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METAIRIE, La. -- Fully one third of all of sacks and interceptions the New Orleans Saints defense has produced this season happened in one game -- the last game.Middle linebacker Craig Robertson and defensive end Paul Kruger are among the Saints defenders who said theyd like to think the spike in big plays is something that can carry forward -- not simply the result of favorable matchups on a particular week.This Thursday night, the Saints play the Carolina Panthers and veteran, dynamic quarterback Cam Newton. Last week, it was Denver rookie Trevor Siemian, whose teams struggling running game has only increased pressure on him.Kruger said he sees the Saints defense starting to play well together, starting to understand each other as individuals and as a group.The Saints had six sacks against Denver, bringing their total for all nine games this season to 17. New Orleans two interceptions raised its total in that category to six.Kruger said a variety of factors play into a defenses ability to create pressure on a quarterback, including an opposing offenses scheme, play-calling and how quickly the quarterback is able to consistently make throws.In some of those earlier games, we were rushing the passer well. We just werent able to get there as often, Kruger said. Sometimes the stats dont tell the full story.The Saints are also getting healthier at key positions. Two games ago, top cornerback Delvin Breaux played for the first time since fracturing his fibula in Week 1. Also in Week 9, the Saints first-round draft choice, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, made his NFL debut after recovering from his own fractured fibula during training camp. And against Denver, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe played for only the second time this season.Both Rankins and Ellerbe had sacks, and Ellerbe blitzed frequently. While Breaux did not have an interception -- those were made by cornerback Sterling Moore and safety Kenny Vaccaro -- linebacker Craig Robertson said Breauxs coverage skills can sometimes force quarterbacks to hold the ball longer, leading to sacks or less accurate throws under duress.With the type of talent we added back, it was destined to happen, Robertson said, referring to his units spike in big plays. But at the same time, our coaches put together a great plan. ... We executed that plan as best as we possibly could.Saints coach Sean Payton said his defense played one of its best games this season last Sunday and that having players return from injury certainly helped.Fortunately, weve been able to get some of those guys back in and playing, he said.Panthers tight end Greg Olsen also noted that the Saints defense appears healthier than when New Orleans defeated the Panthers 41-38 in the Superdome in Week 6.Last week against Denver they really played well. Theyre playing fast, Olsen said. Getting those (previously injured) guys back into the mix always helps.The Saints also have tried a variety of defensive formations to keep offenses guessing. Last week, they decided to take advantage of Krugers ability to cover short passes, lining up five defensive linemen in some running situations.Its basically just getting a lot of big guys on the field, Kruger said. Its worked well for us in the short amount of time weve had it here.Whether New Orleans defense is all of a sudden an above-average defense remains to be seen. Currently, the Saints still rank 29th out of 32 teams in yards allowed per game with 400.6. The Saints are dead last in yards passing allowed with 292.7 per game.But their recently demonstrated ability to get more pressure on quarterbacks gives them hope of playing better down the stretch, and they know they dont have to be dominant with prolific quarterback Drew Brees running New Orleans league-leading offense.Weve got to trust who we can be and just know who we want to be, Robertson said.---Game notes Three Saints players did not practice on Tuesday: LT Terron Armstead (knee and quadriceps), CB Delvin Breaux and RB Daniel Lasco (hamstring). ... Five players were listed as limited: RB Travaris Cadet (toe), LB Stephone Anthony (hamstring), DT David Onyemata (knee), LB Dannell Ellerbe (quadriceps), P Thomas Morstead (ankle). ... Special teams regular and reserve LB Mike Mauti, who was placed on the non-football illness list on Monday, said hes been told by doctors he surgery for colitis (an ulcer) and does not expect to return to football until next season.---AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Gerri Green Jersey . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. Marlon Mack Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. http://www.cheapcoltsjerseysauthentic.com/ . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Kenny Moore II Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Quenton Nelson Jersey .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Adam Voges hopes his remarkably productive home summer last year will hold him in good stead when Australias selectors assess the fallout from the recent whitewash at the hands of Sri Lanka. Australia lost all three Tests in turning conditions, and will face much of the same early next year they will travel to India for four Tests. But in the meantime, they will host South Africa and Pakistan for six Tests on surfaces that are far more familiar.Voges was one of the batsmen who struggled to adapt to the slow, spinning pitches in Sri Lanka, where he failed to score a fifty across the three Tests and averaged 19.66. However, last summer he piled up 660 runs at 165.00 in the six home Tests against New Zealand and West Indies, and he also scored profusely on the tour of New Zealand that followed.But at 36, Voges knows that all his mountains of runs will count for little if he endures a prolonged dry patch, and scores of 47, 12, 8, 28, 22 and 1 constitute the beginnings of one. The home Test summer begins at the WACA against South Africa in early November, and Voges hopes that his track record at that ground, and in Australia generally, will be enough to convince the selectors to stick with him.The first home Test for the summer is here at the WACA and obviously conditions are fairly different to what weve just experienced, Voges said on EON Sports Radio on Thursday. I take a lot of confidence out of what I was able to do last summer, and hopefully get that opportunity here in Perth at my home ground, somewhere that Ive grown up playing and know the conditions really well.Ive given the selectors the opportunity to leave me out if they wanted to, with how Ive performed in Sri Lanka. Hopefully they keep the faith with me. I still think Ive got plenty to offer. I take a lot of confidence out of what I was able to do last summer, and really the form and the run that Ive had over the last couple of years, hopefully the last three Tests have just been a small blip on whats been a pretty good couple of years..ddddddddddddFour times from the six innings in Sri Lanka, Voges was dismissed by Rangana Herath. However, he was far from alone in struggling against Herath, who claimed 28 wickets for the series and caused Australia major problems in all three Tests.We didnt have a lot of answers for him, to be honest, Voges said. He has very subtle variations with his release points, his pace, where he stands on the wicket. But ultimately the ball seems to end up relatively in the same area. Some spin, some dont. And hes just very crafty. In conditions that suit him, like they did over there, hes certainly a handful.It took until the third Test for Australia to find a batsman to build on a start and go on to reach triple figures - Shaun Marsh and Steven Smith both did so in the first innings in Colombo - but by then the series was decided. Sri Lanka had wrapped up their triumph in Galle, where they set Australia 413 to win. Voges came to the crease at 61 for 4 and reverse swept his first ball, persisting with the shot until it brought him undone on 28.We spoke before that fourth innings and on a Galle wicket that was spinning quite a bit, the skipper and the coach asked the batting group to be a lot more proactive with the way we went about things, Voges said. The reverse sweep was basically my version of it. I played one first ball, which was a little bit gutsy, but there was only one bloke on the off side and eight on the leg side.My thinking was that if I could get one away it would bring at least one of those guys back over and maybe I could find a couple of gaps on the leg side ... It always looks bad when you get out playing that sort of shot, but at the time I thought it was the best way to try and combat them and score runs in those conditions ... If I had my time again Id still play the shot - maybe a little more selectively and mix it up a little bit more than what I did. Cheap Jerseys [ug side ... It always looks bad when yo[/url] Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '