After a rough 1st quarter giving up 14 points the Saints defense stepped up only allowing 6 points the remainder of the game, and played well enough to get their offense on the field to score enough to overcome the Carolina Panthers who were clawing as much as possible to get back to 4-4 on the year.

This was a quality win…not a trap game like I heard some analysis say it was or would be. The Panthers need a new quarterback no question about it - that being said, after starting out 0-3 they had gone 3-1 leading up to their game against the Saints. They have talent on that team…you do not go12-4 - a year ago - without talent, good game plan(s), and solid structure.

Well the important thing is the Saints walked away with another win improving their record to 8-0…lets get into the Star Studded Saints for this past week!

Pierre Thomas had a great all around game for 13 carries for 50 yards and 1 touchdown. Thomas didn’t just have a solid running game but also 5 receptions for 31 yards, and what I really like is that Thomas caught every pass Brees threw to him. And you think that is it…nope…Thomas also had one kick return for 19 yards. Which puts him at exactly a 100 yards for the day. Great all around performance for a guy who I really want to see more consistency from as the season continues.

Robert Meachem, played a terrific game at wide receiver for the Saints. Brees threw to him six times and Meachem caught five of them for a total of 98 yards and one of the those catches was for a touchdown.

Lastly for the Saints’ offense is Reggie Bush who had a nice little all around game. I like that the play calling had for Bush to get more involved in the offense. Bush was targeted 9 times by Brees and Bush reeled in 7 of those pass for a total of 37 yards. Bush also had two carries for 16 yards and one punt return for 4 yards. Bush had the ball in his hands 10 times in the game, hopefully that trend will continue and he will be able to get between 15-20 touches per game because - as I have stated before - once he gets the ball in his hands in the hoping open field.

On defense there were players that need to be looked at for Pro Bowl consideration…Darren Sharper most notably. Sharper should also be the front runner for defense player of the year - the way he has impacted the Saints’ defense. In this game he did not have an interception but he still found a way to make an impact. Sidenote - that could be a definition for “greatness”. Sharper had 9 tackles, with six of them being solo and two pass deflections. Sharper did a great job play all over the grid iron, whether it was tackling the Panters’ runningback DeAngelo Williams or help shut down all pro wide out Steve Smith.

Next player who gets a star is Roman Harper, Harper needs to be given consideration for a trip to the Pro Bowl this year as well…but I will go more indepth to the players on the Saints for the half way mark in another column soon to come. Harper had 12 tackles and ten of those were solo…and of those 12 tackles four were tackles loss. Dang! Dude - had a great game, again - like Sharper, someone who goes for interceptions found a way to still have an impact on the game.

Keeping it in the secondary I want to give a star to Tracy Porter who had another productive day at the office acquiring seven tackles and all of them being solo. Porter is on the brink of flirting with the potential to be consider for the pro bowl, if he keeps having the performances he has shown up in the first of the season in the second half, then it will be worth mentioning him. Porter did a great job putting himself in position to make plays and stop the Panthers’ offense.

Middle linebacker Jonathon Vilma should up with a great performance with twelves tackles, ten of them being solo and 2 of them being tackles for a loss of yards.Vilma has been up and down this year, but two out of the last three games he has really started making more of an impact on the field. The former first round pick by the Jets is still showing he has got some juice left in those legs.

Jo-Lonn Dunbar…interesting name…to be honest, wasn’t expecting that to be the first name of “J. Dunbar” when I saw his name appear…but despite his unusual name he had eight tackles and four of them were solo. Pretty good stats for the second year line backer out of Boston College.

Lastly, there is Will Smith, the defensive linemen had another solid game getting four tackles, three of them being solo, 2 being sacks, and one of those tackles that was not a sack was a tackle on the quarterback. Smith has a real noise for sniffing out the quarterback. It is good to see that aggressive motor from Smith because that mentality plays really well into the play calling and scheme defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is dishing up.

While I was impressive with some of what Drew Brees did on the field, I was more disappointed than anything. Brees had two fumbles, one of which he lost, and another interception…which makes seven for the year. Although he has a good ratio of 17 touchdowns to seven interceptions, it is crucial that he limits the amount of times in a game he turns the ball over. The Saints will not be able to win nomatter how great the defense is playing if Brees keeps turning the ball over multiply times per game.

Another ‘aint for the this week has to be Marques Colston, the wide out did not do shit this past week. Colston had been on fire but only caught 1 ball for 45 yards. Which would have been fine except for Brees threw to him 6 times…not a good ratio. I would understand if Brees only threw to him one or two times, but it was clear that Brees was looking for his number 1 target and that they just could not hook up last week.

Oh well - it is a good thing other members of the Saints stood out and shined to led them to victory.

Here is the most updated list for players on the Star Studded Saints through week 9:

(6) SS Roman Harper

(6) SS Darren Sharper

(5) QB Drew Brees

(5) RB Pierre Thomas

(4) WR Marques Colston

(3) Defense

(3) O-Line

(3) RB Mike Bell

(3) CB Jabari Greer

(3) FS Tracy Porter

(3) TE Jeremy Shockey

(3) DE Will Smith

(3) MLB Jonathon Vilma

(2) RB Reggie Bush

(2) OL Jermon Bushrod

(2) KR Courtney Roby

(1) LB Scott Fujita

(1) DE Charles Grant

(1) WR Devery Henderson

(1) P Thomas Morstead

(1) WR  Lance Moore

(1) LB Scott Shanle

(1) LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar

The Next two weeks the Saints play two teams that have a combined total for 2 wins for the season. Don’t let the records fool you…those games could be scary, they are both on the road and the Rams and Bucs…either or both could play big to end the Saints undefeated season, plus you never go into a game (as an athlete) thinking I am going to lose this game. You won’t make it very long in your sport. So the Rams and the Bucs will be walking out onto that field expecting a “W”. Especially when the Saints play their divisional foe , the Tampa Bay Buccannears who could develop chemistry from last weeks win over the Green Bay Packers and grow some confidence leading into their match up against the Saints, especially if they play well and walk away with a win on the road against the Miami Dolphins.

I am confident if the Saints remain focus on the games at hand and do not look ahead - then we will keep our undefeated season alive!

Go Saints!!!!!