New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton said he eventually plans to take over the team’s play-calling duties on a full-time basis. But he’s perfectly comfortable allowing offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael to handle the bulk of that role while he remains limited by his crutches on the sidelines during games. Payton is hoping to be off crutches by Christmas.

“It’s something that I’m comfortable with and it’s something that I like to do. … I think realistically it’s something that I’ll be back involved with more and more each week,” said Payton, who described the play-calling role as a “work in progress.”

“Pete has done a great job, and progressively there will be times during the game where either I’m trying to help him or saying, ‘Hey let’s get to this,’” Payton said. “I think that transition has gone pretty smooth, but right now I think the approach still with Pete is he goes in and he’s prepared to call the offense. And the most important thing is that I’m not slowing down the process.”

It’s not hard to pinpoint the key matchup in Monday night’s game between the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants.

Both teams have made a strong emphasis this week on the battle between the Saints’ offensive line and the Giants’ defensive line, the two units that likely will determine both teams’ fates for the remainder of the season.

“Those one-on-one battles will be as challenging, if not more challenging, than any game we’ve played to date,” Saints Coach Sean Payton said of New York’s deep group of pass rushers, who arguably generate more pressure with their front four than any other team in the league.

“It’s always important to set the tone up front, but especially with these guys,” Saints guard Jahri Evans said. “Usually, if you allow a team to get pressure with just their front four guys, it’s going to be a long day.”

Conversely, Giants defensive end Justin Tuck knows the same will be true if they don’t get pressure up front against Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

“If you allow Drew Brees the opportunity to sit back there and go through his progressions, it’s going to be a long night,” Tuck told the New York media this week.

That New York media microscope has been closing in on the Giants’ defensive line this week. Although the Giants entered the week tied for the NFL lead with 31 sacks, 29 of which have come from their linemen or hybrid rusher Mathias Kiwanuka, they had a sluggish performance up front in last week’s 17-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Giants (6-4) only got one hit on Eagles quarterback Vince Young. And now they have just five sacks in the past three games.

That latest performance led to some vocal frustration this week. Defensive tackle Chris Canty described the Giants’ lack of intensity against the Eagles as “embarrassing.” And there is no doubt the guys up front will be determined to change their fortunes Monday night.

“You know they’re going to heat it up this week, because they’re going to take a lot of grief,” ESPN “Monday Night Football” analyst Ron Jaworski said.

That emotion is similar to how the Saints’ offensive linemen felt last month after they had maybe their worst performance in the Payton era during a lackluster loss at St. Louis. The Rams were able to generate consistent pressure with just their front four, while also shutting down the Saints’ running game.

Since then, the Saints’ offensive line has been determined not to let that happen again, as their standout performances against Tampa Bay and Atlanta attested. Brees was sacked six times at St. Louis, but he hasn’t been sacked in the past two games as the Saints have gone to 7-3.

“With all the sacks we gave up in that game, we feel like we can’t give up any more for the rest of the season,” said guard Carl Nicks, who said the Saints’ linemen feel like it’s their responsibility to set the tone.

“It’s absolutely up to the offensive line,” Nicks said. “Games are won in the trenches.”

Nicks admitted, however, that they’ll need some help Monday night against the Giants’ front four, with extra chip blocks from tight ends, tailbacks and fullbacks, as well as a successful running game to keep the defense from rushing the passer full force.

The Giants’ line is deep and versatile. They usually line up four defensive ends on passing downs, and even then they mix and match players.

Second-year end Jason Pierre-Paul has emerged as a dynamic pass rusher. He has 10.5 sacks as a part-time player, filling in as a starter for veterans Tuck and Osi Umenyiora while they battled earlier injuries.

Umenyiora, a two-time Pro Bowler, is back in prime form after having minor knee surgery late in the summer. He has seven sacks. Kiwanuka has 3.5 sacks from the linebacker, end and tackle positions. End Dave Tollefson has three sacks. Tuck has just two sacks while battling injuries and inconsistency.

All of them are a handful, though. Several Saints described the Giants’ pass rushers as “long,” “long-armed” and “strong” athletes who use their size and athleticism as well as their speed.

“I think they’re unique in the kind of guys that they have there,” Saints right tackle Zach Strief said. “They play with their hands well. And they don’t necessarily rush like a lot of teams do. Not just a John Abraham-type that’s going to try to beat you off the ball every snap. They play within the system, and they read and react, which is difficult because it’s unusual for us.”

The Saints handled that matchup quite well in 2009, when they allowed zero sacks while torching the Giants with their passing for a 48-27 rout. They know a repeat performance won’t be easy.

“I think they’re one of the most-talented groups in the NFL,” Brees said of the Giants’ defensive line. “They’re a pretty diverse group, extremely athletic, big, physical. This will be our toughest test of the year, for sure.”

The feeling is mutual.

•••••••

Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.

The New Orleans Saints have made two what Coach Sean Payton dubbed “triangle moves,” on their roster. One came at tight end, where the club put tight end David Thomas on injured reserve after he suffered a concussion, his second of the season, at Atlanta. Thomas said the injury occurred in the fourth quarter and became apparent on the sideline when he was talking to fellow tight end Jimmy Graham.

When told Payton described it as initially being diagnosed by tight end John Gilmore, Thomas laughed.

“Well, there you go,” he said, confessing he remembers most of the game but not precisely who he was talking to on the sideline.

At the moment, Payton said there hasn’t been any discussion about how the pair of concussions could effect Thomas’ future. Thomas said he has been assured by doctors that there is no reason to think he can’t play next season.

“I think the fact that the second one came fairly soon after his original one, which was pretty significant, made this a fairly easy decision,” Payton said. “It was difficult, but it was an easy decision in regards to the player’s long-term health. In regards to his future, certainly we’re not at a point where we’re saying he’s not going to play football anymore. It’s just that the doctors, Dave, (general manager) Mickey Loomis, and all of us involved felt that it was going to be a smart thing for us to rest him at this point.”

The Saints promoted tight end Michael Higgins from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, and signed tight end Daniel Hardy to the practice squad.

Higgins, a 6-foot-5, 242-pound rookie out of Nebraska-Omaha, said he is thrilled with his opportunity.

“It feels great,” he said. “It’s a tough situation that Dave is in and that’s unfortunate, but I’m really grateful for the opportunity I’m getting here and hopefully I can continue to work my way up. It’s not going to change a whole lot. I’ll spend more time studying film, but otherwise practice will be pretty much the same and I’ll be learning the game plan as always.”

The other “triangle move,” occurred on the offensive line where the team waived tackle Ray Willis from the active roster and called up William Robinson from the practice squad. Replacing Robinson on the practice squad is new signee Phil Trautwein.

Robinson, 6-5, 297, is a tackle with four years NFL experience out of San Diego State.

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees will hold their weekly press conferences today around 1:45 p.m. We’ll be reporting their comments live via the Twitter feed below.

Scott Threlkeld/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Coach Sean Payton

New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive end Turk McBride have been ruled out of Sunday’s game at Atlanta because of injuries, and receiver Lance Moore, tailback Chris Ivory and cornerback Patrick Robinson are questionable. Tailback Mark Ingram, cornerback Tracy Porter and tight end John Gilmore are all probable.

Based on those designations, it looks as though Ingram will return to the lineup after missing the past two weeks with a bruised heel.

The Saints have not revealed their plans, but Coach Sean Payton said this week it would be difficult to use four tailbacks in a game. If the Saints indeed decide to go with three active tailbacks as usual, Ivory could be the odd man out with a hamstring injury. Both Ingram and Ivory were limited throughout the week.

Moore’s status is uncertain. He missed practice Thursday and Friday after tweaking his hamstring in individual drills Thursday morning.

Robinson’s status is also uncertain, though it seems unlikely that he will play after missing practice all week with an unspecified stomach ailment. Earlier in the week, Payton said Robinson was experiencing serious stomach pains but said he had tested negative for appendicitis and similar conditions. On Friday, both Payton and Robinson declined to discuss the injury.

The decisions on Vilma (knee) and McBride (ankle) came as no surprise after both players missed practice all week.

After trying to fight through a lingering left knee injury for most of the season, Vilma will now miss his second straight game. After that, the Saints have a bye in Week 11. They’re hopeful Vilma will be closer to 100 percent for the stretch run.

“We were hoping gradually it would get better and better, and unfortunately it had just remained the same, kind of stagnant,” Payton said of Vilma, who suffered the unspecified injury in Week 2. “Then all of a sudden he’s trying to play and not playing up to his standards and not getting the work through the week.”

PORTER’S RECOVERY: Porter is feeling better now, five days after a vicious head-first collision sent him off the field on a stretcher in last week’s victory over Tampa Bay. He admits that it was scary when it happened.

“I mean, of course when they say they’re going to grab a stretcher to take you off the field, you’re always scared and you’re planning for the worst,” said Porter, who was on the field for more than 10 minutes before being carted off, with his arm raised in the air to the fans in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. “But everything panned out and I was able to move my limbs, able to walk. So I’m thankful, and I’m blessed that it wasn’t more serious than it was.”

Porter, who has been back at practice on a limited basis the past two days, said “it took a while” before he realized he was going to be OK.

“Once I started to move my limbs, that was a sense of relief right there. Because I know how violent this game is and the effect it can have on you,” said Porter, who didn’t spend the night in the hospital. “But the next couple days, it was rough, still dealing with some pain (in the neck and chest). But I’m making it through it, and we’ll see where it goes from here.”

At first, Porter got many messages from concerned friends, family and fans — which he said he appreciated greatly.

By the end of the week, though, the tone had changed. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Porter’s new nickname is “Lazarus,” and he said Porter was being teased in the meeting room Friday for grandstanding.

“We were teasing him about the bow he felt like he needed to take when he finally made contact with somebody,” Williams joked, though he admitted it was tough to see when it happened.

“I think of all these guys like my kids. You hold your breath when anything like that happens. We’re all relieved that everything is fine,” Williams said. “He’s a great kid, he’s fun to be around. And his leadership, his energy when he plays, we’re a better team when he plays. That’s just the way it is.”

Said Porter: “It wouldn’t be Gregg if he couldn’t get his two cents in. But I know it’s all fun and games. He’s very happy that it wasn’t worse than what it was. But of course we’re gonna make jokes about it once you find out you’re OK.”

FALCONS INJURIES: Atlanta’s starting left tackle Sam Baker was ruled out with a back injury, and starting strong safety William Moore is doubtful with a quadriceps injury that kept him out of practice all week. Everyone else on the Falcons’ injury report is probable, including receiver Julio Jones, who was limited the past two days with a hamstring injury.

Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.

New Orleans Saints fans were up in arms over several questionable calls in the Tampa Bay victory.

A pass interference call against Leigh Torrence when Torrence appeared to have good position on the receiver.

An unusual delay of game call against Patrick Robinson on a punt.

A holding call against wide receiver Devery Henderson that cost running back Darren Sproles a touchdown.

As a general rule, the Saints and Coach Sean Payton refrain from dwelling on officiating because it’s a fruitless measure and distracts from more important issues — a stance Payton made in Carolina following the Panthers game last month. But Drew Brees did say, “Sproles got robbed of a touchdown,” following the game.

On Monday, Payton smiled when asked about the officiating crew.

“Probably not as candid as I’d like to be,” he said, when asked if he’d give his opinion.

The delay of game penalty on Robinson came about because Robinson allegedly tried to goad the gunner on the punt into jumping offsides. The penalty gave Tampa Bay a first down and, in effect, another possession. Payton said the confusion lies chiefly in the “delay of game” call.

“It used to be defensively, you guys might remember, defensive players would try to move to draw a lineman offsides,” he said. “It happened a lot in the kicking game 10 years ago when teams lined up to punt or kick field goals where periodically a defensive lineman would line up to try to jump. When you extend out to a holdup player on the punt unit and you’re getting ready to block a gunner, the same thing applies. The call is a little unique in that it’s called a delay of game, but that’s the penalty. You’re not allowed defensively to try to do that.”

In conclusion, Payton praised the officiating crew while acknowledging the call on Henderson in particular was disappointing.

“Overall, that crew worked their tails off and did a good job, and yet there are some calls that don’t go your way — and there are some calls that do go your way,” he said. “The one offsides where we were called defensively, and clearly the tackle moved.

“Maybe sometimes you just miss that, and I understand that. The one that was disappointing was the one at the end where Devery Henderson does a great job, I mean I think a textbook job of really blocking on the perimeter. He’s probably our best blocker as a receiver and springs Darren for what’s going to be our last play on offense, and it comes back. Each week those are going to come up, and you just hope you’re going to get a few of them that go your way. You get a few of them that don’t, and it’s no different from the players element where often times there are mistakes and you keep playing and no different from the coaching standpoint where there are things that I do each week throughout the framework of the game or throughout the week that are mistakes. It’s no different for those guys who have a tough job. You just hope it balances out.”

When the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV, they had the best red-zone defense in the NFL. Currently, they rank dead last.

That fall from tight space grace helps explain the team’s inconsistency during the past two years, and safety Malcolm Jenkins said Monday improving that ranking has become a point of emphasis for the team in the critical month of November.

The Saints have given up 15 touchdowns in 21 opponent’s possessions inside the 20-yard line, a 71.4 percent figure. New Orleans (6-3) is the only team in the NFL allowing a touchdown more than 70 percent of the time.

“You know what, that’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Jenkins said when asked to what he attributed the flip in red zone defensive success. “We got back to it; we had a huge emphasis on it this past week in practice, and I thought we played pretty well this past game (against the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers). We’ve got to get back to making them kick field goals. We definitely have to improve in the red-zone defense because if we can hold teams to three points every time, eventually our offense will just outscore them.”

The statistic was especially galling in the team’s loss at St. Louis on Oct. 30 where it surrendered two touchdowns just before halftime to turn a 3-0 game into a 17-0 deficit. And that statistic remains high even after the Saints limited Tampa Bay to two red-zone trips Sunday. The Buccaneers converted one of those possessions into seven points.

Jenkins said the red-zone failures have been compounded by penalties — “we’re giving them extra sets of downs, which is crucial” — and the Saints’ inability to get more takeaways. New Orleans is 26th in the league in turnover margin at minus-6.

“We’ve all been struggling with taking advantage of the opportunities that come,” he said. “At the beginning of the season, it was kind of a joking thing, but now we’re really taking the stuff serious because it’s preventing us from being where we want to be defensively.

“A lot of (the chances) are coming in the red zone, too, where we can get red-zone interceptions and take away seven points as opposed to giving them up. We haven’t done that well in the red zone, so that makes those turnover opportunities even more crucial. Whenever we can get the ball back in (quarterback) Drew’s (Brees) hands it’s huge for us as a team and how successful we are. We’re dropping some interceptions. It’s everybody, whether it’s linebackers or DBs. It’s been an emphasis in practice, but when we get in the game we’ve got to make those plays. We’re starting to, but we’re still a long way from where we want to be.”

OFFICIAL REVIEW: Saints fans were up in arms over several questionable calls in the Tampa Bay victory.

A pass interference call against Leigh Torrence when Torrence appeared to have good position on the receiver.

An unusual delay of game call against Patrick Robinson on a punt.

A holding call against wide receiver Devery Henderson that cost running back Darren Sproles a touchdown.

As a general rule, the Saints and Payton refrain from dwelling on officiating because it’s a fruitless measure and distracts from more important issues Ñ a stance Payton made in Carolina following the Panthers game last month. But Brees did say, “Sproles got robbed of a touchdown,” following the game.

On Monday, Payton smiled when asked about the officiating crew.

“Probably not as candid as I’d like to be,” he said, when asked if he’d give his opinion.

The delay of game penalty on Robinson came about because Robinson allegedly tried to goad the gunner on the punt into jumping offsides. The penalty gave Tampa Bay a first down and, in effect, another possession. Payton said the confusion lies chiefly in the “delay of game” call.

“It used to be defensively, you guys might remember, defensive players would try to move to draw a lineman offsides,” he said. “It happened a lot in the kicking game 10 years ago when teams lined up to punt or kick field goals where periodically a defensive lineman would line up to try to jump. When you extend out to a holdup player on the punt unit and you’re getting ready to block a gunner, the same thing applies. The call is a little unique in that it’s called a delay of game, but that’s the penalty. You’re not allowed defensively to try to do that.”

In conclusion, Payton praised the officiating crew while acknowledging the call on Henderson in particular was disappointing.

“Overall, that crew worked their tails off and did a good job, and yet there are some calls that don’t go your way — and there are some calls that do go your way,” he said. “The one offsides where we were called defensively, and clearly the tackle moved.

“Maybe sometimes you just miss that, and I understand that. The one that was disappointing was the one at the end where Devery Henderson does a great job, I mean I think a textbook job of really blocking on the perimeter. He’s probably our best blocker as a receiver and springs Darren for what’s going to be our last play on offense, and it comes back. Each week those are going to come up, and you just hope you’re going to get a few of them that go your way. You get a few of them that don’t, and it’s no different from the players element where often times there are mistakes and you keep playing and no different from the coaching standpoint where there are things that I do each week throughout the framework of the game or throughout the week that are mistakes. It’s no different for those guys who have a tough job. You just hope it balances out.”

Here are The Times-Picayune’s Jeff Duncan’s tweets from Sean Payton’s Monday news conference at the New Orleans Saints facility:

Payton said the Saints will have “mixed looks” to defend Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez, who has given them trouble in the past.

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Patyon said some of the calls yesterday puzzled him, in particular the hold on D. Henderson: “I probably can’t be as candid as I’d like.”

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Payton said Brees’ 20-yard scramble was “a huge conversion for us” and led to a FG and changed outlook of game at the time.

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Payton said the Jo-Lonn Dunbar played very well in Jon Vilma’s absence and did a great job of “getting us lined up” based on reads at line.

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Payton: Our players understand playing well in this month, is very important. ATL is a very good fb team. We have a lot of respect for them”

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Payton said the return of TE David Thomas to the lineup was a big factor in the club’s improved running game.

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Payton said punter Thomas Morstead is “having a Pro Bowl season… His consistency this year has been fanatastic.”

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Tracy Porter is also dealing with soreness in his upper back, Payton said.

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Payton on PatrickRobinson’s delay of game penalty was called because he was trying to draw the gunner offside by making an abrupt move @ him

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#Saints coach Sean Payton: Tracey Porter is in the Saints training room right now & all x-rays were negative. Dealing w/soreness in chest.

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton admitted that his team blew the whistle on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday for leaving quarterback Josh Freeman off their injury report with an apparently-minor thumb injury. Payton also admitted that “a little gamesmanship” was probably involved.

“Listen, I think when your quarterback’s on NFL Network with a splint on his thumb, normally he’s on the injury report,” said Payton, who later joked, “At least take the splint off before you go on NFL Network, right?”

The Saints informed the NFL that Freeman should have appeared on the injury report since he was clearly dealing with an injury, albeit minor. And the NFL then told the Buccaneers to make the adjustment. The Bucs also added safety Tanard Jackson to their injury report, followed by the Saints adding offensive tackle Zach Strief to theirs, even though all of the above players have been fully participating in practice all week.

“It was probably a little gamesmanship,” Payton said. “But you gotta list those guys, the same way we do.”

A story often circulated around the NFL says that Bill Parcells liked to keep the training room frigid to discourage players from spending time in it. Whether that is true or not, stories that Parcells would troll the room looking for frequent visitors, labeling them soft in the process, were confirmed Thursday by New Orleans Saints players familiar with the coaching legend and mentor of Coach Sean Payton.

Saints players said they are not sure if Payton has manipulated the training room thermometer, but he did have the televisions removed shortly after assuming the head coaching job.

Now Payton finds himself a training room regular. In fact, Payton makes multiple daily visits to the training room given his broken knee and torn ligament suffered on the sideline in the last Tampa Bay game.

Limping out of his Q&A with reporters one day this week, Payton was asked if he had ordered the room warmed since he has to visit, and he gave a jocular answer that, yes, in fact he had, slightly.

Players said they aren’t so sure.

“I don’t know if I noticed considering I have been in there a lot,” linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. Vilma gave a laugh and suggested, while he found the notion unlikely and humorous, he would not be surprised to learn his coach had done so. “Either way, I just want to get out. I don’t care about the temperature in there. But I’m going to check. I’m definitely going to check tomorrow.”

Vilma did confirm the Saints complex does seem to be temperature controlled in a way that would conform to the coaching staff’s desires. Meeting rooms, for example, are snug and comfortable during the week, and the cafeteria is almost always frosty.

“It’s definitely cold in the cafeteria, so I guess they don’t want us lounging around there too much,” Vilma said. “Just the meeting rooms are nice, toasty, 85, 70 degrees in there. That’s where they really want us during the week.”

St.  Louis – As someone who’s coaching career began when the Colts were in Baltimore, Rick Venturi has seen a lot of football. Yet, the longtime coaching veteran found himself doing a double-take at the scoreboard as he rose from his seat in the press box at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday: St. Louis Rams 31, New Orleans Saints 21.

“I feel like Joe Buck: ‘I don’t believe what I just saw,’” said Venturi, now an NFL analyst at WXOS-FM in St. Louis. “It’s a shock to everybody, trust me.”

Shocking would be an apt description for what took place. No one saw this coming. The Rams hadn’t won a game all season. The Saints were coming off an epic 62-7 shellacking of the Colts. The question coming into this game wasn’t if the Saints would win, but if they would run up the score as they mercilessly did to the Colts a week ago.

Maybe the Rams were motivated by NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin’s prediction that the Saints would hang 60 points on them.

Maybe they were inspired by the presence of so many St. Louis Cardinals players, who received a rousing round of applause from the crowd when they were honored as World Series champions during the first quarter.

Whatever the reason, the Rams (1-6) played with more fire, energy and effort than the Saints (5-3) and outplayed them in every phase. The Rams dominated and deserved to win.

Disappointing was the word Saints Coach Sean Payton used to describe the performance but that hardly does it justice. Disturbing would be a more apt description.

Considering the quality of the opponent and the talent and health of the Saints’ roster, this was the worst performance of the Payton era.

The only comparable setbacks were the 16-10 loss to a 4-9 Redskins club in the Superdome in 2006 and the 37-29 home loss to the 0-8 Rams in 2007.

But this Saints team is much better than those clubs. This team fancies itself a Super Bowl contender. But with each passing loss those expectations seem more myth than reality.

The Saints were supposed to be beyond these kinds of efforts. Their mulligan came two weeks ago at Tampa Bay. That, the Saints pledged, was their wake-up call.

This kind of effort cannot happen and does not happen to a championship contender. Not after laying an egg two weeks earlier in Tampa. Not after your head coach had just delivered a Come-to-Touchdown-Jesus lecture on this very subject a week ago.

“Obviously, we weren’t ready to play this game,” Payton said. “It’s obvious we’ve got a lot of work to do to become more consistent – and to put games together and have that sense of urgency that you need to have in this league to win.”

This was one game where the Saints clearly missed Payton’s sideline intensity. Rest assured, he would have opened a can of Whoop at some point before things spiraled out of hand in second half.

“I just thought we looked flat,” Payton said. “… Watching from where I saw it – it’s not real complex, it’s pretty simple. Obviously, we weren’t ready to play this game.”

Payton’s disgust was noticeable afterward. The Saints’ lack of effort and intensity was readily apparent, even from his bird’s-eye perch in the coaches’ booth.

The Saints rushed for 56 yards on 20 carries against the worst run defense in the NFL.

They allowed the league’s worst red-zone offense to score touchdowns in all three of its red-zone trips.

They had a punt blocked for the first time in eight years.

They allowed the Rams to score a defensive touchdown for the first time since early in the 2009 season.

And inexplicably the Saints never led or threatened to lead against a team that had led for only 6:28 of the entire season.

“I can’t explain it,” guard Carl Nicks said. “It just seemed like we were stagnant and flat. They were just scheming and playing harder than we were. We were just flat today.”

The only fight the Saints showed was on their own sideline, when a frustrated Nicks and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer had to be separated from each other in the final seconds.

The incident is a rarity for the tight-knit Saints, who pride themselves on their professionalism and unity. Whether it was an isolated incident or a bellwether of things to come remains to be seen. From my point of view, the run-in was far less troubling than the complacency the Saints showed prior to it.

Only a week ago Payton lectured his troops about this very issue. He challenged them to play more consistently, to end the roller-coaster ride and start to realize the lofty expectations they’ve set for themselves.

The message seemed to register. The Saints put together one of the most dominant performances in club history a few days later against the Colts. A week later, they followed with one of their worst.

“For whatever reason, it (Payton’s message) didn’t carry over to today,” linebacker Scott Shanle said.

Payton likes to say a team encounters some kind of crisis every season. How the club handles the adversity usually dictates the success or failure of the year. Well, the Saints have their crisis now. Their track record suggests they’ll bounce back with an inspired effort next Sunday against the Buccaneers. Unfortunately, it also shows the magic won’t last long.

Jeff Duncan can be reached at jduncan@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.

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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The New Orleans Saints and the St. Louis Rams released their final injury reports Friday, with the most notable, if somewhat expected, case for the Saints being the scratching of running back Mark Ingram for Sunday and the call-up to active duty of running back Chris Ivory, Coach Sean Payton said. For the Rams, quarterback Sam Bradford will not play.

Ingram was the only player on the Saints 53-man active roster scrubbed for the Rams, Payton said. Tight end David Thomas (concussion) and offensive tackle Zach Strief (knee) were limited at practice Friday and are questionable. Both players have been out for some time.

Linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee) was listed as probable after limited practice, a status with which he has become quite familiar this season. Thus far, Vilma has only missed one game.

Similarly, defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis (ankle), linebacker Jonathan Casillas (knee) tight ends John Gilmore (neck) and Jimmy Graham (ankle), defensive end Turk McBride (shoulder) and linebacker Will Herring (hamstring) are all probable, Payton said.

Joining Bradford on the ‘out’ list for St. Louis are defensive tackle Darell Scott (concussion) and offensive tackle Jason Smith (neck/concussion).

Rams cornerback Justin King (groin) and linebacker Brady Poppinga (calf) were listed as questionable by Coach Steve Spagnuolo.

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