While quarterback Drew Brees was smashing the single-season record for passing yards, the New Orleans Saints’ running backs were putting together an impressive season of their own.

In fact, it may surprise you to find out the Saints’ running game finished sixth in the NFL, gaining 129.9 yards per game. On a per carry basis they checked in at fourth in the league with a 4.9-yard average.

“It’s a huge part of our offense,” Brees said. “Typically, I’d say when you look at an offense, it would probably be hard to be top ten passing and rushing because there are only so many plays in a game and so you’re running it more you’re throwing it more. I think it’s great that we’ve been able to sustain the efficiency in both and create for the other, especially when you look at the overall yardage, both passing and rushing. It’s pretty unique.”

Perhaps the biggest reason the New Orleans’ rushing attack doesn’t get the proper attention — aside from Brees dominating the headlines — is because the team doesn’t have a traditional featured back. Instead they had a committee of four players sharing the load over the course of the season, ranging from 79-122 carries.

In terms of carries, the Saints were led by rookie Mark Ingram, yet he had the lowest yardage per carry (3.9) of the four players. New Orleans will be without Ingram on Saturday after the team was forced to place him on IR with a toe injury.

Picking up in Ingram’s absence is Chris Ivory. 

Ivory, who burst onto the scene last year as an undrafted rookie out of Tiffin University, missed the first seven weeks this year while recovering from  lisfranque and sports hernia surgeries. Since returning to the lineup, he has rushed for 374 yards on 79 carries, including a 127-yard performance in the Saints’ Week 17 win over the Carolina Panthers. 

In addition to Ivory, the Saints have Pierre Thomas (562 yards, 110 carries) and the always-explosive Darren Sproles. 

A versatile free agent pick up from San Diego, Sproles has effectively replaced Reggie Bush in the Saints offense. He finished the regular season with 1,303 total yards, 86 receptions and a ridiculous 6.9 yards per carry. 

Not much else going on in the NFL world today.

The New Orleans Saints placed running back Mark Ingram and linebacker Will Herring on the injured reserve list on Tuesday.

The moves are expected to be announced by Saints Coach Sean Payton at his press briefing later today.

Offensive gaurd Eric Olsen and linebacker Nate Bussey are expected to take the rosters spots created by the transactions. Olsen was signed from the Washington Redskins practice squad. Bussey was promoted from the Saints practice squad.

Ingram is expected to have season-ending surgery on Wednesday to repair a toe injury he suffered earlier this season and aggravated in practice last week.

Herring suffered an undisclosed injury in the Saints’ 45-17 win against the Panthers on Sunday.

What do you guys think about this.

It comes up a lot, the comparisons to the 2009 team, but this year’s New Orleans Saints are different in a lot of ways than that team that won the franchise’s first Super Bowl.

The Saints lost three straight to end the ’09 regular season and didn’t seem to be playing their best football.

“We kind of had our crisis situation at the end of the season,” said linebacker Scott Shanle. “This year it was early in the season against St. Louis. i think since that game we’ve gotten better every week. It feels good to be peaking right now, but we have a whole new season ahead of us. We’ll have to put this season behind us and get ready for the new season.”

That will probably be easy to do, at least according to Carolina coach Ron Rivera.

He says the Saints are a team nobody wants to face at this point.

“We caught a football team that is on a roll,” he said. “When you put the tape on and watch how they played against Atlanta and watch how they played against us and the first thing you say to yourself is ‘I hope that we don’t have to play them.’ That’s what’s going to happen.

“Whoever is playing them is playing a very good football team on a hot roll right now. They are gong to have a lot of momentum going forward.”

Thanks for reading! .

NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees and the record-setting Saints held nothing back in their season finale, heading into the playoffs in dominant fashion.

Brees passed for 389 yards and five touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints set a slew of NFL and club records in a 45-17 blowout of the Carolina Panthers today.

The NFL single-season records set by the Saints (13-3), who head into the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak, included offensive yards with 7,474, team yards passing with 5,347 and first downs with 416.

New Orleans will host the Lions in the opening round of the NFC playoffs.

Brees, who was 28 of 35, finished with a record 468 completions this season, breaking Peyton Manning’s 2010 mark of 450. He finished the season completing 71.6 percent of his passes, breaking his own 2009 NFL record 70.6 completion percentage.

Jimmy Graham had 97 yards receiving to finish with 1,310, exceeding Kellen Winslow’s 1980 record for a tight end. But New England’s Rob Gronkowski finished with 1,327 yards, establishing a new mark.

Darren Sproles had 40 yards rushing, 29 yards receiving and 99 yards on kickoff and punt returns to finish with season with an NFL record 2,969 combined yards, easily breaking the previous mark of 2,690, set by Derrick Mason with Tennessee in 2000.

Carolina (6-10), which had won four of five, kept up for much of the first half but wilted over the final two quarters.

Marques Colston caught Brees’ first two scoring passes, making a spectacular, spinning catch with arms outstretched on the first one from 15 yards out.

Colston’s second touchdown went for 42 yards, and he finished with seven catches for 145 yards. He broke the 1,000-yard mark for the fifth time in his six pro seasons.

Brees also connected with Graham on a 19-yard scoring strike, and added TD passes of 9 yards to Darren Sproles and 1 yard to fullback Jed Collins.

Graham’s TD catch was his 11th, matching a club record also reached by Joe Horn in 2004 and Colston in 2007.

Brees surpassed 300 yards passing for the seventh straight game and 13th time this season, both NFL records he already held and simply extended.

The records come one week after Brees passed Dan Marino’s 27-yard-old single-season record of 5,084 yards passing.

Brees finished the season with 5,476 yards to go with 46 touchdown passes.
Remarkably, Brees didn’t even play most of the fourth quarter for the second time in three games. As was the case in a 42-20 win at Minnesota two weeks earlier, Brees was relieved by Chase Daniel after the Saints had built a commanding lead.

Although San Francisco’s lopsided victory means the Saints could not improve their No. 3 seeding in the NFC playoffs, coach Sean Payton had said during the past week that he wanted his team to continue building on the torrid pace it established during its second-half winning streak. He was true to his word, with aggressive play calling that produced a franchise record 617 yards of total offense. It was the 13th 400-yard game for the Saints this season.

With six touchdowns against Carolina, the Saints finished with 66 this season breaking the 2009 record of 64.

Cam Newton closed out an otherwise spectacular rookie season 15 of 25 for 158 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Saints had 360 yards of total offense in the first half, when they easily blew past the Rams’ 2000 yardage mark.

Brees passed for 249 yards in the half, when he hit Colston for the Saints’ first two passing touchdowns.

Both defenses struggled for much of the half, and the each time might have scored more if not for Patrick Robinson’s interception of Newton in the Saints’ end zone and R.J. Stanford’s interception of Brees deep in Panthers territory.

Chris Ivory gave the Saints a 7-0 lead on the opening series of the game with his 35-yard touchdown.

The improving Panthers hit right back with Newton’s 12-yard timing pass to Smith to tie it. Later, Jonathan Stewart’s 29-yard scoring run pulled the Panthers into a tie at 17 with 1:18 to go in the second quarter.

That was too much time for Brees and the Saints’ high-flying offense, as Brees connected on his long TD pass to Colston with 7 seconds on the clock to make it 24-17 at halftime.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

That’s all the news for today.

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints have played at such a high level lately that there’s been more drama about which records would be broken rather than whether or not the Saints would win. As a Saints fan, the last two weeks have been surreal as one NFL record after another fell by the wayside. That trend continued on Sunday as the Saints dominated the Panthers 45-17 and laid waste to more records.

New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers

Despite the incessant stat watch that took place during the FOX broadcast of the Saints vs. Panthers game, I was much more interested in scoreboard watching. As nice as it is for the Saints to now own all these records, it was more important for New Orleans to keep their fleeting chances at a first round bye alive.

Personally, I was glad to see New Orleans give 100% because I despise the Panthers loud-mouths Steve Smith and Jeremy Shockey. Also, it seems like every year, an NFC South also-ran picks up a cheap win over the Saints in the last game because New Orleans rests its starters. However, the Panthers received no such gift from the Saints today.

I believe New Orleans has been playing so well that Sean Payton wanted to keep that momentum going against the Panthers. Brees was on fire and torched the Panthers for 389 yards and 5 TDs. He finished the regular season with 5,476 passing yards. And it was nice seeing the Atlanta Falcons and Panthers get humbled in the last two games.

I was also happy to see New Orleans feed the ball to Darren Sproles so he could break the NFL all-purpose yardage record. I wonder if the critics will complain about that too. All in all, it was a great day for the Saints. New Orleans stayed sharp by dismantling the Panthers, they broke some more records and most importantly they stayed healthy.

Looking ahead

Thanks to the St. Louis Rams, the Saints will have to play next week. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Detroit Lions and the Falcons embarrassed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who quit a long time ago. So now the Saints get to face the Lions as New Orleans begins its quest to win a second Super Bowl in three years.

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

Sources

FOX broadcast of Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints

“Week 17 Scoreboard,” yahoo.com

More from this contributor

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

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

What are your opinions.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Coach Sean Payton has spent the past year regretting how he handled the Saints’ 2010 regular-season finale. He hopes he can get it right this time when New Orleans (12-3) hosts the Carolina Panthers (6-9).

As the 2011 season comes to a close, Payton’s dilemma is similar to one he faced when the Saints closed last season with a loss to Tampa Bay that turned out to have no effect on playoff seeding, but was costly nonetheless because of injuries to emerging tight end Jimmy Graham, starting safety Malcolm Jenkins and then-leading rusher Chris Ivory.

The next week, the short-handed Saints opened the playoffs in Seattle and went home with a loss.

Today, the Saints could climb as high as the No. 2 seed in the NFC — worth a bye and a second-round home game — if they win, but only if heavily favored San Francisco also loses at 2-13 St. Louis in a game going on at the same time as the Saints’.

While Payton has been known to say one thing during the week and do another on game day, it sounds as though he’s preparing his top players for significant action — regardless of the San Francisco score — with the aim of riding the momentum of an eight-game winning streak into the playoffs.

“We talked about it at length,” Payton said. “We’re going to play all of our guys. There’s still seeding at stake. I know it’s similar to a year ago. I think we’re getting better as a team week to week right now, and there’s a value in that. … That progress might be something we need going into this postseason.”

There are also matters of pride.

The Saints’ offense has been a history-making group this season. Drew Brees on Monday night took over the NFL single-season record for passing yards with 5,087, eclipsing Dan Marino’s 1984 mark of 5,084.

Although it took 27 years for Marino’s mark to fall, New England’s Tom Brady is one game away from passing Brees if the Saints quarterback either doesn’t play well or sits out a significant portion today.

Meanwhile, the Saints also are only 219 yards from breaking the 2000 Rams’ NFL record of 7,075 offensive yards in a season.

The Saints also have a chance to finish a regular season with a perfect home record for the first time.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he will prepare for New Orleans’ best, but would understand if Payton played it safe and limited playing time for some of his stars.

“They’ve got a chance to do all those things, but he’s got to look at what happened last year (when) they had a couple guys getting nicked up before their playoff game,” Rivera said. “He’s got to make a decision, and whatever decision he makes is what he believes is right for his team. Believe me, it’s a hard decision, too.”

Rivera said his experience shows there is no definite pattern, which makes finding the right answer so difficult.

Rivera was defensive coordinator for the 2009 San Diego Chargers, who finished the regular season on an 11-game winning streak, then came off their bye week flat and lost their first playoff game.

“It’s all about winning,” Rivera said. “There’s only going to be one happy team out of 32, and I think what (Payton is) thinking about is that (playoff) run.”

Rivera is thinking about next season, which looks increasingly promising for his club. Quarterback Cam Newton has set a rookie record with 3,893 passing yards and the Panthers have the third-best running game in the NFL with DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and the dynamic Newton leading the way.

Earlier this season, the Panthers were competitive in several close games that got away from them in crunch time. Lately, they’ve been able to close out games, winning four of five.

“It’s just kind of things developing and coming together and our maturing process,” Rivera said, adding that a win over the Saints could send his players into the offseason with the belief that they’re on the cusp of contention.

“You can help set a tempo for your team going into next year by playing well against a playoff-caliber team.”

Payton and Brees agreed that recent game film of Carolina shows a team that has improved since losing to the Saints 30-27 in October.

Payton said Newton is a unique quarterback whose running ability is nearly impossible to simulate in practice.

Brees said Carolina’s recent ascent is all the more reason for the Saints to take today’s game seriously.

“We understand how good this Carolina team is coming here and how even though we don’t necessarily control our own destiny … our mindset is we want to go into the playoffs playing our best football,” Brees said. “We don’t feel like we did that last year.”

The Panthers may be 6-9 entering today’s game, but one thing in certain — they have plenty of optimism.

The team is buoyed by the thought of what Newton might accomplish with a full offseason to work with coaches. What’s more, 16 players are coming off injuries and the bulk of the roster is under contract.

“I don’t think there’s any question, everyone in this locker room is excited about next year,” tight end Greg Olsen said.

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New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton on Friday listed three players as out due to injury for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers. The players are wide receiver Lance Moore (left hamstring), running back Mark Ingram (right toe) and tight end John Gilmore (right toe). Moore aggravated his injury in the Saints’ Monday night victory against Atlanta, and Ingram, who had been inactive for the club’s past three games, suffered a setback at practice this week.

In both cases, that could spell trouble for the players’ return in the playoffs which, unless the St. Louis Rams can beat the San Francisco 49ers and give New Orleans a shot at the No. 2 seed in the NFC, would begin for the Saints next weekend in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Although Payton has been surprisingly up front and calm this season when discussing injuries, he remains loath to divulge information he thinks could provide a competitive advantage and was thus non-committal Friday when asked if Ingram’s and Moore’s postseason status may be in jeopardy.

“Obviously, there’s a concern each week,” Payton said. “I think you just deal with it on a daily basis. I mentioned Mark kind of had a setback, you just treat and rehab it. With Lance’s hamstring you do that same thing; same thing with John Gilmore. I think the only thing you can do is hit the rehab hard and pay attention to how they’re feeling, and recognize it’s really the same if it was week seven heading into week eight.”

But next week will be a different scenario. As Payton and quarterback Drew Brees have made clear, next week is a “must win” because a loss is a season-ender. Nevertheless, Payton said the thinking in terms of the injury report will remain consistent.

“Obviously, the importance of a playoff game is significant, but the player has to be healthy,” he said. “It would have to be very simple: does he help us, does he help the team in playing well enough to win a game? And if the answer is no, it’s potentially something that is not full speed, and it could hurt the team, then you can’t play him. So that would be a lot like week eight or week nine.”

Nor is it an exact science, as Payton said the Falcons’ game and the preparation for it last week made clear.

“Lance was recovering and recovering, and it seemed like he was doing well, he had a couple of catches, and on the third catch I think it was all of a sudden he pulled up,” Payton said. “Now you’re at 45 (players on active roster) on game day. So you’re always trying to gauge where that player is and if he’s healthy enough to play and help us. If the answer is yes that’s one thing, and if it’s, ‘no,’ sometimes that’s a difficult decision.”

Payton indicated a decision has not yet been made on the status of a handful of other players. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma (left knee) and safety Malcolm Jenkins (neck) were limited at practice and listed as questionable. Cornerback Patrick Robinson (left hip) and linebacker Jonathan Casillas (right knee) participated fully and are probable.

Carolina’s final injury report of the week included sobering news for Panthers fans. Starting defensive end Charles Johnson (back), who is tied for 10th in the NFC with nine sacks, did not practice all week and was listed as doubtful, and defensive tackle Andre Neblett (head) is out.

Also out are two backups, wide receiver Legedu Naanee (foot) and safety Jordan Pugh (head). Safety Charles Godfrey (shoulder) is probable, as is guard Travelle Wharton, who cropped up on the report Tuesday and Wednesday for non-injury related matters.

LEAGUE FINES: Five Saints players were hit with a $5,000 fine by the NFL for uniform violations tied to red and green tape they wore in the Atlanta game the night after Christmas, according to a league source. They were receivers Marques Colston, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson, cornerback Tracy Porter and running back Pierre Thomas. Thomas’ fine for his touchdown celebration, which involved taking a bow out of his pants and tying it around the football which he then presented as a gift to a fan, also drew a fine of $7,500, according to a league source.

NO NEW YEAR’S EVE: The Saints are creatures of habit during the season and that will not change tonight for New Year’s Eve. The holiday requires some additional logistical planning but an identical mindset to any other pregame night, according to Payton.

There are times when altered Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s plans are part of the NFL job description and this is one of them.

“For us, we’re so routine and schedule-oriented,” Payton said. “The challenges really become a little more difficult when you’re playing at home and you’ve got family and friends who are in. But we check into a hotel, we have meetings, we have bed-check and it’s much more structured. The trick is the logistics of noise, traffic, there’s a lot going on in the city and making sure players allow enough time to get to the hotel and dealing with all the other distractions that can come up. But internally we’re on a pretty good and a pretty tight schedule.”

James Varney can be reached at jvarney@timespicayune.com or 504.717.1156.

What do you guys think about this.

New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams met with the media Friday to preview Sunday’s NFC game against the Carolina Panthers. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

How different is Cam Newton in week 17 as opposed to Week 5?

“He has improved a lot. His staff has done a great job. I am kind of amazed because they didn’t have any spring practice, just had the limited training camp, and I’m sure that the league was whirling around his dad. How fast he has been able to slow the game down, he’s made a lot of improvement. I think that is a testament to how well they coach there. I really do. I think (Rob) Chudzinski needs to be considered to be a head coach in this league with what he has done with the development of a young quarterback. I know Mike Shula very well, I’ve coached with him, Fred Graves, I’ve coached with him. I know several of those coaches on that staff that have done a very good job with how they have managed him. We have our work cut out for us. This is an explosive football team. I think they are second in the league right now in explosive plays. We are going to have to play a solid game.”

How impressive is Steve Smith with the numbers he is putting up at his age?

“He is one of my favorite players. He would be a guy that I wouldn’t mind coaching on defense. He plays with an attitude. I’ve known him since I was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills and we wanted to get him up there. He plays with an attitude. He plays with a toughness. He plays with a willpower. It’s fun to watch him play until we have to play against him. I know his receivers coach very well. He was my receivers coach when I was at the Bills. He also coached that kid in college, recruited him, and got him to Utah. It’s kind of a match made in heaven for those guys to get back together. Cam has energized him. His career has taken another big jump here towards the later parts of the years he has been playing. He is a very explosive football player and you can tell that he likes playing with Cam Newton.”

Is the Mercedes-Benz Superdome a big homefield advantage?

“It is a big advantage. I probably shouldn’t say it this way but I am going to tell you exactly what I told them when I first walked in the building; I can’t believe everybody comes to watch our offense play. You can’t have homefield advantage unless the defense plays because they have to be quiet when Drew (Brees) plays. If the defense isn’t playing very well, what are they going to do? Boo? We’re going to have to get them going. When they see us play wild and reckless, with collisions, the way we play with attitude, people want to cheer for the Saints. It is the defense’s job to play with that kind of an attitude. With that kind of effort. People respect effort over ability. If you play with great effort along with really good ability, then you have the chance for something special. I I have a headache for a couple of days after the games that we play here because I coach with a single-ear because I want to be able to talk to the guys on the sidelines. I don’t want to cover up both ears. My head is ringing, usually, a couple days after we play. It has to be one of the loudest places in the league. It is one of the loudest places I have ever coached.”

Is it a snub that there are no Saints defenders in the Pro Bowl?

“I have been doing this for so long that I would be lying if I told you that didn’t bother me. Our guys play really hard. We have several guys on our team that deserve that. I flunked politics and so did they. We are not going to apologize for how we play. The thing that I am most proud about our guys is that we are not out there with ‘vote for me’ signs. We are not out there for campaigning for things. We let the film speak for itself. Our two safeties right now, there are no two other safeties in the league that I would rather coach than them. The best safety that I ever coached in my life was Sean Taylor when I drafted him at the Redskins. These two guys here play like him. We have a lot of other guys up front that have played that way. I am glad I had a chance to coach Will Smith, I wanted to draft him a long time ago too. I am glad I caught up with him. Jon Vilma has had the injury thing, so ups-and-downs. I can’t tell you why. All I can say is I will use it as motivation. I coach better with a chip on my shoulder and these guys play better with a chip on their shoulder too.”

Is Jabari Greer a guy that deserved consideration?

“I am probably as proud as Jabari is. Here is an undrafted football player that comes to us and has arguably played as well as any corner in the National Football League. When Jabari, Tracy (Porter), and Patrick (Robinson) are playing the way they are playing, I am a lot better coach. They have that kind of ability, all three of them. The stats back that up with the way that they play. It is what it is. The fact that they aren’t out there saying ‘poor little me’ or holding up ‘vote for me’ signs, I like that too because we will let our play speak for itself. One other thing I told them is that they wouldn’t be able to play anyway. Hopefully we will still be playing. Hopefully we will be playing and they won’t have to worry about that anyway.”

What does the jump in success from first year to second year players mean for Cameron Jordan, Isa Abdul-Quddus, and Martez Wilson?

 ”Hopefully, it validates the choices we made in bringing the right people here. Usually, when you have made the right choice, you see the biggest jump from year one to year two and then another significant jump from year two to year three. It validates all of the criteria that we set down of what makes a Saints defensive player. What makes a Saints football player on offense, defense, and special teams. When you see that happen, you feel good about it. You also know how we are going about teaching, coaching, and educating. We are doing that in the right way. I am real proud of those guys. Junior has come a long way. Here is another guy. I have kind of made a career of taking guys that nobody else wants. You look at him and say ‘He’s a pretty good player.’ We all have strengths. One of the things that we do here, and Sean does a great job of it on the offensive side of the ball and I think we do a pretty good job of it on the defensive side of the ball, is we maximize each one of our guys strength and we try to package it with like abilities and use it in situations. The game is not just a game where you call the same play over and over again regardless of field position, score, or who they have on that field. You can say, ‘I can match him up in this situation and we have a chance to shine.’ They have to work at it. Junior has worked at it, Patrick has worked at it, Cam Jordan has come a long way. I think you will see that next year. This draft class, this year, I wish you guys could see us practice as much as we do. I am excited about the guys we have on the practice squad here too. I am excited about the guys we have waiting here. Guys that we have made an investment in. I think people will see them next year and will be happy with them.”

Do you see a lot with Isa in the future?

“Isa is playing very well. One more thing where I didn’t even know who he was. I wish I could tell you the reason that he is here is because I found him. Our scouts do a great job and there is a good synergy between the coaches and the scouts. They spend a lot of time with ‘what are you looking for in this kind of player.’ We work really hard and spend a long time searching for those kinds of guys. They hit a home-run by bringing that young kid in here. He deserves to play and as you have seen, we have worked him into more and more packages each and every week.”

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Regardless of whether the Saints head back to Green Bay for the NFC championship game in January, they will definitely make a return trip to Lambeau Field later in 2012.

All 16 of the Saints’ 2012 opponents have been locked in now that they have clinched the NFC South division. In addition to the 14 games that were predetermined for next season, the Saints now know that they will play at Green Bay and host San Francisco, based on where those teams finished in their divisions this season.

The dates and times won’t be released until next spring. But here is the complete list of New Orleans’ 2012 opponents:

Home: Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, Kansas City and San Diego.

Away: Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, Dallas, the New York Giants, Denver and Oakland.

The Green Bay trip will be unique because the Saints could play three times at Lambeau Field within 16 months. But those quirks come up from time to time in the NFL schedule, especially when playoff games are involved. It would be similar to when the Saints played at Chicago in three straight years from 2006 to 2008.

The other quirk is that the pattern has changed with the Saints’ AFC West opponents. Starting last season, the NFL changed its rotation regarding West Coast trips so that teams would no longer have to play at San Diego and Oakland in the same year (or at San Francisco and Seattle in the same year). That’s why the Saints are scheduled to play at Denver instead of at San Diego in 2012.

INGRAM SUFFERS SETBACK: Saints tailback Mark Ingram missed practice Thursday after suffering a setback with his lingering turf toe injury, according to Coach Sean Payton. Ingram has missed the past three games with the injury, and it now appears he could miss the remainder of the season.

“We’ve just got to wait until it’s healthy. It’s real simple,” Payton said.

There still is time for Ingram to return to the lineup if needed. But based on the way his replacement, Chris Ivory, has performed the past three weeks, it seems unlikely the Saints would change after Ingram has missed so much time.

Ingram returned to practice last week, participating only in individual drills. Then Wednesday, he participated in team drills on a limited basis for the first time. But Payton said he aggravated the injury during Wednesday’s practice.

Receiver Lance Moore (hamstring) and tight end John Gilmore (toe) also missed practice Thursday, making them questionable for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.

Safety Malcolm Jenkins (neck) and linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee) returned to practice on a limited basis.

SPROLES, MORSTEAD CHASE HISTORY: New Orleans’ offense isn’t the only unit rewriting the NFL’s record book. The Saints set the league record for most touchbacks on kickoffs in a season with 62 so far. Now tailback and kick returner Darren Sproles and punter Thomas Morstead are within range of breaking NFL records as they head into Sunday’s regular-season finale against Carolina.

Sproles has a league-leading 2,528 all-purpose yards, the combined total of his rushing, receiving, kick returns and punt returns. He needs 163 yards to break the season NFL record of 2,690 set by the Tennessee Titans’ Derrick Mason in 2000.

Sproles needs 120 all-purpose yards to break the franchise record of 2,647 set by Michael Lewis in 2002. Lewis’ total ranks second in NFL history.

Asked how long he has known about his record pace, Sproles said, “since just now when you said it.”

“That would be cool, but it’s not on my mind,” Sproles said. “That’s not my main focus. My main focus is just to help this team win. And that’s all that’s on my mind when I go out there and play.”

Sproles has 563 yards rushing, 681 yards receiving, 1,035 yards on kickoff returns, 249 yards on punt returns and nine touchdowns.

Sproles said he always admired all-purpose stars such as former New York Giants dynamo Dave Meggett. But in his heart, he’s a tailback first and foremost.

“But my all-time favorite is Barry Sanders,” Sproles said. “That’s who I always tried to be like.”

Morstead, meanwhile, is well aware of his shot at the NFL’s all-time mark for net punting average. That’s the number that all NFL punters and special teams coverage units care most about because it takes into account return yardage.

The current record-holder, Shane Lechler, set the record with a net average of 43.85 yards for the Raiders in 2009. Morstead’s net average this season is 43.1 yards. And the San Francisco 49ers’ Andy Lee has a net average of 43.5.

Morstead broke the NFL record for touchbacks last week, though that tally is inflated a bit because the NFL pushed kickoffs up 5 yards to the 35 this season and because the high-scoring Saints kick off so often. The net punting record would be even more special, though.

“That would be really cool,” Morstead said. “We have a chance. We’ve had a couple real good games in a row.”

MORE MARKS FOR BREES: As you may have heard, Saints quarterback Drew Brees set the NFL record for passing yards in a single season Monday night. But that’s not all he did.

With his 307 yards and four touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons, Brees moved up the all-time NFL charts in both categories. He passed Johnny Unitas on the yardage chart and now ranks 12th all-time with 40,353 yards passing. He passed both Joe Montana and Vinny Testaverde on the touchdown chart and now ranks ninth all-time with 276 passing touchdowns.

Brees also remains on pace to break the NFL records for completions and completion percentage in a season. He needs 11 completions to break the mark of 450, which was set by Peyton Manning last season. His completion percentage of 70.74 ranks ahead of his NFL record of 70.62 set in 2009.

•••••••

Staff writer Jeff Duncan contributed to this report. Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.

That’s all the news for today.

The New Orleans Saints’ offense isn’t the only unit rewriting the NFL’s record books this year. The Saints already set the league record for most touchbacks on kickoffs in a season with 62 so far. Now tailback/kick returner Darren Sproles and punter Thomas Morstead are also within range of breaking NFL records as they head into Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Carolina Panthers.

Sproles has a league-leading 2,528 all-purpose yards this year, based on the combined total of his rushing, receiving, kick return and punt return yards. He needs 163 yards to break the single-season NFL record of 2,690, set by the Tennessee Titans’ Derrick Mason in 2000.

Sproles needs 120 all-purpose yards to break the franchise record of 2,647 set by Michael Lewis in 2002. Lewis’ total ranks second in NFL history.

Sproles, however, said he’s not focused on the NFL record – or even aware of it. When asked how long he’s known about his record pace, he said, “since just now when you said it.”

“That’d be cool, but it’s not on my mind,” Sproles said. “That’s not my main focus. My main focus is just to help this team win. And that’s all that’s on my mind when I go out there and play.”

Sproles has certainly helped the Saints this year in every way he can. He has 563 rushing yards, 681 receiving yards, 1,035 kickoff return yards, 249 punt return yards and nine total touchdowns. But in his heart, he’s still a tailback first and foremost.

Sproles said he always admired all-purpose stars like former New York Giants dynamo Dave Meggett.

“But my all-time favorite is Barry Sanders,” Sproles said. “That’s who I always tried to be like.”

Morstead, meanwhile, is well aware of his shot at the NFL’s all-time mark for net punting average. For one thing, that’s the number that all NFL punters and special teams coverage units care most about because it takes into account the return yardage. And for another thing, the current record-holder Shane Lechler might be the best punter in NFL history.

Lechler set the record with a net average of 43.85 yards for the Oakland Raiders in 2009. Morstead’s net average this year is 43.1 yards. And the San Francisco 49ers’ Andy Lee has a net average of 43.5.

Morstead already broke one NFL record last week with the kickoff touchbacks – though that tally is inflated a bit because the NFL pushed kickoffs up to the 35-yard line this year, and because the high-scoring Saints kick off so often. The net punting record would be even more special, though.

“That would be really cool,” Morstead said. “We have a chance. We’ve had a couple real good games in a row.”

Not much else going on in the NFL world today.

Thanks to the whims of the NFL scheduling formula, the New Orleans Saints will have to make a second trip to Green Bay to play the Packers next season.

In fact, depending on what happens in the NFC playoffs, next season’s trip could be the Saints’ third to Lambeau Field in a one-year span. Before this year’s season opener on Sept. 8, won by the Packers 42-34, the Saints had played only three games in the hallowed stadium.

The rematch with the Packers will highlight the Saints’ 2012 schedule, of which the opponents have now been determined thanks to the Saints’ NFC South division title.

As usual, the Saints will play home and away games against their three NFC South opponents: Atlanta; Carolina; and Tampa Bay. They’ll also play each team in the NFC East and AFC West, according to the divisional rotation in the scheduling formula.

The league will announce the dates and times for each game when it releases the entire league schedule in April.

Meantime, here are the eight home and road opponents for the Saints in 2012

HOME: Chargers; Chiefs; Eagles; 49ers; Redskins; Buccaneers; Falcons; and Panthers.

AWAY: Broncos; Cowboys; Giants; Packers; Raiders; Buccaneers; Falcons; and Panthers.

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Tuesday felt very much like Ash Wednesday in New Orleans. The morning streets were eerily quiet as the city slowly rousted itself from the Carnival-like celebration of Drew Brees’ record-breaking passing performance for the New Orleans Saints the previous night.

Alas, there’s always someone who wants to rain on the parade, even one as universally fun as Monday’s surprisingly easy 45-16 flogging of the Falcons.

The criticism of the Saints’ decision to go for Dan Marino’s 27-year-old single-season passing yardage record in the final minutes of a 22-point game was surprising. It also was unwarranted.

In case you missed it, apparently a few Falcons players and media members were offended by the Saints’ decision to go for the record with a 22-point lead and three minutes to play.

Some felt the Saints were running up the score, rubbing salt in the wounds of a bitter archrival when Brees hit Darren Sproles for a 9-yard touchdown pass that gave him 5,087 yards for the season, three better than Marino’s old mark. Others went further, calling the decision classless and disrespectful.

The Falcons’ frustration is understandable. They’d just been embarrassed by their archrivals on national TV in a critical game. It was their most lopsided regular-season loss in years and their fifth setback in the past six meetings with the Saints. Their Angry Bird mentality makes sense.

But truth be told, this really had nothing to do with them. They were just innocent bystanders. This had everything to do with Brees, the Saints and New Orleans.

This was a New Orleans moment, a town and team celebrating one of their own. It was their chance to honor Brees for his remarkable season and celebrate a significant accomplishment in his burgeoning Hall of Fame career. It was as if Coach Sean Payton and the Saints were saying to America, “OK, you can continue to snub this incredible player in the MVP balloting, but you can’t deny this moment. This is our time.” Or more appropriately, “This is his time.”

“I felt like the moment was right, so you go with your gut,” Payton said Tuesday afternoon. “I thought it was the right decision last night. This morning, I thought it was clearly the right decision.”

Right place, right time

Payton wasn’t trying to rub it in the face of the Falcons and their classy coach, Mike Smith, and he said so afterward. In fact, both Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and Smith went out of their way after the game to praise Brees and acknowledge the significance of his accomplishment.

“We have a ton of respect for Falcons Coach Mike (Smith), his staff and his players,” Payton said Monday night. “It seemed like the right thing to do. I felt real good about the decision.”

He should. It was the correct thing to do.

Was it a little defiant and impulsive? Maybe. Did it fly in the face of conventional wisdom? You bet. And that’s exactly why New Orleanians loved every second of it. After all, what city loves itself or embraces its eccentricity more than New Orleans, right?

Besides, it’s exactly what everyone — with the exception of the Falcons and their fans — wanted. The sellout crowd had packed the stadium in anticipation of witnessing history. A nationwide audience on the “Monday Night Football” broadcast had stayed up past its bedtime to catch the historic event.

This was the appropriate setting for such a remarkable achievement by such a remarkable player. The alternative was to wait and watch him break the mark Sunday at noon against Carolina. No, this historic mark needed the right moment, and it materialized fatefully in the final minutes of play Monday night.

“He is such a great teammate,” Payton said of Brees. “His leadership ability transcends just the New Orleans Saints team and into this region. I think it is pretty obvious. It was pretty special last night for the fan base to share in that accomplishment.”

Make no mistake, Payton didn’t go for the record to ingratiate himself with fans. He did it for the only reason he should have: because it was the best thing for his team and organization.

The last thing the Saints (12-3) needed was the distraction of the record chase to carry over another week. Brees and his teammates needed to turn their attention toward the Carolina Panthers (6-9) and trying to secure the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

End games

Now Payton has some important decisions to make.

How does he handle Sunday’s game against the Panthers and the dynamic Cam Newton? Does he rest his regulars, knowing the chances of the Rams (2-13) beating the 49ers (12-3) are slim to none? Or does he go for it again and risk losing a key player or two to injury?

Payton was mum about his intentions Tuesday.

In a nearly identical situation last season, Payton elected to play his regulars and watched safety Malcolm Jenkins, tight end Jimmy Graham and running back Chris Ivory drop with injuries in the first half. A dreadful loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs followed.

Moreover, where do all of the records and historic streaks come into play?

The Saints are 219 yards shy of the NFL record for total yards in a season set by the 2000 St. Louis Rams.

Brees has a 42-game streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to consider.

And lest we forget, New England’s Tom Brady trails Brees by a mere 190 yards in the passing yardage race. If Payton sits Brees early, he runs the risk of seeing Brady overtake his star at the season’s finish line. After Monday night’s euphoria, you know he wants to maintain the record for Brees.

Then again, Payton can’t afford to expose his star quarterback to injury for a second longer than necessary. As soon as the 49ers’ game is decided, he needs to pull Brees and all of the regulars he can. This is one time where the team needs to eschew its one-game-at-a-time philosophy. The Saints need to be thinking ahead. The Super Bowl is the priority.

“What we have to do is keep playing,” Payton said. “The playoffs are close. How do we put ourselves in the best position to play well and put ourselves in an opportunity to win a championship?”

From here on out, a championship is the only thing that matters.

Jeff Duncan can be reached at jduncan@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3404.

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