When the New Orleans Saints take on the Atlanta Falcons tonight at the Superdome, will you be torn?

Are you in a fantasy league championship game this week and facing Saints players or do you have Falcons players?

How are you going to handle it?

Tell us your story.

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All-Pro New Orleans Saints

Being named an All-Pro by the Associated Press is one of the highest honors that an NFL player can receive. This honor is more prestigious than the Pro Bowl because All-Pro players are chosen from all 32 NFL teams. With another incredible season winding down, the New Orleans Saints should have several All-Pro players on their 2011 squad. Take a closer look at the Saints players who are worthy of NFL All-Pro recognition in 2011.

Guard: Jahri Evans

Since his NFL career began with the Saints in 2006, Jahri Evans has been one of the most respected offensive linemen in the league. In 2009 and 2010, Evans was not only selected to the Pro Bowl, but he was also a first team All-Pro. Evans has consistently kept opposing defenders away from QB Drew Brees and the Saints interior rushing attack has improved considerably in the second half of 2011.

Safety: Roman Harper

After the Saints playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, I would have never dreamt that I’d be writing an article promoting Roman Harper as a 2011 All-Pro candidate. However, playing in his natural strong safety position in 2011, Harper has reminded me of other hard-hitting All-Pro NFL safeties such as Ronnie Lott. The best hitter and tackler on the Saints, Harper also has 7.5 sacks in 2011 in Gregg Williams’ blitz-happy defense.

Tight End: Jimmy Graham

Prior to the 2011 NFL season, I wrote an article claiming that Saints TE Jimmy Graham would be a top five tight end this year. Many of my non-Saints fan readers had probably never heard of Graham. However, he quickly became the favorite target of Drew Brees in 2011. Despite the emergence of several athletic, All-Pro NFL tight ends in 2011, Graham should make the All-Pro squad with his 87 receptions and nine TDs.

Quarterback: Drew Brees

Three NFL QBs distanced themselves from the pack in 2011. However, if he breaks and holds the coveted NFL single-season passing yardage record, Drew Brees has got to be a 2011 NFL All-Pro QB. Brees also has the Saints within reach of matching the most wins in franchise history. If Brees does not make the 2011 NFL All-Pro team, it will be a clear indication of a lack of respect for the Saints by the national media.

Other Saints who could be All-Pro in 2011

Guard: Carl Nicks, Kick Returner: Darren Sproles, Safety: Malcolm Jenkins

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.

Source

“Drew Brees,” pro-football-reference.com

“Jimmy Graham,” pro-football-reference.com

“Roman Harper,” pro-football-reference.com

“Jahri Evans,” pro-football-reference.com

More from this contributor

Is Drew Brees the frontrunner for 2011 NFL MVP?

The top 5 NFL tight ends for 2011

Game summary of Super Bowl 48

The top 5 NFC teams since 2006

Top 5 NFL players in the Hall of Fame who should not be

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WEEK 17 FLEX SCHEDULING UPDATE:

Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings remains at noon on Fox.

New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers scenarios:

The Week 17 Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings game on Sunday, January 1 will be played at 1:00 PM ET on FOX, the NFL announced today. Following are the game time possibilities for the Week 17 Carolina Panthers-New Orleans Saints game to be determined based on tonight’s Atlanta-New Orleans game (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.):

If Saints win or tie:

Carolina at New Orleans will be played at Noon on FOX.

If Falcons win:

Carolina at New Orleans will be played at 3:15 p.m. on FOX.

Following is the Week 17 NFL schedule (asterisk and bold/italics represents changed game time, **denotes game time pending outcome of Monday night game):

SUNDAY, JANUARY 1 (WEEK 17)

The NFL utilizes “flexible scheduling” on Sundays in Weeks 10-15 and 17 to ensure quality matchups in all NFL Sunday time slots.

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Can a season turn on one play? The New Orleans Saints’ defense is making a case that it can. With one fourth down stop in overtime against the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans’ defense seems to have found its groove. The change seemed to come from nowhere.

When the Saints traveled to Atlanta on Nov. 13, they were 6-3 and seemingly spinning their wheels a bit after going .500 over their previous four games. Still, there wasn’t much question the Falcons game would shape the NFC South race.

After dominating much of the afternoon, the Saints’ defense crumpled, allowing Atlanta to march 85 yards in 1:55 and kick a 27-yard field goal to tie the score. The letdown seemed magnified because, in a blunder typical of New Orleans’ secondary in 2011, safety Roman Harper dropped — on a throw right in his hands — an interception in the end zone that would have sealed the win in regulation.

“I think defensively, there’s a lot to be said for the confidence gained in a good goal-line stand or a short-yardage critical situation like that, and so you practice maybe that situation a dozen times during training camp, and during the course of the season you get into your short yardage defense and it might come up five times in a year,” Payton said. “And I think that it was certainly significant in regards to the outcome of the game.”

While Payton said he would be “guarded” about reading too much into one play, he did say the final outcome in Atlanta that hinged on the fourth-down stop was significant.

“I think a season can certainly turn with a big win,” he said. “And then you would say, ‘What contributes to a big win?’ And so our fourth and 1-yard stop in Atlanta was a big play for us that led to a big win.”

Most Saints defenders balked at the notion one play, however influential, can galvanize a unit for weeks. On the other hand, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said plays like the fourth-down stop have a ripple effect in that they reinforce the confidence a unit needs to make future plays.

“I don’t know that you can point to any one particular play,” he said. “But (with) the psychology of an athlete, obviously success builds confidence. When those things happen I do believe it gives you the belief to pull the trigger faster. You’ve got to be able to live on the edge, get over the edge and go do that type of stuff. When those things happen it does make it easier to pull the trigger the next time.”

Still, there’s no getting around the fact that since the bye that followed the 26-23 win in overtime at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta the Saints’ defense has been, if not better overall statistically, noticeably better in the clutch.

The host Tennessee Titans failed to score 20 points against New Orleans, and got stiffed on a fourth down, then near the goal line with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. Host Minnesota did score 20 points against the Saints but barely clawed its way over the 200 yard mark in total offense.

At the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, where the Saints remain undefeated this season, the New York Giants and Detroit Lions topped 400 yards in offense, but both opponents gained much of that after New Orleans was cruising behind halftime leads of 21-3 and 24-7.

“It gives you the evidence that the ability is there, and we have the ability to make plays,” cornerback Jabari Greer said when asked about the fourth-down stop against the Falcons.

Greer, however, is in the camp that holds the unit has simply improved as the season grinds on.

There are those, however, who have faith in the transformative power of a huge play. Among them is linebacker Will Herring, whose interception against the Giants snuffed the first drive the Saints faced following the bye.

“I think so,” Herring said. “As a defense you always take pride in stepping up in key situations, and that overtime, fourth down stop was huge. Then when you win close games like we did up in Nashville, on the road against a good team like the Titans, with the defense on the field it does build confidence. Not every game is going to be a blowout.”

Although the Saints are hardly the kind of opportunistic bandits Williams would like, they have been winning the turnover battles. Part of that’s attributable to New Orleans’ offense protecting the ball, but part of it is the defense finally making plays, defensive end Will Smith said.

“That’s how we’ve always played,” he said “The naysayers that say, ‘When is the defense going to step up?’ It really comes down to when are we going to just catch the ball and get the turnovers? Because we’ve left a lot of turnovers out there, and that’s probably been the biggest thing. Now, playing hard, playing tough, making big plays — yeah, we could have made a lot more, but as the season has gone along it’s gotten better and better and better. It really doesn’t matter if we got a million and one turnovers in the beginning of the season and get none at the end. It matters what happens next week or this game. We are making more plays.”

Smith surmised, however, that turnaround is more the result of “heightened awareness” and newer players growing more comfortable in the system than the positive outcome of one specific play.

“It definitely gets you confident for the next time it happens — the next fourth-and-inches you feel like whoever you’re playing they’re not going to get a first down,” he said of the Atlanta stop. “But as for building our confidence? Not really.”

New Orleans Saints Black and Gold Report: the Falcons

In this week’s edition of The Black and Gold Report, Times-Picayune Saints reporters James Varney and Mike Triplett break down the game against the Falcons with columnist Jeff Duncan.

John DeShazier talks about all the pieces in the Saints puzzle contributing to greatness this year and Jeff brings us another puzzler for the Saints Trivia Challenge.

Watch video

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

So what will it come down to this time? A fourth-and-1 attempt in overtime? A missed field-goal attempt? A 90-yard touchdown drive? Two late defensive stands?

Each of the past four games between the Saints and Atlanta Falcons has been decided by three points, so why should Monday night’s showdown at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome be different?

As has become the norm, these longtime rivals will meet with an awful lot on the line. The Saints (11-3) can clinch the NFC South Division and stay alive for the conference’s No. 2 seed. The Falcons (9-5) can clinch a playoff spot and stay alive in the division title race.

“We already know emotionally we don’t have to get up for this game,” New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “It’s probably going to be about trying to calm your emotions so we can function, so we can do the things we need to do to win this game. It’s a huge game for both sides. … It’s going to be a great battle and a lot of fun.”

Even without the playoff implications, this would be a huge game for both sides.

This rivalry, which dates to the 1960s, has never been more intense, and both teams are in the midst of the greatest extended runs in their franchises’ histories.

The Saints have won 11 games or more for three consecutive seasons, and the Falcons have put together four straight winning seasons after never having done it twice in a row before.

New Orleans has won nine of the past 11 games since Coach Sean Payton arrived in 2006, but those wins haven’t come easily in recent years.

The past six games in the series have been decided by eight points or less, including the Saints’ 26-23 overtime victory at Atlanta on Nov. 13, which was ultimately decided by New Orleans’ fourth-and-1 stop in Falcons territory in overtime.

In September of 2010, Garrett Hartley missed a 29-yard field goal attempt in overtime that would have won the game, and Matt Bryant kicked a 46-yarder as the Falcons won 27-24.

Later that season, the Saints drove 90 yards late in the fourth quarter, capped by a 6-yard pass from quarterback Drew Brees to tight end Jimmy Graham, to win 17-14.

In their second meeting of 2009, Vilma stopped Jason Snelling on a pass from Chris Redman on a fourth-and-2 as the Saints held on for a 26-23 win. Vilma also had an interception with 3:55 to go.

Saints receiver Lance Moore said Monday night’s game is mostly important because it’s the “next game” and because of all the playoff implications, but he did admit that there’s something special about games against Atlanta.

“It’s a divisional game, so we’re familiar with one another, and neither team wants to lose to the other. That’s just how it is,” Moore said. “People can call it bragging rights or whatever, but we’re focused on just letting it be one game. We can’t make it bigger than it is. It’s an extremely important game, but we can’t put any extra pressure or any stress on ourselves. I mean, we’ve just got to go out and play.”

Vilma pointed out that Monday night’s game will be the exact reverse of last season, when the Saints went to Atlanta for a Monday night game in Week 16 and won 20-17 to keep their longshot hopes alive for the NFC South title.

Moore said he hopes the similarities end there, with the home team winning this time.

“They’re a real good team,” Saints Coach Sean Payton said. “Every time it seems we play them it comes down to a last possession or field goal. We’ve just played so many close games, so many hard-fought games, that it’s a sign that typically both teams are pretty evenly matched, very competitive and very good.”

Like the Saints, the Falcons seem to be playing their best football after an inconsistent start. They’ve stayed alive in the NFC South race by winning seven of their past nine games, including two in a row. And their last victory was their most impressive, a 41-14 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars last Thursday night.

The Saints are even hotter, though, having won six in a row, and they are tied with the New England Patriots for the NFL’s longest active streak.

New Orleans’ 42-20 victory at Minnesota on Sunday was dominant despite some early miscues. The Saints have been even better at home, though, especially in prime time. Their past two home games were a 31-17 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night in Week 13 and a 49-24 victory over the New York Giants on Monday night in Week 12.

Before defeating the Vikings, Payton pointed out to his team that they hadn’t won a Week 15 game since 2007. They steamrolled through that roadblock this season, which he said is significant because teams want to peak heading into the playoffs.

“You’d like to be hitting your stride and playing your best football,” said Payton, though he pointed out that the Saints were the exception to that rule when they lost their final three regular-season games in 2009 before winning Super Bowl XLIV. “You still recognize the importance of playing well here. I think you’re seeing some teams that are doing it, and you’re seeing some teams that maybe aren’t doing it as well. Fortunately for us, we’ve been able to get on a pretty good run, and we hope to continue it.”

EYE ON THE 49ERS: The Saints are openly rooting against the San Francisco 49ers (11-3), who need to lose one more game to allow New Orleans a shot at the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

Vilma was asked if he watched the 49ers’ 20-3 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.

“I was all for watching it closely until Ben (Roethlisberger) threw those two interceptions early in the game, and then I realized I was bad luck, so I went and watched Sherlock Holmes,” Vilma said.

And when Moore was asked what he wants for Christmas besides a victory over the Falcons, he said: “A win by Seattle over San Francisco (on Saturday) would be good.”

‘DIRTY’ TALK: Vilma and Payton said they’re unfazed by recent accusations from other teams that their defense plays “dirty.”

Payton compared it to the whistle-blowing accusations from the Tennessee Titans last week, and Vilma said whether the accusations are fair or unfair, “it really doesn’t bother me.”

“You know, we’re an aggressive defense, we’ve always been an aggressive defense. I’d rather be labeled that than labeled a finesse defense,” Vilma said. “So I know we’re not out there maliciously trying to hurt anybody. If you’ve seen the way we play, if you’ve seen our games, we go hard — and that’s really about it. If we get a personal foul here or there it’s not intentional, and I know we’re not trying to hurt people.”

VILMA’S HEALTH: Vilma, who has been fighting through a knee injury since having a clean-up surgery performed last month, was asked how he has been feeling.

“The best I can say is good enough,” said Vilma, who said he plans to keep playing through it for the rest of the season. “I got to do what I got to do.”

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On a recent episode of The Sports Train, I defended the uphill opinion that the New Orleans Saints, with a record of 11-3, are currently the best team in the NFL.

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are the best team in the NFL right now
Wikimedia Commons

At 13-1, the Green Bay Packers still undoubtedly enjoy the top record in the league. Yet, they are coming off a late-season loss that now makes such comparisons fair game. Furthermore, the impressive victory for the 11-3 San Francisco 49ers on the December 19th version of Monday Night Football might give that team a stake in the argument as well.

However, upon stacking the teams side-by-side and examining their potential for post-season success, I believe the New Orleans Saints are most likely to achieve Super Bowl dreams.

One cannot ignore than Green Bay has already defeated New Orleans during the 2011 campaign. In a game where the home team grabbed an early lead, the Packers opened the season by triumphing 42-34 over the Saints. The shootout featured 10 total touchdowns and a combined 876 net yards, making for fun television.

Yet, the result proved little defensively. While the Pack made a big stand when needed, the team certainly benefited from playing in Lambeau Field on a night where the famed squad raised the banner on last season’s Super Bowl championship.

Green Bay received the early edge in the standings, but offensive dominance and overall defensive abilities remained in question.

While New Orleans proceeded to stumble early to weaker Tampa Bay and St. Louis teams, the Packers flirted with an undefeated season, before Sunday’s 19-14 upset by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Just as it is unfair to judge these teams by letdowns against lesser opponents, so too should we not look at week 1 as exclusive evidence of the superior franchise.

Indeed, much has changed in the past 4 months and New Orleans now appears the more complete team. Though Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees have both performed near flawlessly, it is Brees who will likely shatter Dan Marino’s longtime record for passing yardage. The momentum from such an achievement just might inspire more post-season magic by the Saints’ signal-caller.

Additionally, while defensive stats reveal that both teams will surrender points, the potential of New Orleans’ diverse running game provides a definite edge over the Pack. Neither squad is led by a pro-bowl caliber stud, but the trio for the Saints tops its competition. Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas, and Darren Sproles have each accrued steady yardage and produced a combined 17 touchdowns out of the backfield.

Furthermore, way back in week 1, newly signed Darren Sproles was not smoothly intergrated into the offense and only received 2 carries for 7 yards against Green Bay. Though he is not an every down back, the 5’6″ speedster now possesses an eye-popping 6.5 yards per carry average and has become one of the fiercest weapons in the NFL.

On that note, Brees’ top asset, second year tight end Jimmy Graham, was largely an unknown commodity during the matchup with the Packers. Though he enjoyed a solid game, the tight end’s performance has steadily improved throughout the year. With 1171 yards and 9 TDs through 14 games, Graham may be the league’s best at his position.

Finally, while Brees has experienced a few games that failed to match his overall track-record, I believe a formula for defeating Rodgers has been more clearly exposed. Because of injuries to his offensive line and the loss of Greg Jennings, Rodgers spent much more time on the ground in the loss to the Chiefs. Suddenly, his passes were less sharp and, in fact, the potential MVP missed open throws.

To Green Bay’s credit, I don’t expect Rodgers’ high-powered offense to be stopped in a big playoff game. But I do think there is a real possibility of it being slowed sufficiently that the team would struggle to keep up with New Orleans. And there is little evidence that the NFL’s second worst defense can contain the Saints’ passing or running attacks.

Cases can be made for both teams and perhaps the surprising 49ers or surging New England Patriots belong in the debate too.

Yet, as of this moment, I will take the Saints.

But, remember, this is the NFL and things do change quickly.

Source:

Yahoo! Sports, ESPN.com

More by Jeff Briscoe from Yahoo! Contributor Network:

Firing Raheem Morris Not Answer for the Bucs

Jeff Briscoe is a writer from Florida who covers sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and the Fort Myers Examiner. A loyal Tampa Bay Bucs fan, his favorite sounds include the firing of the cannons at Raymond James Stadium.

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New Orleans Saints

As the 2011 NFL regular season winds down, fans and experts alike would be hard-pressed to find a team playing better than the New Orleans Saints. Now that the Green Bay Packers have lost, there should once again be an open dialogue concerning which NFL team is truly the best.

Thankfully, the NFL determines its championship via a playoff and power rankings don’t matter like they do in college football. However, NFL aficionados, especially Saints fans, love the hypothetical debate of where their team sits in the power rankings.

NFL Power rankings

There are NFL power rankings all over the internet. A sample, reputable NFL power ranking for Week 16 is listed below. In fact, there is nothing stopping any NFL fan from creating his or her own power ranking. As expected, the Packers are still atop all of the NFL power rankings I have seen today.

However, if I understand the power rankings correctly, they are supposed to measure how NFL teams are playing at this moment in time. If that is the case, how can anyone say that the New Orleans Saints are not currently the best team in the NFL?

The Saints offense is a machine and Drew Brees is playing like an NFL MVP at QB. The Saints running game has also started to come around which must make game planning for opposing NFL defensive coordinators a nightmare. Based on their offense alone, I can make a case for the Saints being number one in the power rankings.

To make matters worse for the rest of the NFL, the Saints defense is also playing well. Over the last two weeks, the Saints have held Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson to a combined total of 83 rushing yards. If the Saints even get an average performance from their defense, they may be impossible to beat.

Saints vs. Packers

This is really what the NFL power ranking debate is all about. For a couple of reasons, I think the Saints are, on this day, a more worthy candidate than the Packers to reside atop the NFL power rankings.

Unfortunately, the Packers have begun to be afflicted with the same issue that hurt them last year. A number of injuries to key players, including offensive linemen, must be making the cheese heads worried in Titletown. The Saints, on the other head, are as healthy as they’ve been in years.

Also, I can look at how the Saints and Packers performed against recent, common NFL opponents. The Packers defeated the Detroit Lions and New York Giants by 12 and three points, respectively. The Saints defeated the Lions and Giants by 14 and 25 points, respectively.

It is time to face facts. The Saints should now be the number one NFL team in the power rankings.

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.

Source

“Week 16 power rankings,” yahoo.com

“New Orleans Saints,” yahoo.com

“Green Bay Packers,” yahoo.com

More from this contributor

Is Drew Brees now the frontrunner for the NFL MVP Award?

The top 5 NFC teams since 2006

The glory of the Saints

Game summary of Super Bowl 48

Top 5 NFL players in the Hall of Fame who should not be

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

Inside The Game: New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings. Kickoff is at noon Sunday at Mall of America Field

Coaches: Sean Payton (59-34 regular season; 4-2 postseason in six seasons, all with the Saints), Leslie Frazier (2-11 in first season with Vikings)

TV: Fox-8; Dick Stockton play-by-play, John Lynch color.

Radio: 870-AM, 1-5.3-FM, 830-AM (Spanish broadcast)

KEEP AN EYE ON:

THE VIKINGS’ QB

Or, more accurately, who will that Vikings quarterback be? To start, anyway, this apparently will be rookie Christian Ponder. Since the Donovan McNabb experiment yielded few positive results, Minnesota has chosen to go with its first-round selection out of Florida State. The move has produced its own mixed results. Indeed, when Vikings defensive end Jared Allen was asked about Ponder’s development last week, he steered clear of the kind of unqualified support a veteran usually offers up on such a conference call and acknowledged it has been a rocky road. Ponder has looked excellent at times — he threw for more than 300 yards against the Broncos — but more than a handful of interceptions have been sprinkled among the highlights (picks cost Minnesota that Denver game, for example). In the past two games, Ponder has been responsible for seven turnovers (five interceptions and two lost fumbles). A plethora of picks early caused Frazier to bench Ponder last week against the Lions, and his second-half replacement – no-name backup Joe Webb – nearly led the Vikings to a comeback road victory. Frazier insists Ponder remains the Man in Minneapolis, but the Saints could face a situation similar to the one that caused them some trouble in Nashville last week when the Titans had to replace starter Matt Hasselbeck with rookie Jake Locker. Locker’s athleticism allowed him to make plays, and while Webb didn’t light it up through the air in Detroit — he completed just 12 of 23 attempts for 84 yards and a touchdown — he ran for 109 yards (a club record for QBs) on just seven carries, one of them a 65-yard touchdown scamper.

SAINTS LB JO-LONN DUNBAR

Rather quietly, Dunbar has put together an outstanding year for New Orleans in his fourth season out of Boston College. Thrust into a starter’s role when Jonathan Vilma missed time because of knee surgery, Dunbar responded. In the three games Vilma was inactive, Dunbar recorded 16 solo stops and 10 assists. Last week against Tennessee, with Vilma in the lineup, Dunbar still saw lots of time and made the critical final tackle — a sack — on Locker near the goal line to salvage the win. Vilma has been limited at practice this week as the Saints try to keep his knee free of soreness, but regardless, Dunbar has earned his snaps. Should the Vikings make a move at quarterback (see above), the young and athletic Dunbar will bear scrutiny on defense.

KEY MATCHUPS

SAINTS OL vs. VIKINGS DE JARED ALLEN

Allen’s quips about New Orleans’ “Third World” appearance probably won’t motivate the Saints’ offensive line as much as the fact quarterback Drew Brees has been sacked just three times in the past five games (the last of them coming in Nashville when Brees held the ball far too long). Not coincidentally, all five of those games have been New Orleans victories. Allen will put those outstanding stats to the test. He leads the NFL with 17.5 sacks and is on a pace to beat the league record in that category held by Michael Strahan. Nor is he a flash in the pan, as his 100.5 sacks since 2004 attest. Payton said his offensive scheme will do what it can to make things tough for Allen. Brees will roll out more, for example, and the Saints will employ a variety of “launch points” for the quarterback so that neither Allen nor his colleagues on the defensive front can key on one spot. But in the end, it will come down to the Saints’ offensive linemen (with a little help from a back from time to time) making sure Brees “stays clean.” Guard Carl Nicks says he’s already fretting about the looming fight. “Basically we’ve got to double-team him, chip him with tight ends and running backs, I’m going to slide over there to help — you hate to give up all your playbook but, hey, 17.5 sacks speaks for itself. So, you’ve got to stop him. You have to. You’ve got to respect a guy like that. It’s a sin on us if we let their best guy beat us. We know he’s there, everybody knows he’s there, if we’re going to get beat, let’s have it be by somebody else, anybody but him.”

SAINTS SECONDARY vs. VIKINGS WR PERCY HARVIN

The Saints’ kicking game, in the person of punter Thomas Morstead, likely will go a long way toward neutralizing Harvin as a return man. But he still poses a threat as a receiver. Indeed, in the past month, Harvin’s 38 catches and five touchdowns lead all NFL receivers. When the Saints faced the Lions two weeks ago, they managed to neutralize Calvin Johnson, whom Payton called “the best receiver in football.” Harvin, however, presents a different problem than Johnson, who wins most battles with his size. “That’s a playmaker, that’s one of the great athletes in the NFL,” Saints cornerback Patrick Robinson said when asked the first thing that came to mind with Harvin. “Fast, strong, elusive.” Both Payton and Robinson stressed the threat Harvin presents in terms of yards after the catch. “When you’re playing a guy like that, as far as routes he’s not going to be doing post-corners or wraps or anything like that. But doing drive routes, some things to get him open, it’s his speed you’ve got to worry about.”

BY THE NUMBERS

8-18 – The Saints’ all-time record against Minnesota, the worst of any team in the NFL that New Orleans has played more than 10 times. 11/28/93 – The last time the Saints beat the Vikings in Minnesota. 2-0 – The Saints’ record against the Vikings the past two times the teams have met, including the 2009 NFC championship game. 60.3 – Ponder’s completion rate on third down, tied for 11th in the NFL. 70 – Brees’ completion rate on third down, best in the NFL.

FROM THE COACH’S MOUTH

“I think the numbers are real high. I think that’s one of our keys each week, and it’s an important statistic. It’s not the same as a turnover, but when you’re out on third down and punting the football, essentially you’ve turned the ball over to their offense. When you’re on the field defensively, have a chance for a stop and don’t get it, they obviously receive more plays. I think our players understand the significance of getting off the field on third down and being able to put together drives. I think it’s been something that we’ve improved at.” – Payton on the Saints’ third-down effectiveness on both sides of the ball.

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