The New Orleans Saints showed on Monday Night Football that they are still one of the best and most explosive teams in the NFL.

They also proved they are even better when playing inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. By whipping the New York Giants 49-24, the Saints have once again thrust themselves into the conversation about Super Bowl contenders.

And while the unbeaten Green Bay Packers still are at the forefront of Super Bowl talk, it’s clear the Saints are worth mentioning.

That’s why the Saints moved up to the No. 2 position –one spot behind the Packers – in the latest NFL power rankings by The Times-Picayune.  

Here are the rankings:

Rankings, (last week), team, record,

1.(1) Green Bay Packers 11-0 Have won 17 straight, dating to last year.

2. (3) New Orleans Saints 8-3 Saints have be unbelievable at home. 

3. (5) New England Patriots 8-3 Pats could be the team to beat in AFC.

4. (4) Pittsburgh Steelers 8-3  Offense was a little off in win over Chiefs.

5. (8) Baltimore Ravens 8-3 Ravens can’t be counted out. 

6. (2) San Francisco 49ers 9-2 Looking to avoid two-game losing streak.

7. (7) Houston Texans 8-3 Would be AFC’s top seed if playoffs started today.

8. (10) Atlanta Falcons 7-4 Trying to keep up with the Saints.

9. (11) Dallas Cowboys 7-4 Cowboys are in first place in NFC East.

10. (14) Oakland Raiders 7-4 Raiders luky to have K Sebastian Janikowski.

11. (6) Chicago Bears 7-4 Caleb Hanie isn’t the answer at QB.

12. (13) Cincinnati Bengals 7-4 Snapped two-game losing streak.

13. (15) Denver Broncos 6-5 They just keep finding a way to win.

14. (9) Detroit Lions 7-4 Another tough game this week at the Saints.

15. (16) New York Jets 6-5 Sanchez came through.

16. (17) Tennessee Titans 6-5 Chris Johnson finally looked like CJ2K.

17 (12) New York Giants 6-5 Coach Coughlin may be on his way out.

18. (18) Buffalo Bills 5-6 Have lost five of last six games.

19. (19) Philadelphia Eagles 4-7 Can start looking to next year.

20. (28) Washington Redskins 4-7 Snapped six-game losing streak.

21. (20) Seattle Seahawks 4-7 Suffered a setback against the Redskins.

22. (21) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4-7 Have lost six of last seven games.

23. (23) Kansas City Chiefs 4-7 Offense still struggling.

24. (24) Cleveland Browns 4-7 Played Bengals tough.

25. (22) San Diego Chargers 4-7 Have lost six straight games.

26. (27) Arizona Cardinals 4-7 Why are teams still punting to Patrick Peterson?

27. (25) Jacksonville Jaguars 3-8 Coach Del Rio looks like he’s out.

28. (29) Carolina Panthers 3-8 Picked up a win, albeit against the Colts.

29. (29) Miami Dolphins 3-8 Nearly upset Cowboys.

30. (30) St. Louis Rams 2-9 Couldn’t stop the run against Cardinals.

31. (31) Minnesota Vikings 2-9 Vikings weren’t supposed to be this bad.

32. (32) Indianapolis Colts 0-11 Has first dibs on top pick in NFL draft.

Drew Brees threw four touchdown passes and ran for another to spark the New Orleans Saints to a 49-24 rout of the New York Giants in a game of National Football League contenders.

Brees, the 32-year-old quarterback who led the Saints to a 2010 Super Bowl title, completed 24 of 38 passes for 363 yards, giving him 3,689 passing yards this year, keeping him on pace for the NFL‘s most prolific passing season.

“I’m not allowing it to become a distraction,” Brees said of his record bid. “As long as we win ball games, we invite all those records. You want to put your best performance on the field every week.”

The Saints produced 577 total offensive yards, the second-most ever conceded by the Giants since their 1925 creation — Giants’ defenders surrendered 682 yards in a 1943 game.

“I can’t say enough about our team,” Brees said. “We won tonight in every aspect.”

The Saints (8-3) stayed one game in front of the Atlanta Falcons atop the NFC South division heading into next Sunday’s home game against Detroit (7-4) while New York (6-5) fell one game behind first-place Dallas in the NFC East.

The Giants suffered their third loss in a row ahead of Sunday’s home game against reigning Super Bowl champion Green Bay, this season’s only unbeaten NFL squad at 11-0.

“We can’t sit here and feel sorry for ourselves,” Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. “We have to go back out there and keep swinging.”

Brees threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, marching the Saints on three scoring drives of 80 yards or more, and both ran and threw for touchdowns in the third quarter to frustrate the Giants.

Asked how the Saints could top such a stellar effort, Brees laughed.

“You can always get better,” he said. “There is always something to prove.”

New York quarterback Eli Manning, who lived in New Orleans when his father Archie was the Saints’ quarterback, had his homecoming spoiled by a Saints’ defense that muffled his side’s run attack and kept him under pressure.

“It was a big win for us,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “Like any game it wasn’t perfect. But I was pleased with the win.”

Brees opened the scoring eight seconds into the second quarter on a four-yard touchdown pass to Lance Moore, flipped a five-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham with 2:21 remaining in the period and tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Moore only 1:46 later to give New Orleans a 21-3 half-time lead.

“He made some fantastic throws,” Payton said. “There’s a confidence players have around him. He has thrown the ball with good rhythm and balance.”

Moore had five catches for 54 yards in the first half while Graham caught four passes for 55 yards. Marques Colston caught three passes for 78 yards, all on the Saints’ final first-half scoring drive, which took only 34 seconds.

The Giants, whose only first-half points came on a 42-yard Lawrence Tynes field goal, trimmed the New Orleans lead to 21-10 on an eight-yard Brandon Jacobs touchdown run only 4:17 into the third quarter.

But the Saints answered with a 73-yard touchdown drive that was capped when Brees ran eight yards for a touchdown after 9:12 of the third quarter. It was the first rushing touchdown of the season for Brees.

Just 95 seconds later, Brees connected with Graham on a 29-yard touchdown pass, boosting the Saints’ lead to 35-10.

Manning cracked the New Orleans defense in the fourth quarter, hooking up with Victor Cruz on touchdowns of 4 and 72 yards.

Brees guided a nine-play, 80-yard drive that ended on a 12-yard Pierre Thomas touchdown run and Mark Ingram added a 35-yard touchdown run with 62 seconds remaining.

Manning completed his first 21 passes of the second half, one shy of the NFL single-game consecutive completions record held by Mark Brunell and David Carr.

NFC South in Week 12

Going into Week 12, two NFC South teams have extricated themselves from the rest. The New Orleans Saints are in first place in the NFC South and have not lost since an embarrassing performance against the St. Louis Rams. The Atlanta Falcons are only one game back, but an OT loss to the Saints could prove costly in the NFC South race when the season is over. Take a closer look at the Week 12 action in the NFC South.

Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons

RB Adrian Peterson is not likely to play in Week 12. That fact, along with rookie QB Christian Ponder(notes) playing in a hostile dome, should make life difficult for Minnesota. Atlanta is desperate to win and keep pace with the Saints in the NFC South. The Falcons are great at home with Matt Ryan(notes) at QB and that trend should continue in Week 12. Even if Julio Jones(notes) cannot go in Week 12, look for Atlanta to win and keep the pressure on the Saints in the NFC South.

NFC South Week 12 prediction: Falcons def. Vikings 31-14

Carolina Panthers at Indianapolis Colts

Earlier this season, it was a foregone conclusion that Panthers rookie QB Cam Newton(notes) would win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. However, going into Week 12, I now give the edge to Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton(notes). Although the Panthers have continued to struggle in the NFC South, they should get their third win in Week 12. The Colts gave up a long time ago and they have a realistic chance of matching the Detroit Lions infamous 0-16 season.

NFC South Week 12 prediction: Panthers def. Colts 27-17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tennessee Titans

Many people are disappointed in the Buccaneers performance heading into Week 12 in the NFC South. However, most of Tampa’s wins in 2010 came against lesser foes and they are clearly not in the same class as the Saints and Falcons in the NFC South. One of the biggest stories in the NFL this year has been the disappearance of Chris Johnson going into Week 12. Johnson will remain incognito in Week 12 as the Buccaneers pick up a big road win.

NFC South Week 12 prediction: Buccaneers def. Titans 20-14

New York Giants at New Orleans Saints

As a diehard Saints fan, one of the most fun games that I attended in 2009 was the 48-27 demolition of the Giants. The Saints effectively ruined Eli Manning’s(notes) homecoming. More importantly, Eli is now 24-34 as the Giants starter in the second half of seasons. The Saints are coming off their bye and they are 10-0 in November since 2009. This Week 12 Monday night game has all the makings of a blowout as the Saints hold on to their NFC South lead.

NFC South Week 12 prediction: Saints def. Giants 38-14

Patrick Michael was born and raised in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. As such, he is a lifelong, diehard New Orleans Saints fan. His highlight as a Saints fan was experiencing the magical Super Bowl season of 2009.

Sources

“Week 12 Scoreboard,” yahoo.com

“Eli Manning,” pro-football-reference.com

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Not surprisingly, New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton said he understood and appreciated the decision that Atlanta Falcons Coach Mike Smith made to go for it on fourth-and-inches from his own 29-yard line in overtime of Sunday’s 26-23 loss to the Saints. After all, Payton has made many bold choices of his own in the past.

Everyone will forever remember Payton’s surprise onside kick to start the second half in Super Bowl XLIV against the Indianapolis Colts. But two weeks earlier, Payton also decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game – though it was less controversial since it was at the Vikings’ 43-yard line.

Tailback Pierre Thomas converted that first down, setting up kicker Garrett Hartley’s game-winning 40-yard field goal.

“I think there’s a gut you have that, throw the statistics out. We saw a similar decision made by Bill Belichick against Indianapolis (in 2009),” Payton said. “Mike felt on fourth down that a half a yard was something they could get. If it works and you go on and get a few more first downs and kick a game-winning field goal, it’s a decision that is praised.

“I used the comparison to some degree, but if we hadn’t recovered the onside kick (in the Super Bowl) Indianapolis would’ve gone on to score. There are certain times as a coach that you instill some confidence in your group. And at the time, there were two things you were thinking about: staying onsides and it’s a half a yard, so a lot of times you’ll see a quarterback sneak. He ran the power play. I think it’s in a big spot. It’s overtime and you’re on your 30 yard line, but I don’t look at it as that far out in left field. I look at that as something that was measured and calculated as the game had gone on, and they had done a good job in short yardage. They felt comfortable and confident enough in handing the ball to Michael Turner and I can understand why. And I’m not so certain that if the tables were turned that I wouldn’t have made that same decision and that going forward won’t make the same decision.

“Those are tough calls. I think in the NFC Championship game on fourth-and-inches, granted we were at midfield, but I think we all agree that had we not gotten that fourth-and-inches it would have been a few first downs before Minnesota was in field goal range. There are certain things that I think as a coach you try to pay attention to. Obviously when they go well you look good for those decisions, and when they don’t it’s questioned and for the better part of a week people will ask questions. I think that’s part of the deal.”

New Orleans Saints

At the bye week, the 2011 New Orleans Saints are in a very good position. With a 7-3 record, the Saints enter their bye week alone atop the NFC South. Just like in 2010, there were a couple of unexpected bumps along the road early on. However, once the second half of the season began, New Orleans won two huge divisional games prior to the bye. Take a closer look at how the New Orleans Saints are playing in six key areas at their bye week.

Passing game: A

No quarterback in the history of the NFL has had more passing yardage through 10 games than Saints QB Drew Brees(notes). Not only that, but Brees also moved into second place by himself in consecutive games with a TD pass prior to the bye. 2011 has also seen the emergence of Saints TE Jimmy Graham(notes) as perhaps the best in the NFL. The only thing that stopped New Orleans from earning an A+ is that Brees also has 11 interceptions at the bye week.

Running game: B-

Some people may think I’m being too generous in my grade of the Saints rushing attack. Although one go-to RB has yet to emerge prior to the bye, New Orleans is still ranked 14^th in rushing yards. Also, if the Saints defense could consistently shut down their opponents, then New Orleans could run the ball more in the second half. Needless to say, RB Darren Sproles(notes) has been the most pleasant surprise on the Saints roster heading into the bye.

Passing defense: C+

This bye week Saints grade is really a combination of the New Orleans defense’s ability to rush the passer and cover receivers. I have written about this before, but I really wish the Saints could apply pressure without having to blitz so often. Considering how often New Orleans defensive backs are left in single coverage thanks to blitzes, I think they’re doing a decent job. Through the bye week, the Saints are 18^th against the pass.

Rushing defense: C-

Prior to the bye week, New Orleans rushing defense ranks 19^th in the NFL. This would be a lot worse if the Saints opponents would stay committed to the run. Fortunately, offensive coordinators don’t think it’s cool to run the ball in 2011. Plus, when New Orleans puts a lot of points on the board, Saints opponents have to pass to catch up quickly. Still, New Orleans needs to work on their porous run defense during the bye week.

Kicking game: A

John Kasay(notes) and Thomas Morstead(notes) have been outstanding for the Saints at the bye week. Kasay has missed a few FGs, but he’s made every critical kick he’s had to so far for New Orleans. Also, Morstead is a touchback machine on New Orleans kickoffs. Things are certainly much better in the kicking game at the bye week than I thought they’d be after Garrett Hartley’s(notes) injury.

Return game: A-

As I mentioned earlier, Darren Sproles is a significant upgrade over Reggie Bush(notes) in many respects for New Orleans. Although he only has one TD on a punt return for the Saints at the bye week, Sproles is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. I also love his confidence in returning kickoffs for New Orleans that go deep into the endzone. I am certainly glad that Sproles and Brees became friends when they played together in San Diego!

Patrick Michael was born and raised in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. As such, he is a lifelong, diehard New Orleans Saints fan. His highlight as a Saints fan was experiencing the magical Super Bowl season of 2009.

Sources

FOX broadcast of the New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons game

“2011 New Orleans Saints,” pro-football-reference.com

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The New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons 26-23 on Sunday in another NFC South classic at the Georgia Dome. There were plenty of noteworth plays, from the obvious, the fourth-down stop in overtime, to big catches by receiver Marques Colston and tight end Jimmy Graham. Safety Roman Harper had arguably his best game of the season.

So we want to hear from you. Who gets your vote for Sunday’s MVP? Feel free to write in your votes below (Mike Smith anyone?).

ATLANTA – John Kasay kicked a 23-yard field goal in overtime to lift the New Orleans Saints to a 26-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons in a key NFC South match Sunday.

New Orleans set up the winning field goal after stuffing a fourth-down run.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees went 30 for 43 passing with 322 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He threw scoring strikes to Jimmy Graham and Robert Meachem.

New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons, by the numbers, from Stats, inc.

1. The Saints are 8-2 versus Atlanta since 2006. New Orleans is 4-1 over the past five meetings, four of which were decided by four points or fewer.

2. At 6-3, the Saints lead the 5-3 Falcons by one-half game in the NFC South. While New Orleans is unbeaten at home (4-0), all three losses have come on the road (2-3). New Orleans is scoring 14 fewer points on the road than at home (39.8 home, 25.6 road), while surrendering 10 more points away from home (17.3 home, 27.2 road).

3. After opening 2-3, the Falcons have won their last three games while outscoring their opponents by an average of 15 points per game. Atlanta’s pass defense has sliced its yards allowed per game from 304.2 to 179.3 over those two time frames.

4. Saints’ tight end Jimmy Graham is averaging 87.9 receiving yards per game, a pace that currently ranks as the highest single-season rate ever for a tight end. The previous high was 86.1 yards per game, by Jackie Smith of the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals.

5. Darren Sproles is averaging 166.6 all-purpose yards per game, the second-highest rate by any player since the introduction of the 16-game schedule in 1978, trailing only Derrick Mason (168.1) of the 2000 Tennessee Titans (minimum 8 games).

6. While Matt Ryan has not thrown for fewer than 218 yards in any of five road games this season, he hasn’t totaled more than 195 yards in any of three games at home. Still, Ryan’s career winning percentage at home (22-3, .880) is the second highest by any quarterback with a minimum of 25 starts since 1950 (Daryle Lamonica, 37-4-2, .893).

New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee) and defensive end Turk McBride (ankle) have been ruled out for Sunday’s game at the Atlanta Falcons after missing practice all week. Receiver Lance Moore missed practice for the second straight day Friday with a sore hamstring, and he has officially been listed as questionable for Sunday’s game.

Cornerback Patrick Robinson (stomach) is also listed as questionable. Both Payton and Robinson declined to discuss the specifics of the injury, though it seems unlikely that Robinson will play since he didn’t practice all week. And tailback Chris Ivory (hamstring) is also questionable after practicing on a limited basis all week. 

Cornerback Tracy Porter (neck/back), tailback Mark Ingram (heel) and tight end John Gilmore (neck) are listed as probable after being limited all week.

With Ivory listed as questionable and Ingram probable, it’s possible that Ivory will be the odd man out in the running back rotation this week, though they have not revealed their plans. Saints Coach Sean Payton said earlier this week that the Saints typically only go into a game with three tailbacks.

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G. Andrew Boyd/The Associated PressNew Orleans Saints running back Darren Sproles gets a great block from center Brian de la Puente on Ronde Barber against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at the Superdome.

New Orleans Saints news and notes from around the web. The team travels to Atlanta for an NFC South showdown against the Falcons on Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

Saints have toughest remaining schedule in NFC South (Pat Yasinskas, espn.com)

Falcons can’t let Sproles run free (John Lynch, foxsports.com)

Tiny Darren Sproles making huge impact on post-Bush Saints (Larry Holder, cbssports.com)

Pass-happy Saints have good problem: Too many quality RBs (Associated Press)

Center Brian de la Puente answering bell when called on (Bradley Handwerger, wwltv.com)

The longtime rivalry between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons has been heating up in recent years, both because of how good the teams have been and because of some elevated trash-talking. Last year, the Saints ruffled a few Falcon feathers when some of their defensive players celebrated and posed for pictures after their Week 16 victory inside the Georgia Dome.

The Falcons are mostly insisting that they have either forgotten about that incident or that it wasn’t a big deal, though some players insisted last year that they would keep it in the back of their minds.

“There is trash talk every week,” Falcons tailback Michael Turner told the Atlanta media. “We know we don’t like each other. We’ve been fighting each other since 2008 for this division. It’s a rivalry game. …

It’s pretty close. This is one of the most overlooked rivalries in football right now. We’ve been playing some great games. We respect each other, but when it comes down to Sunday, we try to be the better team.”

Receiver Roddy White was asked specifically about the postgame celebration, after which Saints defensive tackle Remi Ayodele was quoted as saying, “I pissed on the Falcons logo.” Saints players insisted afterward that they meant no disrespect to the Falcons, and that they often pose for pictures after big road victories.

“Oh wow, that’s kind of crazy,” White said. “They came down here and got a W. They can kind of do whatever they want to do. That’s kind of what happens. When we won down there, we kind of went on the field. It happens. We kind of did our thing when we went down there and won the game. They won, so congratulations to them.

“This is a whole new year. A whole new team; different players and things like that. We’ll be ready to get a W and keep them out of the middle of our field.”

Posted: Wednesday, November 09, 2011, 9:18 AM

In this week’s episode of In Judy’s Kitchen, Times-Picayune Food editor Judy Walker shows how to make a delicious pulled pork roast using Coke as the main seasoning ingredient.

New Orleans Saints losses under Payton

This may sound strange, but writing about the worst New Orleans Saints losses under Sean Payton is one of the easiest articles I have ever written. That’s because there have been so few bad losses for the Saints since Payton took over. Winning Super Bowl XLIV has also made stomaching the occasional upset loss under Payton much easier. Take a look back at the five worst New Orleans Saints losses under Sean Payton.

5. 12/17/2006: Washington Redskins def. New Orleans Saints 16-10

Besides Payton’s big win on Monday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons, the most memorable regular season win for New Orleans in 2006 was their 42-17 shellacking of the Dallas Cowboys. However, New Orleans followed up that huge road win with a bad loss to the Redskins. For some reason, New Orleans has always struggled against the Redskins under Payton. The Saints only rushed for 71 yards and Brees had no TD passes in the Redskins loss.

4. 9/26/2010: Atlanta Falcons def. New Orleans Saints 27-24 (OT)

The inclusion of Payton’s loss to the 2010 Falcons is by no means an implication that Atlanta was not a quality team. In fact, they finished with the best record in the NFC. However, New Orleans should have won the game in OT. To lose after missing a 30-yard FG is a devastating loss against anyone. There’s no telling what would have happened the rest of the way if New Orleans had won, but there’s a good chance the Saints would have won the NFC South.

3. 12/27/2009: Tampa Bay Buccaneers def. New Orleans Saints 20-17 (OT)

It’s a good thing Hartley came up big for New Orleans in the Super Bowl; otherwise he would be remembered for two big FG misses in losses while playing for Payton. Besides the gaffe in the Falcons loss, he also missed a short FG late that probably would have averted a loss to the Buccaneers. Fortunately, Payton and the Saints still wrapped up home field advantage despite the loss and they reached the Promised Land a few weeks later in Miami.

2. 10/30/2011: St. Louis Rams def. New Orleans Saints 31-21

I guess after posting a 62-7 loss on another team it’s easy to start thinking too highly of yourself. Still, I would have thought that Payton would have had New Orleans ready to play the following week against the winless Rams. What was shocking about this loss is that the final score was not indicative of how badly the Rams dominated New Orleans. In fact, Drew Brees(notes) was sacked so often that for a moment I could have sworn it was Archie Manning at QB.

1. 1/8/2011: Seattle Seahawks def. New Orleans Saints 41-36

The 2010 Seahawks may be the worst division winning team in NFL history. However, New Orleans’ defense made the Seahawks look like the “greatest show on turf.” And of course, I don’t need to remind fellow Saints fans about the difficulty New Orleans had tackling Marshawn Lynch(notes) on a certain run late in the loss. As the defending Super Bowl champions in a playoff game, the Saints loss to the Seahawks still ranks as their worst loss under Sean Payton.

Honorable mention worst New Orleans Saints losses under Sean Payton

9/21/2008: Denver Broncos def. Saints 34-32, 10/6/2008: Minnesota Vikings def. Saints 30-27, 10/10/2010: Arizona Cardinals def. Saints 30-20, 10/24/2010: Cleveland Browns def. Saints 30-17

Patrick Michael was born and raised in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. As such, he is a lifelong, diehard New Orleans Saints fan. His highlight as a Saints fan was experiencing the magical Super Bowl season of 2009.

Sources

“Pro Football Reference,” pro-football-reference.com

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