Should the Saints bench Brees, Bush, etc?

[Rockerbraves]

Well, for my two cents, I would be much more worried about my team coming out as flat as a pancake after 3 weeks of not playing in anger while the team we would be playing would have been fighting for their playoff lives for most likely at least 2 weeks now (which I fully would expect to happen when players don't get serious contact for 3 weeks) than I would about getting a stud injured playing 2-4 series.

 

If I'm that worried about injuries, what am I going to do - lock my players in rubber rooms for 2 weeks so they don't get hurt somehow in their normal lives, too? I'm sure as hell not going to get beat because my team lacks game conditioning, and about 2 weeks of lack of game contact is about all I'd be comfortable allowing.

 

 

Guess we disagree. From what your saying Florida will certainly beat the Buckeyes since Ohio State has been off longer.

[Randall]

Panthers unsure of which Saints players they'll face

By Darin Gantt · The Herald - Updated 12/30/06 - 12:41 AM

CHARLOTTE -- The Carolina Panthers have a pretty good idea the kind of plays they'll see from the New Orleans Saints.

What they can't be sure of is who'll be running them.

 

Since the Saints can neither enhance or harm their playoff seeding this week -- they're locked into the NFC's second seed and a bye, win or lose -- Panthers coach John Fox said Friday he expects the Saints to give many of their stars plenty of rest.

 

"They're going to rest them, it's just a matter of when," Fox said. "It's a fine line, and like most coaching decisions, you'll get criticized no matter which way you go. The key is when. We can't control that, so we have to get ready for anybody and everybody. They're going to run the same offense and the same defense, so it's just a matter of who's in it.

 

"I expect that somewhere around halftime they may adjust people. And there may be some special characters that may be out before halftime. That's my expectation."

 

One of the players who might get an early day is quarterback Drew Brees, no stranger to meaningless games. When he was playing out the string for San Diego last year, he tore the labrum in his right shoulder while diving for a loose ball in the finale, even though the Chargers had already been eliminated from postseason contention.

 

"I was asked that by our media here and I didn't lay out any plans for them and I won't do it now," Saints coach Sean Payton said earlier this week on a conference call. "I think it's important that we go in and play this game like we do every week. I told our team that it's important we finish strong and we certainly have a lot of respect for Carolina, a team that beat us the first time out. So we're going full-speed, 100 miles an hour and any decisions we make in regards to any substitutions will be made by me, but certainly won't be announced prior to the game."

 

Payton was asked if he was concerned that resting starters, considering the bye week before they'd play again might make them rusty: "I guess it depends on who you talk to," he replied.

 

• QUITE A CHANGE: For the veteran Saints, this year's almost enough to give them whiplash.

 

After slouching through a 3-13 campaign last year, when they were relocated by Hurricane Katrina, the Saints rebounded as one of the league's most consistent teams this year.

 

They suffered a two-game losing streak in midseason, but have closed with four wins in their last five games to wrap up the playoff bye. Running back Deuce McAllister said last week Payton deserves much of the credit for that, for cleaning up what had been a sloppy team under Jim Haslett.

 

"I think it probably starts with, obviously, the head coach and some of the things he's tried to implement," McAllister said. "Just us being a smarter team, being more disciplined. I've always felt that we have had talent, just being in key situations whether it's a game or a stretch of the season where we've had false starts or penalties or too many turnovers and we just couldn't overcome it.

 

"This is my sixth year here and this is my first opportunity to get in the playoffs. Probably like being a little kid, in that aspect, of just excited about going and seeing the emotions of it and seeing how everything picks up."

 

• EXTRA POINTS: Linebacker Thomas Davis (shoulder) and wide receiver Drew Carter (ankle) missed practice again Friday. Both have missed the entire week's work, and are listed as questionable for Sunday's game.

 

Quarterback Jake Delhomme practiced again with no apparent complications, and barring some unforeseen disaster, will start Sunday.

 

Be sure to visit Herald reporter Darin Gantt's Panthers blog for updates on your favorite team at community.heraldonline.com