Sean Payton's New Orleans Saints offense racked up 515 yards and scored 45 points against the Detroit Lions. Payton said, however, that the Eagles will present a few more challenges this Sunday than the Lions did.
"They're much further along in the program obviously. They're playing with a lot of confidence," said Payton, who was the Eagles' quarterbacks coach from 1997-98. "The secondary is very talented. You have two outstanding corners and two safeties, you talk about Quintin Mikell - a guy that in the league is very well respected but is a relatively unknown outside of the league. He's done a fabulous job. Blocking Trent Cole presents challenges. He's one of the better defensive ends that we'll see all season."
Payton and former defensive coordinator Jim Johnson had their fair share of battles over the years. Before taking the reins in New Orleans in 2006, Payton was the offensive coordinator for the Giants and an assistant head coach with the Cowboys. When watching the film of the Eagles' win over the Panthers, the pressure that the Eagles generated was very familiar.
"I think there's a lot of Jim Johnson's defense there," Payton said.
The difference for the Eagles this week is that they are seeing a prolific passing attack led by Drew Brees, who threw for 358 yards and six touchdowns against the Lions. However, the Saints are not a one-dimensional team. Mike Bell led the Saints with 143 rushing yards last week and this week the Saints will welcome the return of last year's leading rusher, Pierre Thomas.
As the Saints were without Thomas last week due to a sprained knee, the Eagles could be without quarterback Donovan McNabb because of his rib injury. Payton said the key is to "prepare for the offense" not so much the quarterback.
"The one thing that Philly's been able to do there throughout the years even without Donovan is (presenting) a bunch of challenges with their running game and their play-action passing game," Payton said. "They do a good job of taking shots down the field. There's a lot of weapons we have to account for. You start with (Brian) Westbrook and they've got really good team speed with the receivers that they have. DeSean Jackson is certainly someone who has come on as a young player and (they've) done a good job with a big, offensive line. (It's) a little bit more challenging trying to envision what quarterback, but I think it starts with preparing for the offense first."
But what if Kolb's the starter?
"He's big with a strong arm. You can see he's got poise when you watch him," Payton said. "He's a guy that we spent a lot of time on when he came out in the draft. In Year 3, those reps in the system and being able to verbalize it in the huddle, all of those things become a little bit smoother than your first year-and-a-half or so."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 2:49 p.m., September 17
