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Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

In his meeting with the media Sunday afternoon, New Orleans coach Sean Payton indicated running back Pierre Thomas, who's been out with a sprained MCL, should be ready for the regular-season opener against Detroit.

Thomas

"There would be some concern, although I think very little that he wouldn't be ready for Detroit, at least based on the information now," Payton said." The feeling is he'll be ready for that game and would probably be listed as questionable for Thursday night's [preseason] game."

Payton also said the Saints may consider keeping four running backs on their roster. Thomas and Reggie Bush are locks for roster spots, and Mike Bell seems to be the top candidate for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart.

But Lynell Hamilton and undrafted rookies P.J. Hill and Herb Donaldson each have shown some promise.

"It makes it a tough decision and hopefully we can keep working and training these guys and give them more work next week and gather as much information as we can on them," Payton said.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

As I'm watching the New Orleans Saints this afternoon, I'm thinking about changing my predictions for our upcoming season preview package.

I won't reveal who I have picked to win the Super Bowl at the moment -- that will come in early September. But I'm thinking about changing it to the Saints. I'm also thinking the Saints just might go undefeated.

Then again, part of me realizes this is just a preseason game. More importantly, the Saints are playing the Raiders, who are far worse than I imagined and I already thought they were pretty bad.

The Saints are winning 31-0 at halftime. It's not going to be this easy all the time. But let's give the Saints credit for being just about perfect so far.

Drew Brees has been just about flawless, but we've come to expect that from him all the time. The most encouraging thing I saw out of the offense was the play of tight end Jeremy Shockey. He's healthy now and he's playing like the guy who used to be a Pro Bowler for the Giants. If Shockey can play anything like this during the regular season, he'll be going to the Pro Bowl for the Saints.

The other impressive thing out of the offense has been the running game. We've talked all offseason about the Saints wanting a short-yardage running game and it looks like they've found it. On their first drive, Mike Bell converted a third down into a first with a strong run. The next play, fullback Heath Evans scored a touchdown.

Talk all you want about Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush, who are sitting out today. But I think it's safe to say Bell and Evans will be getting the short-yardage carries.

Enough with the offense because we already knew that would be a good unit. I think the defense is showing its potential today. Gregg Williams was pretty conservative in the first two preseason games, but he's called some blitzes today and that's brought some results.

Safety Roman Harper and defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove both caused fumbles and the pass rush, particularly end Bobby McCray, has been very impressive.

Again, it's a preseason game and it's the Raiders, but you couldn't ask the Saints to look any better than they have.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

Lots of preseason action Saturday in the NFC South. The Saints will play at Oakland this afternoon. Atlanta plays San Diego tonight and Carolina hosts Baltimore.

I'll be checking in with observations from all three games. Enjoy them today because this is the last time you'll see anything approaching real football until the regular season starts. Next week's final preseason games won't show much as coaches hold out starters or play them only briefly to have them rested for the regular season.

	Casey Rodgers/AP Images
	Running back Reggie Bush says his knee is stronger, as well as his relationship with Kim Kardashian.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

We've got a couple of quick news items on Reggie Bush today.

First, the New Orleans running back, who sat out last week's preseason game with a hamstring injury, plans to play against Oakland this week. Bush also said his surgically-repaired knee is 100 percent.

Also, on a completely different front, it appears Bush is back together with girlfriend Kim Kardashian.

You may have seen some of the Three and Out series on ESPNEWS already. Well, just wanted to give you a heads-up that the NFC South portion will be running this week and we'll have three observations on each team running on the blog as part of this series.

We'll start Tuesday with the Panthers. The Falcons will come Wednesday, followed by the Bucs on Thursday and the Saints on Friday.

Do not -- I repeat, DO NOT -- read anything into that order as far as predicted finishes. This is just a random order picked by our television folks.

Predictions will be coming in early September and I'm still pondering the order.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

I'm spending much of Monday working on stuff for our upcoming season preview package, but wanted to take a quick break to bring you up to date on some of the headlines of the day around the NFC South.

The Bucs have a contract agreement with a linebacker whose last name is Ruud. But it's not starting middle linebacker Barrett Ruud, who is long overdue for a contract extension. It's his younger brother, Bo, who was added to the roster as the Bucs placed Angelo Crowell on the injured-reserve list.

This is when coach John Fox's habit of saying all injured players are "day-to-day'' gets really annoying. The Panthers have two injuries that are potentially big with safety Charles Godfrey having surgery on a broken hand and middle linebacker Jon Beason having something wrong with his knee. But Fox isn't providing any details on either injury. All indications are Beason may miss the rest of the preseason, but the Panthers are hoping he'll be ready for the regular season. Same for Godfrey.

Atlanta cornerback Chris Houston returned to practice Monday. Houston had been out since suffering an injury in the preseason opener.

Sounds like a slow news day in New Orleans, where coach Sean Payton has done some tinkering with the practice schedule.

This just in: The Saints still haven't signed linebacker Derrick Brooks. In other Brooks news, there remains absolutely zero chance of him coming back to the Bucs.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

As we wait on more word on the injuries to Carolina's Jon Beason and New Orleans' Jammal Brown and for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to name a starting quarterback, I'm going to be spending most of today working on stuff for our massive season-preview package, which will be coming soon.

Part of that package includes all of our writers making predictions for all the teams. Predictions are fun, but they don't really mean a lot. Take last year when I (and a lot of other people) picked Atlanta to finish fourth in the NFC South. The Falcons wound up winning 11 games and making the playoffs.

Predictions also can be dangerous, even when you're right. Last year, when just about every expert was picking Dallas to win the NFC East and a lot of folks were picking them to win the Super Bowl, I went against the grain and picked Dallas to finish third in the NFC East. I threw out a couple sentences about how all the distractions would catch up to the Cowboys.

Within hours of the predictions appearing on our site, I had hundreds of items from Cowboys fans in the mailbag, including a couple of death wishes. Seriously. Guess what? The Cowboys got all caught up in the distractions, finished third in the NFC East and out of the playoffs. How many notes in the mailbag did I get from the Dallas fans at the end of the season? Zero.

Like I said, predictions are just for fun and don't mean anything. That's why I'm going to overrate the Cowboys this year and have them winning the NFC East, just to inflate expectations, which don't seem nearly as high this year.

That's as much as I'm going to reveal about my predictions. But I will tell you this about what I'm going to do with the NFC South. I've been going this way throughout the preseason:

1. Carolina
2. New Orleans
3. Atlanta and
4. Tampa Bay

I'm not sticking with that order in my official predictions because injuries and what I saw in training camps have made me change my thinking a bit.

Also later this week, we'll have a feature on an "emerging star" in the NFC South. I've already mentioned it in a chat, so I'll tip my hand again. It's going to be New Orleans receiver Robert Meachem, who I believe is ready for big things.

I'm also working on a feature on Atlanta cornerback Brent Grimes, a player I think is capable of surprising a lot of people.

I'll be covering the Thursday night game between the Buccaneers and Dolphins in Tampa and we'll see what happens with the Tampa Bay quarterback situation.

Finally, the NFC South chat will be held Friday at 1 p.m. I'll put up a reminder and a link in a couple of days.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

Since I wasn't able to watch the Saints against the Texans, I asked for your help. I asked those of you would could catch the game to send in your observations and you did. There were dozens of scouting reports in my mailbag. We can't run them all, but I picked some that seemed to represent the thoughts of many of you. Thanks to all who helped out.

Paul in Lafayette, La., writes: Observations on Saints-Texans game: You can write Mike Bell's name in permanent ink on the roster. The defense did a good job making adjustments. Both first- and second- team defenses allowed a TD on the first series but no point after that. The Saints have forced three turnovers in each of their two preseason games. That's a big change in New Orleans. Rod Harper is going to make it tough for the coaching staff to decide who becomes the Saints' sixth receiver. The goal line offense needs work. The Saints failed to convert on their first two opportunities from within the 10-yard line. P.J. Hill ended the drought with a two-yard run. Porter and Greer hold Andre Johnson to less than 10 yards per catch. Harrington did a decent job running the two minute offense (45 yards in 1:46 and got a field goal).Buck Ortega might only make this team if the Saints keep four tight ends. He hasn't had the best camp and failed to get out of bounds during the two-minute drill.

Archie in St. Bernard, La., writes: I thought the Saints played well. They struggled with penalties on special teams but they will fix that. I was really impressed with our running game. Mike bell had 100 yards rushing and a TD on only 10 carries, he stood out among all the rest. I felt that our D did good considering that we were in our base package throughout pretty much the entire game. Our dbs and lbs got after the football and created turnovers. We did let a few big plays happen but there offense was ranked 3rd overall last year and we were at their house. Our run defense was solid. We got some pressure on the QB, although I would like to see more sacks. Over all I give the Saints a B-. They could have done better. But it still was a very good performance. There is one problem though, we have to many talented wrs. Colston, Moore, Meachem, Henderson, and Arrington should make the final roster but that still leaves Courtney Roby who has been great in camp and returning kicks, and then there is Rod Harper who came out of nowhere during the offseason and has been very impressive in the preseason games. I know I'm still missing a few names but those 7 can all help out a lot. Is there any way at all that the Saints keep 7 wrs on the final roster? Or am I just kidding myself?

Cory in Baton Rouge, La., writes: About scouting on the saints-texans game:Rod Harper is making a case to the Saints organization. In the first preseason game he was as electric as someone from the af2 can look like in the nfl. And here again in the second preseason game he was a very interesting player to watch, returning a punt for a touchdown. I know this is the preseason and therefore there were limited personnel on the field but with some time and coaching he could be another coslton/moore diamond-in-the-ruff.In other news, Anthony Hargrove continues to make a statement and will, WILL, push Charles Grant eventually for the starting job. While he looked a little rough with the penalties, he is showing his talent and relentlessness. No wonder the coaches are high on him.Finally, we see adrian arrington make some very nice catches in this second game. This receiver group is deep but very talented. It will be interesting to see who is let go, especially considering the depth needed/wanted for the defensive backs and the safeties.

Benjamin in New Orleans writes: I found it incredible how dominate both of our lines were. Save for the first and part of the second drive the run, the offensive line blocked fantastic for the run and the pass.Obviously Mike Bell had a huge game for us, and those weren't just padded stats against a second team Houston defense. Bell ran with authority behind a line that blocked well all night.The turnovers the Saints have managed to produce to is remarkable. The attitude the defense was lacking last season came full force against the Texans.It's preseason and a bit early for jubilation and claiming all our woes bygone, but if the Saints have truly found the answer to their lack of defensive production and a solid run blocking line to give holes to our backs I don't see any team that we don't match-up well with.

Troy in New Orleans writes: Several serious observations: Never get excited about a pre-season game. Saints running game on track. Thomas ran well, Bell 10 carries, 100 yards. Saints against the run also on track: 35 yards rushing at the end of three. Not much more in the fourth. The Gregg Williams effect: three more decisive and timely turnovers. Robert Meachem: Most Improved player in NFL. Adrian Arrington: Watch out for him too .Did you notice: Joey Harrington looked effective with the ones, but when he went out, the threes had an immediate and unmistakable boost with Brunell.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

New Orleans Saints left tackle Jammal Brown will miss the rest of the preseason after having surgery to repair a sports hernia. But team officials are optimistic Brown will be ready for the Sept. 13 regular-season opener against Detroit.

If it works out that way, fine. But if Brown has to miss any time in the regular season, this could be a big problem. Brown is a two-time Pro Bowl selection and a big part of the reason quarterback Drew Brees rarely gets sacked.

Zach Strief is the top backup and there would be a big drop off from Brown to Strief if the Saints have to adjust. Strief didn't even play in Saturday night's preseason game because he's banged up and the Saints had to use Jermon Bushrod, who might not even make the team, as their starting left tackle.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

The good news is Jammal Brown's sports hernia has been repaired. The bad news is we don't know if it will cost him any playing time in the regular season.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports Brown had the surgery in Philadelphia and has returned home to New Orleans. The Saints are getting ready to play a preseason game tonight in Houston and Jermon Bushrod is expected to start in Brown's spot at left tackle.

Coach Sean Payton will address the media after the game and probably will shed some light on how long it will take Brown to recover.