METAIRIE, La. -- Saints quarterback Drew Brees doesnt dispute the notion that hes been in a considerable rut the past two games.At the same time, the perspective hes gained during a career spanning nearly 16 seasons leaves him with little doubt that a vintage performance could come as early as this Sunday in Arizona.Ive played football a long time, Brees said after practice on Wednesday.Ive thrown a lot of interceptions, unfortunately. Ive also come back and had some pretty huge wins after games like that. The bottom line is my confidence is not lacking, put it that way.While Im disappointed in myself for what happened over the last two games ... I know I can make those corrections.While Brees leads the NFL with 4,170 yards passing and is tied for second with 30 touchdowns, he has not thrown a scoring pass in two games. During that span, he has been intercepted six times.Yet, after studying video of Brees season, Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson said he doesnt really see a quarterback who is struggling.Rather, Brees has been plagued by untimely mistakes, sometimes his own and sometimes his pass blockers or receivers.A couple of those interceptions were some (deflected) passes, obviously a couple ill-advised throws, Peterson said.The front has forced him to make bad throws. We already know Drew Brees is a short quarterback so defensive linemen force him to step up so he cant see.He understands how to get out of funks, Peterson continued.By him being in the league so long, Im quite sure he understands to stick to the process, stick to the script and eventually itll turn for him. I hope it doesnt turn for him against us on Sunday, but I wish him the best of luck.Brees very well could have had two touchdown passes last weekend in Tampa Bay. Running back Travaris Cadet and receiver Brandin Cooks both were unable to catch passes that hit them square in the hands in or near the end zone, and the Saints wound up ending both drives with field goals.A different result on those plays might have lifted New Orleans to a victory in what wound up instead as a 16-11 loss.It also didnt help New Orleans offense that starting center Max Unger, and one of their top receivers, rookie Michael Thomas, both were inactive because of injuries.Saints receiver Willie Snead said problems for the offense the past two games really began with a drop-off in the running game, which puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback to make tough throws and put the ball in certain places where its going to be tight.When we start becoming one-dimensional, defenses start to key in on that. They lock in and before you know it theres tipped passes, forced throws and stuff like that, Snead said.A lot of it is missed opportunities, penalties pushing us back. Theres nothing wrong with Drew. Drew is always on. Its all about opportunities and timing. We missed a lot of opportunities last game -- and we wont miss those opportunities again.Brees said it doesnt bother him when people view statistics such as zero TD passes and six interceptions in the past two games in isolation, even though he knows its more complicated than that.I could care less what people say, Brees said. I am disappointed in the fact that it happened. The good thing is I know how to fix it. ... I do my job. I turn it loose. I play confident and I know what cant happen in certain situations.Game notes The Saints have placed left tackle Terron Armstead on injured reserve, ending his season. Armstead has played in just seven games because of knee and quadriceps injuries. ... New Orleans also signed veteran linebacker Jason Trusnik. ... Four players sat out Wednesdays practice, the Saints said. They were: RB Mark Ingram (toe), CB Delvin Breaux (shoulder), LB Stephone Anthony (knee) and RB Daniel Lasco (hamstring). ... Unger (foot) and Thomas (foot) and LB Craig Robertson (shoulder) all returned to practice on a limited basis.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Swell Bottles Near Me . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Swell Bottle Outlet Ireland .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. http://www.swellwaterbottleireland.com/ . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Swell Water Bottle Clearance .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Swell Traveler Ireland . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. NEW YORK -- Jake Arrieta was not accustomed to this.The NL Cy Young Award winner started his first eight batters with balls.He went to 3-2 counts four times in a 35-pitch first inning, allowing Neil Walkers two-run homer.Its frustrating for me, because I expect a lot more out of myself, he said Saturday night after the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in Arrietas first regular-season road loss in 14 months.Just after Anthony Rizzo tied the score with a two-run, fourth-inning homer off Bartolo Colon, Travis dArnaud blooped a two-run single in the bottom half that sent the Mets to their third straight win in the four-game series, which ends Sunday.Arrieta (12-3) has lost three times in six starts, giving up four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings against the defending NL champions.Poor performance on my end, he said. Just didnt get the effort my team needed tonight. I needed to be more of a stopper, put a stop to the bleeding.He had been 19-0 in 24 regular-season road starts since losing at St. Louis on May 7, 2015 -- to current teammate John Lackey. Arrieta is the only pitcher since 1913 to win 19 consecutive road decisions. However, he lost Game 2 of last years NL Championship Series at Citi Field.Believe me, were all going to be in for a treat when this all gets straightened out, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. Hes going to look like he did last year.Arrieta said issues with mechanics were overblown.Were spinning our wheels a little bit too much trying to figure out what the solution is, or is there a problem, he said. I just need to pitch better. Thats the bottom line.Rookie Brandon Nimmo walked leading off the first, and Walker sent a 94 mph sinker off the facing of the second deck in right. Walker had been 4 for 28 against Arrieta, including the postseason.He just wasnt throwing as many strikes early in the count as Ive been accustomed to facing him, Walker said. When youre 1-0, 2-1 with everybody, it makes it difficult to use that entire arsenal.With the score 2-2 in the fourth and runners at first and second, dArnaud popped a ball into short center field, in the middle of a triangle formed by center fielder Jason Heyward, second baseman Javier Baez and shortstop Addison Russell.dddddddddddd. On a full run toward the outfield and with his back to home plate, Baez reached up with his right, bare hand, but the ball glanced off it and fell to the ground as two runs scored. Baez had just entered the game at second base.Colon (7-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, and Ben Zobrist homered off Erik Goeddel in the seventh.Addison Reed struck out Kris Bryant to end the seventh with the potential tying run on second, and then struck out the side in the eighth after Rizzos leadoff single. Jeurys Familia got three straight outs to convert his 44th consecutive save chance, including a major league-leading 28 this season.Chicago lost for the ninth time in 13 games but still has the best record in the major leagues at 51-29. After getting swept in a three-game series at Washington, the Mets can sweep four from the Cubs.We want to finish it off tomorrow, Mets manager Terry Collins said.LOOKING AHEADArrieta is to start Friday at Pittsburgh, putting him in position for a possible start for Collins of the Mets in the All-Star Game at San Diego on July 12.JUST PLAIN LOOKINGPlate umpire Laz Diaz called nine batters out on strikes, including five Cubs. When Baez was called out leading off the ninth, he held out both arms, and Maddon yelled from the dugout.The amorphic strike zone tonight was really difficult for both sides, Maddon said.CUBS ROTATIONRight-hander Adam Warren is to start Wednesday against Cincinnati at Wrigley Field, following Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. Maddon said Warren could get a start after the All-Star break but because of a July 21 off day, it was unlikely he would go with a six-man rotation two turns in a row.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RF Chris Coghlan left after three innings because of right ribcage soreness.UP NEXTLHP Jon Lester (9-3) is to start Sundays series final for the Cubs and RHP Noah Syndergaard (8-3) for the Mets. Lester is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three regular-season starts against the Mets but lost last years NL Championship Series opener to Matt Harvey. ' ' '