Drew Brees has a sore knee. Pierre Thomas has a shaky ankle. We all know Reggie Bush is out for a while, and yet it's still game on.
The Saints, one week after losing a close one to the Falcons, better pick themselves up off the mat quick. The Carolina Panthers come to town.
While their record is 0-3, New Orleans would be foolish to sleep on a team that has had the best running back tandem in the league for three years now. And the Saints have yet to stop that run attack.
Jonathan Stewart and Deangelo Williams single-handedly almost beat the Saints last year and have spit their season series in recent years.
As for the Panthers, coach John Fox is on the hot seat despite losing his franchise quarterback (who should have been gone a few years ago, but he's a Louisiana boy so I'll go easy on him).
Saints coach Sean Payton is watchful of the Panthers, for good reason.
"You have to pay close attention to the weapons," said Payton in a recent interview. "You have to look closely at their two halfbacks, to the experienced offensive line, Steve Smith. From a defensive perspective you study closely the scheme and what they do. It varies with who's behind center, but most importantly is identifying where the threats are and making sure that you know where those guys are on every play. If Clausen is able to hand off with success, that changes his job description for the game."
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