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Saints, Brees showing elite status in rout of Giants

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Alex Marvez

Alex Marvez is a Senior NFL Writer for FOXSports.com. He has covered the NFL for the past 17 seasons as a beat writer and is the former president of the Pro Football Writers of America. He also is a frequent host on Sirius XM NFL Radio.

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Updated Oct 19, 2009 2:33 AM ET
     
 

NEW ORLEANS

With three other unbeaten franchises, the Saints can't officially be proclaimed the NFL's best team six weeks into the season. So who is? Or, as they say here in the Bayou, who dat?
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Well, we now know it isn't the New York Giants. Not after the G-Men were handed a lopsided first loss Sunday inside a raucous Louisiana Superdome. No disrespect to Minnesota, Indianapolis and Denver. But it's hard to picture a currently perfect squad playing a near-perfect game like the Saints did against another legitimate NFC powerhouse. A 48-27 Saints thumping was filled with validation of New Orleans' legitimacy from both a team and individual standpoint. New Orleans (5-0) jumped on the Giants (5-1) faster than Mardi Gras revelers grab beads tossed from a parade float. The offensive display was so obscene that the Saints would have blown the game open earlier than the second half if not for shoddy special-teams coverage. Quarterback Drew Brees (369 passing yards, four touchdowns) staked his early claim to NFL Most Valuable Player honors. Tight end Jeremy Shockey gleefully extracted revenge against his former team. The Saints proved their revamped defense and rushing attack are no mirage. Tom Benson even got into the act. The 82-year-old Saints owner cranked out his trademark "Benson Boogie" and led a conga line of cheerleaders around the field once the game ended.
"Everybody showed up," Brees said after a sack-free, turnover-free performance. "The fans were awesome. The defense played great. The offense did what we had to do. "To win the way we did says a lot." Those who doubted the 2009 Saints are legitimate Super Bowl contenders should have become believers by halftime. The Saints scored touchdowns on five of their first six possessions against what was the NFL's top-ranked defense. New Orleans opened by punishing New York on the ground, rushing four times from the Giants' 11-yard line before running back Mike Bell scored on a 2-yard dive. Brees then began an aerial assault that included 15 consecutive completions. Saints wide receiver Marques Colston said New Orleans had targeted New York's secondary for deep passes because of injuries at cornerback and safeties who "haven't really been able to cover some of the better receivers. We knew we could explore some weaknesses." Explore and exploit. Brees connected on eight throws of 19-plus yards — seven of which went to Colston as part of his 166-yard effort — and had another attempt that drew a 35-yard pass interference penalty on Giants cornerback Corey Webster. Shockey, the former Giants star traded to New Orleans in the 2008 preseason, got into the act with a four-catch, 37-yard outing. Afterward, Shockey continued to try to downplay the revenge factor against New York because of the ugly split between both parties. Shockey, though, couldn't contain his emotion on the field. Shockey regularly led cheers from the sideline and did a self-described "riding-the-horse" celebration dance after catching a one-yard touchdown pass to put New Orleans ahead 14-0. "All week long he was pretty tame," Brees said of Shockey. "But you knew the inner fire was burning and just about to explode." Giants quarterback Eli Manning, a New Orleans native, also had ample reason to look forward to Sunday's game. It would be his first inside the Louisiana Superdome, where his father Archie played quarterback from 1975 (when the stadium opened) to 1982. Simply put, this wasn't the kind of homecoming the Mannings had hoped for. Eli was harried into a 14-of-31 passing performance that included one sack and one interception before being lifted late in the fourth quarter. Manning couldn't connect on several shots deep — passes he needed to hit if New York was going to keep pace with the Saints. New Orleans also held the Giants' vaunted running game in check by surrendering a modest 84 yards on 19 attempts. In comparison, the Saints dispelled any lingering belief that they field a "finesse" offense by generating 133 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries. "We could not stop them," said Giants coach Tom Coughlin, whose team had entered with an 18-3 road record in its past 21 games. "There are no excuses. We played poorly. We have to regroup." As for the Saints, the only obstacles to continued success may be injuries and overconfidence. New Orleans had failed to capitalize on the momentum generated by an NFC Championship Game appearance during the 2006 season. But this seems a different squad than the ones in 2007 and 2008 that never strung together more than two consecutive victories in a 24-game span. Said Brees: "The past two seasons, we didn't achieve the goals we set being one of those playoff teams fighting for the No. 1 or 2 seed, knowing the formula of how to win, following it and being disciplined. We lacked consistency. I feel like we've learned from that." Just like the NFL is learning these Saints are for real.
Tagged: Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Saints, Mike Bell, Giants, Jeremy Shockey, Eli Manning

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