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Saints Team Report
October 8, 2009
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/team/new-orleans-saints/teamreport
October 8, 2009
More...Inside Slant
With an impressive 4-0 record, the Saints are one of only five remaining unbeaten teams in the NFL -- and they're going to remain that way for at least one more week.
Thanks to their 24-10 triumph over the New York Jets on Sunday, the high-flying Saints headed into their bye week with a lot of confidence after that victory came on the heels of wins over Detroit, Philadelphia and Buffalo.
On Tuesday, the Saints got another dose of good news when coach Sean Payton rewarded them for their strong start. Payton, who had planned to have his team practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, gave them an extra recovery day following meetings on Tuesday.
That gave them a much-appreciated five-day respite from Wednesday to Sunday before they return to work Monday to begin preparing for their next game -- an Oct. 18 meeting in the Superdome with the New York Giants, who are also 4-0 going into this week's game with Oakland.
So while a 4-0 record doesn't guarantee anything when it comes to the postseason, it did earn them an extra day off.
The Saints have never won a game after a bye in the regular season since Payton arrived in 2006 although they did win an NFC Divisional Playoff game after earning a first-round playoff bye that season.
"I'm sure you guys are going to bring up next week that our record has not been very good the week after a bye," a smiling Drew Brees said in looking ahead to the days off. "So we figured we would try something new. If you want to change the results, you've got to change the process a little bit."
Brees noted it's unusual to have bonus days off under Payton, who even worked his team last season after they returned from a 10-day road trip to Charlotte, N.C., and London. Of course, they were 4-4 then.
"It was a pretty big surprise because it's very out of the norm," Brees said. "Typically we grind it out for a few days, then get a nice weekend off, a long weekend.
"But this really allows guys to relax, be with their families, kind of recharge the batteries," he added. "Hopefully, when we get back on Monday we'll be locked and loaded."
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/team/new-orleans-saints/teamreport