SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The New Orleans Saints are going from a prime-time season opener to kick off the NFL season to a second straight game in the national spotlight.
Quarterback Drew Brees doesn’t mind all the early season hype surrounding the defending Super Bowl champions. They’ve had plenty of time to prepare for Monday night’s matchup at San Francisco following their Sept. 9 win against the Minnesota Vikings, a rematch of last season’s NFC championship game.
“Every game is a huge game, especially when you’re going from a Thursday night prime-time game to a Monday night prime-time game,” Brees said.
Running back Reggie Bush makes his first appearance for the Saints since giving back his 2005 Heisman Trophy won while with Southern California. The NCAA punished USC after concluding that Bush and his family took money and gifts from sports agents while Bush played for the Trojans.
Bush’s energy is focused on the 49ers.
“They’re going to be tough,” he said. “It’s at their field, home field advantage. The crowd’s going to be behind them, and anybody who knows Mike Singletary knows how fierce of a competitor he was.”
The Saints sure would appear to have the upper hand against San Francisco. They’re already clicking. They’ve won the last five matchups with the Niners, who will try to get back on track following a dismal 31-6 season-opening loss at Seattle and a week of questions about their offense. Quarterback Alex Smith had problems getting the plays into his ear on time before the headset cut off with 15 seconds on the clock.
Those issues drew criticism of second-year 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye, who stood up Thursday and took the blame for what happened while also defending himself and his NFL coaching career stretching more than three decades.
The Niners didn’t score a touchdown against Seattle and couldn’t score in the second half. They made the very penalties and mental errors that cost them so many times on the road last season, when San Francisco dropped six straight away from the Bay Area and five in a row by a combined 19 points.
New Orleans isn’t too concerned with the 49ers’ early season drama.
“I don’t know what’s going on there in that organization, but I know in our organization everything is good,” Saints running back Pierre Thomas said. “We can’t take this team for granted.”
Brees, Bush and the Saints seem far ahead of the 49ers at this stage.
Brees completed 27 of 36 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings, hitting nine different receivers. That could cause problems for San Francisco’s sometimes overly aggressive secondary.
Winning 14-9 against Minnesota, New Orleans scored its fewest points in a victory since coach Sean Payton took over in 2006. The Saints began the game with Brees leading a five-play, 77-yard touchdown drive in the opening two minutes.
“He’s very efficient. He pretty much knows where he’s going with the ball,” 49ers cornerback Nate Clements said of Brees.
The Saints will try to begin 2-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.
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