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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- When the New Orleans Saints are limited to 13 points, its easy to point a finger at No. 9 and say its Drew Brees fault.Well guess what? The 37-year-old quarterback wasnt all that bad Sunday in a 16-13 loss to the New York Giants.Brees didnt throw any interceptions and the Saints didnt turn the ball over. The offense just could not get it going against a revamped Giants defense.Big bucks went a long way in fixing a unit that allowed 52 points and surrendered seven touchdown passes to Brees and the Saints last year in a 52-49 win by New Orleans.And just maybe, the Giants defense is that good this year after spending $100 million in the offseason to sign sack threat Olivier Vernon, run stopper Damon Harrison and shutdown cornerback Janoris Jenkins. Add in cornerback Eli Apple and safety Darian Thompson in the draft, and this unit held its own against Brees.Both teams went out and made improvements on the defensive side of the ball, said Brees, who completed 29 of 44 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown. Both sides came in with a great game plan and so we knew it was going to be a hard-fought game. We thought our output would be better offensively than it was today.The Saints had chances, but they did not capitalize. They were 3 of 13 on third down and that was a major factor in the game. The Saints only had the ball for 59 plays and just under 26 minutes in time of possession, gaining 288 yards.In last years game, New Orleans had a combined 79 runs and passes and 35 minutes of possession. They gained 614 net yards.Thats 20 extra plays and Brees can do a lot with that.It wasnt pretty, but we got the job done as a defense. Im happy, and its going to get better, Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said. Were still trying to get chemistry with each other. As a unit, we still have a lot of work to do. The vibe is totally different. We know what it takes and its not an individual goal but to correct the mistakes that we made.Brees was frustrated, especially wasting a great effort by his own defense, which forced three turnovers and did not allow a touchdown. New Yorks TD came on Jenkins return of a blocked field goal.If you told me prior to the game that we would get three takeaways defensively and not allow an offensive touchdown, Id say our chances today are pretty good, Brees said. The unfortunate thing is that the blocked field goal that gets returned for a touchdown is a 10-point swing. So thats pretty devastating when you look at the way the game unfolded and then the way it finished.The Giants did an outstanding job of keeping the Saints receivers in front of them. In last years game, Brees three longest touchdowns were 53, 34 and 26 yards. His longest completion on Sunday was 23 yards.New York also made the Saints one-dimensional, limiting their running game to 41 yards on 13 carries. The Saints had 103 on 26 carries last season.We stopped the run and we were definitely getting Brees off of his spot, so that he doesnt see those open receivers if he has any and just make a play when he throws the ball, said safety Landon Collins, who had one of the Giants two sacks.Giants coach Ben McAdoo said the key for the Giants was keeping the ball away from Brees.They played fantastic, whistle-to-snap, McAdoo said of his defense. We got lined up quickly. We made sure we had our eyes where they needed to be. They played the call and they played with confidence.Brees had a couple of chances against the defense, but he did not come through.I think that I didnt do a great job of handling some of their third-down pressure stuff to sustain drives, Brees said. We got into some third-and-long situations, or third-and-longer than probably we should have. So first- and second-down efficiency can be better and then, obviously, just the ability to sustain drives and keep them on the field and keep our defense off the field and get points at the end of it.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Tedy Bruschi Youth Jersey . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Rob Gronkowski Youth Jersey .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. http://www.patriotsjerseysauthentic.com/Sony-Michel-Super-Bowl-Jersey/ . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Stephon Gilmore Youth Jersey . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Irving Fryar Jersey . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State had already planned on losing Georges Niang, perhaps the best player in school history, to graduation. The Cyclones were left to hope that star point guard Monte Morris wouldnt follow Niang to the NBA.The surprising return of Morris , a senior, should keep Iowa State in Big 12 contention and beyond in 2016-17.The Cyclones wont have as much sheer talent at the top of its rotation as it did a year ago, when it was led by Niang and his 20.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.But Iowa States depth, a major concern last season, should be markedly improved this year.Beyond Morris, the Big 12 preseason player of the year, the Cyclones return shooting guard Naz Mitrou-Long from season-ending injuries and swing man Matt Thomas, who blossomed into a high-level Big 12 starter in 2015-16. A pair of 6-foot-8, one-and-done senior transfers, Merrill Holden (Louisiana Tech) and Darrell Bowie (Northern Illinois), replace Jameel McKay at center.Junior forward Deonte Burton is expected to take a big step forward in his first full season in Ames, and second-year coach Steve Prohm said newly-eligible guard Nick Weiler-Babb has the most NBA potential of anyone on the roster. Even the expected loss of Morris turned out to be a blessing for Iowa State. It recruited junior college standout Donovan Jackson to replace Morris and now has both.Morris has been terrific. He had a great summer. He got bigger. He got stronger. He understands he has to be a leader on this team, Prohm said.Here are some of the story lines to follow as Iowa State looks to make its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this March.MORRISS ROLEProhm built a reputation for developing lead guard-type players while at Murray State, so itll be interesting to see how Morriss role develops in 2016-17. Morris has always been happy to dish out assists, setting the NCAA record for assist-to-turnover ratio as a freshman aand a sophomore.dddddddddddd But last season Morris began to look for his own shot more than ever, finishing with a career-high 13.8 points per game.NAZ IS BACKMitrou-Longs decision to seek a medical redshirt after just eight games in 2015-16 robbed the Cyclones of some much-needed depth. But his return should make Iowa State better than expected in 2016-17. Mitrou-Long, a fifth-year senior that Prohm said is among the best leaders hes ever coached, has promised to be the Cyclones glue guy this season. Mitrou-Long averaged 12 points a game a year ago.BEAST OF BURTONBurton, at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, is a unique player in that he can mix it up in the post and take the ball down court for high-flying dunks. But Burton was inconsistent last season, dominating one night and disappearing the next. Prohm said he wants Burton, who scored 9.7 points a game with 3.9 rebounds in his Iowa State debut, to average a double-double this season. His work ethic has been exceptional, Prohm said.HOLDEN AND BOWIEIowa State likely wont need either of them to play like stars. In the Cyclones small-ball system, Holden and Bowie will be asked to provide a front-court presence, gets as many rebounds as they can and fling it up the court so that Morris and the backcourt can exploit matchups in transition. Holden had 8.1 points with five rebounds a game for Tech last season. Bowie was averaging 13 and seven for the Huskies before a shoulder injury set him back.THE SCHEDULEProhm must have figured that the Big 12 round-robin was tough enough, because Iowa States non-conference schedule is far from daunting. A home date with Cincinnati and a road game at Iowa are the highlights, although the Cyclones could get Miami in a tournament game the day after Thanksgiving.---Online: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '