moore broke out. This was the game Devery got his hands back and won everyone over again. This was the game our defensive line dominated. This was the game the secondary came up with some big turnovers.

Now that the Saints have correctly answered all the necessary questions for success the only question remaining is, "Will it last?" The Saints are currently 2-2 and standing at a crossroads. What path they choose is yet to be determined but there are two most likely scenarios:

1. The Saints start putting a few wins together, taking advantage of a home stretch and continues to get stronger as key players return.
2. The Saints continue to be inconsistent - winning some, losing some - and play mediocre ball at best.

This makes the Saints week 4 win over the Niners the official turning point of the 2008 season. The Saints season officially starts right now and the decision is in every players hands. If Deuce is in fact the missing link the Saints should be well on their way to a playoff spot. It is time to start that march to Tampa. We have seen what this team is capable of and we know what we can realistically expect. This will be the week that we inevitably look back at, either angrily and wondering why we never got a chance to see such brilliance again or fondly as the moment the team finally gelled and the big picture was realized. Either way, it's a new day in Who Dat Nation.

Deuce is back and the rest of the team is right behind him. Here's hoping they stay awhile.

(A big thank you and shout out to MtnExile, CSC's photoshop genius, for the awesome picture above! He has a true talent and I hope to have him help out more and lend those talents whenever at all possible. Again, thanks so much!!) 

Below are the transcripts from post game interviews conducted with the team. These were taken from the New Orleans Saints official website.

Sean Payton

Opening Statement…

"A couple of notes just with the injuries, we lost two players during the game. They should be alright but we will see where they are on Wednesday, David Patton started early on the in the nickel and went out with a groin (injury) and Chris Reis left the game with a hamstring injury. I was pleased with our effort today. I thought we played inspired despite some of the setbacks we have had injury-wise and with the suspension of Jammal Brown. I thought our guys played hard on both sides of the ball, particularly I thought we rushed the passer well, I thought we had good balance offensively, I thought the quarterback played well and we did a great job blocking up front. It was great to see Deuce (McAllister) back in there. He did a nice job for his first game with the most amount of work. I was pleased with the effort. We were battling early in the first quarter and got things going a little bit in the second quarter. That is a better 49ers team than we played in the last two years, much better, and I think our players understood that, but it was a good win for us at home. We have a little bit of a longer work week this week with a Monday night game. Any Questions?"

Q: What made you feel like this was the game to set Deuce McAllister loose?

A: The thing we tried to do before the opening game was sit Deuce (McAllister) and Mike (McKenzie) down and tell them that is was going to be a process. We have to bring you along and it just takes time. You just have to be smart. I said this last week, our plan was going to be a lot more through the air. We just felt by the nature of the game that this week we had a chance to run the ball more. We saw a lot of nickel defense and we felt like we could take advantage of that so we kind of mixed up our personnel and it worked out pretty well. We made some good plays. The one thing I have been happy about is we have been able to get the ball down the field in all of our games."

Q: Can you talk about the job the young receivers did, particularly Robert Meachem and Lance Moore?

A: The both made plays. Robert (Meachem) made some big plays for us down the field and Lance (Moore) has been playing well really this whole training camp and this whole season, he came up big today, especially on some third down plays. That is how it is, when you are not 100 percent healthy someone else very talented is in the game and obviously the quarterback has confidence in these players just as we as coaches do. We just have to battle through this injury thing and it just something mentally we cannot allow to be a factor in how we play. The key is working through the week in practice and making sure we are doing the right things from a rotation standpoint, but I was pleased with how we handled that. With all the guys that didn’t practice this week, and we had a lot, I have never been a part of a week in preparation where so many guys missed practice, and I thought we handled it pretty well today."

Q: Can you talk about the secondary play and if it led to good pressure on the QB?

A: I thought we did some good things, especially some of the man coverages you saw. We caused some turnovers. I thought we played the ball pretty well. I thought we hit the quarterback, which was good. I think when they became a little bit one dimensional, which was really late in the third quarter, fourth quarter that we were able to benefit from that. I thought defensively we played well against a good team on offense and certainly a good running back. We talked about it a lot to our team this week that these guys had a lot more confidence on offense and I think it is a really good football team we played today so that was encouraging. I thought the back end played well, I thought they played physical and it was a good effort.

Q: With Deuce McAllister’s increased touches, how does it change the look of the offense?

A: You’re just trying to spread some of these touches around without being too fancy. Those were some tough yards he was getting for us so he did a good job. It goes back to just trying to take advantage of the players you think can move the football. Instead of play action passes and running the play action down there at fourth-and-one, those are the little things that benefits your play action passing game, benefits your running game and benefits you first down numbers. Right now with the way our quarterback is playing, it becomes a lot easier to be a play caller. His decision making, his accuracy and what he is doing with his offense is obviously pleasing and its really something else. We are going to continue to be aggressive and keep mixing the personnel up and trying out the best plan each week to move the ball and score points. That is what we are trying to do."

Q: Can you talk about the importance of taking advantage of the home field?

A: Once we got into the situation with a little bit of a lead then the crowd noise becomes more a factor. I credit San Francisco, they came out with a good first drive and moved it into field goal range and cam out with the points. We struggled a little bit early but then I thought we settled down and made some plays and that was encouraging, in the second quarter especially so it was good. I thought the fans were outstanding, it was loud and it makes it hard to operate offensively. The next home game is a Monday night game and particularly the night games have been even louder so we look forward to that. They (the fans) did a lot of big things for us and it is good."

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS PLAYERS

#98 DE Sedrick Ellis

On getting defensive credit

"You pride yourselves in winning games in this league. We pride ourselves on winning games and making sacks and getting tackles. Saying that you are close doesn’t cut it. I think it makes a lot of people feel better that we got pressure on the quarterback. I think the defensive line has a lot of potential. We are continuoing to get a lot better the more that we gel."

On getting pressure on J.T. O’Sullivan

"We honestly kept doing the same things we have been working on. We really didn’t change anything. We just all had more intensity today. We refused to be denied. Charles Grant had a great game today. Some of the older guys have been leading the way for us."

#22 CB Tracy Porter

On how the defensive pressure helped the secondary

"The defensive pressure was great. It made the quarterback make quick decisions which resulted in our favor. It starts with the front line. They can really make it easy for us."

On his interception

"We were playing a three deep coverage. The guy thought he had a wide open inside. I read it and stayed on his hip. I read the quarterback. I saw that he was looking at him the whole time and at the last second I under cut it and made a play."

#43 S Kevin Kaesviharn

On his interception

"Their tight ends like to run the seam routs. I favored that side the whole way. They ended up running a wrap play where they run a guy short and run a guy just behind him. They want to see if you are going to jump the short route or jump the deep route. They are going to try to take the one that you don’t jump. I was able to sit between both of them and I made a play when (O’Sullivan) through the ball."

#91 DE Will Smith

On his forced fumble

"We knew he was a scrambler and he wasn’t holding on to the ball. Coach Ogeron emphasized all week to keep staying after him and finishing our rushes. I think finishing was the word of the week. We hadn’t finished the two weeks prior. I saw an opportunity with him running with the ball. I just went after him and knocked it out."

#26 RB Deuce McAllister

On his performance

"The most important thing for us was to get a win. We had a sour taste in our mouths the last to weeks with games we thought we should have won. That’s water under the bridge for us. We wanted to get a win. I can’t say it was a must win, but it was a game that we definitely needed. I just tried to come out and contribute and make plays when I had an opportunity."

On his touchdown

"It was pretty exciting to get in the end zone after not playing for a year. I had to let Patrick Willis know that I still had it and that I could go over the top. It felt good just to be able to get in the end zone."

Here are your predictions for yesterdays game. Check out who was close and who was wrong. Then vote for who you think was most accurate. 

Alright guys, the polls are now open!

This weeks grades are pretty optimistic after a pretty impressive all around performance from the entire team. 

Quarterback A

Nothing unexpected here. Drew is the rock of this team. He is quietly putting together an MVP caliber season. He looked a bit off at the very beginning and threw an interception but the rest of the game more than made up for it and earning him this grade. He makes it look so easy. 

Wide Receiver  A

One hand washes the other. If Drew has a good game it would be pretty unlikely that the receivers didn't put up big numbers too. This should be an A+ really because they got all of this done with Colston or Shockey. These guys made some amazing catches yesterday. Deep passing plays to Moore, Meachem and Henderson were all crushing for the Niners defense. They made San Francisco's secondary look like the Saints' of old. 

Running Back B

This wasn't a dominating performance but it was statement game for sure. The numbers may not show it but the running game was important in this game. Having a threat on the ground opened up the passing game for Brees and company. The Siants were also successful converting those all important short yardage plays. Reggie Bush was pretty much a no show but the Niners were focusing and game planning for him all week. 

Offensive Line B

Drew never hit the ground once. Deuce seemed to have bigger holes than usual to run through but his running ability may help too. Carl Nicks did a good job filling in. Still not dominant on the line enough for an A.

Defensive Line A

A great performance by the line. This was exactly what we know these guys are capable of and it's great to see if finally be executed. Charles Grant was just a monster. Sedrick Ellis continues to look like a great draft decision. Kendrick Clancy is getting in the mix as well. Bobby McCray was the only slight disappointment yesterday. 

Linebackers B

Vilma got back to form this week tying for a team high 7 tackles this game. Shanle and Vilma had less productive afternoons. Overall, a pretty quiet game from this unit. 

Secondary A

Talk about a noticeable upgrade. This unit has gone from losing games for us to winning them. Two interceptions in the end zone. No huge plays. Even Jason David looked solid. The cornerbacks and safeties both played well together. We can't ask for much more than this after last season. 

Agree? Disagree? What grades would you give?

This was a fun one to be in attendance for. The Saints played a full game on both sides of the ball and put together a convincing win. I think this could be a turnaround game for this team this season.

We are gonna get into the game much more, but I wanted to get these up for you first. Below are my notes and initial reactions from the game.

• Before the game they played a video with Saints mascots Sir Saint and Gumbo working out to the song "Gonna Fly Now" the theme to Rocky. The crowd was then introduced to the new and improved, completely ripped, physically fit, steroid using Gumbo carrying a barbell.
• Jon Secada sang the National Anthem. And by sang I mean butchered. He added his own little riffs and even went falsetto at the very end. I will give him credit though because he really got into it, bending at the waist and pointing all around. It was a good laugh. He should stick to the script though. I hate when people use our country's anthem like its an American Idol tryout.
• It was supposed to be rally towel day but I don't think they did a very good job of handing them out. I didn't have one and I didn't see too many people with them.
• They actually played football while we were there too.
• You know we gotta start this off with Deuce. Payton kept his word and gave him a fair share of carries. It was awesome. On his first run a huge pile of 49er defenders formed on and around him like a rugby scrum in an effort to try and take him down. The next thing you saw was the entire pile move forward as Deuce kept churning, taking about ten guys with him. The crowd went nuts and it was a statement first run. The rest of the day Deuce continued to pick up nice chunks of yardage as the crowd chanted "Deeeeeeeeuce!" throught the entire afternoon. The fans demanded he get the ball for his touchdown on the goal line series.
• Was that blood on Deuce's jersey?
• Brees looked a little off at the start but then turned back to the player he really is: the best quarterback in the NFL. Period.
• Moore, Meachem and Henderson all had great games thanks in large part to my previous point. Brees makes amazingly perfect throws and these guys all come up with equally impressive catches. Lance continues to have hands of glue, though he lost his shoe on his touchdown, and Meachem is going the way of Colston (plain scary!).  That catch on the fleaflicker was just amazing. When the ball was in the air I kept thinking to myself there is no way. Couldn't believe it when he came down with it. I just can't say enough good things about Moore. I think FrenchFreak summed it up pretty well..."Reliability is spelled L-A-N-C-E."
• You know its a good day when Devery isn't dropping a deep ball! Just think how dangerous this unit will be when Colston and Shockey return.
• The defense as a whole looked great. They didn't give up a touchdown until late in the game. Getting key turnovers like two interceptions in the end zone is so unfamiliar and unexpected but so game changing and fun to watch.  
• Talk about bringing some pressure. This was a sack-fest. Charles Grant had a great day with two sacks. After his second sake he did a funny little shimmy. Sedrick Ellis got one. Clancy too. Will Smith forced a fumble that Vilma recovered.
• The safeties really stepped it up today. Obviously Kaesviharn had his interception. The last time he did that in the Superdome he was doing it for the Bengals. He also laid some guy out coming across the middle just after the receiver missed the catch. Roman Harper almost had his own interception but it went off his hands. How often do we ever talk about our safeties like this? Never. This is refreshing.
• Tracy Porter and Mike McKenzie got the start. That is my ideal combo. Jason David came in for nickel packages. They all looked good. Porter had a great interception. It's hit or miss with him. He makes huge plays but also gives up a couple of big ones also.
• Usama Young looked like he had a really good game. He made some great tackles on special teams and even got involved in the secondary. I liked what I saw from him today.
• The tackling in general looked much better. Glad to see we have gotten that problem cleaned up.
• Not much to get excited about from Reggie.
• Did Weatherford kick one of the kickoffs?
• It's fun to watch the special teams guys dance to hip-hop on the 15 yard line while waiting to kick it off. Jason David has some moves.
• I guess with Deuce back now we will be seeing less of Pierre. I'm okay with that if Deuce continues to run the ball like he did today.
• My mother has been in town so I took her to this game, her first. In 2006 I brought my father to the Niners game when Reggie ran for three touchdowns. My parents seem to be good luck.
• Whats the deal with the Cort Comfort Zone? For those of you who don't know, Cort is a company who sponsors games and chooses a couple of fans to sit in nice couches that they have set up, but it seems they are set up in the back of the section, under the overhang and out of eyesight of the game. Why would anyone want to sit there?
• There was a Niners fan with his wife sitting in front of me. He got a little ribbing but he said everyone was very nice and treated him well.
• The Tenet Choices old person of the week was some 95 year old woman who looked like she was 65. She was doing chin ups. Very impressed.

Here are some pictures for you guys.

 
My transportation for the day.

Walking up to the Dome.

The giant turkey legs I told you about last time.

Lance Moore being introduced.

Jon Secada.

Urlacher? Really?

Halftime festivities.

Willie Roaf driving around the field at the half.

The coolest pencil ever!

New jacked up Gumbo.

The Niners about to get a first down late in the game.

Here is the roll call for the open game thread. Thanks to everyone for participating.

San Francisco 49ers (2-1)		GAME #4		New Orleans Saints (1-2)
		VS.

This being a home game I will of course be in attendance and unable to join you guys for this glorious open game thread but please feel free to enjoy it thoroughly without me.

Check out the official injury report for Sunday's matchup. This was taken from the San Francisco 49ers official website. This information was no where to be found on the Saints official website. Surprise.

San Francisco 49ers

New Orleans Saints

As usual, here is a collection of quotes and links from behind enemy lines. Let's take a look and see what Niner Nation is saying and thinking about Who Dat Nation.

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The following transcripts can be found here and here from the New Orleans Saints official website

Sean Payton

Opening Statement:

“From an injury standpoint, Marques Colston did not practice and he’ll be out. Aaron Glenn (ankle) did not practice and he’ll be out for this game. Randall Gay (hamstring) was limited today; Mike Karney (ankle) did not practice; Mark Campbell (hamstring) was limited today; David Patten (groin) did not practice; Jeremy Shockey (hernia) did not practice and he’ll be out. Those three players – Colston, Glenn and Shockey will be listed as out. Troy Evans (ankle) did not practice today; Jonathan Goodwin  (hamstring) did not practice – he wasn’t on the report yesterday, so that’s the one change. Aaron Stecker (hamstring) was limited; Jammal Brown (hip) was limited; Terrance Copper (hamstring) was limited; Antwan Lake (groin) was limited; Scott Fujita (knee) was limited.”

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Reggie Bush Bush has done well against San Francisco in the past. He has looked great so far this season and there is no reason why this won't continue. In fact, its scary to say, but I think we haven't even seen Reggie get hot yet. The Niners will definitely be keying on him so Reggie will definitely need to elevate his game. Patrick Willis makes a lot of tackles so Bush has a tough matchup over the middle on Sunday. 

Lance Moore/Robert Meachem This is a big opportunity for the two young receivers. Matter of fact, this is really a big opportunity for all of the receivers. Lance Moore has continued to show improvement and we know that Drew has a lot of trust in him. Meachem has also continued to turn in respectable games with big catches. We could definitely see a break-out game from either of these, maybe 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. Maybe even both? That would be sweet. 

Carl Nicks  Time to step up. Nicks is a rookie so he's no where near perfect but I hear good things about the rookie. Losing a good player like Jamar Nesbit hurts but his pass blocking was better than his run blocking and run blocking is what we need more of. With Nicks' size, maybe he will be the key to opening up bigger holes for our running backs. 

Sedrick Ellis/Kendrick Clancy  With Frank Gore and DeShaun Foster toting the rock for San Francisco these two are going to have a long day. The Niners run the ball straight up the middle more than any other direction and average 5.6 yards per carry when doing so, 4th highest in the league. Their success in this matchup with be very key in the Saints stopping the run.

Deuce McAllister  All signs point to yes. I doubt we will see him much, certainly not 20 carries but this should be the official beginning of the comeback. If he dresses and doesn't see the field again, heads are gonna roll. 

J.T. O'Sullivan/Jamie Martin  I just thought it was interesting that the Niners have two former Saints quarterbacks.