Shockey contributes after the play. (Nam Y. Huh - AP Photo)

3rd Quarter

• The Saints get the opening kickoff to start the half. The offense starts off looking good. Definitely more balance as Pierre gets quite a few handoffs. Even Colinsworth notes the new found balance to open the second half. 
• 11:39 Remaining - Third and 5. Shockey catches his one and only pass of the game for a key third down conversion. 
• 10:26 Remaining - Reggie Bush tries to run it up the right side for no gain. It will be his last carry of the game. Bush gets an earful from Payton on the sideline. It seems fairly obvious he is being told to "just go!"
• 9:36 Remaining - Third and 10. Pierre Thomas gets a short pass and stretches along the sideline for the first. It looks like he gets it but they rule that it is fourth down. Payton challenges the spot and but it's still not enough for the first. They get the first on the following play with a Brees sneak.
• 8:37 Remaining - Saints have first and goal. Brees runs a bootleg to the right and makes a throw to Shockey but Adewale Ogunleye is in his face and bats down the ball into his own hands. Interception. Billy Miller initially had the block on Ogunleye but released to head downfield. Payton is seen yelling at Miller on the sideline.
• 4:37 Remaining - Orton throws a pass over the middle to Rashied Davis but the pass deflects off of his hands and into the hands of - probably quite unexpectedly -  Josh Bullocks. It's a Festivus miracle!
• 3:53 Remaining - Second and 7. Pierre Thomas gets the handoff on the right side and breaks it loose for 42 yards and the touchdown. Freakin' sweet! Pierre has a huge hole the size of Hollis Thomas to run through. Great blocking from Devery Henderson, Jeremy Shockey, and Mike Karney get it done. 21-14 Bears.
• 3:31 Remaining - Matt Forte gets the a handoff but Vilma does an awesome job filling the gap and meeting him at the line for a gain of only 2 yards. Saints force a Bears three and out. 
• 2:02 Remaining - Reggie Bush is back to return the punt. This leads me to believe his lack of playing time in the second half is for disciplinary reasons rather than injury concerns. If his knee was tweaked enough to take him out of the game on offense, why would he be in the game for punt returns?
• The Saints close out the quarter by beginning to move the ball well downfield. 

Reggie makes a run for it. (Reuters Pictures)

1st Quarter

• Well we know how this one starts don't we. Danieal Manning receives the kickoff, gets some good blocks and is gone all the way to the endzone to start the game with a touchdown. It's gonna be a looooong night. By the way, that was Danieal Manning. Not Devin Hester. 
• The Saints offense starts off looking very good. In fact, they are finally using their personell in a way that I approve of; Pierre Thomas doing the running. Reggie Bush catching short screens and then running for yardage. Over the middle passes to Colston. Just perfect.
• 11:38 Remaining - 3rd and 6. Drew doesn't get much time and takes a sack for a loss of 13 yards. Fortunately, the Bears get called for holding and instead of punting it's an automatic first down keeping the drive alive.
• 11:18 Remaining - Saints fall immediately back to 3rd and 10. Brees throws a pass over the middle to Lance Moore but it lands in the open arms of Mike Brown instead. The pass looked to be thrown too far in front of Moore. 
• 11:07 Remaining - Matt Forte runs for the first offensive play by the Bears. He is injured after a Will Smith tackle and doesn't return for a while.
• Saints defense does a good job forcing a Bears 3 and out. Reggie is back to return the punt but slips on the field after making the catch. How many games have the Saints had to deal with poor field conditions this season? 
• 8:04 Remaining - After two Pierre runs and an incomplete pass to Colston the Saints also go 3 and out. 
• 7:51 Remaining - Orton goes deep to Devin Hester who makes a double move on Gay and just burns past him with his speed. Orton overthrows. Whew! Okay, the defense better keep their eye on Hester. They certainly don't want him to keep getting behind the Saints defense. That would spell trouble.
• 6:39 Remaining - Orton completes a 15-yarder to Brandon Lloyd along the left sideline. Jason David was on the coverage. He slips on the field and falls on his hands as he tries to head to the sideline with Lloyd. Probably wouldn't have broken it up anyway. 
• Saints start moving the ball well again. Reggie making some very nice runs. Pierre takes a screen pass for some yardage. Brees, however, has a pass tipped and nearly picked off by Lance Briggs on an attempt to Colston. Running game=good. Passing game=not so good.
• 1:19 Remaining - The drive stalls again and the Saints are forced to punt. Nothing impressive so far on offense. That will pretty much do it for the quarter.

Season Stats

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Per the New Orleans Saints official website.

Payton: “Today Randall Gay seems to be doing pretty well. Jammal Brown has some soreness. I think we’ll be able to battle through that. Courtney Roby’s the one with his ankle that will be questionable this week, whether he’ll be able to play. Certainly he’ll be able to practice in a couple days here. Otherwise it’s a short week. There’s a good chance we might be without his services for Thursday’s night’s game”

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Forte tears it up for the Wave. (Photo Source)

The Times-Pic had a nice article on my man Matt Forte. The story discusses the fact that Forte has a good chance to become the number one running back on this team and make an immediate impact simply because he is really the only choice.

"I wasn't really paying too much attention to the situation. A lot of people say, 'Now, your role is more expanded since he's gone,' and all that stuff. But in my mind, it's really kind of the same. Coach Lovie (Smith) took me in, and he was like, 'Don't feel like you have a lot of pressure on you.' My mind-set, when I first got there, was I was going to go in and compete and try to get playing time anyway."

Here is what he had to say about the Cedric Benson situation.

"Of course (I feel sorry for him)," Forte said. "You don't want anything bad like that to happen to anybody, especially in the situation he's in. I think having him would have been a lot better for our team. You need at least two or three running backs in the NFL now -- everybody runs with two, or even three.

"I think he really would have helped us out, and it's a shame, because he's a really good guy. I spent a lot of time with him during (offseason training activities) when I was there, and it was just a shame to see what happened.

"You can't harp on it or stay stuck on it. You have to look forward, just like any other obstacle in life."

And here are some more quotes from Forte.

"It's a great task," he said. "I'm just happy to be in that situation. It's a big dream, and we always dream big. So just to be in these shoes right now is a blessing. I'm just ready to prove myself and hopefully, have a career where I can eventually be mentioned among those names.

"I think I've been placed in the perfect situation, with the history of the running backs for the Bears and also the city of Chicago, which is all about Bears football. So I don't think there's any better situation that I could have been in."

"That's just the way God made me," he said. "I'm very relaxed and calm in certain situations. I think that actually helps me in football, during the game, being calm and relaxed.

"I don't get nervous, and it helps me focus. A lot of the game is physical, but I think a lot more is mental ability. My ability to focus is what helps me."

Colston should get paid!(Photo Source)

The Times-Pic also had another article, this one about the contract situations of Marques Colston and Jahri Evans. Their feelings on the situation...

Don't panic, though, Saints fans. I'll be shocked if they don't work out deals with both players at some point, this year or next.

It then goes on to say how valuable both players are, particularly Colston. Evans happens to be underrated because he plays a low profile position. Trying to gauge their value is difficult however, because they have not been in the league very long. Read the entire article for more of Mike Triplett's reasoning.

Check out this video of Reggie's Free Flo Do workout. They keep saying it looks hard but it doesn't look that hard to me. Not saying I could do it, but it looks kinda fun.

If you were wondering what Reggie did for his Fourth of July, we need only to check Kim Kardashian's official blog. The Bush and Kardashian families spent the day together at Reggie's house. There was much Rock Band to be played and even an American flag cake. By the end of the day, everyone wound up in the pool.

This doesn't really look safe and the risk for injury in this situation is high.

The Times-Pic has an update on the Charles Grant story.

Saints defensive end Charles Grant reportedly is facing a $5 million civil lawsuit in addition to legal charges stemming from his alleged involvement in a fight that led to the shooting death of a pregnant woman outside of a nightclub in Blakely, Ga., in February.

According to WGNO-TV, Grant's attorney, Edward Tolley, confirmed that the aunt of victim Korynda Reed filed the lawsuit. Tolley could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and details of the suit could not be confirmed.

The article also says that it is not known whether the family filed civil lawsuits against any of the other defendants. I'm sure none of them have as much money as Charles Grant either.

Houma Today had an article from Teddy Renois giving his all-time Saints team from 1970-1979. The older fans might enjoy this one.

One thing I learned from this one is that there was a Saints player named Happy Feller.

In a piece ESPN was writing about Rodney Harrison being a dirty player, we learn a little something about our very own Will Smith.

A review of data since 2001 shows Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson with a league-high 17 personal fouls. Harrison and New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith are tied for second with 14, followed by Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour (13), Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor (12), late Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor (12) and Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Shaun Rogers (11).

I never really knew that about Big Willy Style.

Check out some new Fan Shots I put up from Kim Kardashian's official website. Feel free to go nuts with that section, its all yours. You can rec pictures you like so they go to the top of the list. Same applies for Fan Posts. Of course you can also comment on them as well.

If for some reason you were planning to bet on the Saints this season, I have found some advice for you. This comes from Covers.com.

Fred (St Louis) - Will the New Orleans Saints bounce back this year and make it into the playoffs?  And are they a good bet at 11-10 to win there division or would it be even better to bet them to win the conference at 8-1?

Michael Perry: Let's say you had $500 to bet and were deciding which one to do. I would put $400 to win $440 to win division and $100 to win $800 on the NFC. Diversify your betting porfolio. That way you wont be yelling at yourself, "Why didnt I pull the trigger on the Saints?"

That is too funny. The things I find for you guys.

This one isn't really Saints related but I will be following Matt Forte very closely this year, and yesterday he was officially signed by the Bears. Per the Chicago Bears official website. The field is wide open at the running back spot in the windy city, so he could very well be starting in week one. Last I heard, the team was very impressed with him during OTAs and minicamp. Roll Wave!