Game Preview - Week 8: New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers

New Orleans: OK, so it wasn't impressive but the Saints took care of business against the Falcons last week, getting their second win in a row and pushing their record to 2-4 in the process. A key factor has been quarterback Drew Brees cutting back on his turnovers only throwing one interception the last two games after throwing nine picks during the first four. Reggie Bush has been up to the task, carrying the load for the injured Deuce McAllister averaging 18 carries and 7 catches the last two weeks. The Saints defense will get another off week facing the 49ers offense that may get Alex Smith back but will still have the worst offense in the league at the end of this game.

Start: RB Reggie Bush, QB Drew Brees, WR Marques Colston, TE Eric Johnson
Consider: N/A
Sit: K Olindo Mare WR Devery Henderson, TE Mark Campbell

San Francisco: Things are going so bad in San Francisco that running back Frank Gore has expressed his frustration publicly wondering if the players trust the play-calling of first-year offensive coordinator Jim Hostler. Gore has enjoyed a dismal season along with the rest of the 49ers offense who can't seem to stay healthy enough to remain on the field. QB Alex Smith is expected to return and not a moment too soon as Trent Dilfer has been awful (5 INTs, 3 games). Gore himself has missed practice this week with a sprained right ankle and WR Darrell Jackson is also questionable with a quad strain. If Jackson doesn't play, WR Ashley Lelie would get his first start with the 49ers. All of this smells like another loss and more jawing from Gore on Monday.

Start: N/A
Consider: RB Frank Gore (inj), TE Vernon Davis, WR Darrell Jackson, QB Alex Smith, WR Arnaz Battle, 49ers D/ST
Sit: WR Taylor Jacobs

Krueger's Rankings/Projections

New Orleans Saints
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 11	Drew Brees	Pass: 220, 2 Rush: 5, 0
RB 11	Reggie Bush	Rush: 80, 0 Rec: 5-35, 0
WR 20	Marques Colston	Rec: 5-75, 1
WR 53	David Patten	Rec: 3-35, 0
WR 60	Devery Henderson	Rec: 1-20, 0
WR 61	Lance Moore	Rec: 2-20, 0
TE 6	Eric Johnson	Rec: 3-35, 1

San Francisco 49ers
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 22	Trent Dilfer	Pass: 195, 1 Rush: 0, 0
RB 24	Frank Gore	Rush: 70, 0 Rec: 3-20, 0
RB 31	Michael Robinson	Rush: 35, 0 Rec: 2-10, 0
WR 21	Arnaz Battle	Rec: 7-75, 1
WR 62	Darrell Jackson	Rec: 1-20, 0
WR 69	Ashley Lelie	Rec: 1-15, 0
TE 10	Vernon Davis	Rec: 3-35, 0

View all Week 8 Rankings or Projections

Past Results and Remaining Schedule

New Orleans Saints
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2007-09-06	IND	A	L 10-41	-31
2	2007-09-16	TB	A	L 14-31	-17
3	2007-09-24	TEN	H	L 14-31	-17
4		Bye
5	2007-10-07	CAR	H	L 13-16	-3
6	2007-10-14	SEA	A	W 28-17	+11
7	2007-10-21	ATL	H	W 22-16	+6
8	2007-10-28	SF	A	W 31-10	+21
9	2007-11-04	JAC	H
10	2007-11-11	STL	H
11	2007-11-18	HOU	A
12	2007-11-25	CAR	A
13	2007-12-02	TB	H
14	2007-12-10	ATL	A
15	2007-12-16	ARI	H
16	2007-12-23	PHI	H
17	2007-12-30	CHI	A

San Francisco 49ers
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2007-09-10	ARI	H	W 20-17	+3
2	2007-09-16	STL	A	W 17-16	+1
3	2007-09-23	PIT	A	L 16-37	-21
4	2007-09-30	SEA	H	L 3-23	-20
5	2007-10-07	BAL	H	L 7-9	-2
6		Bye
7	2007-10-21	NYG	A	L 15-33	-18
8	2007-10-28	NO	H	L 10-31	-21
9	2007-11-04	ATL	A
10	2007-11-12	SEA	A
11	2007-11-18	STL	H
12	2007-11-25	ARI	A
13	2007-12-02	CAR	A
14	2007-12-09	MIN	H
15	2007-12-15	CIN	H
16	2007-12-23	TB	H
17	2007-12-30	CLE	A

Offense Stats Comparison

	NO Offense	SF Offense	NFL Average
Points for	16.7	12.7	21.9
Rushing yards	93.0	94.3	111.0
Rushing yards per attempt	3.47	4.16	4.09
Completion %	63.6%	52.5%	62.2%
Passing yards	236.3	125.0	219.7
Passing yards per completion	9.00	8.64	10.63
Passing yards per attempt	5.72	4.53	6.61
Interceptions	1.3	1.3	1.1
Fumbles lost	0.7	1.0	0.7
Sacked	0.3	4.3	2.2

Note: Team statistics are shown as the average per game through Weeks 2 to 7 of the 2007 season after deducting the best and worst value from the data set. The exception is yards per rush attempt, completion %, yards per pass completion, yards per pass attempt and the NFL averages, which are each calculated based on totals through Weeks 2 to 7 with no adjustment.

Defense Stats Comparison

	NO Defense	SF Defense	NFL Average
Points against	21.3	24.0	21.9
Rushing yards	89.0	111.3	111.0
Rushing yards per attempt	3.17	3.82	4.09
Completion %	63.5%	63.7%	62.2%
Passing yards	229.3	212.3	219.7
Passing yards per completion	12.78	10.35	10.63
Passing yards per attempt	8.11	6.59	6.61
INT return	0.7	0.3	1.1
Fumble recoveries	0.0	0.3	0.7
Sacks	1.3	1.7	2.2

Weather

Check the current weather forecast for San Francisco from Weather.com.

Team vs. Team History

New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers
Season	Week	Date	Vis	Home	Score	Winner
2000	10	2000-11-05	SF	NO	15-31	NO
2000	15	2000-12-10	NO	SF	31-27	NO
2001	9	2001-11-11	NO	SF	27-28	SF
2001	17	2002-01-06	SF	NO	38-0	SF
2002	7	2002-10-20	SF	NO	27-35	NO
2004	2	2004-09-19	SF	NO	27-30	NO
2006	13	2006-12-03	SF	NO	10-34	NO

Note: Only playoff games from the 2004 to 2006 seasons are included in the team vs. team history. Playoff games from seasons prior to 2004 are not currently included in the database.

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