Football Gumbo: To Brees Or Not to Brees?

“But there’s nothing like sampling a little gumbo, a little jambalaya and then diving face-first into a shrimp boil.” - Chris Low, ESPN.com.

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Hello folks and welcome to a tasty mix of news and stories related to the Saints’ upcoming game. Like a good gumbo, it is full of all sorts of awesome ingredients and I will even occasionally add the slightly odd piece of news in the stew. Let’s dive in face-first!

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Crescent City Gumbo

• Saints Offense vs. Cardinals Defense: Who has the edge? Our Bob Rose dissects the matchup.

• Michael Thomas is Worth Every Penny: Our own Monty602 expands on the talent and indispensable value of wide receiver Michael Thomas within the Saints’ offense.

• Drew Brees Hints At Return: The Saints’ starting quarterback could be back behind center tomorrow against Arizona. - from John DeShazier of neworleanssaints.com

• Payton Playing Mind Games: The Saints’ head coach will wait until Sunday morning to name a starter for the Cardinals game.

• Saints Defense Focused on Cardinals’ Running Game: John DeShazier details how the Saints’ defense plans to slow Arizona’s ground game down.

• What Drives Erik McCoy?: Nice feature on the Saints’ promising rookie center by Luke Johnson at nola.com.

• Can Patrick Peterson Guard Mike?: Mike Triplett dives into the appetizing matchup between the Cardinals’ All-pro cornerback and the unstoppable Michael Thomas.

• Right Now, Sean Payton Is The Coach of the Year: Mike Triplett makes the case that no head coach has done a better job than Payton halfway through the 2019 NFL season.

• Reggie Bush, Marques Colston Formally Inducted: The two former Saints greats will be formally inducted into the Saints’ Hall of Fame this evening. They will be in attendance for the Cardinals game tomorrow.

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A Taste from the Other Side

• David Johnson and Christian Kirk Are Game-time Decisions vs. Saints: The Cardinals’ running back and wide receiver are very important pieces for Kyler Murray and the Cards offense.

• Three Big Things: Darren Urban sees three big factors that could decide the Saints-Cardinals game.

• Five Questions from Revenge of the Birds: Our Chris Dunnells answers questions about the Saints-Cards matchup from Seth Cox of the SB Nation Arizona Cardinals’ blog.

• Cardinals Dealing with Injuries Ahead of Saints’ Game: Kevin Zimmerman of arizonasports.com talks about the Cardinals missing pieces and the challenge of playing the Saints’ defense.

• The Patrick Peterson Effect: The return of the All-pro cornerback adds confidence to the Cardinals’ defense.

• “Pass Rush Assassin”: Outside linebacker Chandler Jones will be the Saints’ offense biggest problem on Sunday. Jones already has 8.5 sacks through seven games, and is delighted by the return of teammate Patrick Peterson.

• No David Johnson? Enter Chase Edmonds: Should David Johnson not suit up against the Saints on Sunday, running back Chase Edmonds has what it takes to shoulder the load.

• Kliff Kingsbury Has a Chip on his Shoulder: Cards running back Chase Edmonds talks about why he loves playing for his head coach, and why Kingsbury has a giant chip on his shoulder.

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Wait...What?

• BOOM!: A man in Brazil tried to kill cockroaches that invaded his yard by blowing them up. Yup!