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.”

There is the quick update of the day.

Coming off an ugly loss and apparently treading water in the middle of a season in which much was expected, could the next big home game be a must-win situation for the Saints?

Faced with that situation a year ago, Coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees insisted it could not for the defending Super Bowl champions. The only must-win games are those in which a loss means your season ends, Brees and Payton maintained.

Yet, now history repeats.

A year after New Orleans suffered an embarrassing defeat to Cleveland, the team turned in an embarrassing losing performance at previously winless St. Louis. In response last season, the Saints ran off an impressive streak of six consecutive victories. Now New Orleans (5-3) wants to at least launch another streak with wins over divisional foe Tampa Bay (4-3) today and then, next Sunday, Atlanta.

Not everything is exactly the same, however. In between last year’s midseason pivot and this, the Saints also stuck in another humiliating loss. That one came in the postseason, in one of those games that meets the Payton/Brees “must-win” definition, and it, too, came against a team, Seattle, widely regarded as inferior to New Orleans.

Could that playoff failure, coupled with the less grievous one that occurred in St. Louis last week, account for the subtle change in language? For whereas one year ago the Saints waved aside the suggestion they were facing an absolutely critical game in the middle of the season, now the corporate line is that beating the Buccaneers today is absolutely critical.

Win, and the Saints surge toward the heart of their divisional race with momentum. Lose, and New Orleans will fall two games behind Tampa Bay head-to-head, and limp to Atlanta, where the Falcons seem resurgent after a shaky start.

“This game couldn’t get any bigger for being a midseason game where we’re coming off a loss; they’re coming off a loss, albeit they had a bye week, as well,” Brees said. “It was the not-too-distant past that we went up there and were defeated. We understand the importance of this game not only for this point in the season, coming off a loss, divisional game, the second one against this team. Yes, it’s a big game.”

Backing up the significance he puts on today’s game, Brees, who played poorly against the Rams, appears to have taken on even more leadership responsibilities. In normal weeks, Brees steps forward to speak with reporters on Wednesdays; this week he did more, making it clear in the locker room on Monday — the day after the loss to the Rams — that he was open to handle any queries. At practice, where Brees is usually wrapped in a personal zone during stretches, he was instead bantering loudly with teammates.

And perhaps most tellingly, when he and wide receiver Lance Moore missed badly on a wobbly throw by Brees and a wrong cut by Moore, Brees did not, as he normally would, turn away, bob his head with disgust and deliver a loud personal rebuke. This Thursday, Brees charged 15 yards down the field and huddled closely with Moore, gesturing and making it crystal clear that such misunderstandings must be erased from the Saints’ play.

Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, who has also assumed a bigger role at practice now that Payton must motor about on a golf cart with his broken left leg raised on a padded bar, agreed there has been a tangible change to preparation.

“Absolutely,” he said. “It (St. Louis) wasn’t good enough. It’s time to get better this week.”

Brees’ heightened presence actually started a couple of weeks previously, according to backup quarterback Chase Daniel. It’s not that this game has inordinate importance, Daniel said, but that the season’s crunch time has arrived.

“This is it – November and December football,” he said. “All the teams that are going to make the playoffs and do well in the playoffs play well in November and December. In college, they say the championship teams play well in November. Well, in the NFL, the championship teams play well in November — and December.”

Certainly the next month will go a long way toward establishing where the Saints finish the regular season; whether they will play football beyond then, for one thing, and, more likely, where. Tampa Bay is the first in a stretch of four consecutive NFC games.

Those big-picture overtones tend to push aside some of the smaller issues. There is the LaGarrette Blount/Chris Ivory storyline, for instance. Both backs emerged as undrafted free agents in 2010 to lead their teams in rushing as rookies, only to suffer a sophomore jinx thus far brought on by injuries. Blount and Ivory will seek to re-establish themselves this afternoon, and the one that does so best could go a long way toward determining the winner.

Similarly, the Bucs will be looking to settle down after a schedule that had them travel 13,612 miles in three weeks. Tampa Bay lost two of those games before getting a bye last week. Will it respond to the rest and re-engage with its remaining, more normal NFL schedule, or will it squander the progress it made when it beat New Orleans three weeks ago?

There also will be the mounting pressure on the Saints’ defense, which has shown signs of again making the big play, even as the Saints lost two of the past three games. The defense has scored a touchdown in two consecutive games.

Payton also is sounding his November/December theme. It is one he hit hard on last season, when the Saints launched their six-game win streak. But it was also one he continued to sound when the Saints, beginning in mid-December, lost two of their last three regular season games and were forced to travel to distant Seattle, where they lost again in a must-win.

“Honestly, I think from a division standpoint, you’re always paying attention to how your division does,” Payton said. “I do think we all recognize the importance of November and December. The league over the last couple of years has moved these division games to later in the season to really encourage that competition within the divisions. These months are critical.”

Payton did not use the words “must-win” last week. But neither did he mince words when talking about both the unexpected performance his team turned in against the Rams or the sort of mindset his players must adopt now with eight games remaining.

“You hope that each week you’re able to learn from certain things, and yet obviously it was a step backwards,” he said. “But it certainly wasn’t a step that’s going to affect how we play moving forward. We’re not going to allow it to.”

And history, at least of the long-term sort that doomed the Saints in 2010, also will be kept at bay, starting with Tampa Bay, Payton said.

“We deal with a challenge, and we deal with recognizing the importance of a divisional game and getting really ready to play a real good team at home,” he said. “I do think it’s important that you’re able to bounce back and fight through the adversity of a tough loss, and there’s a lot that goes into that. I think we’re mentally pretty tough. We’ll be rested for this game. We’ll have a good week of p

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New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton has signed on as a spokesperson for Whitney and Hancock Bank. Payton will make public appearances on behalf of the banks and appear in television, radio, print and online advertisements, the financial institutions announced Tuesday morning. Payton’s likeness also will appear on promotional items.

It’s not the first time Payton has served as a spokesman for a local bank. He previously appeared in advertisements for First Bank and Trust of New Orleans.

“My focus has always been about being successful and achieving greatness, and Whitney and Hancock banks have those same qualities,” Payton said. “I’m excited to be a part of this championship team.”

Hancock Bank, which is based in Mississippi, acquired New Orleans-based Whitney Bank earlier this year. Whitney Bank continues to operate under its own name under Hancock’s ownership.

Before it was acquired by Hancock, Whitney rolled out a wildly popular program that allowed customers to order debit cards and checks bearing the Saints logo. Hancock Bank President and CEO Carl J. Chaney has said he plans to keep that program and open it up to all interested Hancock customers.

“In New Orleans, and across the Gulf Coast, we know Saints fans bleed black and gold,” Whitney Bank President Joe Exnicios said. “They are committed to their team the same way we’re committed to this region. We’re very happy to welcome Coach Payton to our organization, two century-old banks built on strength, stability, exceptional service, and a full array of financial solutions that set us apart from the competition.

Said Chaney: “Coach Sean Payton brings a proven track record of winning and leadership to the Gulf South’s premier financial institutions.”

The banks didn’t disclose how much they will pay Payton for his work.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Martez Wilson, the Illinios linebacker whom the Saints took with their first pick in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft, expressed his joy at signing a pro football contract the old fashioned way Saturday: he issued a statement.

MARTEZ WILSON IS ECSTATIC TO OFFICIALLY BE A NEW ORLEANS SAINT

NEW ORLEANS, LA, July 30, 2011 – The University of Illinois adds another name to the list of Saints hailing from the university.  With the 8th pick in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints selected Martez Wilson, and today the rookie linebacker made if official by signing a 4 year contract with the team, terms undisclosed.

“I am really excited to say that I’m OFFICIALLY a New Orleans Saint,” Wilson beamed. “It has always been a childhood dream to play in the NFL. Now it’s a dream come true.” Martez added, “I’m so happy to be a Saint.  I have an opportunity to play for the former Super Bowl Champs and intend to do everything I can to help bring the championship back to the city of New Orleans. WHO DAT!”

Martez Wilson earned 1st team All-Big Ten honors (media) and 2nd team All-Big Ten (coaches) for his effort on the field during the 2010 campaign. He led Illinois during the regular season in tackles (105), tackles for loss (10.5) and sacks (5). He also added three forced fumbles, four quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, an interception, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. Wilson added 7 tackles in the Illini’s 38-14 victory vs. Baylor in the Texas Bowl on December 29, 2010 in Houston, Texas. 

“It’s been a long tough road to get to this point with the peaks and valleys of my college football career.  But I never gave up.  My parents taught me the character of a man is built on how he handles and overcomes adversity.  After a lot of hard work and dedication, I made it this far.  I’m an NFL athlete,” commented Martez. “But this is just the beginning of a new journey for me.  I intend to continue to work hard to make my family, friends, Chicago and Illini Nation proud.  I want to show the city of New Orleans how grateful I am to be a Saint, and the only way I can do that is to show them that when they selected me, they got one the most hard working and dedicated players out there.  This is truly a blessing. “

In conclusion, Martez reiterates what he said in his official statement after he announced to forego his final year of eligibility with the University of Illinois to enter the 2011 NFL draft.

“Without God and the support of my family, especially my parents, Michael Whitehead & Kyica Burton Whitehead, this would not be possible,” he said.

That’s all the news for today.