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NEW ORLEANS ― Saints fans must have groaned early in the first quarter when the offense was stuffed inside the 10-yard line on three straight plays, leading to a missed 20-yard field goal.

They likely moaned even more after the first quarter when the Saints gained all of 14 yards while allowing 170 to Cincinnati.

But while it appeared last season’s demons – poor short-yardage play on offense, gashing plays on defense – were rearing their heads in the preseason opener, the Saints, in the end, put the monsters to sleep.

New Orleans held off Cincinnati 17-7 in the Superdome, satisfying Black and Gold fans ready to see any kind of football after an eight-month absence in the Crescent City.

“I was pleased with a few things,” Head Coach Sean Payton said. “I was pleased with how we played defense and created turnovers. That was encouraging. I was pleased how we finished the game in that final drive with the backup players.

“There are a number of things we’ve got to do better. We’ve got to capitalize on that short field position, especially the first one and come away with points. I thought we were sloppy with the ball.

“Fortunately for us it was the first preseason game because we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

It wasn’t necessarily as bad as it sounds for New Orleans (1-0).

Jonathan Vilma, Darren Sharper and the first-team defense did their part, coming up with two first-quarter turnovers and kept the Bengals (0-1) out of the end zone and off the scoreboard.

And Drew Brees showed that with a fully healthy Jeremy Shockey, the offense could be tantalizingly proficient.

Brees finished 6-of-9 for 88 yards, including three passes to Shockey on the Saints first scoring drive.

“Obviously there’s a big trust factor there and that’s something we’ve been working on,” Brees said of Shockey.

But it was Vilma and the first-team defense that had fans on their feet early.

First, Vilma picked up a fumble caused by Sharper and returned it to the Bengals’ 6.

However, three plays netted four yards and Garrett Hartley missed a 20-yard chip shot and the game remained tied at 0.

Two defensive series later, Vilma intercepted a pass thrown by Carson Palmer and returned it to the Cincinnati 3, but he fumbled the ball back to the Bengals when he was trying to switch which hand was carrying the ball.

Cincinnati drove to New Orleans’ 9, but the Bengals missed a 30-yard field goal.

“The first-team played well,” Vilma said. “We tried to accomplish what Gregg Williams has been asking of us in training camp and in OTA’s, getting to the backfield, getting after the quarterback, getting turnovers and trying to do all the things he asks of us.”

With Brees still in the game, New Orleans’ offense went to work. Reggie Bush went off right tackle for five yards, then Brees found Shockey for a 33-yard gain.

A play later, Brees again went to Shockey, this time for a six-yard gain. A 14-yard pass to Marques Colston put the Saints in first-and-10 at the Cincinnati 22.

That’s when Brees gave Shockey his first touchdown as a Saint, splitting two defenders and delivering a perfectly placed pass to the tight end in the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

“It’s just one of those matchup things where I feel like I like my guy over their guy as far as a matchup,” Brees said. “That’s just the middle linebacker trying to run down the middle of the field with Jeremy and he knows that ball is coming and he knows where I’m trying to put it.”

And then the backups entered and the game changed.

More to the point, Jason David entered as the full-time cornerback. The move immediately paid off for the Bengals and worked against the Saints.

After trading punts, the Bengals threw at David twice, picking up a first down the first time and touchdown the second time. Backup Cincinnati quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan looked straight at Chris Henry, who got behind David for a 14-yard touchdown.

David was flagged on the play, but it didn’t matter.

The game was now tied at 7.

But on the Saints’ second series of the second half, second-string quarterback Mark Brunell heaved the ball more than 50 yards in the air, hitting receiver Robert Meachem in stride for a 64-yard touchdown.

“They had seen us running comebacks earlier in the game,” Meachem said. “The corner bit on it. The rest is history. Mark threw a great ball.”

Hartley capped the scoring with a 54-yarder early in the fourth quarter.

by Bradley Handwerger / WWL-TV.com Sports Writer
Saints open preseason with 17-7 win over Bengals | News for New Orleans, Louisiana | Top Stories | News and Weather for New Orleans | wwltv.com

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