When Sheldon Brown was introduced to the crowd before Sunday's 48-22 loss to the Saints, he wore a scary mask that would have been perfect for Halloween. Brown hid his face because he's been relatively anonymous his entire career. And he doesn't expect people to believe him now when he says that things are not as bad as they looked on Sunday.
"You're never as good as you think and you're never as bad as you think," Brown said. "For me, it's my job to teach the younger guys that you stay on that even keel and not to think you're better than you are. We're going to go back and evaluate the film and get better.
"You guys were laughing last year when we were like, 'We're right there. We're right there.' It's the same thing. It's just one or two mental mistakes when you have big plays."
Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed 25-of-34 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Brees' ability to get rid of the ball quickly kept the Eagles from overdosing the amount of pressure used against him.
"Pressure is always a point of emphasis, no matter who you play. That's what you strive to do," Brown said. "Obviously, they had a good game plan where they were able to get the ball out fast and not allow the pressure to get there in some cases and we were on our heels a little bit."
Even when the Eagles were able to force the Saints into predictable situations, the Saints pulled through. On a third-and-11 in the third quarter, wide receiver Devery Henderson made an amazing catch down the left sideline despite blanket coverage by Brown. Instead of chalking it up to an instance where it was evident it wasn't going to be the Eagles' day, Brown credited the Saints for making the plays they had to make. Brown pointed to the two turnovers to start the third quarter which resulted in two Saints touchdowns to extend their lead to 31-13.
"It's our job as a defense to keep them from scoring seven and obviously we couldn't do that," Brown said. "When they got those two quick turnovers, it was tough. We were trying to figure out what was going on period."
But if you want to pin this loss on Kevin Kolb, who made his first career start, Brown said to think again.
"I think Kevin played a heckuva football game. We, as a team, have to stand up and play better for him," Brown said. "Kevin played his butt off. Kevin's going to be a great player in this football league. Nobody wanted to give him credit for what he's done. The interception? He's trying to make a play.
"For me, I'll ride with him any day of the week."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 6:01 p.m., September 20
