Saints release Woodbridge native Lehr

By Brian Hunsicker

Published: September 14, 2008

LANDOVER, Md.
Just before Sunday’s game, the New Orleans Saints announced that they had released offensive lineman Matt Lehr. But it won’t be a surprise if Lehr is back with the team next week.
Lehr, a Woodbridge native, was not officially with the team during New Orleans’ season-opening win over Tampa Bay. Saints coach Sean Payton said during the week that Lehr was released to open up a roster spot.
A similar pattern happened during Lehr’s trip back to the D.C. area. Needing help in other positions, the Saints promoted two practice squad players, tight end Buck Ortega and defensive end Josh Savage. The Saints made room for them by releasing Lehr and placing linebacker Mark Simoneau on injured reserve.
Both Savage and Ortega played, but neither cracked the stat sheet.
With four starters out because of injury — three on defense alone — the Saints decided that they had enough offensive linemen. Linebacker Scott Fujita, cornerback Randall Gay and safety Roman Harper all missed Sunday’s 29-24 loss to the Redskins.
— A STEAMY DAY: The Redskins did all they could to minimize the effects of Sunday’s heat. The temperature at kickoff was 90 degrees with 55 percent humidity; the team said later that it was the hottest game in FedEx Field history.
Head coach Jim Zorn deployed his Z Shades, which were stationed along the benches and kept the players out of the direct sun. The Redskins also opted to wear white jerseys and pants, forcing New Orleans into its black uniforms.
“For the last three days, and I’m sure Sean Payton was doing the same thing, talking about getting hydrated for this game,” Zorn said, “because these were games you could get cramps and fade at the end. We needed everything we had being two scores behind. We needed everything we had at the end.”
The Redskins’ trainers didn’t run onto the field at all in the second half.
— TAYLOR’S FIRST TALLY: Defensive end Jason Taylor, Washington’s most ballyhooed offseason pickup, notched his first sack as a Redskin. On the second play of the second quarter, Taylor got around Saints tackle Jonathan Stinchcomb and brought down quarterback Drew Brees for a 12-yard loss.
Taylor, who has been battling a knee injury since the preseason, looked like his old self. A speed rush to the outside gave him enough room to get by Stinchcomb and to take down Brees.
The sack pushed the Saints into a third-and-20 situation, deep in their own end. Though Brees found Reggie Bush for a 14-yard gain, it wasn’t nearly enough and New Orleans was forced to punt. That punt, however, was fumbled by Antwaan Randle El and led to the Saints’ first touchdown.
“We played better, particularly in the first half,” Taylor said. “We went after it pretty good and set the tone early. We did give up two touchdowns, which is something we don’t want to do.”