(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Jeremy Shockey is scheduled to undergo surgery this week and will be out for three to six weeks because of a sports hernia.

All the Saints injuries have reduced me to being scared to death to log onto WWLTV.com because I have the fear at the top of the home page I’ll read the following: Drew Brees and wife are attacked by locusts at Uptown eatery. Click here for details.

At this point I fear the worst.

This week the Saints lost Jeremy Shockey, Jamar Nesbit, and possibly Mike Karney.

So let’s do a body count shall we. Randall Gay, Marques Colston, David Patten, Jeremy Shockey, and Jamar Nesbit are all likely out for Sunday. Scott Fujita and Jamaal Brown are maybe going to play.

Do the math, people.

The Saints might be down eight starters if you count Hollis Thomas.  This is bad. Not St. Louis Rams or Kansas City bad but be warned, Sunday against San Francisco you might not recognize what you see.

The Saints on offense could have Reggie Bush, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, and Lance Moore as their main weapons.

But Ralph it was fine against Denver, you say.

In the NFL you can get by with massive injuries for a half or a game but eventually other teams figure out where you have duct tape here or a rubber band there.

The 49ers even admitted they are totally focused on stopping Bush.

Why wouldn’t they be? If the Saints are down two offensive lineman (Brown and Nesbit), three receivers (Colston, Patten and Shockey), even I could make that game plan.

Blitz the hell out of Brees, contain Bush, and dare Meachem and Henderson to make plays. The thought of it makes me want to reach for a stiff drink and a cold towel.

Sean Payton faces his greatest challenge right now as Saints coach.

In the loaded NFC with no running game, a shaky defense, and now massive injuries how does he keep the Saints from sinking?

Drew Brees completed 81 percent of his passes last week so I’m not sure what more he can do.

Maybe Charles Grant and Will Smith could start earning their huge salaries? To me the Saints need to get to the bye week 4-4. Forget the Super Bowl or division title, and all the big time expectations for now.  The Saints need to be in position to be playing meaningful games in December.  It’s Week Four in the NFL and I have absolutely no idea what I’ll see out of the Saints because of the injuries.

That’s bad. Usually by Week Four things start sorting themselves out. We start seeing the good teams, the bad ones and the surprise ones.

The Saints are so banged up I have absolutely no idea. Will Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem drop passes and make Brees and offense look awful? Will they step up? The Saints offense went from strength to an unknown. Are bad times ahead? 

The Games

Last week: 3-2

Season: 10-5

San Francisco (+6.5) at New Orleans: Besides Kansas City, St. Louis, and Detroit the Saints shouldn’t be a touchdown favorite over anyone. The 49ers led by JT O’Sullivan are actually pretty fun to watch. Of course the good news is since Mike Martz is the offensive coordinator O’Sullivan is very sackable. Two weeks ago Seattle dropped him eight times.

Until the Saints actually show me they can sack the quarterback or stop the run I won’t believe it.

So after JT O’Sullivan and Frank Gore light up the Saints don’t say you weren’t warned. Sometimes I hate football season. It’s going to be a long drive back to Houston.

49ers 31-14   

Atlanta (+7) at Carolina: Atlanta is really well coached, can run ball, and Matt Ryan is a lot better than I thought. The Dirty Birds will be 3-1 and Atlanta won’t care because they’ll still be talking about Georgia/Alabama. Why can’t the Saints be in a train wreck division like the NFC North or the NFC West?

Falcons 23-16

Green Bay (+1) at Tampa Bay: The Bears literally gift wrapped the game to Tampa. This Brian Griese nonsense needs to end. The guy threw 67 passes and the Bears didn’t win going away? Nice defense Lovie.

Packers 27-24

Tennessee (-3) vs. Minnesota: Do you think ESPN will be fired up over the clash of the 1-3 Saints against the 1-3 Vikings. The Titans are the AFC’s best team. Watch and enjoy as they crush Gus Frerotte’s soul.

Titans 17-6

Buffalo (-8) at St. Louis: The Rams tried to shake things up this week by naming Trent Green the starting quarterback and signing Jason Craft. Jim Haslett just loves adding washed up Saints to his defense.

Hasn’t Trent Green had so many concussions he like almost died or something? Scott Linehan should enjoy his last game as Rams coach, although it will probably be as enjoyable as being water boarded in a dark room. Your interim Rams head coach, Jim Haslett? Oh lord please let it be so.

Bills 35-6

Ralph Malbrough is a Saints fan living in Houston. He can be reached at ralphmalbrough@hotmail.com. He also hosts an internet radio show at http://www.blogtalkradio/forecastradio. You can listen live or download archived editions at itunes.