2007 New Orleans Saints season

NFL team season

2007 New Orleans Saints season
Owner	Louisiana Superdome
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	3rd NFC South
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
← 2006 Saints seasons 2008 →

The

Louisiana Superdome and their second under head coach Sean Payton. The team tried to improve upon its 10–6 record in 2006 and its third division title—the Saints' first in the NFC South. Their other two division titles were in the NFC West, prior to the league's 2002 realignment. After opening up the pre-season in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 5, 2007, the Saints ended with a 3–2 pre-season record. The Saints opened the regular season with a nationally televised game against the defending Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts, but ultimately had a disappointing season, finishing 2007 with a 7–9 record and were officially eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2005. The Saints also had no player make the Pro Bowl for the first time since their 1–15 1980 season.^[1]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article:

2007 NFL Draft

2007 New Orleans Saints draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	27	Robert Meachem	Wide receiver	Tennessee
3	66	Usama Young	Safety	Kent State
3	88	Andy Alleman	Guard	Akron
4	107	Antonio Pittman	Running back	Ohio State
4	125	Jermon Bushrod	Offensive tackle	Towson
5	145	David Jones	Cornerback	Wingate
7	220	Marvin Mitchell	Linebacker	Tennessee
Made roster

[2]

Personnel

Staff

2007 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office Owner/president – Tom Benson Owner/executive vice president – Rita Benson LeBlanc Executive vice president/general manager – Mickey Loomis Vice president of football administration – Russ Ball Vice president of player personnel – Rick Mueller Director of college scouting – Rick Reiprish Director of pro scouting – Ryan Pace Head coaches Head coach – Sean Payton Assistant head coach/linebackers – Joe Vitt Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/offensive line – Doug Marrone Quarterbacks/passing game – Pete Carmichael, Jr. Senior offensive assistant/running backs – George Henshaw Wide receivers – Curtis Johnson Tight ends – Terry Malone Offensive assistant – Joe Lombardi

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Gary Gibbs Defensive line – Marion Hobby Assistant defensive line – Dennis Allen Defensive backs – Tom Hayes Defensive assistant/secondary – Tony Oden Defensive assistant – Joe Alley Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – John Bonamego Assistant special teams – Greg McMahon Strength and conditioning Head strength and conditioning – Dan Dalrymple Assistant strength and conditioning – Adam Bailey

Roster

2007 New Orleans Saints final roster

	Quarterbacks  9 Drew Brees 10 Jamie Martin  3 Tyler Palko Running backs 24 Chris Barclay 25 Reggie Bush 44 Mike Karney FB 27 Aaron Stecker 23 Pierre Thomas Wide receivers 12 Marques Colston 18 Terrance Copper 19 Devery Henderson 17 Robert Meachem 16 Lance Moore 81 David Patten Tight ends 85 Ronnie Ghent 82 Eric Johnson 83 Billy Miller		Offensive linemen 65 Andy Alleman G 70 Jammal Brown T 74 Jermon Bushrod T 73 Jahri Evans G 52 Jeff Faine C 76 Jonathan Goodwin C 67 Jamar Nesbit G 78 Jon Stinchcomb T 64 Zach Strief T Defensive linemen 71 Kendrick Clancy DT 97 Josh Cooper DE 94 Charles Grant DE 92 Orien Harris DT 96 Antwan Lake DT 91 Will Smith DE 99 Hollis Thomas DT 98 Renaldo Wynn DE		Linebackers 54 Troy Evans OLB 55 Scott Fujita OLB 59 Matt McCoy OLB 50 Marvin Mitchell MLB 58 Scott Shanle OLB 51 Brian Simmons OLB 53 Mark Simoneau MLB Defensive backs 20 Jay Bellamy SS 29 Josh Bullocks FS 21 Jason Craft CB 42 Jason David CB 41 Roman Harper SS 43 Kevin Kaesviharn FS 39 Chris Reis SS 22 Fred Thomas CB 38 Usama Young FS Special teams 47 Kevin Houser LS  1 Martin Gramatica K  7 Steve Weatherford P		Reserve lists 69 McKinley Boykin DT (IR) 35 Jamaal Branch RB (IR) 80 Mark Campbell TE (IR) 37 Steve Gleason S (IR)  2 Olindo Mare K (IR) 26 Deuce McAllister RB (IR) 34 Mike McKenzie CB (IR) 66 Brian Young DT (IR) Practice squad 84 Aaron Brown WR 75 Tim Duckworth G 40 Kevin Dudley FB 62 Marcus Green DT 86 Buck Ortega TE 36 Anwar Phillips CB 88 Dante Ridgeway WR (IR) 93 Josh Savage DE Rookies in italics 53 active, 9 inactive, 7 practice squad

Preseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
HOF	August 5	vs. Pittsburgh Steelers	L 7–20	0–1	Fawcett Stadium (Canton, Ohio )	Recap
1	August 10	Buffalo Bills	L 10–13	0–2	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
2	August 18	Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–19	1–2	Paul Brown Stadium	Recap
3	August 23	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 30–7	2–2	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
4	August 30	Miami Dolphins	W 7–0	3–2	Louisiana Superdome	Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 6	at Indianapolis Colts	L 10–41	0–1	RCA Dome	Recap
2	September 16	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 14–31	0–2	Raymond James Stadium	Recap
3	September 24	Tennessee Titans	L 14–31	0–3	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
4	Bye
5	October 7	Carolina Panthers	L 13–16	0–4	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
6	October 14	at Seattle Seahawks	W 28–17	1–4	Qwest Field	Recap
7	October 21	Atlanta Falcons	W 22–16	2–4	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
8	October 28	at San Francisco 49ers	W 31–10	3–4	Monster Park	Recap
9	November 4	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 41–24	4–4	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
10	November 11	St. Louis Rams	L 29–37	4–5	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
11	November 18	at Houston Texans	L 10–23	4–6	Reliant Stadium	Recap
12	November 25	at Carolina Panthers	W 31–6	5–6	Bank of America Stadium	Recap
13	December 2	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 23–27	5–7	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
14	December 10	at Atlanta Falcons	W 34–14	6–7	Georgia Dome	Recap
15	December 16	Arizona Cardinals	W 31–24	7–7	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
16	December 23	Philadelphia Eagles	L 23–38	7–8	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
17	December 30	at Chicago Bears	L 25–33	7–9	Soldier Field	Recap

Standings

NFC South
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9	7	0	.563	5–1	8–4	334	270	L2
Carolina Panthers	7	9	0	.438	3–3	7–5	267	347	W1
New Orleans Saints	7	9	0	.438	3–3	6–6	379	388	L2
Atlanta Falcons	4	12	0	.250	1–5	3–9	259	414	W1

Week-by-week results

Week 1: at Indianapolis Colts

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	10	0	0	10
Colts	7	3	14	17	41

at

Indianapolis, Indiana

• Game time: 8:30 p.m.
  Walt Anderson
• TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels and John Madden

Game summary

The 2007 New Orleans Saints began their regular season in the

annual Thursday night Kickoff game against the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. In the first quarter, New Orleans trailed early as Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning completed a 27-yard TD pass to WR Marvin Harrison for the score of the period. In the second quarter, the Saints managed to get their only touchdown of the game as DB Jason David (a former Colt) returned a fumble 55 yards to the endzone. Afterwards, New Orleans took the lead with kicker Olindo Mare getting a 34-yard field goal. Indianapolis tied the game prior to halftime with kicker Adam Vinatieri nailing a 33-yard field goal. In the second half, the Colts dominated the rest of the game. During the third quarter, RB Joseph Addai got a 2-yard TD run, while Manning hooked up with WR Reggie Wayne on a 29-yard TD pass. For the fourth quarter, Indianapolis wrapped up the game with Vinatieri getting a 33-yard field goal, Manning & Wayne hooking up with each other again on a 45-yard TD pass, and DB Matt Giordano

returning an interception 83 yards for a touchdown.

With the loss, the Saints began the year at 0–1.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 1:36 – 27-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Adam Vinatieri kick) (IND 7–0)

Q2 – NO – 11:32 – Jason David 55-yard fumble return TD (Olindo Mare kick) (7–7)

Q2 – NO – 6:30 – Olindo Mare 34-yard FG (NO 10-7)

Q2 – IND – 0:45 – Adam Vinatieri 33-yard FG (10–10)

Q3 – IND – 9:45 – Joseph Addai 2-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (IND 17–10)

Q3 – IND – 6:11 – 29-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Vinatieri kick) (IND 24–10)

Q4 – IND – 14:12 – Adam Vinatieri 33-yard FG (IND 27–10)

Q4 – IND – 10:05 – 45-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Vinatieri kick) (IND 34–10)

Q4 – IND – 0:55 – Matt Giordano 83-yard interception return TD (Vinatieri kick) (IND 41–10)

Week 2: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	0	7	7	14
Buccaneers	7	14	7	3	31

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  Gerry Austin
• TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen (play-by-play) and Tim Ryan

(color commentator)

Following their season-opening loss to the Colts, the Saints flew to Raymond James Stadium for an NFC South duel with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the first quarter, New Orleans trailed early as Bucs RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams got a 1-yard TD run for the only score of the period. In the second quarter, the Saints continued to struggle as Tampa Bay QB Jeff Garcia hooked up with WR Joey Galloway on a 69-yard TD pass and a 24-yard pass.

In the third quarter, the Buccaneers extended their lead with Williams getting another 1-yard TD run. Afterwards, New Orleans finally got on the board with FB Mike Karney getting a 1-yard TD run. However, in the fourth quarter, Tampa Bay closed out the game with kicker Matt Bryant's 27-yard field goal. The Saints got the final score of the game as QB Drew Brees completed a 4-yard TD pass to WR Marques Colston.

With the loss, the Saints fell to 0–2.

Week 3: vs. Tennessee Titans

Trying to snap a two-game skid, the Saints played their Week 3 Monday night homeopener, as they played an interconference duel with the Tennessee Titans. In the first quarter, New Orleans' struggles continued as Titans kicker Rob Bironas nailed a 33-yard field goal, while QB Vince Young completed a 35-yard TD pass to WR Brandon Jones. In the second quarter, the Saints managed to get the only score of the period as RB Reggie Bush got a 1-yard TD run. In the third quarter, New Orleans took the lead with Bush getting another 1-yard TD run. However, Tennessee regained the lead with RB LenDale White's 1-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, the Titans took over as Young completed a 3-yard TD pass to TE Bo Scaife, while DB Vincent Fuller ended the game with an interception return of 61 yards for a touchdown. In the game, QB Drew Brees was 29 of 45 for 225 yards with 4 interceptions (3 of them coming from LB Keith Bulluck).

With the loss, the Saints entered their Bye Week at 0–3.

Week 5: vs. Carolina Panthers

Game summary

Coming off their bye week and still in search of their first win of the year, the Saints stayed at home at played a Week 5 divisional duel with the Carolina Panthers. In the first quarter, New Orleans trailed early as Panthers kicker John Kasay got a 23-yard field goal. The Saints responded with kicker Olindo Mare getting a 25-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the Panthers retook the lead with Kasay's 35-yard field goal. New Orleans responded with Mare kicking a 28-yard field goal.

In the third quarter, the Saints took the lead with FB

With the loss, the Saints fell to their first 0–4 start since 1996.

Week 6: at Seattle Seahawks

Scoring summary:

Q1 – NO – 12:38 – Pierre Thomas 5-yard fumble return (Olindo Mare kick) [NO 7-0 SEA]

Q2 – NO – 14:28 – Eric Johnson 3-yard pass from Drew Brees (Olindo Mare kick) (13–86, 7:04) [NO 14-0 SEA]

Q2 – NO – 5:18 – Lance Moore 7-yard run (Olindo Mare kick) (6–66, 2:48) [NO 21-0 SEA]

Q2 – SEA – 2:16 – Ben Obomanu 17-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Josh Brown kick) (7–63 3:02) [NO 21-7 SEA]

Q2 – NO – 0:30 – Marques Colston 2-yard pass from Drew Brees (Olindo Mare kick) (9–80 1:46) [NO 28-7 SEA]

Q2 – SEA – 0:02 – Josh Brown 52-yard FG (4–38 0:28) [NO 28-10 SEA]

Q4 – SEA – 6:39 – Nate Burleson 22-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Josh Brown kick) (6–80 1:31) [NO 28-17 SEA]

Week 7: vs. Atlanta Falcons