Delhomme feels right at home in the Supderome

Panthers have strong record in New Orleans

By BRETT MARTEL - The Associated Press

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NEW ORLEANS — Jake Delhomme has several reasons to love the Saints.

They were the team of his south Louisiana childhood, the first NFL team to put him on a roster, and ever since he left, he’s been able to beat them with regularity.

The quarterback is 8-2 against New Orleans since joining the Panthers in 2003.

RYAN MOORE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas (23) has given the Saints a rushing attack to compliment its potent passing attack.

Story: Game plan

When asked about the last time he’d lost a game in the Superdome, Delhomme responded, “I don’t know. I’d be lying. I’m not sure.”

There’s a good reason he can’t remember. It’s never happened.

He had only one home start for the Saints, his first career start in 1999, and led New Orleans to an upset of the Dallas Cowboys.

He’s won all four of his Carolina starts in the Superdome and also beat New Orleans in LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge in 2005, when the Saints were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

He even beat Tulane in the Superdome — twice — when he played for the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (then known as Southwestern Louisiana) in the mid-1990s.

The Panthers haven’t lost in Louisiana since 2001. Today, though, they will face what is increasingly looking like the best Saints team in the franchise’s 43-year history.

Having matched the 1991 Saints for the club’s best start ever, the 2009 Saints need one more victory today to give New Orleans fans something they’ve never seen: an 8-0 team.

Delhomme is already calling New Orleans “the best team in football.”

“What they do is awesome. It’s fun to watch,” Delhomme said. “On some Mondays you pull up film from around the league. I’ll pull up some Saints film and just watch what they’re doing.

“We have to go into the Superdome thinking we’re going to play good football, because if you don’t, they’re going to run you out of there,” Delhomme added. “It’s kind of what they’ve done for the majority of their games this year.”

New Orleans leads the league in scoring, averaging 39 points, or 8.5 points per game more than the second-highest scoring team, Minnesota. New Orleans also ranks first in total yards (428.7) per game. The Saints’ 35-27 victory over Atlanta last Monday night marked the first time all season they hadn’t won by double digits.

Some days, Brees throws the ball all over the field. He’s had as many as six TD passes in one game this season. Some games, the Saints go with a three-headed ground attack powered by Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush, who’ve combined for 975 yards and 10 TDs rushing.