Fleur-de-Links, October 5: Saints prepare for Redskins | Strief’s biggest regret

Saints News:

A conversation with Drew Brees as he approaches yet another milestone – The Athletic
As Drew Brees prepares to shatter yet another NFL record, he reflects on Sean Payton, his past receivers and when he’ll be ready to walk away.

Zach Strief could well have been in the Drew Brees record book; instead he’ll be haunted forever – The Athletic
“It’s my No. 1 biggest regret in my career, was that play. It’s not even close.” Not that he was totally at fault.

Saints Film Room: Alex Smith and Co. provide new challenges for Saints D – The Athletic
Expect a lot of RPOs and Adrian Peterson in the Monday night game.

Saints looking at all options, including Boston Scott, to return punts | Saints | theadvocate.com
Four players have already returned a punt for the New Orleans Saints this season.

Redskins vs. Saints: Betting odds, top spread pick | SI.com
The Redskins are coming off their bye week, but history suggests that might not be a good thing—Washington hasn't covered the spread in a road game off a bye in 16 years.

Saints keeping focus on Washington as Drew Brees approaches yardage record | NOLA.com
Brees shared some thoughts on Wednesday, but mostly brought the interview back to Monday's game.

Manti Te'o returns, Ted Ginn Jr. only Saints player held out practice | Saints | theadvocate.com
Wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. was the only Saint who did not practice on Wednesday. Ginn has been battling a knee injury,but he has not missed any game time.

Mark Ingram has 'a lot of stuff pent up' for return to Saints | Saints | theadvocate.com
As soon as the sound started to fill the indoor field at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center on Wednesday, Mark Ingram started dancing, his familiar No. 22 back on the

Standing up or hand down, Saints rookie Marcus Davenport is impressing with weekly progress | Saints | theadvocate.com
Sometimes Marcus Davenport has to stand up to put quarterbacks down.

Saints receivers' emphasis on blocking paying dividends in running game | NOLA.com
Extra effort keys big gains

NFL Week 5 questions: Will Saints' Drew Brees break NFL passing mark?
Monday night should be historic for Drew Brees, but there are plenty of other pressing questions throughout the NFL to address first on Sunday.

NFL News:

8 Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 5
8 Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 5: Don't let Calvin Ridley's breakout scare you away from Mohamed Sanu, who leads Falcons wideouts in snaps. Read it now on numberFire, your #1 source for data-driven sports analysis and insight.

Initial NFL evaluations of Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen - CBSSports.com
How have four of the five Round 1 quarterbacks from the 2018 Draft fared at the start of their NFL careers?

Steelers O-line welcomes Le'Veon Bell but knows there are bigger issues to address before he returns - CBSSports.com
Bell is expected to show up during the Steelers' Week 7 bye; hopefully the season won't be lost by then

Four weeks into NFL season, top four rookie quarterbacks starting to make progress - Los Angeles Times
We are a quarter of the way through the season, and the top rookie quarterbacks are all where they were projected to be — in the starting lineup. How Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen have progressed.

San Francisco 49ers: Richard Sherman says QBs should wear flags | The Sacramento Bee
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman lamented the NFL’s new rules that have led to increased scoring and record-breaking numbers.

While Rams practice avoiding roughing penalties, Ndamukong Suh apparently plans to punch QBs into oblivion - CBSSports.com
That's one way to get around the new enforcement of roughing the passer

Ramsey on Tyreek Hill: It's not WR vs. CB matchup - NFL.com
Sunday's Week 5 tilt between the Jaguars and Chiefs has some additional spicy to an already fascinating game. Jalen Ramsey didn't mince words when discussing Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill.

NFL Week 5 game picks: Chiefs over Jaguars; Eagles nip Vikings - NFL.com
Will the Jaguars' defense hand the explosive Chiefs their first loss of the season? Which desperate "contender" will nab win No. 2: Atlanta or Pittsburgh? Elliot Harrison picks every Week 5 game.

LSU News:

Four Downs: Scott Rabalais dips his toes in The Swamp to break down the LSU-Florida game | LSU | theadvocate.com
1. Seeing red

'Just the uniforms have changed:' Dan Mullen dominated LSU last year, now Tigers face him at Florida | NOLA.com
Dan Mullen and his 2017 Mississippi State team beat LSU 37-7 last season. Now, he faces LSU with Florida.

A Q&A from the Florida Gators' sideline | LSU | theadvocate.com
Here's some perspective from the Florida Gators' sideline. Five questions with Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel.

After two quiet seasons, LSU's Stephen Sullivan has blossomed into a solid wide receiver | LSU | theadvocate.com
To know how far Stephen Sullivan has come in two-plus seasons of college football, all one has to do is look back at a seemingly routine 9-yard reception he made

LSU vs. Florida: Who ya got? Advocate experts make their picks | LSU | theadvocate.com
The Advocate's LSU beat team predicts the outcome of Saturday's game with Florida ...

LSU bowl projections for Week 6: Fiesta added and Citrus (again? not likely) | LSU | theadvocate.com
• Bill Bender, The Sporting News: Sugar Bowl vs. Oklahoma

LSU vs. Florida: Betting odds, top spread pick | SI.com
Led by the elite pass-rushing duo of Jachai Polite and Jabari Zuniga, Florida is eyeing an upset win over LSU in Gainesville on Saturday. Can the Gators pull off the cover?