After the New Orleans Saints defeated the Carolina Panther today, Saints head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees addressed President Donald Trump’s comments regarding athletes who refuse to stand during the national anthem.
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WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT?: So the Saints can play defense.
It’s a division showdown at Bank of America stadium on Sunday, when the Panthers open NFC South play against New Orleans.
Carolina finally answered with a Cam Newton 3-yard touchdown running, cutting the Saints lead to 27-13.
Another Saints defender, defensive end Cameron Jordan, was more outspoken about his defense’s ability to prey on Newton’s still-rehabbing arm strength.
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has not made a statement, but former National Football League commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who attended Sunday’s game called Trump’s comments “disgraceful”.
You should have just about every able-bodied Panther in your lineup this week. But at the same time, like I said, like I said in my Twitter post, it’s bigger than me, man.
Brees threw an 11 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Coleman, Wil Lutz kicked a 33 yard field goal, and early in the third quarter, Brees threw a 40 yard touchdown pass to ex Panther Ted Ginn, Jr.
Thomas caught seven passes for 87 yards and a touchdown – a 5-yarder that gave the Saints (1-2) a 7-3 lead they never relinquished.
With the Panthers’ receiving corp nursing injuries to Kelvin Benjamin and Greg Olsen, McCaffrey was Cam Newton’s favorite target on Sunday.
It was a day of firsts for three Saints rookies as the Black and Gold handled what was considered to be one of the strongest defenses in the NFL. “And obviously, he has disappointed a lot of people”, Brees said. Absolutely. I am frustrated with my lackluster performance knowing that we are better than the performances we’ve been putting on the past couple of weeks.
In spite of their flaws, the Saints are still a very unsafe team, and the Panthers know it. What they haven’t been so good at is running the ball – the Saints are managing just 70 yards a contest, that’s 28th in the league. Former Saints wideout Brandin Cooks caught five passes for 131 and two scores, while tight end Rob Gronkowski pulled down eight catches for 189 yards and a TD.
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Brees has thrown for 1,252 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions in his last four games against the Panthers. New Orleans ranks third in offensive yards per game, but only 16th in points scored. Or maybe we will see more of Christian McCaffrey… Carolina managed 288 yards of offense Sunday.
