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

Is Drew Brees the frontrunner for 2011 NFL MVP?

Should the Saints now be at the top of NFL power rankings?

Game summary of Super Bowl 48

NFL nonsense: Pierre Thomas fined for Christmas bow incident

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.

The New Orleans Saints’ 45-16 demolition of the visiting Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 26 took me to another place and time. As ESPN aired footage of the 1984 Miami Dolphins and quarterback Dan Marino’s record-setting season, my mind was stuck elsewhere.

It felt like 2009 all over again.

The relentless and precise passing attack.

The power running game.

The opportunistic defense.

The steady special teams.

And the aggressive attitude from start to finish.

The formula was devastatingly effective in 2009, and it’s working for the Saints again this season. Build big leads with the high-powered offense, force the opponent to play a one-dimensional game of catch-up, turn the defense loose and finish the job with a power rushing attack.

“It’s the same thing we did in 2009,” linebacker Scott Shanle said. “I’m seeing the chemistry and the confidence that we had when we were going on that run in 2009.”

And that should be a scary thought for the rest of the NFL.

A win against the visiting Carolina Panthers today would vault the Saints into select company, matching the Super Bowl XLIV champs for the best mark in club history at 13-3.

And while this season’s team might never be as special as the 2009 group, they might be better. They’re unquestionably deeper, but whether they can play with the same raison d’être the 2009 bunch did remains to be seen.

Regardless, you can make a strong case that the Saints are the best team in the NFL, and the league is much stronger top to bottom than it was two years ago. The Saints’ running game is better than the Green Bay Packers’ running game, their defense is better than the New England Patriots’ defense, and their offense is better than the San Francisco 49ers’ offense.

These Saints have followed a different arc then they did in 2009, when they opened with 13 consecutive wins and stumbled home with three consecutive losses.

This season the Saints are doing exactly the opposite. They piddled around for much of the first half of the season, going 5-3, which included a stunning loss at woeful St. Louis on Oct. 30.

Since then, the Saints have been unbeatable. They’ve blitzed through the second half of their schedule, outscoring their opponents by an eye-popping average of two touchdowns per game. Their current seven-game winning streak is tied for the best in the NFL. Moreover, they might be healthier than any team in the league.

“We’re extremely confident,” quarterback Drew Brees said.

They should be. The past two months have been the most consistent stretch of dominant football we’ve seen since the first two months of 2009.

The offense is scary good. The Saints have converted an astonishing 56.3 percent of their third downs and will eclipse the 2000 Rams’ NFL record for most yards gained in a season during today’s game.

The passing attack is more prolific, and the running game has transformed from afterthought to weapon. The Saints have rushed for 100 or more yards in six of seven games since the ugly loss to the Rams in Week 8. They’ve topped 160 yards the past two weeks. They’re averaging 4.8 yards per carry, fifth best in the NFL. Their fourth running back, Chris Ivory, led them in rushing a year ago and would start for many teams.

Likewise, the defense has improved dramatically. The Saints have allowed just three first-half touchdowns in the second half of the season and have once again become stout in the red zone. The only teams to score more than 20 points on them in regulation were the Falcons in Atlanta (23) and the Giants (24), and most of New York’s damage was done in fourth-quarter mop-up time.

Once a sieve, the Saints’ run defense now is a stone wall. In successive weeks, they’ve rendered Tennessee’s Chris Johnson, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson and Atlanta’s Michael Turner non-factors, while holding their past four opponents to just 71.5 rushing yards per game.

“We’re swarming to the ball as well as we have all year,” Shanle said. “You know you’re playing good defense when you come out of the game saying, ‘Man, I didn’t have any open-field tackles in this game.’”

The improved defense and running game have elevated the Saints into the league’s elite ranks. They now stand toe to toe with anyone, including Green Bay.

Make no mistake, the Packers remain the team to beat. They’ve secured a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Someone will have to beat them at Lambeau Field, where they’ve won 12 consecutive games and beaten their seven opponents this season by an average of 20.5 points. And they’ll have to do it in January, when the tundra almost surely will be frozen.

But the second half of the season has shown the Packers are vulnerable. A Week 15 loss to the woeful Kansas City Chiefs exposed cracks in the armor. Injuries continue to be an issue, as does Green Bay’s leaky run defense.

As the Packers have regressed, albeit ever so slightly, the Saints have surged. The hallmark of a good team is the improvement it makes over the course of the season, and the Saints are much stronger than they were in Week 1. And they’ll need to be because unlike 2009, they’ll likely have to go on the road in inclement conditions to reach the big game. Their improved defense and running game will make them a much tougher out than they were a year ago.

Indeed, if anyone can knock off the Packers in Green Bay, it’s the Saints. The teams have been a collision course with the NFC championship game since opening night.

But first, the Saints must handle the Panthers.

For all of the records, awards and accomplishments of the Sean Payton era, one relatively simple feat has eluded them. They’ve never won a regular-season finale. Amazingly, they’re 0-5 in season finales during the Payton-Brees era. Three of those losses came to Panthers, a fact Payton undoubtedly has mentioned this week.

That’s not the reason why Payton said he plans to play his regulars today, but it’s certainly a worthy incentive. The Saints proved in 2009 late-season momentum is overrated. For this team at this time, though, it’s imperative they maintain their upward arc.

For the Saints to accomplish what the 2009 team did, they must keep their foot on the accelerator.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod said he was “pretty shocked” to learn he had been named to the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster Tuesday. “But,” he said, “it was definitely awesome news.”

“Just having the opportunity to be voted in is such an extreme blessing,” said Bushrod, a fourth-round draft pick out of Towson in 2007 who became a starter during the 2009 preseason. “I never would’ve thought in a million years I’d have this opportunity, in the same way as winning a Super Bowl two years ago.”

Bushrod, who has only allowed three sacks this season, has developed into a major part of the Saints’ offensive success. He was one of five members of that prolific offense selected to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday, joining quarterback Drew Brees, guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks and tight end Jimmy Graham, a fellow first-timer.

“Guys have good seasons if the team’s doing well,” Bushrod said. “And I just think as a team, we’re jelling right now. We just have to keep it up.”

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After obliterating the NFL record books this year, the New Orleans Saints’ offense is now taking over the Pro Bowl too. For the first time in franchise history, five offensive players were invited to the annual all-star game, including first-time selections tight end Jimmy Graham and offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod.

They joined quarterback Drew Brees and guards Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans, thanks to a combination of votes by fans, players and coaches. Graham, Evans and Nicks are starters. No defensive players or special teamers made the team.

This is the third straight year the Saints have had at least five Pro Bowlers, though they’re all hoping to skip the game to play in the Super Bowl instead, like they did two years ago. This year’s game will be played in Honolulu on Sunday, Jan. 29, one week before Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.

It’s no surprise that the Saints landed five offensive players in the game – including Brees, who was selected for the fifth time in the last six years. Brees broke Dan Marino’s NFL record for the most passing yards in a single season on Monday night, reaching 5,087 yards with one game to spare. And the entire offense is on pace to break the 2000 St. Louis Rams’ NFL record of 7,075 yards in a season, among other marks.

Graham also has a shot at NFL history. He needs 68 yards in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Carolina Panthers to break Kellen Winslow’s 31-year-old NFL record of 1,290 receiving yards by a tight end. However, Graham also needs to pass up New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is six yards ahead of him right now during a league-wide tight end revolution.

In just his second NFL season, Graham has put together one of the most prolific seasons by a tight end in NFL history, with 91 catches for 1,213 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“Being selected to represent the NFC team in the Pro Bowl is a tremendous honor,” Graham said in a statement released by the team. “If you look around the NFC, you see a ton of amazing and talented players at tight end and to be thought of in that company by my peers, the head coaches and the fans who follow the NFL is something I take seriously. I think it goes without saying that there are many people to thank–starting with my position coach, Terry Malone, our offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and Coach (Sean) Payton. None of this would be possible without working with guys like Drew Brees, our running backs and receivers and the guys in the tight ends room. David Thomas has been a great mentor, as was Jeremy Shockey, and I have learned a lot from each guy who has worked with me over the past two seasons. My focus right now isn’t on going to Hawaii, it’s on the Carolina Panthers and getting ready for the playoffs, but I think any guy who gets named to the Pro Bowl realizes that it’s a heck of compliment and I am grateful and humbled by it.”

Bushrod’s selection was a breakthrough moment for the fifth-year pro and third-year starter. The recognition is certainly due after he’s flown mostly under the radar in his young career. He has only allowed three sacks this season while protecting Brees’ blind side.

Evans and Nicks are widely considered the NFL’s best guard tandem, thanks to the way they create a secure pocket for Brees to step into, as well as the way the block for run plays and screen passes. This is the third straight Pro Bowl selection for Evans and the second straight for Nicks.

The list of Pro Bowl alternates was not immediately released, though it’s likely the Saints could earn more invites down the road when replacement players are needed.

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

One day Baylen and Bowen Brees will tell their friends about the night their father broke the NFL record for passing yards in a season. They’ll talk about how it came on the day after Christmas against the archrival Atlanta Falcons on the game’s biggest stage, “Monday Night Football.”

But the Brees boys won’t tell the whole story, because they might have been the only ones in New Orleans who didn’t actually see Drew Brees break Dan Marino’s hallowed 27-year-old milestone in dramatic fashion, making America and an anxious crowd wait until his final pass to eclipse the mark of 5,084 yards set in 1984.

“They were home sleeping,” Brees said of his sons, minutes after his record-setting performance in a euphoric 45-16 rout of the Falcons. “But they may have felt the reverberation in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.”

The Saints (12-3) have played a lot of big games in the Dome during the Brees-Sean Payton era. And this one will rank right up there with the cathartic NFC championship game victory against the Vikings, the astonishing rout of the Patriots in 2009 and the inspirational come-from-behind win against the Texans on the five-year anniversary of the Dome-coming game with Steve Gleason in the house.

The stakes were bigger but as far as moments go, only Gleason’s blocked punt, Garrett Hartley’s field goal and Tracy Porter’s interception might match this one for sheer dramatics.

Few in the stadium will forget the moment when the record fell. Let the record show the milestone tumbled on a 9-yard touchdown reception to Darren Sproles with 2 minutes, 51 seconds remaining.

“Just an amazing feeling, an amazing moment,” Brees said after the exclamation point of his 307-yard, four-touchdown night that leaves him with 5,087 yards for the season. “We couldn’t have made it more dramatic could we? … It makes me feel good. I think we made a lot of people happy tonight.”

Brees went out of his way to deflect talk of the record last week. He said he was trying to numb himself to conversation. But it was a futile effort. Everywhere he went it was the topic of discussion.

Afterward it was clear how important it was to him. He carried the game ball from the touchdown under his left arm for several minutes on the sideline as a parade of teammates lined up for congratulatory hugs. He addressed his teammates for several minutes in the post-game locker room after receiving the game ball.

Payton appropriately made a point of recognizing the history of the occasion afterward in the locker room. Marino’s record, after all, had stood for 27 years. Some of the game’s greatest quarterbacks ­– Joe Montana; Steve Young; Brett Favre; Kurt Warner; Peyton Manning; Tom Brady — have aired it out in the league since then and not broken it.

“Obviously, it’s a special moment for the players and especially Drew,” said Payton, still sporting a large smudge of eye black from his emotional hug with Brees after the record. “I couldn’t be more proud of him. … It was special. There are certain things you remember. It was significant.”

In 2008, Brees fell 15 yards and one incompletion to Lance Moore short of the record. That year, he insisted he was unaware of how close he was to the mark as the Saints frantically tried to rally in a close loss to the Panthers.

This time, there was no doubt about it. Everyone in the stadium held their collective breath as Brees methodically marched down the field.

As Sproles streaked into the end zone, Brees thrust his fists into the air and was swarmed by the entire offense into a roiling dogpile. Payton and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael thrust their fists into the air simultaneously.

“That was one of the best feelings I’ve had as a Saint,” said guard Carl Nicks, who wrapped Brees in a bear hug and lifted him over his head as teammates swarmed to congratulate him. “This was probably better than the NFC championship. It was like a movie. It’s a beautiful ending.”

Afterward, Payton admitted he eschewed traditional end-of-game strategy to make a run at the record down the stretch. He said he felt it was appropriate to go for the mark at that time. And I agree wholeheartedly.

With all due respect to the Falcons (9-6), the Saints needed to get the record out of the way. It had become the 500-pound elephant in the locker room for the past month. The last thing they needed was to deal with the issue for another week.

Now they can focus on the playoffs and the main priority: another Super Bowl run.

Indeed, the record became so big it eclipsed the game, which, in itself, was substantial. The Saints secured the NFC South Division title with the win and clinched either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed along with it.

They still have an outside shot at the No. 2 seed but would need help from an unlikely source Sunday to earn it. They need to defeat the Carolina Panthers and hope the 2-13 St. Louis Rams can somehow upset San Francisco (12-3) to knock the 49ers out of the No. 2 seed.

That means Brees and company will be forced to play most of the way in their battle with the Panthers. He’ll get a chance to add to his record and keep distance between himself and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who trails him by only 190 passing yards.

“You do have to enjoy these things because you don’t how often they are going to come around,” Brees said. “They’re rare.”

Indeed, it was a rare night. And even rarer was the quarterback who made it so special.

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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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Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

The New Orleans Saints are on pace to set a bushel of NFL records for offensive yardage this season, but guard Carl Nicks said he’d rather count all of ‘em up after the Saints win a second Super Bowl. Even though the Saints won it two years ago, he said they aren’t satisfied.

“The thing about winning the Super Bowl is you kind of want another one and then another one,” Nicks said. “It’s kind of like the most addictive drug you’ve ever had and you need that feeling again. I’ve been going through withdrawals the last year.”

There is the quick update of the day.

The New Orleans Saints have already secured a spot in the playoffs, but they
still have plenty to play for in the final two weeks of the regular season.

Two games behind the Saints in the NFC South, the Atlanta Falcons are primed
to join them in the postseason.

Needing a win to clinch their second division title in three years, the
Saints look to continue their recent success against the Falcons on Monday night
at the Superdome.

Riding a season-high six-game winning streak, New Orleans (11-3) is
postseason-bound for a third consecutive year. Hoping to earn a first-round
playoff bye, the Saints can wrap up the South title with a third straight win
over second-place Atlanta (9-5).

“The sky’s the limit and that’s where we’re trying to get to,” New Orleans
safety Roman Harper said. “Our goal is nothing less than a victory in the Super
Bowl, and right now we just trying to stay focused and take it one step at a
time.”

The Falcons, meanwhile, simply need to win either of their final two games
to return to the playoffs. If Atlanta wins both contests and the Saints drop two
straight, the Falcons would win their second consecutive South title by virtue
of a better record within the division.

Atlanta concludes the regular season at home versus Tampa Bay while New
Orleans hosts Carolina, both on New Year’s Day.

“We control what we can control,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “It’s
obvious our guys are familiar with the scenarios we are in. I know our guys are
aware of it. We’re not going to change our preparation, how we prepare. We try
to be as steady as we can and just continue to move forward like we have all
season.”

Though the Falcons have had more than enough time to prepare for their
division rival since posting a 41-14 home win over Jacksonville on Dec. 15, they
face a huge challenge against the NFC’s hottest team.

The Saints, who totaled 573 yards in a 42-20 road rout of Minnesota last
Sunday, have scored at least 31 points in three of their last four games. They
have not allowed more than 24 points during the six-game winning streak that has
followed a 31-21 defeat at St. Louis on Oct. 30.

“We’re peaking at the right time,” linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “I’m
talking about jelling as far as a team – offense, defense, special teams.”

Drew Brees went 32 of 40 for 412 yards and matched a season high with five
touchdowns against the lowly Vikings. With an NFL-leading 4,780 passing yards,
Brees is 305 shy of breaking Dan Marino’s single-season NFL record (5,084) set
in 1984.

“I’m as comfortable now in this offense as I’ve ever been,” Brees said.
“I’m aware that we’re close. I just know if we keep doing what we’re doing all
of that stuff will take care of itself.”

Brees improved to 9-3 against the Falcons after throwing for 322 yards and
two touchdowns in a 26-23 overtime win at Atlanta on Nov. 13.

New Orleans has won two straight and nine of 11 against Atlanta, but needed
overtime to win their first 2011 meeting and lost 27-24 at home to the Falcons
in 2010. Each of the last four games between the teams has been decided by three
points – three of them won by the Saints.

“We’re going to play a very good opponent and someone we’re very familiar
with in a game that obviously has a lot riding on it,” New Orleans coach Sean
Payton said. “We look forward to that challenge and we’ll go from there.”

Atlanta had little trouble taking care of the Jaguars, one week after
rallying from a 16-point second-half deficit to win 31-23 at Carolina. In a span
from the start of the third quarter at Carolina to the 2:12 mark of the third
versus Jacksonville, the Falcons scored 65 unanswered points – though it did
come against a pair of teams with a combined 9-19 record.

“That’s what we need,” said quarterback Matt Ryan, who has thrown seven
touchdowns without an interception over the last two weeks. “That’s the kind of
football we need to play moving forward, and I think it’s good that we’re doing
it at this time.”

Roddy White caught 10 passes for 135 yards and two TDs against the Jaguars.
It was the third time in five games he recorded at least 120 receiving yards.
White, who has five touchdowns in those five contests, has averaged 112.8 yards
and scored three times during his last four games against the Saints.

Teammate Michael Turner has rushed for 265 yards and two TDs on 50 carries
in his last two games at the Superdome.

What are your opinions.

NFL winning streaks

Every year, the truly great NFL teams play their best football in December. It is certainly not a surprise to me that my favorite team, the New Orleans Saints, is carrying a six-game winning streak. But how does the Saints winning streak stack up against the rest of the NFL? Take a closer look at the five longest active winning streaks in the NFL.

4. (tie) San Diego Chargers: three straight

Only three things in this world are certain: death, taxes and the Chargers winning in December. Since 2007, San Diego is a ridiculous 18-2 in December. I’m sure their fans wish they could have winnings streaks in other months as well. Despite their three-game NFL winning streak, the Chargers are on the outside looking in at the NFL Playoffs.

4. (tie) Seattle Seahawks: three straight

The next two NFL teams with winning streaks are quite surprising. Unfortunately, they are also longshots to make the NFL Playoffs. The Seahawks winning streak came via wins over the Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears. I hope the Seahawks extend their winning streak to four with a victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

3. Arizona Cardinals: four straight

Although the margin of victory during the Seahawks winning streak has been 19.3 points per game, the Cardinals have won four straight by an average of 3.3 points per game. Not only that, but they are 4-1 with John Skelton as their starting QB. After an awful 2010 NFL season, the NFC West could have three non-losing teams in 2011.

1. (tie) New England Patriots: six straight

After a decade of NFL excellence, the Patriots just keep on winning. Their current winning streak is tied for the longest in the NFL. Because the other so-called elite AFC teams are so inconsistent, the Patriots are poised to garner home field advantage. Tom Brady may be lying in wait in when the NFC champions show up at Super Bowl 46.

1. (tie) New Orleans Saints: six straight

Now that the Green Bay Packers über winning streak is history, the Saints are the hottest NFC team. However, if they are to secure a first round bye in the NFL Playoffs, they will need help from the Seahawks and they’ll probably need an eight-game winning streak. I can’t wait to turn the calendar so we can start an NFL winning streak in January.

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

“NFL Standings,” nfl.com

More from this contributor

Could Drew Brees leave the Saints via free agency?

Is Drew Brees the frontrunner for NFL MVP?

The top 5 NFC teams since 2006

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.

Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

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.

Minneapolis — Jimmy Graham has been the high-flying newcomer and Marques Colston has been the big-play mainstay, but Lance Moore is quietly putting up big numbers at receiver for the Saints.

Moore had five catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. He is now second on the team in touchdown receptions with eight, one behind Graham. Moore has 50 catches for 571 yards this season.

“Lance Moore is having a great year,” quarterback Drew Brees said Sunday. “All of our skill-position players, receivers, backs, tight ends, they all complement each other so well. They all understand that each game you never know whose opportunity it’s going to be. You never know who is going to have the big day. Lance and Marques may had had the big yardage, but everybody came up big today.”

Moore is in his sixth season with the Saints and in that time has become a guy Brees trusts to get a first down, or the tough yardage, or to be in a favorable matchup.

“The more confidence he has in me, I think the more balls I’m going to get on the field,” Moore said. “We’ve worked together now for a long time. We work together each and every day after practice, as all the receivers do. Hopefully we can just continue to get better.”

INJURIES AND INACTIVES: Zach Strief left the game for a few plays with an injured finger, but came back and seemed to be fine after the game. … Tracy Porter was limited at defensive back, and according to Coach Sean Payton, Porter was used sparingly because of the wrist injury he suffered last week and was not injured in this game. … Right guard Jahri Evans missed a few plays when he injured his left knee. Trainers put a sleeve on it and he came back into the game. He also seemed to be moving OK after the game. … Inactive for the game were: cornerback Leigh Torrence, running back Mark Ingram, linebacker Jonathan Casillas, tackle William Robinson, tight end Michael Higgins, receiver Adrian Arrington, defensive end Turk McBride.

QUICK HITS: The Saints had two first-half turnovers, breaking a long streak. Graham’s fumble in the first quarter was the first by the Saints in 17 quarters, dating to the Tampa Bay game Nov. 6. … Remember ambush? The famous onside kick to start the second half of Super Bowl XLIV was tried again, but this time the Saints didn’t recover. It bounced around, squirted through the front line of the return team and the Saints had a couple chances to get it, but didn’t. … John Kasay missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter and it was his first missed kick since the Atlanta Falcons game Nov. 13. He is 27 of 32 for the season. … Tight end John Gilmore caught a touchdown pass, making him the ninth Saints player with a touchdown reception this season. In the Super Bowl season of 2009, 10 players caught TD passes. Overall, 13 Saints have scored a touchdown. … The Saints had four sacks, Harper, Tom Johnson, Junior Galette and Jeff Charleston. … The Saints dominated in first downs, getting 36 to Minnesota’s 12 and total yardage at 573 to 207. They also added to their league-leading third-down efficiency percentage by converting on eight of 11. Red-zone efficiency numbers are going up as well, as they were 5 of 5 against Minnesota. … The Saints’ offense is closing in on the all-time record for offensive yardage. The 2000 St. Louis Rams had 7,075 yards. After getting 573 yards against Minnesota, the Saints have 6,394, needing 682 to break the record. The team record is 6,571 set in 2008.

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Kevin Spain can be reached at kspain@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3480.

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With the Saints preparing to face the Minnesota Vikings (2-11 ) on the road Sunday, it’s impossible to ignore the comparisons to the St. Louis Rams (2-11).

Both teams have obviously struggled — only the 0-13 Indianapolis Colts have been worse. But both teams remain dangerous because of a potent rushing attack and a pestering pass rush.

In other words, the Saints (10-3) can’t go sleep-walking into Sunday’s game like they did at St. Louis in Week 8, when they lost 31-21 and got the wakeup call that helped inspire their current five-game winning streak.

“I kind of blocked that game out. Thanks for bringing it up,” deadpanned Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod. “But, yeah, (Minnesota is) the same type of team. A very good front seven, a team that can get after the quarterback. And that’s something we need to pay attention to.”

Chances are, the Saints would never take a Week 15 game lightly anyway, especially with so much playoff positioning on the line.

They’re chasing the San Francisco 49ers for the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Although both teams are 10-3, the 49ers have the tiebreaker because of a better conference record. And the Saints also haven’t clinched the NFC South title yet, with the Atlanta Falcons hovering at 8-5.

“You hope that clearly with where we’re at with three games left and so much at stake that (the energy level will be high),” Saints Coach Sean Payton said. “I thought we had a good response last week going on the road (at Tennessee). Although it was a tough, hard-fought game, I thought we handled some of the adversity pretty well in the game, and that’s a good sign.

“In December these games, every one of them, are very important.”

Beware of pitfalls

Still, the Saints’ track record during the past two years hasn’t always been great against the NFL’s cellar dwellers, with losses to Arizona and Cleveland last year and Tampa Bay and St. Louis this year.

So any time they can be reminded of past nightmares, it can’t hurt.

“Obviously, we remember what happened in St. Louis, but at this point in the season there can’t be any trap games. There can’t be anybody that even remotely sneaks up on you because you weren’t taking them seriously,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “That’s not ever our mentality. Obviously, we’ve had a few games over the last few years that we just want to forget, but unfortunately it’s the truth, and that is each week you have to bring your best performance and put your best foot forward. We’re playing for a lot.

“We’ve clinched a playoff spot, but that’s nowhere near our ultimate goal. We have plenty of dominoes to knock over as we go along here.”

The Saints also need no reminders about the dangers the Vikings present. Although Minnesota has changed dramatically this year with new coach Leslie Frazier and rookie quarterback Christian Ponder steering the ship, the Vikings still feature many of the same players the Saints faced in the 2009 NFC championship game and the 2010 season opener.

That includes perennial All-Pros like tailback Adrian Peterson, who is expected back this week from an ankle injury, and defensive end Jared Allen, who leads the NFL with 17.5 sacks.

“I think it’s a team that we’re familiar with,” Payton said. “It’s a team that is very talented, although their record hasn’t turned out the way they liked. Clearly, you can see their play-making ability on offense. You can see their defense can rush the passer.

“And there’s a lot that we’re playing for, so we’re going to have to play a real good football game on the road. This is one of the tougher places to play on the road historically. It’s very loud and can be difficult, especially on third down and especially against their pass rush.”

No shortage of sacks

As a team, the Vikings rank third in the NFL with 40 sacks. Fellow end Brian Robison has six sacks. Another perennial Pro Bowler, tackle Kevin Williams, has been improving after a slow start. And the Saints know their former teammate, nose tackle Remi Ayodele, well.

“We need to fight to keep these guys away from Drew, and we have to fight to open these holes for our running backs in the backfield,” Bushrod said.

On the flip side, the Saints’ defense needs to be wary of Peterson, who missed the last three games with an ankle injury but still ranks among the NFL leaders with 872 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns.

Year in and year out, the 26-year-old Peterson has proven himself to be among the game’s elite playmakers, with a rare combination of power, speed and elusiveness.

“He does everything right. There’s no knocks on him,” said Saints safety Roman Harper, who played with Peterson on the NFC Pro Bowl team earlier this year. “I saw him in Hawaii, and I don’t understand why they don’t give him the ball 50 times a game.”

The Vikings’ biggest problems have come in their secondary, partly because of injuries, and at the quarterback spot, where they started the year with veteran Donovan McNabb before moving on to the first-round draft pick, Ponder.

Vikings not rolling over

The Vikings have been a lot more competitive than their 2-11 record indicates. Eight of their losses have been by a touchdown or less. Last week they were down 21-0 in the first quarter against the Detroit Lions but nearly came back to win in the final seconds.

“The resiliency of our players has been incredible,” Frazier said. “It’s a testament to our leadership.”

And no doubt, a victory against the nemesis Saints, who kept them out of the Super Bowl two years ago, would provide a great confidence boost.

Allen said there is still pride at stake with every game, even if the goal is to simply avoid having the worst record in the league.

“It’s about getting some confidence and guys playing for something. Right now, not being the worst is worth playing for,” said Allen, who said the Vikings probably will look back on seven or eight games they could have won. But he insisted that spirits remain high.

“Absolutely, guys are having fun, believe it or not,” Allen said. “We have young guys playing, and guys are playing beat up. There haven’t been any excuses. It’s tough losing, but I’ll give guys credit — they have character in this room, and they seem to respond to challenges every time we put them out there.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

VIKINGS OFFENSE

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

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

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

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

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

VIKINGS DEFENSE

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

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

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

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

VIKINGS SPECIAL TEAMS

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

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

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

LAST TIME THEY MET

Sept. 9, 2010, at the Superdome

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

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

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NEW ORLEANS — Move over, Grover! One of the NFL’s top passers is heading to “Sesame Street.”

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is making a special appearance on Thursday’s episode of the educational children’s TV show. He visited the set a few months ago to record the segment, which co-stars the street’s furry red resident, Elmo.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

You might not have noticed but the New Orleans Saints now rank No. 8 in the NFL in rushing and are an even more impressive fourth in yards per carry.

When did this happen?

The Saints have quietly and gradually ascended the league rushing rankings over the course of the season. Their 205-yard night against the Giants two weeks vaulted them into the top 10 for the first time in a while.

The Saints’ average of 4.8 yards a carry is the highest of the Sean Payton era and is almost a full yard better than their 4.0 average of a year ago. It also ranks fifth in the league.

They’re never going to be the ground-and-pound Steelers and they don’t necessarily want to be. Sunday night’s 31-17 win against the Lions was a prime example of how the Saints want their offense to work. They goal is to run the ball efficiently and effectively when needed.

Against the Lions, the Saints rushed for 100 yards on 23 carries and averaged a solid 4.3 yards a carry. They opened the game with a 13-yard carry by Mark Ingram and reached the end zone for the first time on a 14-yard carry by Ingram. Those runs forced the Lions defense to honor the run and set up some big plays in the passing game later.

Robert Meachem’s 67-yard touchdown catch was set up by Pierre Thomas’ 8-yard run on the previous down. It came on second-and-2 out of a formation the Saints usually run from. The Lions were caught off-guard and Meachem found himself in single coverage with Eric Wright. That’s exactly the kind of matchup the Saints want when they call their “shot” plays.

The improved rushing attack will become even more critical down the stretch as the Saints take to the road in potentially inclement weather conditions. A solid running game will relieve some of the pressure from Drew Brees in those circumstances.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: It gets redundant picking Drew Brees but who else can you go with after such a strong performance? At one point, Brees completed 13 consecutive passes. He finished with 26 completions in 36 attempts for 342 yards and three touchdowns. His passer efficiency rating was 129.6. It was his second consecutive game with that rating.

PLAY OF THE GAME: (8:16, second quarter): Exhibit A in why a solid running game is important to an offense. On second-and-2 after a nice 8-yard run by Thomas on first down, the Saints went to their Tank personnel with two tight ends, Thomas and fullback Jed Collins. The Lions clearly were thinking run and the Saints sold the idea even more with a play-action fake handoff to Thomas, who made a nice chip block on Kyle Vanden Bosch to give Brees extra time in the pocket. Brees did an excellent job of eyeing Graham on his crossing route, causing safety Amari Spievey to bite hard and break on the underneath pattern. Brees then found Meachem wide open in single coverage downfield against Wright, who looked like he thought he had safety help inside on the play. Terrific run-after-catch by Meachem as he spun Wright around like a top en route to the end zone.

PRESSURE REPORT: The Saints played fairly conservatively early, an obvious nod of respect to Calvin Johnson. The All Pro receiver’s big-play ability prevented the Saints from employing a lot of the safety and corner blitzes they like to use because they feared leaving him in single coverage. The Saints picked their spots to blitz and were often effective when they did. Linebacker Scott Shanle and Ramon Humber recorded two of the club’s three sacks. The Saints hurried Stafford into incompletions a handful of other times.

ZEBRA REPORT: Clete Blakeman is one of the best referees in the business. He and his crew had their hands full with this game. There was a lot of extra-curricular post-play shoving and trash talking going on from both sides and they did a good job of keeping things under control. I’m sure the Lions didn’t like the three offensive pass interference calls agai nst Nate Burleson, which might be an NFL record, but at least two of them appeared legit. At times, both the Saints and Lions sidelines had complaints about calls, but more often than not, Blakeman and crew got them right. And let’s not forget the crew worked most of the game with a man down after umpire Garth DeFelice left with an ankle injury early in the first quarter.

SCOUTING REPORT: Matthew Stafford has come into his own during his third season. He’s quietly enjoyed a breakout season and is on the verge of joining the league’s second tier of quarterbacks. He made some big-time throws against the Saints to take advantage of their bracket coverage on Calvin Johson. Stafford made them pay with a handful of lazers downfield. In addition to his obvious physical talent, Stafford displayed the intelligence and toughness it takes to be a franchise quarterback in this league. The Lions offense has a bright future with Stafford under center.

DIDYA NOTICE?: Left tackle Jermon Bushrod did an excellent job in pass protection against Lions end Kyle Vanden Bosch. In fact, the entire offensive line has turned up its game since the debacle in St. Louis five weeks ago. The Lions were credited with two sacks but both of them were attributable to good coverage. In each case, Brees basically scrambled into them. The offensive line has played lights out of late. Only four teams have allowed fewer than their 21 sacks this season, and their sack-to-pass-play ratio ranks among the best in the league. Bushrod’s steady play at left tackle – Haven’t notice him lately, have you? – is a big reason.

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:

FIRST QUARTER

(13:32): A couple of trends were established early on the game’s first punt. First, a big-time hit by Will Herring on Stefan Logan spurred the Lions return man to trade trash talk with the Saints sideline. And second, the Lions were penalized 8 yard for holding.

(13:20): Tracy Porter showed good hustle but took a poor pursuit angle and allowed Titus Young to bounce his end-around run outside for an 11-yard gain on the Lions’ first snap from scrimmage. Defenders must always force the play inside where their teammates can flow from the backside in pursuit.

(12:05): The Saints unveiled another new sub package with backup linebackers Herring and Ramon Humber flanking Vilma on the second level and Will Smith and Jeff Charleston at end with Shaun Rogers playing on the nose. The alignment seemed to confuse the Lions up front and Vilma burst through a crease to stop Kevin Smith for no gain.

(11:25): Vilma showed some of the rust from missing the past three starts when he dropped an easy interception after Kevin Smith had the ball skip off his hands on a delayed screen. Yet another “missed opportunty” for the Saints defense. At some point, they’ve got to start making these plays.

(7:16): The Saints got the matchup they wanted with Marques Colston isolated in single coverage on Eric Wright but the veteran cornerback made a nice breakup of the ball after it appeared Colston had him beat for a touchdown. Excellent timing and ball skills by Wright.

(6:35): Rookie Nick Fairley missed five games with a foot injury this season but he’s stating to come into his own. He had three tackles in the first quarter, including this one in which he beat Carl Nicks to drop Ingram for a 1-yard loss. Earlier he defeated a block by the Saints’ other Pro Bowl guard, Jahri Evans, to tackle Ingram for a short gain.

(5:56): Umpire Garth Defelice injured his left foot or ankle on the kickoff return and did not return to the game. Saints trainers worked on Defelice for a few minutes before he limped off the field. Referee Clete Blakeman’s crew worked with six officials for the rest of the game.

(1:04): Tremendous knuckle-ball punt by Ben Graham to pin the Saints at their own 3. Graham punted for the Saints for one game in 2008 as a replacement for Steve Weatherford, who the club cut before their trip to London to play the Chargers. Graham punted for one game then was released. He would hook on with the Arizona Cardinals later that season and punt in Super Bowl XLIII.

SECOND QUARTER

(15:00): It looked like Brees lost track of the play clock and the sideline was forced to burn a timeout and avoid a delay of game penalty. It’s rare to see a lapse in focus from the observant Brees. It’s even rarer to see the Saints burn a timeout coming out of a quarter break.

(15:00): Out of the timeout, Brees placed a perfect bomb over the outside shoulder of Robert Meachem, who beat Aaron Berry in single coverage on a go route. Meachem actually trapped the ball with his chest and was fortunate to hang on to the ball. The Lions only rushed four linemen but concentrated most of the coverage inside on Colston and Graham, leaving Meachem one-on-one with Berry, who was making just the third start of his career.

(13:34): The Saints went after Eric Wright a couple of times in man-to-man coverage. On this third down, Moore beat him with a quick inside move and Wright was forced to wrap his left arm around Moore‘s waist to prevent a big play. The officials were on top of it, though, and correctly called Wright for pass interference, much to his dismay.

(12:15): How rare was this reverse call to Meachem? It was only the third carry by a Saints wide receiver this season. Meachem has carried all three times. This 8-yard game was his longest of the season. The Saints tried to fool the Lions by running away from an unbalanced line to the left of the formation and using a play-action fake to Ingram to that side but Wright did a decent job of stringing it out and preventing a big play.

(11:50): Nice lead block by tackle-eligible Pat McQuistan on end Cliff Avril to spring Ingram for his 14-yard touchdown run around right end. It looked like Meachem got away with a slight hold on Wright to give Ingram time to make the edge. Middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch took a poor path to Ingram and got caught up in the wash inside. Jermon Bushrod had an absolute monster block on the back side on DeAndre Levy and drove him 10 yards from the line of scrimmage into the end zone.

(11:44): Great read by Patrick Robinson to break up the smoke screen to Logan. Robinson must have detected something in Logan‘s pre-snap movement in film study because he broke hard on the play before the snap and was on top of Logan before he even had a chance to catch the ball and cause the incompletion.

(11:41): By their standards, the Saints did not blitz much in this game but they came after Stafford on this second-and-10 with linebackers Shanle and Dunbar as well as safety Roman Harper. It was Shanle’s first sack since 2008, a string of 41 consecutive regular season games.

(11:06): When Gregg Williams watched the tape of his screen pass on third-and-17 he won’t like what he sees. The Saints rushed only four defenders and dropped seven into coverage so a screen pass should not have been effective but the defense did not rally to the ball with any sense of urgency and Kevin Smith was able to pick up 18 yard and the first down.

(9:10): Blakeman’s crew let the two defenses play. Earlier Tulloch drilled Brees after he released a pass in the first quarter and on this third-down incompletion Rogers hammered Stafford after he released his pass. The blow from the 350-pound Rogers blind-sided Stafford, who was clearly woozy when he got up from the hit.

(0:28): Spectacular throw and catch by Brees and Moore to connect from 20 yards out and complete a perfect two-minute drive before halftime. Brees once again did a great job of looking off the safety to set up a nice throwing lane to Moore in the end zone. The Lions actually had the play defended pretty well but the throw and catch were just too good.

(0:22): Inexcusable coverage mistake by either Malcolm Jenkins or Patrick Robinson to allow Titus Young to get behind the secondary for a 49-yard catch before halftime. I have no idea who was to blame but it looked like Jenkins bit on a hitch by Stafford and broke on Brandon Pettigrew’s underneath route. In this situation, the only thing either safety should be worried about is allowing the ball to get over their head. Big-time mistake here.

(0:08): The Lions wanted an offsides call on Patrick Robinson on his blocked field goal but it looked like he timed the snap by Don Muhlbach perfectly. It was Robinson’s second blocked place-kick of the season. He also blocked an extra point by Olindo Mare in Carolina.

THIRD QUARTER

(12:34): Officials got it right with the offsetting personal foul calls at the end of Nate Burleson’s 14-yard catch. Burleson clearly and inadvertently grabbed Greer’s facemask when he tried to stiff-arm the defender. And Roman Harper was definitely late with his sideline hit, resulting in an unnecessary roughness foul.

(10;32): The Lions again showed their inexperience. This time Young, the rookie receiver, engaged in extracurricular shoving with Jenkins after the whistle. Both guys were pushing each other but Young was definitely the instigator and officials correctly whistled him for unnecessary roughness. Young’s lack of composure ultimately cost the Lions four points as they were forced to settle for a field goal after going from third-and-1 to third-and-16.

(7:53): Nice design on this run to the weak side of the formation out of a two-tight end set. The Saints caught the Lions overloaded to the strong side and took advantage of Sproles’ speed with a quick pitch to the weak side. Credit Meachem, Henderson and Nicks with solid blocks but this 20-yard run was the result of Sproles’ speed, which allowed him to burst through a crease and beat the pursuit angles of the Lions’ flowing defenders. Nice play call and design.

(6:50): After relying on a four-man rush and watching Brees pick them apart in the first half, the Lions came after Brees on the first third down of the second half and it worked. A blitzing DeAndre Levy was unblocked off the edge and forced a hurried Brees throw in the right flat that Wright almost intercepted.

(4:46): A rare blitz by Porter out of the slot forced a hurried throw by Stafford. Porter leaped during his rush and appeared to tip the pass but the ball still had enough steam on it to travel 40 yards on a line and beat Jenkins to Rashied Davis, who made a tough catch while colliding with Jenkins. Big-time arm strength by Stafford. When you hear NFL scouts say a guy can “make all the throws,” this is one of the ones they’re talking about. Not all quarterbacks have the ability to drive the ball into tight coverage like this.

(3:34): Maybe the officials were overreacting to the escalating number of personal foul calls but they started to call it much tighter in the second half. If I’m a Lions fans, I’m complaining about this offensive pass interference against Burleson. Yes, he did engage Porter with his hands but both players were grappling for position and the call negated a terrific catch by Burleson. The officials should have let this one play on. Bad call.

(2:20): A lot going on here and none of it good for the Saints defense. The Saints had bracket coverage on Calvin Johnson but he still beat it deep with a nifty double move. Porter was responsible for staying “on top” of Johnson but he got caught peeking into the backfield and Johnson ran right by him. Porter grabbed Johnson as he broke deep, resulting in an illegal contact call and automatic first down. Jenkins made a nice play to break-up the pass, but he should have intercepted the pass. Instead, it bounced off of his chest. The pick would have been negated by the penalty but it’d be nice to see the Saints defenders start to make those plays on the ball downfield. It’s been a season-long problem.

(1:32): Exhibit A in why the Saints didn’t blitz Stafford as much as usual. In sending Harper and Vilma on blitzes, it left the Saints with three defenders to cover two Lions receivers downfield. With Jenkins shadowing Johnson over the top, it left tight end Tony Scheffler in man-to-man on Greer and he was able to beat him deep with a nifty double move for a 36-yard gain. Another outstanding throw by Stafford, who delivered a strike into the teeth of Harper’s blitz while taking a big hit.

FOURTH QUARTER

(14:14): Wily play by Lions end Vanden Bosch to read the flare pattern out of the backfield by Thomas and grab ahold of him and prevent him from getting a clean release into the flat. Not sure Thomas was the primary receiver on this pattern but Brees looked his way as he went through his progressions and Vanden Bosch had him blanketed and the Saints were forced to punt after a short third-down completion to Graham.

(14:14): Yet another bonehead play by the Lions, this time Logan tossed the ball at Ramon Humber after his punt return, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. To think Logan would engage in such nonsense after what happened a few plays earlier with Young is mindboggling.

(13:59): The Lions again beat single coverage away from Calvin Johnson’s side of the field, this time Burleson got behind Porter and Stafford fired another strike 45 yards downfield. I can’t remember the last time Saints defensive backs allowed this many balls to get over their heads for big plays.

(12:46): Nice play by Humber to deflect and break up Stafford‘s screen pass into the left flat to Johnson. The Saints threw a new look at Stafford and it appeared to have an effect, as he hurried his screen pass to beat the pressure. Robinson had the play diagnosed pretty well so it’d doubtful the Lions would have converted the third-and-12.

(12:42): Schwartz took some heat for attempting a 55-yard field goal on fourth-and-12 at the 37 because the Saints took possession at their own 45 after Hanson’s kick sailed wide left. But Schwartz knew the Lions had the momentum and was trying to stay aggressive. I like the decision. Hanson’s kick had plenty of distance and didn’t miss by much.

(11:58): Terrific blitz pickup by the line and Thomas to stymie a couple of Lions in the A gap and give Brees time to find Graham for a 16-yard gain and convert a third-and-7. This is one of the dilemmas defenses face when trying to pressure the Saints. If you blitz linebackers or safeties it often means you have to cover Graham or Darren Sproles man-to-man and Brees eats that up. This was a big play as the Lions had stopped the Saints on their previous two second-half drives. It was imperative for the Saints to answer and this third-down conversion seemed to get the offense back on track.

(6:51): Another Saints’ pressure disrupted the Lions’ timing and forced a hurried throw by Stafford, resulting in an incompletion. Jenkins, Harper and Herring blitzed from the right edge and the Lions appeared to have it beaten with a quick screen to the left but Maurice Morris dropped Stafford‘s hurried low throw. Again, the blitz doesn’t result in a sack but it’s effective nonetheless. This could have been a huge gain if Morris holds on.

(5:54): Devery Henderson got in his weekly de-cleater crack-back block on this second-and-16 run by Ingram. This time the victim was Levy, who Henderson picked off with a perfectly timed and placed hit to clear a nice running lane for Ingram.

(4:12): Pettigrew lost his composure after Harper tossed his leg to the side after an incompletion on second-and-10. Pettigrew and Harper exchanged shoves but Pettigrew ill-advisedly pushed line judge Jeff Seeman after he came to break up the fracas. Anytime a player makes contact with an official it’s an automatic 15-yard penalty. Harper might merit Oscar consideration for his double flop. Seldom do you see a 200-pound man go to the turf after such light contact. Harper executed the Euro-soccer flop twice in a matter of seconds. Good stuff.

(4:07): Poor decision by Cam Jordan to unload on a prone Stafford at the end of Junior Galette’s sack on third-and-25. Jordan clearly was late on the play then threw his forearm into Stafford‘s chest. Instead of fourth-and-40, the Lions were awarded a first down. Jordan was immediately yanked from the game and drew an earful from Payton on the sidelines.

(3:18): Harper got away with an extra shove on Scheffler at the end of an incompletion and was fortunate he wasn’t called for unnecessary roughness. These post-play shoves and grabs are clearly a strategy by Harper to get under the skin of the opponent and they worked to some degree on this night but you have to wonder if they’re going to come back to haunt the Saints at inopportune time later this season.

(3:13): Terrific read and close by Jenkins to break up the pass to Johnson on third-and-2. Johnson would have had the first down if not for Jenkins’ well-timed hit.

(1:13): The Saints went to their patented power play in short-yardage but the Lions won at the point of attack and stopped Ingram for no gain on fourth-and-1. Bobby Carpenter blew up McQuistan in the hole, interfering with Nicks ability to pull and clear a path for Ingram.

PERSONNEL BREAKDOWN: The Saints ran just 61 plays primarily because the Lions dominated time of possession, owning a commanding 35:06-24:54 advantage. The play count was the second fewest by the Saints this season. For the second consecutive game, the Saints were fairly conservative by their normally exotic standards, running just five personnel packages.

Here’s the breakdown of the reps at each skill position: WR – Colston 46; Henderson 42; Meachem 31; Moore 19.TE – Graham 44; Gilmore 27; McQuistan 9. RB – Ingram 25; Sproles 22; P.Thomas 14. FB – Collins 25.

Here’s a look at the Saints’ personnel packages on their 61 offensive snaps:

Posse (3WR/1TE/1RB) – 23 out of 61 plays
Pro (2WR/1TE/2RB) – 18 out of 61
Ace (2WR/2TE/1RB) – 12 out of 61

Tank (1WR/2TE/2RB) – 7 out of 61

Pony (2WR/1TE/2RB) – 1 out of 61

Gotta run!.