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Saints get first win of season, 20-9 over Vikings

By WTOP Staff

BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drew Brees pushed himself up vigorously after being slammed to the Superdome turf, angrily shoving the first player he saw in a purple jersey.

Brees soon realized he’d shoved the wrong guy, but still thought his intensity sent the right message.

“You need to create some fire. You need to create momentum, stuff that guys can feed off of,” Brees said. “Obviously I wasn’t too happy about getting suplexed, so I showed a little emotion.

“After that, it was: ‘All right fellas, we’ve got to stick it to ’em.'”

The Saints capitalized on Captian Munnerlyn’s personal foul for the overzealous sack, driving for a touchdown that gave New Orleans breathing room en route to a 20-9 victory over the seemingly star-crossed Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Brees passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns to help New Orleans (1-2) celebrate its home opener with its first victory this season. The Vikings (1-2), meanwhile, were left still searching for a running game in the absence of Adrian Peterson — and with a rookie at quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Minnesota’s loss capped a week of distractions as the club first announced that Peterson would play, then later changed course and said the star running back would leave the team indefinitely to deal with child abuse allegations.

The Vikings then lost starting quarterback Matt Cassel with a broken foot early in the second quarter. He was replaced by rookie Teddy Bridgewater, who completed 12 of 20 for 150 yards while leading two scoring drives that both ended with field goals.

Brees’ scoring passes went for 34 yards to tight end Josh Hill and 18 yards to receiver Marques Colston.

The Vikings were as close as 13-9 on Blair Walsh’s 40-yard field goal early in the second half, but Munnerlyn’s penalty squandered what would have been a drive-stalling, third-down sack late in the third quarter.

“I pride myself on not making crazy plays, and I felt like that cost us the game,” Munnerlyn said. “I wasn’t thinking about a flag at all. I never heard a whistle, so I was just finishing the play.”

Safety Robert Blanton piled on at the end of the sack, then was slow getting off Brees, inducing the shove. But no flag was thrown on Brees, and the Saints wound up with a first down at their 47.

Brees thought Munnerlyn committed an obvious penalty with a move reminiscent of professional wrestling.

“That was straight Hulk Hogan, 1985, WrestleMania suplex,” Brees said. “Hey, it got us 15 yards, got us another set of downs and obviously ended up helping us go on a 90-yard drive to make it a two-possession game and chew up a lot of clock and got the momentum swinging back in our favor.”

Soon after, Brees found rookie Brandin Cooks on a screen for a 19-yard gain to the Minnesota 18, then hit Colston, who surged through Blanton’s tackle attempt and stretch across the goal line.

Colston had two catches for 25 yards, one week after he was held without a catch for the first time in 87 games.

Cooks had eight catches for 74 yards while tight end Jimmy Graham added five catches for 54 yards.

Greg Jennings led Vikings receivers with five catches for 70 yards, while Cordarrelle Patterson added four catches for 61 yards.

But without Peterson, Minnesota finished with 59 yards rushing as a team and was outgained by New Orleans in total yards, 396-247.

Still, Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer focused on the improvement he saw in his team’s effort and perseverance since a 30-7 loss to New England a week earlier.

“The guys hung in there,” Zimmer said. “Our whole thing was that if we get punched, we will punch back. I think we did that.”

The Saints entered the game looking as competitive as a winless team could be, having held leads in the final 10 seconds of regulation in each of their first two games — on the road — before losing by a field goal or less.

The Saints have won their past 18 home games in which coach Sean Payton was on the sideline. They were 9-0 in 2011, including a playoff win, before Payton was suspended in 2012 in connection with the NFL’s bounty probe, then went 8-0 in 2013.

Brees looked comfortable early, completing his first nine passes for 108 yards while engineering touchdown drives on the Saints first two possessions, and New Orleans never lost the lead.

Notes: Colston’s touchdown marked the 64th time he and Brees connected for a score. Only six other quarterback-receiver tandems have combined for more in NFL history. The score moved Brees and Colston ahead of the Hall of Fame pair of quarterback Johnny Unitas and receiver Raymond Berry. … Saints veteran C Jonathan Goodwin left the game in the third quarter with a left leg injury. He was replaced by second-year pro Tim Lelito.

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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