Editor's Note: Ralph Malbrough is an ardent Saints fan displaced to California, who will provide a fans' perspective on the team.

After three quarters the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles switched viewers from the Saints- Ravens to the Philadelphia-Jacksonville game.

By then I had seen enough.

So what should be made of the Saints first train wreck of 2006?

The obvious conclusion is they will never win a game turning the ball over five times with ten penalties thrown in for good measure.

The only good news was Reggie Bush’s injury doesn’t look too severe.

The other conclusion to draw from Baltimore’s 35-22 beat down is the Saints secondary is borderline and quarterbacks will continue to feast on it as long as they have time to throw.

Steve McNair looked like ‘Air’ McNair from 2001. He was 17 of 23 for 159 yards and two scores. He won’t look so good the rest of 2006.

In their last three games the Saints defense has given up 706 yards passing and six touchdown passes.

In my Friday column I asked, “If Bruce Gradkowski can have his way with the Saints then maybe Steve McNair can too?”

The answer was an emphatic yes.

In training camp with all the questions surrounding the Saints the secondary wasn’t high on the list and the consensus was the offensive line and linebackers were going to be the two biggest areas of concern.

In a season with so many pleasant surprises during a 5-2 start the secondary is looking like the lone bad one.

I’m not a coach so I won’t pretend to know the answer but if Saints defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs can’t figure out how to at least slow down the Bruce Gradkowskis and 50 year old Steve McNairs of the world the second half of ’06 might be very unpleasant.

McNair at one point was seven of eight passing, including five of six on third down. He’d have a tough time being that accurate in seven on seven drills in practice.

Fred Thomas, Mike McKenzie, and Jason Craft got shelled like a target at a shooting range.

Do you know the last time a Saint defensive back had an interception was Omar Stoutmire Week 2 against the Packers? That is a long time without making a big play. Even Paris Hilton doesn’t go that long without saying something intelligent.    

The secondary hasn’t looked good since the Monday night game against Atlanta.

The good news is having a bad secondary is not a fatal flaw and with the Saints offense likely to score a bunch of points a downward spiral into the abyss isn’t likely.

So the game plan for Tampa and everyone else on the schedule from here on out will be crystal clear: Throw and then throw some more.

So for the final nine games we can know what to expect from every team the Saints play.

The question now is will the Saints have an answer?

Ralph Malbrough can be reached at ralphmalbrough@hotmail.com