While its unwise to put too much importance on NFL preseason performances, its hard not to be impressed with the New Orleans Saints offense. In particular, its impossible to not be impressed with the play of starting QB Drew Brees. Brees played only three series against the Oakland Raiders on Saturday night, but that was enough”by the time he left the Saints led 21-0 en route to a 45-7 thrashing on their hosts. New Orleans improved to 3-0 on the NFL preseason, while the Raiders dropped to 1-2.

All Brees did in only three series was roll up 179 yards on 14 of 17 passing and three touchdowns. After the game, he reflected on his play:

“I just felt like we accomplished what we wanted to there with regards to playing with our tempo and our intensity. We were able to get into a rhythm. When you walk away with three touchdowns on three possessions, that’s what you want to do.”

Brees was aided by the return of last years leading receiver, Lance Moore. Moore had shoulder surgery in the offseason and was excited to be back on the field:

“I felt great. I felt like I hadn’t missed a lot. It was great being out there, getting hit and having fun in the game.”

Tight end Jeremy Shockey was also pleased with the effort:

“It looked good on the scoreboard but let’s look at it in the film room. We came all the way to California not for the wine but to get some good work in.

In the Oakland locker room, the mood was somber. Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell took the loss especially hard:

“Everything that could have possibly went wrong, went wrong today. It was very embarrassing today. It was disrespectful to our fans, ourselves and our family to go out and perform that way.”

The Saints scored almost at will against the Raiders porous defense, but tight end Zach Miller was more concerned with the lack of productivity from the offense:

“I’ve never felt so lousy after a game, period. The way our offense played was embarrassing so we’re going to fix it.”

The Raiders will look to conclude the NFL preseason with a better effort as they travel to the Pacific Northwest to play the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday. New Orleans will host the Miami Dolphins on the same night. Oakland will get the regular season underway on Monday night, September 14th against their hated rivals the San Diego Chargers. New Orleans will host the Detroit Lions the following day in their regular season opener.

Ross Everett is a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 and an authority on NFL betting. He’s a noted expert on sports handicapping theory, as well as financial investment strategy. He contributes to a number of online media outlets providing insight on how to bet on NFL football, MMA and boxing.

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