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New OrleansKansas City
Saints Overwhelm Struggling Chiefs in Blowout Victory
Preseason Game #3

Brodie Croyle
Chiefs QB Brodie Croyle is sacked by Saints LB Brian Simmons.
Aug. 23- So what if it's August and he's missing his two top receivers and his starting left tackle? Drew Brees is already showing off his Pro Bowl form for the New Orleans Saints.

The same cannot be said of the Kansas City Chiefs, whose murky quarterback picture was only muddied further Thursday night as Brodie Croyle struggled and a nearly perfect Brees led the Saints to a dominating 30-7 victory.

Playing in all but one series in the first half, Brees hit 17 of 19 passes against the first-team defense for 182 yards and one touchdown. One of his passes was a beauty of a downfield dart that David Patten dropped. His quarterback rating when he retired for the night was 124.1 -- a sharp contrast to the 15.1 of Croyle.

"I felt we really executed well on offense," said Brees. "Obviously, you'd like to get some more touchdowns instead of field goals, but sometimes that is just the way it goes."

Brees, a flawless 6-for-6 for 55 yards in his only offensive drive in last week's 27-19 victory over Cincinnati, hit his first five on this hot, sticky night. In both of their first two possessions the Saints drove nearly to the goal line, but were stopped.

"The expectations are pretty high that I have for myself, that the head coach has for me and my quarterback coach and obviously the guys around me, so I just try to get better each week, try to be as efficient as I can," said Brees.

Croyle, a second-year pro, battling veteran Damon Huard for the starting job, was only 5-for-17 for 45 yards. Hurried and harried by a New Orleans defense that frequently beat the Chiefs' offensive line, Croyle was also sacked twice and threw his third interception in three outings. This game was viewed as a golden opportunity for him to wrest the job away from Huard, who was held out with a sore calf.

But instead of seizing his chance, Croyle seemed to help make the case for Huard, a 34-year-old career backup who played well last year when Trent Green was injured.

"I had a great opportunity to go out there and kind of make my case that it's time for me to be a starter, and didn't do it," said Croyle. "But we'll go back to the drawing board and we'll get better."

In three preseason games, the Chiefs (0-3) have scored only 29 points. The defense has scored eight.

"You saw a good offense here tonight - that other team's," said coach Herm Edwards. "We struggled offensively for the third week in a row. We can't seem to get out of our own way. We've got two weeks to figure out what kind of team we're going to be. That's enough time."

Pierre Thomas, a rookie free agent out of Illinois who came into the game deep on the depth chart, scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Saints on runs of six and 19 yards against the Chiefs' reserves and could have made a good case for himself to win a job.

"He made a real good impression on us, not just in tonight's game but throughout the course of this camp," coach Sean Payton said. "He played well and he played hard."

Making a bold case to possibly unseat Devery Henderson for the No. 2 wide receiver spot was Patten. Despite his drop in the first quarter of a perfectly thrown long pass, the 11-year veteran wound up catching six passes for 75 yards and one touchdown. His 33-yarder gave the Saints a first-and-goal on the 5 on their first possession.

But on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Deuce McAllister was thrown for a 2-yard loss by Tank Tyler and Tamba Hali.

Reggie Bush rushed for 51 yards on six carries, including a 12-yard scamper on the second possession that was capped by the first of Olindo Mare's three field goals, 28-yarder.

Bush got loose around end for a 24-yard gain to help set up Mare's 31-yard field goal and a 6-0 lead with 6:37 left in the half. Mare was 3-for-3 with a 44-yarder in the second half for a 16-0 lead.

Brees led the Saints on a six-play, 45-yard drive late in the half capped by Patten's 4-yard touchdown catch when he got wide open in the back of the end zone.

Larry Johnson, the Chiefs' Pro Bowl running back who ended a 25-day contract holdout this week, did not play. He's expected to see his first action next week in the last preseason game at St. Louis.

"Obviously, we're ready to get Larry back. He's a great runner," said Croyle. "He really kind of sets up our offense."

Marcus O'Keith scored the Chiefs' touchdown on a 2-yard run with 1:53 left.

"Brodie struggled some, but he didn't get any help either," Edwards said. "He can't catch the ball. He can't block. That's not all on the quarterback."

Individual Statistics
Kansas City Passing:
Jeff Terrell 5 of 5 for 54 yards
Brodie Croyle 5 of 17 for 45 yards and 1 interception
Casey Printers 3 of 7 for 16 yards

New Orleans Passing:
Drew Brees 17 of 19 for 182 yards and 1 touchdown
Jamie Martin 10 of 13 for 94 yards and 1 interception
Tyler Palko 2 of 2 for 19 yards

Kansas City Rushing:
Michael Bennett 7 carries for 27 yards
Marcus O'Keith 3 carries for 10 yards and 1 touchdown
Kolby Smith 3 carries for 6 yards
Kris Wilson 1 carry for 5 yards
Derrick Ross 1 carry for 4 yards
Casey Printers 2 carries for 3 yards
Brodie Croyle 1 carry for -1 yard

New Orleans Rushing:
Pierre Thomas 11 carries for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns
Reggie Bush 6 carries for 51 yards
Antonio Pittman 11 carries for 36 yards
Deuce McAllister 6 carries for 14 yards
Kevin Dudley 1 carry for 3 yards
Mike Karney 1 carry for 2 yards
Jamie Martin 1 carry for 1 yard

Kansas City Receiving:
Keith Willis 2 receptions for 25 yards
Dwayne Bowe 1 reception for 21 yards
Michael Bennett 1 reception for 14 yards
Brent Little 1 reception for 13 yards
Brad Ekwerekwu 1 reception for 9 yards
Derrick Ross 1 reception for 8 yards
Ean Randolph 1 reception for 7 yards
Kris Wilson 1 reception for 5 yards
Michael Allan 1 reception for 4 yards
Michael Bragg 1 reception for 4 yards
Marcus O'Keith 1 reception for 4 yards
Boomer Grigsby 1 reception for 3 yards
Samie Parker 1 reception for 2 yards

New Orleans Receiving:
Lance Moore 6 receptions for 88 yards
David Patten 6 receptions for 75 yards and 1 touchdown
Deuce McAllister 4 receptions for 32 yards
Terrance Copper 2 receptions for 23 yards
Aaron Stecker 1 reception for 19 yards
Eric Johnson 3 receptions for 18 yards
Jamaal Branch 1 reception for 11 yards
Antonio Pittman 2 receptions for 10 yards
Ronnie Ghent 1 reception for 8 yards
Billy Miller 1 reception for 7 yards
Mike Karney 2 receptions for 4 yards

Kansas City Tackles-Assists-Sacks:
Donnie Edwards 7-0-0, Bernard Pollard 7-0-0, Dimitri Patterson 5-0-0, Keyaron Fox 4-0-0, DeMarcus Tyler 4-1-1, Napoleon Harris 3-2-0, Jared Allen 3-1-1, Alfonso Boone 3-0-0, Tamba Hali 3-0-0, Derrick Johnson 3-0-0, Rich Scanlon 3-0-0, Kendrell Bell 2-1-1, Ty Law 2-1-0, Turk McBride 2-0-0, Jon McGraw 2-0-0, Jarrad Page 2-0-0, Benny Sapp 2-0-0, Patrick Surtain 2-0-0, William Kershaw 1-0-0, Justin Phinisee 1-2-0, Ean Randolph 1-0-0, James Reed 1-0-0, Greg Wesley 1-1-0, Chad Williams 1-0-0

New Orleans Tackles-Assists-Sacks:
Jason Craft 3-0-0, Marvin Mitchell 3-1-0, Brian Simmons 3-0-0.5, Dhani Jones 2-0-1, David Jones 2-0-0, McKinley Boykin 2-0-0, Josh Bullocks 2-0-0, Curry Burns 2-0-0, Anton Palepoi 2-0-0, Usama Young 2-0-0, Roman Harper 1-1-0, Kevin Kaesviharn 1-0-0, Rodney Leisle 1-0-0, Mike McKenzie 1-0-0, Anwar Phillips 1-0-0, Chris Reis 1-0-0, Will Smith 1-0-1, Antwan Lake 0-2-0.5, Fred Thomas 0-1-0, Hollis Thomas 0-1-0

Kansas City Fumble Recoveries:
None

New Orleans Fumble Recoveries:
None

Kansas City Interceptions:
Jared Allen 1 for 9 yards

New Orleans Interceptions:
Jason Craft 1 for 0 yards