New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings Preview

By Chuck Bednar | Saturday, September 24, 2005 | ( 0 )

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Last week, the Saints fell to the Giants in their "home" at the Meadowlands. Now, they hit the "road" again, traveling to the Metrodome for a 1:00pm game against the struggling Minnesota Vikings.

Fresh off of an inspirational Week 1 victory over the Carolina Panthers, the 1-1 Saints took the field against the Giants against the backdrop of a weekend-long telethon to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The telethon was a rousing success; the performance of the New Orleans Saints football team was not, and despite the players and coaches crying foul after the game about having to play a "home" game at the Giants venue, the Saints really have no one to blame but themselves. They turned the ball over six times against New York and committed 13 penalties in the 27-10 defeat. The lone bright spot on the evening was the fact that, with his 47 yard performance on the evening, RB Deuce McAllister became the all-time leading rusher in franchise history.

New Orleans will have every opportunity to rebound against an 0-2 Minnesota Vikings ball club that has just been abysmal this season. Last week, they were picked apart by Cincinnati, who ran up a 27-0 lead by the half and won the game 37-8. In that game, Minnesota turned the ball over seven times and the defense allowed the Bengals to gain more than 300 yards by the end of the second quarter. The absence of former Vikings WR Randy Moss, injuries on the offensive line, and the lack of a true offensive coordinator have all hurt the team, as has the poor play of QB Daunte Culpepper, who has thrown eight picks on the season and has yet to find the end zone even once. As if that wasn't bad enough, the team will likely be without WR Nate Burleson (knee) and LB E.J. Henderson (ankle) this Sunday.

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