Saints win one, beat Seattle, end of world near

The Saints finally tasted victory Monday night, beating the Seattle Seahawks 28-19 after jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first half. They sacked Matt Hasselbeck five times for losses totaling 29 yards.
"We wanted to come in and try to put some pressure on the quarterback, fly around, get more different looks," said safety Roman Harper, who had two sacks on blitzes.
New Orleans came into the game with one sack this season. To start the game, they sacked Hasselbeck on the Seahawks' first possession. Hollis Thomas dropped him for a 6-yard loss, setting up a punting situation on which the Saints scored on a fumble recovery by Pierre Thomas.
Early in the second half, the Saints sacked Hasselbeck on consecutive plays. Defensive tackle Brian Young sacked him on second down, and Harper sacked him on a third-down blitz. Later, Charles Grant got his first sack this season. Harper got another sack late in the fourth quarter.
"We just rushed," Grant said. "We did a little more blitzing to free up the rush."
As good as the game was, I still maintain that Reggie Bush is not an every-down back. Sure, he needs to be on the field every play, but 3rd and inches, 4th and 1, dude is not gonna be moving many piles forward and it showed. Late in the fourth quarter, Bush eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark, but was stuff for losses on two consecutive run plays, taking his total to about 94 yards. In the fourth quarter, with the Saints driving for another scored he was stood up and fumbled near the goal line. On the next possession he ran the ball on consecutive plays and got about 3 yards total, to finish with 97 yards. They need a big back, someone to do what Deuce McAllister did. I like the move away from Devery Henderson also. Taking advantage of his first start for the Saints, Lance Moore scored his first career touchdown.
Moore, who started at wide receiver in place of Henderson, scored on a 7-yard end-around in the second quarter to give New Orleans a 21-0 lead.
"I had great blocking out there," Moore said, mentioning blocks by Marques Colston and Mike Karney. "There was nobody in my face."
Moore also caught three passes for 35 yards. His 20-yard reception on the Saints' second scoring drive gave New Orleans a first down at the Seattle 35.

Olindo Mare's job is on the line

The Saints have not signed a new kicker as of Wednesday afternoon.
Despite the fact that New Orleans is 0-4 and playing a decent Seattle Seahawks squad Sunday, Coach Sean Payton said it remains a possibility but not automatic, depending on the health of kicker Olindo Mare.
Speaking of automatic, Olindo Mare has been anything but, this year. In addition to the two misses last Sunday against Carolina he is 3 of 7 beyond 30 yards this year.
Mare missed practice Wednesday to rest his sore groin. If Mare doesn't seem to be game-ready by Thursday, Payton said the team might turn to one of the six or seven kickers that tried out on Tuesday. Among that list are veterans Mike Vanderjagt, Martin Gramatica and Billy Cundiff.Others were Shane Andrus, Josh Huston, Brandon Pace and former Tulane kicker Seth Marler, who has a lot of experience kicking in the Louisiana Superdome.
"We wanted to get a handle on what direction we're going if we've got to make a move because of Mare's injury," Payton said.
"I'm friends with some of them," Mare said after sitting out Wednesday's practice in hopes of getting his sore right groin well enough to kick in Seattle on Sunday night. "I knew what was going on and I'm sure from (the Saints') standpoint, if they're not sure I can kick and get any power ... then why wouldn't they" try out other kickers.
"I don't think you can judge a player on one game, though," Mare added. "That's obvious, if you've done it for 10 or 11 years."
Mare kicked hurt against Carolina last Sunday and it showed. He had a 20-yard chip shot blocked early in the fourth quarter, then hooked a 54-yarder wide left with a chance to give the Saints the lead shortly before the 2-minute warning. New Orleans lost 16-13.