--LDE Charles Grant was placed on injured reserve Monday as a result of the triceps injury he sustained in the team's last game against the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 26.

--DT Hollis Thomas, who underwent surgery on Aug. 14 to repair a torn right triceps muscle, was re-signed by the team Monday. Thomas was waived-injured after the first regular-season game.

--RB Reggie Bush, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Oct. 20, will likely miss Sunday's game at Atlanta and perhaps one more game.

--C Jonathan Goodwin, who suffered a subluxed left kneecap on Oct. 19, was listed as week-to-week going into the bye. His availability for Sunday's game against the Falcons was unknown Monday.

--DT Brian Young did not play in the Saints' last game on Oct. 26 because of knee and foot problems, but he could be available for the Falcons game.

REPORT CARD AFTER 8 GAMES

PASSING OFFENSE: A -- Despite the loss of several of his weapons -- including Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, Reggie Bush and David Patten -- to injuries, Drew Brees is having an MVP-type season. The Saints lead the league in passing at 314.4 yards a game with Brees completing a league-best 210 of 304 passes for 2,563 yards, which also tops the NFL, and 15 TDs. He has thrown just seven interceptions and has been sacked seven times and has a passer rating of 101.6. The Saints already have six players with at least 200 receiving yards, led by Devery Henderson's 499 yards. They also have 11 completions of 40 yards or longer after having eight all of last season.

RUSHING OFFENSE: D -- As good as the passing game has been, this area of the offense has been that bad. Part of it has to do with injuries to Reggie Bush, Deuce McAllister and Aaron Stecker and lead blocker Mike Karney, but the Saints have struggled to run the ball most of the season and rank 29th in averaging just 88.8 yards a game. Going into Week 9, they ranked 29th in yards per carry at 3.4 yards per attempt with Bush getting just 3.4 yards and McAllister gaining 3.9 yards per attempt. McAllister is getting healthier by the week, however, and could give them a powerful presence in the second half of the season.

PASS DEFENSE: C-minus -- The Saints are doing a much better job in not allowing the big pass plays, which was a big part of their undoing in 2007, but they still rank 25th in giving up 237.3 passing yards per game -- slightly less than the 245.3 yards a game allowed last year. They have given up just 12 TD passes this year, which is significantly better at the halfway point of the season than the 32 they gave up a year ago. They are making it tougher on opposing quarterbacks, however, as they have compiled a passer rating of 84.0 in the first eight games compared to a healthy 96.9 last season.

RUSH DEFENSE: C-plus -- While they're not the Baltimore Ravens, the Saints have been stronger against the run -- especially after being pounded for 295 yards and 5.8 yards a carry in their first two games. The Saints rank 18th in giving up 109.1 yards a game, but they've only allowed one 100-yard rusher this season, and that was the 105 yards LaDainian Tomlinson got in their last game on Oct. 26. In their last six games, they've given up just 96.3 yards a game -- which includes holding Adrian Peterson 32 yards on 21 attempts -- and are allowing just 3.9 yards a carry in that span.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C -- This grade would have been worse had it not been for Reggie Bush's three punt returns for touchdowns and his league-leading 21.9-yard average as well as a 20.4 average for the team. That, however, has been the only bright spot for the Saints special teams units, as they are only fair in kickoff returns (21.9), kickoff coverage (23.7) and punt coverage (10.4). In their next game, they'll use their third punter and third kicker of the season. The reason is a 42.1 average on punts and a 9-of-14 showing in field goals with at least two of their four losses being directly linked to their poor field-goal accuracy.

COACHING: B -- The Saints have been inconsistent, as they've been up and down all year long. But Sean Payton and his staff have done a decent job in keeping the team in the NFC playoff race with an ever-changing roster, as 26 of the 53 players on the opening-day roster have missed at least one game because of injuries. They also had to deal with a hurricane that forced them to relocate to Indianapolis the week before the season opener and also spent a week in London just prior to their bye. Through it all, the Saints have the top offense in the league at 403.1 yards a game, and the defense has shown signs of improvement.