Brees, Saints relish Hall of Fame win

CANTON, Ohio - Tour the Pro Football Hall of Fame and see all the bronze busts. Cheer tackle Willie Roaf's induction. Watch Drew Brees produce a touchdown on his only try.

Pretty good weekend for the New Orleans Saints. And, boy, did they need it.

Brees didn't need much time to top off a good visit, smoothly leading a touchdown drive in his only series during a 17-10 victory over Arizona in the Hall of Fame Game on Sunday.

"Just to be up here and see all those guys get inducted and take a tour of the Hall of Fame, that was really special," said Saints running back Mark Ingram, who scored the first touchdown on a 1-yard run.

The exhibition game was canceled last year for the first time in 45 years, a casualty of the NFL's lockout of the players. Labor issues also came into play Sunday - the seven officials were replacements.

It showed.

The referee announced the result of the coin flip incorrectly. Craig Ochoa said the Saints won the toss and deferred, then caught his mistake and said the Cardinals had won the toss. There were some other communication problems as well for the first-time crew.

The win completed a good trip for the Saints, who needed a few smiles after an offseason dominated by their bounty scandal.

Suspended coach Sean Payton got the league's permission to attend a dinner for Roaf and the other five Hall of Fame inductees on Friday. Payton isn't allowed to have any contact with the team this season as punishment for the team's bounty program.

Brees was sharp on the 10-play opening drive, completing 4 of 5 passes for 41 yards with one off-target throw. Brees skipped offseason workouts and minicamp because he was unhappy getting the team's franchise tag. He later agreed to a five-year, $100 million deal.

Nothing has changed.

"Drew was Drew," interim coach Joe Vitt said. "That's the first unit. There's high standards here."

The Cardinals are using the preseason to settle on a quarterback, with Kevin Kolb and John Skelton competing for the starting job. Kolb got to start the game but had a tough time, throwing an interception on his first pass and leaving after bruising his ribs on the third series.

"He has a bruise in his chest and that makes it kind of tough to rotate, move," Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "I think he'll probably be practicing sometime this week."

Skelton took over and completed 4 of 6 for 32 yards.

"You never want to have an injury in the preseason, especially an early game like this, having to play that fifth preseason game," Skelton said. "But he will be OK."