"At the midpoint of the New Orleans Saints' season, two things are clear about the offense: It has not been as consistently good as it needs to be, and the players are glad their final grades haven't been set.

Several players said Wednesday the team's embarrassing loss at St. Louis last Sunday had colored the offense's production, that things are not as bad as they seemed. But all of them acknowledged a handful of poor performances has turned what could have been an outstanding record at the halfway point into a barely acceptable 5-3."