BAMAPHIN 22
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After a quiet five games, Joe Horn suddenly looked like the star player he was in 2004, with his shoulder-shaking end zone dances and game-changing catches.
He wasn’t the only one dancing.
A packed crowd in the Louisiana Superdome watched the revamped New Orleans Saints pull out a legitimizing victory over one of most feared teams in the NFL. Kept out of the end zone until Sunday, Horn caught touchdown passes of 14 and 48 yards, then John Carney hit a 31-yard field goal as time expired for a 27-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’ve got to keep doing a better job of getting him involved early on,” Saints first-year coach Sean Payton said of his veteran receiver, who finished with six catches for 110 yards. “He plays hard and has been fantastic. He is everything you want in a player. If he has two catches and we win he is happy. ... I admire that about him.”
New Orleans (5-1) enters its bye week atop the NFC South. If anyone still doubts the surprising start of a team that went 3-13 last season, the Eagles (4-2), favored on the road coming in, can’t be counted among the critics. Nor could many in the raucous, sold-out Louisiana Superdome, which rained down earsplitting cheers in support of New Orleans’ defense and erupted in celebration as Carney’s winning kick left his foot clearly on target.
“It’s a whole different team,” said Eagles defensive end Darren Howard, who played for New Orleans last season. “They’re doing it with a young set of guys who don’t remember what happened in years past. ... It’s six games and they’re 5-1. It’s hard to say anything but they’re legitimate.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15279068/
