New Orleans Saints individual records (non-Drew Brees) and notes from the win against Carolina on Sunday.

· TE Jimmy Graham had eight receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. He set a franchise record for receptions in a season with 99 and tied another mark with his 11th touchdown reception. The previous mark for catches was 98 by Marques Colston in 2007. Colston, in 2007, and Joe Horn, in 2004, are the other receivers in Saints history with 11 touchdown catches.

· For a brief moment, Graham held the NFL record for receiving yards in a season by a tight end (1,310), before New England’s Rob Gronkowski caught a 23-yard pass in the final two minutes to up his season total to 1,327.

· Running back Darren Sproles had 168 combined net yards (40 rushing, 29 receiving, 45 punt returns, 54 kickoff returns) Sunday to improve his season total to 2,696, an NFL single-season record. The previous mark of 2,690 was set by the Tennessee Titans’ Derrick Mason in 2000, and the second-highest total (and previous Saints franchise mark) of 2,647 was set by Michael Lewis in 2002.

· Colston caught Brees’ first pass on Sunday to go past the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yards for the fifth time in his six seasons with the Saints. Colston, who had 10 catches for 145 yards against the Panthers, ends 2011 with 80 receptions for 1,143 yards.

· Graham, Sproles and Colston all finished with 80 or more receptions.

· Colston and Graham are only the second set of teammates in franchise history to each have 1,000 or more yards receiving. In 2001, Joe Horn finished with 1,265 receiving yards and Willie Jackson 1,046.

· Cornerback Patrick Robinson’s second-quarter interception was his team-leading fourth of the season, two of which came off Carolina’s Cam Newton. Robinson is the seventh different Saints defender to lead or co-lead the team in interceptions since 2007.

· Rookie linebacker Martez Wilson’s third-quarter sack of Newton was the first of his career.

· Punder Thomas Morstead broke his own franchise history for punting average at 47.9. He averaged 45.9 yards per punt a year ago.

· Kicker John Kasay’s 144 points scored and 63 points after touchdown extended his own franchise records

The New Orleans Saints host the Carolina Panthers today at noon at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The game will be televised by Fox and broadcast by WWL-870 and 105.3.

Coaches: Sean Payton (61-34 regular season; 4-2 postseason in six seasons, all with the Saints), Ron Rivera (6-9 in first season with Panthers)

TV: Fox-8; Joe Buck play-by-play, Troy Aikman color.

Radio: WWL-870, 105.3.

KEEP AN EYE ON

PANTHERS QB CAM NEWTON

Well, duh, but according to Saints defenders, Newton is a rare, complete package. First, he can run (14 rushing touchdowns this season). “Normally there are a lot of plays where, on defense, you’re 11 going on 10 because you don’t have to account for the quarterback,” linebacker Scott Shanle said. “That’s not the case here. It’s almost like he creates another gap.” In the example Shanle cited, an old school run has the fullback leading a halfback through the hole. One linebacker takes on the fullback, another makes the tackle. But the Panthers can line up their fullback like a wingback and, when the defense adjusts to account for that, the unit is a man short if Newton runs off a play-action fake. In the passing game, Newton’s howitzer arm creates problems. Even in the NFL, many quarterbacks can’t make all the throws once they break containment, safety Malcolm Jenkins said. That means in most games, safeties can cheat, give up on receivers on the far side and collapse the field toward the quarterback. But because Newton can make the deep throw back across, Jenkins said the secondary has to hold its ground even when Newton is on the move, which creates more space for Newton to exploit once he crosses the line of scrimmage and makes it more likely defenders Newton does encounter have to take him on one on one. And if there is another thing that sets Newton apart, Shanle and Jenkins both said, it is his size. At 6 feet 5, 248 pounds, Newton is an intimidating and difficult man to tackle.

PANTHERS WR STEVE SMITH

This is partly a football judgment, because Smith is a very good receiver who has hurt the Saints in the past. He has eight touchdown catches against New Orleans in his career. During his 11 years in the NFL, Smith has averaged better than six yards after the catch, and New Orleans comes into the game allowing the highest yards after the catch in the NFL. Smith credits rookie quarterback Cam Newton with rejuvenating what appeared to be a career in embers, and Smith, an 11-year veteran, has enjoyed a Pro Bowl season with 73 catches for 1,308 yards and six touchdowns. But what will also bear close watching today is Smith’s relationship with the New Orleans secondary because Smith got a nice chunk of his 2011 statistics — along with a post-TD end zone smash — when the Saints visited Charlotte, N.C. In that game, Smith had three catches for 79 yards, 54 of which came on a scoring grab that ended with him sauntering in the end zone and taking a blind side late hit from safety Roman Harper. Harper absorbed a $15,000 fine from the league for his message, and Smith is known to be a brash, outspoken sort of player. Taking the safe route, perhaps, Coach Sean Payton and several players insist that sort of thing rarely carries over even though some tension has always existed between Smith and the Saints since they play each other often as division rivals. As might be expected, Payton had nothing but high praise for Smith, whom he coached in the Pro Bowl after the 2006 season. In particular, Payton said that setting gives insight into the things a player brings to the game that don’t show up on tape, and Smith’s dedication and superb conditioning are what make him “explosive” to this day.

KEY MATCHUP

SAINTS S ROMAN HARPER vs.

CAROLINA TEs JEREMY SHOCKEY and GREG OLSEN

Carolina will rely on its ground attack — the Panthers are on the cusp of becoming the first team in NFL history with three players rushing for more than 700 yards in a season — but the reliable tight end tandem has proved the rookie quarterback’s best friend. Olsen, acquired in an off-season trade with the Bears, is second on the team with 45 catches for 540 yards and five scores. Shockey, the former Saint, carries a streak of 135 regular-season games played with a reception and has caught 34 passes for 437 yards and four touchdowns. Twice this year, most recently against the Falcons on Dec. 11, each has caught a touchdown pass in a game. Though he will have help, Harper is likely to be the main defender on the pair. “I wouldn’t say, ‘old times,’” Harper laughed when asked about playing Shockey. “Shock’s always good to go up against, he’s always teaching me stuff when he was here, and I still use a lot of those tactics today. So it’s always a fun matchup with him because he talks and he’s, he’s just Shockey. Olsen is also a very talented guy. I think Olsen is younger so he probably runs a little bit better than Shockey does now, that’s just downfieldwise. But I would also say Shockey is a little bit more savvy in his routes and doing some things like that. They’re both big and can run. So you look at them and there’s not a lot that’s different, and you have to respect both of their games.”

BY THE NUMBERS

17-16 – Panthers lead all-time vs. New Orleans. 3-0 – Saints’ active win streak against Carolina. 32 – Saints’ NFL rank in surrendering yards after catch. 2 – Saints’ NFL rank in yards gained after catch. 48.1 – Saints’ third-down conversion rate since 2006, best in the NFL. 56.3 – Saints’ third-down conversion rate in 2011. 4 – NFL records Brees has set and is still adding to thus far in 2011.

FROM THE COACH’S MOUTH

“There’s a lot of improvement statistically. We try to do a PowerPoint every Wednesday on the things we see with the opponent, and statistically there are a ton of areas that they’re playing better than they were the last time we played them. The last time we played them I think we were only three or four games into the season. There’s some uniqueness to what they do offensively, certainly it starts with the quarterback and his ability to hurt you with his arm and hurt you with his legs. He’s very talented. The players around him are playing exceptionally well. They’re doing a better job with the football, so there are a lot of areas where they’ve improved in, and it showed up when you look at their recent games. I think it’s a big test for us.” – Sean Payton on the Panthers.

What better way to get into the holiday spirit than with some old-fashioned mocking? Here is a look at the most humiliating defeats in the world of sports in 2011.

Saints beat Colts 62-7
It was a day for the history books when the Saints and Colts met. It was the most points scored in a game since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, and it was a franchise record in points and point differential for the Saints. New Orleans had over 600 yards of offense despite resting most of its starters in the fourth quarter.

Barcelona beats Hospitalet 9-0
Surprising no one, Barcelona followed up its Club World Cup title with a thrashing of third tier Hospitaleat in the Copa del Rey. The game included braces by Thiago Alcatanar, Cristian Tello and Isaac Cuenca.

Real Madrid beats Osasuna 7-1
Osasuna became the whipping boy of La Liga this year. It was destroyed by Barcelona, to then have that followed up by a 7-1 defeat against Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo recorded a hat trick while Balde had the only goal for Osasuna.

Roger Federer beats Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-0
Roger Federer finally got his revenge against an out of form Rafael Nadal. The Swiss tennis star defeated the Spaniard in the ATP finals with the most dominating of his career against Nadal 6-3, 6-0.

Manchester United beats Arsenal 8-2
Manchester United took advantage of Arsenal’s bad start to the season with one of the most embarrassing defeats in its history. United defeated the London team 8-2 with a hat trick from Wayne Rooney. It is the worst defeat for Arsenal since 1897.

Mancester City beats Manchester United 6-1
The Manchester derby, to determine the top spot in the Premier League, was a clinic by the City team. United could not find a way to respond as Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko both scored twice. It is the worst home loss for United since 1955 and the first time they allow six goals at home since 1931.

Mexico beats Costa Rica 4-1
The final score does not reflect the humiliation Mexico gave its former coach Ricardo La Volpe in the Gold Cup. The Mexican team had a 4-0 lead at halftime, despite no goals from their attacking duo Giovani Dos Santos and Javier “El Chicharito” Hernandez. The team showed mercy in the second half, otherwise the score line could have easily read 8-0.

Morelia beats Toluca 6-1
Morelia showed the great form it would have early on in the Mexican league with a 6 -1 defeat of Toluca. Rafael Marquez Lugo had a hat trick in the victory, which continued a streak of eight straight wins for the Mexican team.

Yankees beats Athletics 22-9
The New York Yankees made history with their 22-9 defeat of the Oakland A’s, becoming the first team to ever hit three grand slams in a game. The most impressive part in the lopsided win? The Yankees looked to be on the negative end of it early on, falling to a 7-1 hole after three innings.

 
Mavericks beat Lakers 122-86
In the last day of Phil Jackson‘s legendary coaching career, the Lakers did everything possible to humiliate him. Not only did they lose by a margin of almost 40 points, to get swept in the series, but they did it with no class as both Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum were ejected. Jason Terry was the story of the game with 32 points, including a record-breaking nine 3-pointers in the game.

Two seasons ago, the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings met for the NFC championship and a trip to Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.

As you might have heard, New Orleans won that game. But Minnesota? Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

While the Saints finished 11-5 last season and presently sit 10-3 — and are playoff bound — the Vikings stumbled to a 6-10 mark last season and are 2-11 this season.

Minnesota brought in quarterback Donovan McNabb to replace Brett Favre, and that experiment didn’t last as long — McNabb was waived last month. In his place, the Vikings put in rookie quarterback Christian Ponder.

So while New Orleans is headed back to the playoffs and are angling for a first-round bye, Minnesota Coach Leslie Frazier is trying to keep his team together.

VIKINGS OFFENSE

Early reports said that running back Adrian Peterson will return from an ankle injury that has forced him to miss the past three games.

He needs 128 yards to reach 1,000 on the season, something he has rushed for in each of his first four seasons in the NFL. How good has Peterson been in his career? He could rush for 425 yards over his final three games and it would still be the lowest output of his career.

Ponder started in the Vikings’ 34-28 loss to Detroit last Sunday, but Frazier said Ponder will start this Sunday despite the job that Joe Webb did in relief. Ponder complete 11 of 21 passes for 115 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also lost a fumble.

Webb, a triple-threat-type player more in the mold of Brad Smith than Kordell Stewart, played in the second half and was a blown facemask call away from possibly leading Minnesota to a game-tying score in the final seconds. The Vikings tried converting Webb to a receiver but needed him for depth at quarterback. He rushed for 109 yards against the Lions, and Minnesota now has its own Wildcat-esque formation for Webb called “Blazer.”

Another change in the Vikings’ offense has been the role of receiver Percy Harvin, who has 26 catches in his last three games.

VIKINGS DEFENSE

NFL sack leader Jared Allen regained his form sacking Detroit’s Matthew Stafford three times.

He has 17.5 sacks this season and needs 5.5 in his last three games to top Michael Strahan’s NFL sack record. Minnesota’s Chad Greenway is fourth in the NFL in tackles with 118 and leads a rushing defense that is ninth in the league. However, the Vikings’ defense struggles against the pass.

A quarterback would be having a pretty good season using numbers put up against Minnesota. Opponents are completing 68.2 percent of their passes, have thrown for 3,505 yards and 26 touchdowns while throwing just six interceptions. That’s good enough for a 107.1 rating. For comparison’s sake, Drew Brees’ rating this season is 105.9 for the Saints.

Starting cornerback Antoine Winfield suffered a season-ending injury last month, and Cedric Griffin, whom Frazier said was only playing because the Vikings lacked another option, was benched last week.

VIKINGS SPECIAL TEAMS

Ryan Longwell still is kicking at a decent percentage (16 of 20, 80 percent), except the Vikings just aren’t putting him in position to kick field goals.

The 15-year veteran has four attempts in his last five games, and three of those came two weeks ago in a 35-32 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Chris Kluwe is averaging 45.4 per punt but only has a 36.3 net average because the Vikings are allowing 13.4 yards per punt return, which is 27th in the league.

LAST TIME THEY MET

Sept. 9, 2010, at the Superdome

Some Saints fans might forget that while Garrett Hartley’s legs put the Saints into Super Bowl XLIV by defeating the Vikings in overtime, New Orleans also opened the next season with Minnesota.

The Saints started their defense of the Lombardi Trophy with a 14-9 victory over Favre and the Vikings. Brees threw for 237 yards and a 29-yard touchdown to Devery Henderson, and Pierre Thomas ran for 71 yards — including a 1-yard score in the third quarter which proved to be the game winner.å

NEW ORLEANS (9-3) At TENNESSEE (7-5)

Sunday, 1 p.m. Fox

OPENING LINE—Saints by 4 1/2

RECORD VS. SPREAD—New Orleans 8-4, Tennessee 6-4-2

SERIES RECORD—Titans lead 7-4-1

LAST MEETING—Titans beat Saints 31-14, Sept. 24, 2007

LAST WEEK—Saints beat Lions 31-17; Titans beat Bills 23-17

SAINTS OFFENSE—OVERALL (1), RUSH (8), PASS (1)

SAINTS DEFENSE—OVERALL (27), RUSH (16), PASS (30)

TITANS OFFENSE—OVERALL (22), RUSH (28), PASS (18)

TITANS DEFENSE—OVERALL (18), RUSH (21), PASS (18)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES—Saints have four-game winning streak. …
Tennessee has won four in row against New Orleans dating to 1996 and nine of
past 10 home games against NFC teams. … Saints QB Drew Brees leads NFL with
4,031 yards and is first player with more than 4,000 yards passing in first 12
games of season. He has 20 or more completions in NFL-record 32 straight games
and touchdown pass in 39 consecutive games for second longest streak in NFL
history. … In last game against New Orleans, Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck, then
with Seattle, completed 22 of 35 passes for 272 yards, four touchdowns and one
interception. … New Orleans RB Darren Sproles is only player in NFL with
touchdown on punt return and two or more touchdowns both rushing and receiving.
… Tennessee RB Chris Johnson averages 104.3 yards rushing per game in
December. In 15 career games against NFC Johnson averages 107.2 yards rushing
per game with 17 rushing touchdowns. … Saints TE Jimmy Graham leads NFL tight
ends with 75 receptions and 1,046 yards. He’s caught touchdown passes in last
four games against AFC. … Titans WR Nate Washington leads NFL with 24 catches
on third down and needs 20 yards receiving to surpass his career-high 687 yards
total from 2010. … New Orleans S Roman Harper has 16 sacks, most in NFL by
defensive back. … Tennessee rookie LB Colin McCarthy had forced fumble and two
fumble recoveries last week.