Brees and the offense rolled to a 38-7 win against the 1-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the offensive line not allowing any sacks, Brees threw for less than 200 yards; however, he had 3 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions.

Robert Meacham finished the game with only 10 yards but had two touchdown receptions. This was his third straight game with a receiving touchdown. He now has 6 in the season.

Mike Bell added two touchdowns of his own. The running game overcame a slow start as they gained 147 of their 183 rushing yards in the second half.

The defense picked off Bucs rookie quarterback Josh Freeman 3 times and recovered a fumble. All three quarterbacks selected in the first round of this year’s draft have thrown 3 interceptions against the Saints. Josh Freeman is the only one who has thrown a touchdown pass between them.

The Saints face the New England Patriots next Monday night.

A team spokesman said Saturday that both players had been downgraded on the official injury report from questionable to out with knee injuries. Both players are expected to be back at practice next week.

Bush missed practice this week with swelling in his left knee, the same knee on which he had surgery last December to repair cartilage. Bush is coming off one of his best games of the season in St. Louis last Sunday, when he gained 98 yards and scored two touchdowns on six rushes and a pair of receptions.

Bush has 484 yards and six touchdowns in combined rushing and receiving this season. Head coach Sean Payton said earlier in the week that he was hopeful Bush could play against the Buccaneers, but that he was wary of pushing him and causing a setback.

Ellis sprained his right knee in Miami in Week 7 and returned to practice this week on a limited basis. A first-round draft choice in 2008, he is one of New Orleans’ primary run-stuffers.

Freeman, with four touchdown passes and two interceptions in the season, is 1-1 in his two starts, with the loss having more to do with the Bucs’ defensive letdown at the end of the game against the Dolphins. He has the Bucs averaging 30.5 points/game in the last two games.

However, I expect Freeman, and the Bucs to come up short at home against the Saints. But, if the Saints get complacent and take Tampa Bay lightly, they will be undefeated no more.

Why the Saints will win:

1. The Bucs are 31st, both in points allowed, and rushing yards allowed. It will be a field day for Brees, as well as the running game.

2. The Bucs are second in the league with 19 fumbles this season (Redskins have 20). However, they have only lost three of them. If the defense scoops those loose balls up, the Saints will score in bunches.

3. The Saints are 2-0 against quarterbacks chosen in first round of the 2009 draft. Mark Sanchez and Matthew Stafford have thrown a total of six interceptions against the Saints. Expect the defense to keep that streak going.

Final Score: 38-20.

Bush is coming off one of his best games of the season in St. Louis last Sunday, when he gained 98 yards and scored two touchdowns on six rushes and a pair of receptions.

Saints coach Sean Payton says Bush has had some swelling in the knee and is getting some rest. Payton would not say what Bush’s chance of playing are this Sunday in Tampa Bay.

Payton says he hopes Bush can practice Friday, but that the team will be cautious about doing anything that could set him back.

Bush was not available for comment.

Yes, a perfect record would be nice; however, it will not determine the success of the 2009 season. This season will only be successful if the Saints are Super Bowl winners eighty-four days from now. Having blown by Detroit, showing resiliency by surmounting a 21-point deficit against the Dolphins, and by beating quality opponents, the Saints have shown they are no fluke. Nonetheless, the November 30th, Monday Night showdown against the Patriots should tell us what the Saints are really made of.

Upon reviewing the remainder of the schedule, the Saints should finish with no less than 14 wins, with a must-win game against the Cowboys in late December. This is crucial because the Saints must lock up home-field advantage in the playoffs if they are to make a serious push for the Super Bowl. The Saints do not want to face the Cowboys or the Vikings on the road in the playoffs.

In the second half of the season, the Saints must continue their success with the aerial and ground attack, ranking fourth and fifth respectively in the league, if they want to continue picking away defenses. The defense, sixteenth overall, much improved this year under Defensive Coordinator Greg Williams, must keep teams out of the endzone.

They have allowed nearly 22 points a game. It all comes down to discipline. The defense is fourth in the league in penalty yards, which has allowed opposing teams to move down the field and score against them. To date, the Saints have not won any close game, and the defense has been getting by with the outstanding play of Drew Brees and the offense.

The Saints have won their games by an average of sixteen points. Should teams start figuring out a way to slow down Drew Brees and the rest of the offense, the Saints will be in trouble, unless the defense picks up their act.

Carolina scored 14 points in the first 8 minutes and 7 seconds, but then the Saints defense finally started shutting the door on DeAngelo Wiliams and the Panthers run game, and the game shifted. Williams outran the Saints for a 66-yard score one minute in the game, then after a turnover gave Carolina the ball deep in Saints territory, they scored again on Williams 7-yard run to make it 14-0.

The Saints, like two weeks ago vs the Dolphins on the road, rallied. John Carney kicked two second quarter field goals in between one Panthers field goal to make it 17-6. The Saints got right back in it early in the third quarter when after a 63-yard catch and run by Devery Henderson, Pierre Thomas went over from 10 yards out to make it 17-13.

After another Panthers field goal made it 20-13, things got back to even as Brees hit Robert Meachem with a 54-yard score. On their next possession, the Saints started at their 2 and drove 76 yards in 13 plays to go ahead 23-20 on John Carney’s 40-yard field goal with 4:36 left.

Will Smith, who had two sacks, stripped Panthers QB Jake Delhomme on fourth down, and Hargrove recovered to end Carolina’s next series. Four plays later, Saints rookie Malcolm Jenkins dove to stop Thomas Morstead’s punt from going into the end zone, setting up a fumble recovery by Hargrove of Williams, where he took it a yard for a score to end the scoring at 30-20.

“I’m encouraged with the fact that we’ve been able to win a few of these games and we haven’t played our best football,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I don’t know we’re paying a lot of attention to where this (record) at the halfway point compares to past teams. There hadn’t been a real rich history here in regards to successful football.”

“The more that you win games like this, the more confidence that you gain, the more that you feel like no matter what situation that you’re in, you’re going to be able to win the game,” Brees said. “No matter what the deficit, no matter how bad things might have gone, you just feel like you’re going to come back and you’re going to do it.”

Brees went 24-for-35 for 330 yards with a TD and a pick. Meachem had five grabs for 98 yards. The Saints outscored the Panthers 24-3 in the second half, the difference in the game.

Clancy, a 10th-year player in his third season with the Saints, played in two games and was inactive for five others because of the injury.

Pressley, a second-year lineman out of North Carolina State, was selected by the Saints in the fifth round of the 2008 draft. The 6-foot-3, 301-pounder spent his rookie season on injured reserve rehabbing a foot injury suffered early in training camp.