With Hurricane Gustav barreling towards New Orleans, the Saints had to make a decision on what to do.

The franchise temporarily moved operations north, settling in Indianapolis for a week’s worth of practice.

The Saints weren’t alone, at least not in evacuating the city.

So, Sunday, when the Superdome was nearly filled to capacity, getting a win against division-rival Tampa Bay seemed like a necessity.

New Orleans responded with a 24-20 win.

“Coming off a week where everyone was displaced from their home in New Orleans and coming back and having fans back in full force, it was awesome,” New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees said.

According to head coach Sean Payton, the team felt like the game was a chance for residents to disappear for a little while, a chance for them to get away from cleaning up tree limbs and damage.

“It’s the fist step of getting back to your every day life,” Payton said. “People are right now in the midst of doing that after the last evacuation. It gives them a chance to disappear a little bit and watch us play.

“We take that seriously.”

No Deuce

Deuce McAllister picked up the bulk of the backfield work in New Orleans’ final preseason game on Aug. 28.

So Sunday, in the season opener, it could have been safe to assume he’d get at least a few touches against Tampa Bay.

Apparently nothing is safe to assume. McAllister dressed out but never entered the game, spending much of his day on the sideline standing next to Payton.

“We were going to wait and see about Aaron Stecker,” said Payton, noting that Stecker was on the inactive list for the game. “We were really going to feature Pierre (Thomas) and Reggie (Bush) more. We’re continuing  to be patient with him.”

Shockey plays…finally

Jeremy Shockey finally lost his floaties.

For the first time as a Saint, the tight end acquired days prior to the start of training camp got into a game.

And boy did he make his mark.

Shockey caught six passes for 54 yards, picking up first downs on two big third down plays in the third quarter in his first game action in a New Orleans uniform.

“It felt good contributing,” Shockey said, “being a part of this team. I felt a little down because I didn’t get to play in the preseason.”

Payton immediately recognized the new tight end’s contributions, despite the game ending moments earlier.

“He came up with some awful big third-down completions,” Payton said. “It took us awhile to get him some touches early in the game.”

Secondary comes up big

One of the big concerns this offseason was upgrading the defensive backfield.

And through four preseason games, there still was question.

Against the Buccaneers, the questions began to get answer and for Payton, they were answered in a good way.

The cornerbacks and safeties had Tampa’s numerous deep threats blanketed throughout the game, giving up only two plays of 15 or more yards.

Aaron Glenn made big plays. Randall Gay made big plays. And rookie Tracy Porter made one of the biggest, breaking up a pass in the end zone.

“I thought we contested the throws,” Payton said. “By and large, we did a good job in our coverage scheme contesting throws. The pressure we applied really helped.”

Injury report

Defensive lineman Antwan Lake left the game in the first quarter with a groin injury. He didn’t return and became the Saints’ only casualty of the afternoon.

Inactive for Sunday’s game were: WR Robert Meachem, RB Aaron Stecker, CB Usama Young, CB Mike McKenzie, LB Mark Simoneau, LB Troy Evans, T Jermon Bushrod and DT Hollis Thomas.