Aug 15
reprint from Matchups forum from New Orleans paper today:
Saints News
Saints playing to win at Miami
Defense eager to face ex-teammate Williams
08/15/02
By Brian Allee-Walsh
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
MIAMI -- For the New Orleans Saints, tonight's exhibition game against the Miami Dolphins at Pro Player Stadium is not about facing former teammate Ricky Williams.
It's about building momentum for the regular season.
"Even though it's a preseason game, we'd like to win and set the tone for the season," Saints defensive tackle Norman Hand said.
"We're looking for more consistency on offense," Saints wide receiver Joe Horn said. "However long the starters play, we want to establish our identity. We won't show a lot of stuff. Against Houston, we showed about 8 percent of our offense; no motion, no shifts, no movement. None of that stuff. But we need to do well with the basics."
Saints coach Jim Haslett said his starters would play most of the first half, depending on the number of plays. After that, fans can expect wholesale substitutions. Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt said he plans to play his starters one quarter.
Four key Saints are not expected to play: fullback Moran Norris (ribs), left guard Wally Williams (knee), defensive end Darren Howard (shoulder) and wide receiver Dont? Stallworth (hamstring).
For Miami, defensive end Rob Burnett, defensive tackle Larry Chester, left guard Mark Dixon and defensive tackle Tim Bowens are not expected to play because of injuries. Running back Robert Edwards, who's trying to come back from a serious knee injury from February 1999, is scheduled to make his first appearance with the Dolphins.
"The main thing for us is go out there and correct the mistakes we made in the first game (a 13-10 loss to the Houston Texans)," Saints cornerback Fred Thomas said. "We want to come out and set the tempo. We want to come out and be the dominant team and build on what we did last week.
"We made some mistakes, but we can learn from them. That's what the preseason is for. We want to treat this game like any other game; we want to win. The coaches are instilling that in us now. They're even telling the younger players not to treat this like a preseason game but to go out there and play to win."
reprint from Matchups forum from New Orleans paper today:
Saints News
Saints playing to win at Miami
Defense eager to face ex-teammate Williams
08/15/02
By Brian Allee-Walsh
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
MIAMI -- For the New Orleans Saints, tonight's exhibition game against the Miami Dolphins at Pro Player Stadium is not about facing former teammate Ricky Williams.
It's about building momentum for the regular season.
"Even though it's a preseason game, we'd like to win and set the tone for the season," Saints defensive tackle Norman Hand said.
"We're looking for more consistency on offense," Saints wide receiver Joe Horn said. "However long the starters play, we want to establish our identity. We won't show a lot of stuff. Against Houston, we showed about 8 percent of our offense; no motion, no shifts, no movement. None of that stuff. But we need to do well with the basics."
Saints coach Jim Haslett said his starters would play most of the first half, depending on the number of plays. After that, fans can expect wholesale substitutions. Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt said he plans to play his starters one quarter.
Four key Saints are not expected to play: fullback Moran Norris (ribs), left guard Wally Williams (knee), defensive end Darren Howard (shoulder) and wide receiver Dont? Stallworth (hamstring).
For Miami, defensive end Rob Burnett, defensive tackle Larry Chester, left guard Mark Dixon and defensive tackle Tim Bowens are not expected to play because of injuries. Running back Robert Edwards, who's trying to come back from a serious knee injury from February 1999, is scheduled to make his first appearance with the Dolphins.
"The main thing for us is go out there and correct the mistakes we made in the first game (a 13-10 loss to the Houston Texans)," Saints cornerback Fred Thomas said. "We want to come out and set the tempo. We want to come out and be the dominant team and build on what we did last week.
"We made some mistakes, but we can learn from them. That's what the preseason is for. We want to treat this game like any other game; we want to win. The coaches are instilling that in us now. They're even telling the younger players not to treat this like a preseason game but to go out there and play to win."