Friday, October 11, 2013

5-0 Saints travel to 4-1 New England Patriots

The New Orleans Saints put their unblemished 5-0 mark on the line Sunday in New England tackling
the 4-1 Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Sunday's 3:25 kickoff on FOX matches the two best NFL
road coaches with Bill Belichick, winning 72 percent of his road games, while Sean Payton has
won 64 percent in his Saints' tenure. The quarterback match up is one for the ages with elite QBs Drew Brees and Tom Brady squaring off with each other.
The Saints' offense continues to pour on the points sparked by Brees and tight end Jimmy Graham. Brees is second in the NFL in passing yardage with 1,722 yards only trailing league leader Denver's Peyton Manning, who has connected for 1,884 yards.
Brees is completing 69.7 percent of his attempts with 12 TDs and 4 interceptions. Graham leads the league in receiving yardage with 593 yards on a team-high 37 receptions with six TDs.
The Patriots have struggled offensively with Tom Brady playing without a lot of his previous targets like tight end Ron Gronkowski, who has been out and not played this season. Gronkoski, who was limited in Wednesday's practice is dealing with back and forearm injuries.
Additionally, the Patriots are without the services of receiver Wes Welker, who signed with the Broncos and running back Danny Woodhead, who is with the San Diego Chargers.
Defensively, the Patriots suffered a big blow when they lost nose guard Vince Woolfork for the season due to a ruptured achiles.
The Saints have to find a way to generate some type of running game, which is a glaring flaw for the unbeaten Saints.
The Saints' defense has put up a solid effort helping lead the team to their fourth unbeaten streak at five games in club history to open a season.
NFL analyst and college draft guru Mike Detilier is picking the Saints to upend the Patriots to remain unbeaten. Detillier said New England is the model of consistency in the NFL and has the best coach in Bill Belichick. The Saints had the Patriots' number back in 2009 when Brees tossed for five touchdowns and routed New England.

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