The New Orleans Saints enter December eyeing a run at the Super Bowl behind the sharp passing of their star quarterback Drew Brees.

“What it comes down to is we have a lot of confidence and we play very aggressive,” said Brees, whose streak of 38 straight games with a touchdown pass is second-longest in league history behind Johnny Unitas (47).

Brees is looking to lead New Orleans to a fourth consecutive victory Sunday when they host the Detroit Lions, who are fighting for a playoff spot.

To make matters worse for Detroit’s postseason chances, they will likely be without star defensive end Ndamukong Suh because of suspension.

New Orleans (8-3) heads into the game after an impressive 49-24 victory over the New York Giants on Monday.

Brees threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns and had an eight-yard touchdown run as the Saints finished with a whopping 577 yards. It was their second most yards in franchise history.

In another key matchup Sunday, the next stop for the Green Bay Packers in their pursuit of perfection is an opponent that has a reputation of ruining unbeaten seasons — the New York Giants.

In a battle of teams headed in opposite directions, the Packers travel to New York to face the Giants at MetLife Stadium.

New York ended Denver’s 13-0 start in 1998 although the Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl. The Giants also snapped New England’s attempt at a 19-0 season with a 17-14 win in Super Bowl XLII.

“It is different circumstances but it is the challenge of playing a team that is obviously a very good football team,” Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said.

Green Bay is five games away from a perfect regular season. The Packers will wrap up the NFC North title with a win and a loss by Detroit at New Orleans on Sunday.

“It is motivating to go out every week and compete better than you did the previous week,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.

“We have been able to play the way we wanted to play consistently the first 11 games. We will see what happens when we get down this road a little bit.”

The Packers’ win streak began with a 45-17 home rout of the Giants in the next-to-last week of the 2010 regular season.

The NFL week got started with the Seattle Seahawks defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 31-14 on Thursday night.

Marshawn Lynch ran for 148 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns for the Seahawks who posted their third victory in the past four games.

The Dallas Cowboys look to win five straight for the first time in nearly four years when they visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

The Cowboys have not won five in a row since a seven-game run October 21-December 9, 2007.

While it has not always been pretty, the Cowboys have climbed their way to the top of the NFC East. They face Arizona before their schedule gets much tougher.

Dallas endured a disappointing 3-4 start to the season but rebounded to reach 7-4 thanks in part to a favorable schedule.

“The teams that play in the playoffs and win in the playoffs are the teams that get better,” coach Jason Garrett said.

“We believe that if you improve over the course of the season, week-to-week, you are going to be playing well when you need to be playing really well, and that’s the end of the year.”

Quarterback Tony Romo said: “We needed to get going. We had some tough losses earlier in the year, and we were in position to win some games. At some point you’ve got to get on a roll and stack the wins together. Getting these four wins was very big.”

In other games Sunday, Indianapolis is at New England, Denver at Minnesota, Atlanta at Houston, New York Jets at Washington, Kansas City at Chicago, Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, Oakland at Miami, Tennessee at Buffalo, Carolina at Tampa Bay, Baltimore at Cleveland, and St. Louis at San Francisco.

The New Orleans Saints just might be the best hope for most Miami Dolphins fans—like me—of seeing the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers denied their shot at immortality. The team from Wisconsin is now 11-0 and seem capable of doing what no team other than the 1972 Dolphins have done; run the table in the regular-season and finish with a Super Bowl victory.

However, if the Saints 49-24 rout of the New York Giants on Monday, Nov. 28 is any indication, Green Bay is going to have their hands full trying to get out of the NFC and into the Super Bowl this year even if they are able to finish the season 16-0.

While 8-3 New Orleans doesn’t even have the second-best record in the National Football Conference—that belongs to the 9-2 San Francisco 49ers—I have the distinct feeling they’re actually a better club than the Bay Area squad led by first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. So far this season they’ve posted three victories where they’ve scored 40 or more points in a game—including their 62-7 demolition of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Oct. 23—which is only bested by the Packers themselves; who’ve had four such games.

The last time a team seriously threatened Miami’s nearly 40-year-old unblemished record was the 2007 New England Patriots squad, who ironically were foiled in the championship game by the same team New Orleans just beat down. Nevertheless, it will probably take more than a one-in-a-million pass from Eli Manning(notes) to bring down the behemoth that is the Packers this year; and the Saints are looking like they could just provide that final hurdle for Green Bay.

Watching Drew Brees(notes) surgically take the Giants’ defense apart on Monday Night Football, I got the sense he could be what takes down one of the most vaunted and storied franchises in NFL history. There’s no guarantee Brees and New Orleans will be able to stop Green Bay, but they probably have the best shot at it. It also had me wishing to God Miami hadn’t passed on his amazing talent twice (something I railed about since he was drafted), for I can only imagine how many Super Bowls the Dolphins would have been in if the 32-year-old 5-time Pro Bowler had been under center for them rather than the San Diego Chargers and Saints.

I know New Orleans’ success isn’t solely because of their signal-caller, but the former Purdue Boilermaker has been an integral part of what the Saints have been able to accomplish under head coach Sean Payton. Without Brees, not much of the offense run by New Orleans would probably work at the same level it does with him. After all, who else are they going to find to do what Brees did Monday in becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 350 yards while also connecting on four touchdown passes while rushing for another TD?

The Saints schedule over the last five weeks isn’t going to be easy, though—as they’ll be facing the Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, and Carolina Panthers—but if they’re able to get through it with a winning record, or if they manage to win four of those contests, I think they’ll be the last team the Packers want to face in the postseason.

I, for one, hope they do, though. I make no bones about the fact I want someone to beat Green Bay before the 2011 season is finished, and in truth I wouldn’t mind the Saints being the ones. Of course, if the Packers do find a way to win out, that won’t make me too upset either. They are, after all one of the greatest teams in the league’s history.

Still, if it comes to a matchup of Green Bay and New Orleans with that record on the line, I’ll be shouting “Who ‘Dat?” at the top of my lungs.

Hut, hut, hike!

More from Yahoo! Contributor Network:

Critics of Tebow Might Be Wise to Just Shut Up and Watch for Now

Hoping Vick Topping “All-Turkey Team” is a Sign of Things to Come

Exploring the Miami Dolphins Bubble That’s About to Burst

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Playoffs? Don’t Talk About Playoffs! You Kidding Me?

All stats and information taken from personal notes and verified at Pro-Football-Reference.com, NFL.com, and Yahoo! Sports.

Read more by Daniel Barber aka Hotnuke at TFS Sports.

*Daniel Barber has been a fan of all Miami teams since he was a child or since their inception having been born right above Miami.

Sources:

Pro-Football-Reference.com

NFL.com

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Not surprisingly, New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton said he understood and appreciated the decision that Atlanta Falcons Coach Mike Smith made to go for it on fourth-and-inches from his own 29-yard line in overtime of Sunday’s 26-23 loss to the Saints. After all, Payton has made many bold choices of his own in the past.

Everyone will forever remember Payton’s surprise onside kick to start the second half in Super Bowl XLIV against the Indianapolis Colts. But two weeks earlier, Payton also decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game – though it was less controversial since it was at the Vikings’ 43-yard line.

Tailback Pierre Thomas converted that first down, setting up kicker Garrett Hartley’s game-winning 40-yard field goal.

“I think there’s a gut you have that, throw the statistics out. We saw a similar decision made by Bill Belichick against Indianapolis (in 2009),” Payton said. “Mike felt on fourth down that a half a yard was something they could get. If it works and you go on and get a few more first downs and kick a game-winning field goal, it’s a decision that is praised.

“I used the comparison to some degree, but if we hadn’t recovered the onside kick (in the Super Bowl) Indianapolis would’ve gone on to score. There are certain times as a coach that you instill some confidence in your group. And at the time, there were two things you were thinking about: staying onsides and it’s a half a yard, so a lot of times you’ll see a quarterback sneak. He ran the power play. I think it’s in a big spot. It’s overtime and you’re on your 30 yard line, but I don’t look at it as that far out in left field. I look at that as something that was measured and calculated as the game had gone on, and they had done a good job in short yardage. They felt comfortable and confident enough in handing the ball to Michael Turner and I can understand why. And I’m not so certain that if the tables were turned that I wouldn’t have made that same decision and that going forward won’t make the same decision.

“Those are tough calls. I think in the NFC Championship game on fourth-and-inches, granted we were at midfield, but I think we all agree that had we not gotten that fourth-and-inches it would have been a few first downs before Minnesota was in field goal range. There are certain things that I think as a coach you try to pay attention to. Obviously when they go well you look good for those decisions, and when they don’t it’s questioned and for the better part of a week people will ask questions. I think that’s part of the deal.”

New Orleans Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod has continued to impress in his third year on the job. Thanks in large part to his efforts, Indianapolis Colts elite pass rusher Dwight Freeney was a non-factor in last Sunday night’s 62-7 victory.

Bushrod has allowed two sacks this year, according to Stats LLC. He has not committed a single penalty all year, though.

When asked if Bushrod is quietly having a standout season, Payton said, “I would even go a little bit further. I think he’s quietly established himself as a good left tackle dating back to the Super Bowl season when he really played his first full year.”

“Each year he’s gotten better,” Saints Coach Sean Payton said. “You see some things he’s worked on and each year he’s gained that confidence. He’s a very smart player. I think to some degree by his nature he’s quiet. But generally with a left tackle, no news is good news. When you’re playing that position and the cameras are on you, often times it’s because the defender’s getting pressure or hurry or a sack.

“I thought he did an outstanding job last week against one of our league’s best rushers. That’s been good for us with protection and also with our running game.”

The New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts will meet for the first time since they tangled in Super Bowl XLIV.

The Colts will enter the Louisiana Superdome – where the championship banner hangs – Sunday night.

Saints cornerback Tracy Porter, a Port Allen native, returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown to lift the Saints to a 31-17 win in the Super Bowl.

Last season, both teams reached the playoffs only to be ousted in the opening round.

The Saints have started the 2011 season with a 4-2 record. They are tied for the NFC South lead following a loss to Tampa Bay last week.

Meanwhile, the Colts have fallen on hard times. Without New Orleans native Peyton Manning at quarterback, the Colts have stumbled to a league-worst 0-6 record.

The Saints presented former player Steve Gleason with a ring from their Super Bowl XLIV championship on Monday night in an emotional ceremony at a private party in New Orleans.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu also presented Gleason with a proclamation and a key to the city.

Gleason played eight seasons for the Saints and retired in 2008. In January, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare terminal disease which damages the nerves that control voluntary muscle movement.

Saints coach Sean Payton made the presentation to Gleason before a packed crowd of about 100 friends, family, colleagues and former teammates, including quarterback Drew Brees and Saints owner Tom Benson.

“At the beginning of the game. I never knew if we were going to win or lose, but I was always for certain that I was going to walk out of there with my head held high because I got ready, I had the right people around me, and I was going to give it everything I had,” said an Gleason during an emotional six-minute speech. “It’s the same now. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got. I have a calming sense of certainty that we’re going to win this thing.”

The surprise event organized by the Saints, former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita and Gleason’s wife, Michel, attracted 17 former or current Saints players. Among them: Fujita; Brees; Deuce McAllister; Will Smith; Jon Stinchcomb; Mike McKenzie; Thomas Morstead; Scott Shanle; Michael Lewis; John Carney; Mark Simoneau; Fred Thomas; Chris Reis; Fred McAfee; Mel Mitchell; Nate Lawrie; and Shad Meier.

“This isn’t about Steve having ALS,” Fujita said. “This is about Steve and his contribution to the 2009 team and the championship. He deserved it.”

If defense wins championships, the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints must have missed the memo.

The old adage seemed preposterous Thursday night after the teams figuratively and literally kicked off the new season at Lambeau Field. After all, the Packers were Super Bowl champions last season, while the Saints claimed their first-ever title the year prior.

Playing to a 42-34 final may excite fans, but it causes defensive coaches to pull their hair out (if they have any left at this point).

Oddly enough, it was defensive plays that highlighted the win for Green Bay. After the Packers put together an efficient touchdown drive where Rodgers showed no signs of rust or a Super Bowl hangover, Saints wide receiver Marques Colston fumbled the ball back to Green Bay in prime position to tack on another score. The early momentum gave the Packers a command of the game that they would maintain throughout the night.

The Saints scratched and clawed until the final play, as they needed a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game. Quarterback Drew Brees was able to drive the New Orleans offense to the Green Bay goalline after a pass interference penalty as time expired gave the Saints a final opportunity.

New Orleans gave the last-chance carry to rookie running back Mark Ingram, who was met in the middle by the Packers defense – an unfitting end to a game that, at times, resembled a track meet.

A few exquisite examples of shoddy tackling gave way to an abnormally high output of offensive fireworks. Not only were both quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Brees dominating the statistical categories, even the special teams were shining on both sides. After the smoke cleared, Brees (32-of-49 passes, 419 yards, three touchdowns) and Rodgers (27-for-35 for 312 yards and three first-half touchdowns) had stat lines that read like something out of a video game.

New Saints returner Darren Sproles and rookie Randall Cobb shattered expectations as each brought back kicks for scores. Sproles, formerly of the San Diego Chargers, scampered 72 yards for a score on a punt return. Cobb brought a kickoff from eight yards deep in the end zone out, and completed a 108-yard return for a touchdown.

In the nationally-televised event, the skill players proved to be the biggest stars of the night – with all due respect to opening musical acts Lady Antebellum, Maroon 5 and Kid Rock.

Make no mistake about it, those looking for textbook tackles and sound kick coverage were in for disappointment.

On the other hand, those interested in pass-heavy offenses and game-breaking returns were in for a treat.

It may difficult to gauge since both teams are known for extraordinary offense, but in the weeks to come, it will become more evident who has the defense to be successful over the course of the season. Keep in mind, it was just the first game of the season. This bit of anecdotal evidence does not disprove the idea behind “defense wins championships.” 

After 16 regular contests, a few playoff games and a Super Bowl, a team will have to figure out how to make a few defensive plays along the way to win it all. Both the Saints and the Packers have done so in recent history.

It will be interesting to see if either or both can develop into a more complete team. If they can, they may have another Super Bowl run ahead.

Michael Tortorich is sports editor of the Gonzales Weekly Citizen. His weekly column is available in print and at weeklycitizen.com. He can be found on Twitter at @MikeTortorich.

Watching the Indianapolis Colts be dragged around and punished while looking totally inept in a 34-7 loss at Houston on Sunday should have made us appreciate New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees even more. That’s not saying that New Orleans would disintegrate if it was without their Pro Bowl quarterback, like Indianapolis did, and likely will continue to do, without Peyton Manning against the Houston Texans.

The accepted consensus is that no player means more to his team than does Manning, and if Indianapolis season-opening in a 34-7 loss wasn’t all the proof necessary to sway the debate, it was a pretty significant chunk of evidence.

But it sure can’t be understated how much more comfortable Saints fans are allowed to feel — and Colts fans were allowed to feel — when their most indispensable player takes snaps and ensures that his team will have a chance to win.

It can’t be overlooked how important a decent NFL quarterback is to his team and how critical an elite one is if a team is going to have any chance to consistently win games and challenge for titles.

Think about it. Of the myriad injuries the Saints have endured since Brees joined the franchise as a free agent, there never has been a feeling that New Orleans was hopeless because Marques Colston, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas, Tracy Porter or Darren Sharper missed one game, or several games. There never was the feeling that the Saints couldn’t even compete because a regular wasn’t wearing his helmet and pads.

The reason for that is because Brees always has been healthy enough to dress and play.

It’s because with Brees, the feeling always has been that the Saints have a chance and most of the time, it’s been that they have a really good chance, to win.

The Colts don’t have that chance to win big without Manning. They’re going to struggle to win small.

Admirers and critics long have made lighthearted comments about his commands and changes and gesticulations at the line of scrimmage, but it’s no joke that entering this season, Indianapolis had had nine consecutive seasons of at least 10 wins. From 2003-09, the Colts won at least 12 games each season. By far, it’s the franchise’s best run since moving from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984.

All of that success has occurred during the Manning years — including the Colts’ Super Bowl XLI victory in 2006 — and much of it has occurred when the Colts haven’t had a powerhouse defense and sometimes, when they haven’t had an adequate running game.

Does any of that sound familiar?

It should.

It’s a pretty parallel circumstance to what has happened with a certain local NFL franchise since 2006, when it landed Brees, its franchise quarterback.

Clearly, the NFL has become a league in which a team no longer can win unless it has a quarterback who can carry it to the Super Bowl and, often, one who can shoulder the load and win that game once he leads his team there.

In the last 13 Super Bowls, standout quarterbacks were chosen game MVP eight times — John Elway, Kurt Warner, Tom Brady (twice), Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Three times, the guy who won was a wide receiver who played with a top-level quarterback — Deion Branch (by Brady), Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes (by Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger).

Not one of those teams would’ve been what it was without its quarterback.

The Colts, clearly, are lost without Peyton Manning. True, they might be an extreme case, considering their reliance on Manning and the obvious belief that he might never miss a game led them to forgo signing a decent backup or drafting a competent caddie. But, though the final score may have been a little more lopsided than expected, it’s not like anyone expected the Colts to pull off an upset after luring Kerry Collins out of retirement to be their starter.

Would the Saints be similarly helpless without Brees?

Every bit, if the defense continues to be as compliant as it was in the season opener at Green Bay last Thursday night, when it yielded touchdown drives of 76, 80, 80 and 93 yards. But even if the defense stepped up, the Saints’ offense is geared around a certain man pulling the trigger and — all due respect to backup Chase Daniel — Brees pulls it as effectively as anyone.

In New Orleans, Saints fans don’t have to be told to appreciate Brees, the only quarterback in franchise history to play in two conference championship games and to win a Super Bowl.

But watching the Colts flop without Manning is a good reminder why they do, and should, appreciate him.

Times-Picayune staff predictions for tonight’s season-opening game between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The nationally televised game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on WDSU Channel 6 in New Orleans.

John DeShazier: Packers 28, Saints 23

If the Packers have a hangover from the Super Bowl, it won’t show tonight. Green Bay has emotion on its side but, better, it has a ton of talent to go along with it.

Jeff Duncan: Packers 35, Saints 27

In the rare role of underdog, the Saints will play well but the Packers are too deep, talented and motivated. This could be a preview of the NFC championship game.

Nakia Hogan: Saints 38, Packers 34

I know the defending Super Bowl champion always wins this game, but something tells me the offseason drills that Drew Brees organized will pay off early for the Black and Gold.

Doug Tatum: Packers 27, Saints 24

A defending Super Bowl champion hasn’t lost its first game since 1999. The Saints will be without Will Smith, Lance Moore and Garrett Hartley. Too many signs pointing to a Green Bay victory.

Mike Triplett: Saints 30, Packers 27

I’d feel even better about this pick if Will Smith and Lance Moore were playing. But I’m still swayed by the way the Saints have risen to the challenge in high-profile games like these over the last two years.

James Varney: Packers 31, Saints 24

The Saints’ defense is not in peak form and missing its best lineman, while Lance Moore, one of Drew Brees’ favorite targets, is out.

The New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers, winners of the last two Super Bowl championships, will square off to start the NFL regular season Thursday, Sept. 8 at Lambeau Field.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

“To open the season in a primetime game against last year’s Super Bowl winner, and it happens to be in Lambeau Field, there are a lot of things that gets your competitive juices flowing,” said Saints head coach Sean Payton.  “It will be a tough environment. It’ll be a really good challenge and you have to take into account you’re playing a team that won the Super Bowl last year. All of those are things that we’ll feel and we’ll see and recognize as being a big challenge.”

The game will be televised nationally by NBC (WVLA in the Baton Rouge area and WDSU in the New Orleans area). Al Michaels will handle the play-by-play, Cris Collinsworth will serve as color analyst and Michele Tafoya will be the sideline reporter.

The radio broadcast will be available throughout the Gulf Coast region on the New Orleans Saints Radio Network (870 AM and 105.3 FM). Jim Henderson will handle the play-by-play, Hokie Gajan will provide color analysis and Kristian Garic will report from the sideline. A Spanish broadcast will be available on WFNO 830 AM with Victor Quinones (play-by-play) and Marco Garcia (color).

Due to President Barack Obama’s speech, four widely-distributed NBCUniversal cable channels – VERSUS, USA, Syfy and G4 – as well as NFL Network will all begin coverage of “NFL Kickoff 2011 Presented by EA Sports,” the pregame show to officially open the season at 7 p.m.

The President’s speech is not expected to conflict in any way with NBC’s coverage of the game.

NFL Kickoff 2011 will feature musical performances by Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5 from a stage adjacent to Lambeau Field.

NFL commends Louisiana: The NFL offered support and thanks to the state and Governor Bobby Jindal, who signed Senate Bill 189/Act 314.

The bill establishes training and education standards for coaches, officials, parents, and youth athletes for recognition of concussion and brain injury symptoms. It ensures that any youth athlete who is suspected of having suffered a concussion or brain injury is removed from play immediately and appropriately evaluated. It also requires that any student removed from play for having been suspected of suffering a concussion or brain injury is evaluated by an appropriate healthcare professional and cleared by that professional before returning to play.

The New Orleans Saints actively supported passage of the bill, with Saints Director of Player Development, former player Fred McAfee, testifying about the importance of the legislation before the Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare Committee in May.  Saints Head Trainer Scottie B. Patton and Senior Director of Communications Douglas Miller also testified in support of the bill.

There aren’t many secrets in the NFL, not much to offer in terms of element of surprise.

Most subterfuge is little more than masked paranoia, coaches issuing misleading injury reports — or outright withholding information — in hopes of gaining a competitive advantage that might last all of a series. But if, indeed, there is a personnel advantage to be enjoyed Thursday night, from a standpoint of who-the-heck-is-that or we-didn’t-prepare-a-lot-for-him, then the Saints just might have a little something on the Green Bay Packers.

That’s not saying defensive ends Cameron Jordan and Turk McBride, who have a good chance to start for the New Orleans Saints, will emerge from the season opener at Lambeau Field as heroes, to be paraded off the field on the shoulders of teammates after their roles in a victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions.

It’s just to say that in a league where teams always are looking for even the slightest advantage — whether a guy sticks his hand on the ground before he bull rushes or wiggles his left pinky before running a square out — the absence of a wealth of information on Jordan, a rookie, and McBride, who played the last two seasons with the Detroit Lions and has started less than half of his 51 NFL games, could help New Orleans.

Two weeks ago, the Packers likely were expecting veterans Alex Brown and Will Smith, last season’s starters, to open at defensive end for the Saints. On Thursday night, they won’t see either. Brown has been cut, and Smith will sit out the first two games because of a suspension for violating the league’s drug policy three years ago.

“I think you still have some talented guys out there,” Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “Turk McBride is a guy that we have seen in Detroit in the past. (But) losing a guy like Will Smith does not make your defense better. He is one of the top guys at his position in the league.

“I have played against (New Orleans defensive coordinator) Gregg Williams before. I know what kind of coach he is. He is an extremely talented coach, and he gets his team prepared. I know they will have something special for us, and I know it will be a big challenge for us.”

Said Packers Coach Mike McCarthy: “Turk’s a good football player. Turk and that whole rotation is something that we’ve been spending time on, just with watching last year’s film and this year’s preseason. You see a lot of Alex Brown and Will Smith in there, so just trying to watch those guys and trying to prepare for a certain kind of rotation. I think Turk is an experienced and accomplished player.”

That’s awful nice of McCarthy to say, butt the fact is that McBride is a lot more experienced (six seasons) than he’s accomplished (115 career tackles and seven sacks). Jordan, in terms of NFL service, is neither.

Jordan, for now, is a talented first-round pick who hasn’t played a down in a regular-season game. But he, McBride and others played well enough in training camp and exhibition games to make the Saints feel comfortable cutting Brown and not seeking a veteran replacement while knowing Smith likely would be suspended.

That gives the Saints a couple of faces that the Packers don’t have a reservoir of knowledge on.

“We’re definitely a new front that they haven’t seen before, for sure,” Jordan said with a laugh. “But there are still veterans on the team, definitely inside (at defensive tackle). There’s still a lot of collective knowledge. So, sure, we’re going to be playing and you’re going to be seeing a lot of us, the whole defensive line.”

It’ll be to the Saints’ advantage if it’s Rodgers who is seeing a lot of the whole defensive line. But hemming in Rodgers and bouncing him around won’t be easy — the Super Bowl MVP is evasive, smart and athletic.

But then, Rodgers and the Packers aren’t exactly sure what they’re facing, either, in Jordan, McBride and the other defensive ends. Smith and Brown are veterans with extensive résumés; their replacements, relative pups who have no labels yet.

“It’s not preseason. You’re not being rotated in,” Jordan said. “They give you a specific role now, and it’s going to be a wonderful experience just to get out on Lambeau Field and have the ability to start — if I start, when I start, whatever.”

Start and, if the Saints are fortunate, make an impression that the Packers won’t forget and future opponents will make note of.

The New Orleans Saints signed Coach Sean Payton to a multiyear extension Monday, another step in an evolving policy of ensuring the organization locks up talented people in its top rungs for the foreseeable future.

Quarterback Drew Brees represents the last and perhaps most important cog in that machine, but with Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis on board long term the club is widely expected to ink a blockbuster deal with Brees in the near future.

Those three are generally recognized as the trio that turned the Saints around, transforming one of the worst outfits in professional sports into a perennial playoff factor and Super Bowl champion.

The terms of Payton’s deal, which will run through the 2015 season, were not disclosed. However, it is believed to have propelled him into the top salary ranks of the NFL coaching fraternity and, if true, his annual pay would jump from somewhere north of $4 million to the neighborhood of $6 million or beyond.

Payton said he was grateful for the stamp of approval the deal represented.

“It is good news and I would start by recognizing the significant role that Mickey Loomis and (owner) Tom Benson have had not just in this contract for me but the stability and the success we’ve had as an organization,” Payton said. “I’m very thankful to have that opportunity here for another five years.”

When asked if his new pay scale represented a thank you for past accomplishments or a demand for new ones, Payton chuckled.

“It’s a performance-based business,” he said. “And our jobs as coaches, our jobs as front office people, our jobs as players are to be competitive and win. And I think when you have that success then these type of things happen.”

The success thus far has been unprecedented for the Saints. Payton, 47, took over as coach in 2006 and since then has taken a team with one playoff victory in its previous 39 years into the postseason three times. Twice those trips went to the NFC championship game and, in 2009, beyond as the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV.

Overall, Payton has amassed a 53-33 record with New Orleans.

“I also recognize the fluidness, if you will, of the profession in regards to each year you see six or seven head coaches that are out of jobs,” he said. “And so we’ve started, awhile back, in 2006 in trying to build something that is consistent, trying to build a program and that’s something that really never stops. You don’t ever really arrive, you’re just constantly ongoing.”

Benson echoed that point in a statement issued by the team.

“Our goal is to continue to build a TRADITION of winning here in New Orleans and Sean represents that tradition,” the statement read with the emphasis in the original.

The deal is presumed to make Payton among the league’s most handsomely compensated coaches. Salary information on NFL coaches is notoriously thin, but Patriots Coach Bill Belichick and Washington’s Mike Shanahan are multiple Super Bowl winners who, at roughly $7 million per year, are reputedly the top paid coaches in professional football, according to an analysis performed by Forbes magazine earlier this year.

Behind them were a cluster of coaches in the $5 million to $6 million range. They include Chicago’s Lovie Smith, the Giants’ Tom Coughlin, Philadelphia’s Andy Reid and Arizona’s Ken Whisenhunt. All of them have gotten a team to a Super Bowl and, in Coughlin’s case, won one.

Packers Coach Mike McCarthy, who was hired the same year New Orleans engaged Payton and is his opponent in the upcoming NFL season opener Thursday night, is also reportedly a member of the plus-$5 million club. McCarthy joined with a contract extension he signed within a month of Green Bay’s victory last February in Super Bowl XLV.

With only two exceptions — Seattle’s Pete Carroll and San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh — all of the highest paid coaches are proven winners in the NFL. The league’s 10 top-paid coaches have a winning percentage of .591, Forbes reported, and have combined to win 41 division titles and seven Super Bowls since the early 1990s.

Payton’s extension should also lay to rest speculation that arose in the off-season about his long-term intentions when it was revealed he had bought a mansion in suburban Dallas and his family was moving there. Though Payton did his best to tamp down fears among Saints fans that signaled a desire on the part of their team’s best head coach to ply his trade elsewhere, there were still rumblings among the Saints faithful that Payton had one eye on the Cowboys’ job.

“The speculation arises from that more than anything else,” Payton insisted at the NFL owners meeting in New Orleans last March. “It’s not a big topic otherwise.”

Still, a contract extension had been a big topic among Saints executives, Loomis confirmed.

“It’s been in the works for a little bit of time,” he said, adding it was the club that initiated extension talks.

Loomis declined to provide details, but did say the deal in no way reflected any fear Payton could win up coaching somewhere else in the near future.

“It’s important clearly,” Loomis said. “Sean is a large part of the success of our club the last five years, but I don’t think going to another team is part of the consideration here at all. Sean clearly wanted to remain the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. We clearly wanted him to remain the coach of the New Orleans Saints. It was just a matter of working out details.”

Loomis confirmed what Brees has also said on more than one occasion, namely that talks are ongoing between the quarterback and the club about a deal that is expected to make Brees among the highest paid players in football. Judging from contracts signed recently by New England’s Tom Brady and Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning, players who are also the heart and soul of their teams, Brees’ deal seems likely to be around $18 million a season. Brees will earn a $9.8 million base salary this season, the last year of his contract.

Payton said it is no secret Brees is next in line, but he said he did not think there was any preordained order to when the deals are concluded. In fact, a coach’s contract is generally a more streamlined document than a quarterback’s and thus it is no surprise his was wrapped up prior to Brees, according to Payton.

“The two didn’t really cross over at all,” Payton said of the parallel negotiations. “They’re two separate entities. I know there’s been discussions — I’m not really in that loop per se in regards to a player’s contract like Mickey would be. And yet we’ve got full confidence that’s coming and so this really wasn’t tied to that. It could have very easily happened in a different order and I think the contract that we did here with the club is a little bit simpler and less complicated than that would be of a player such as Drew Brees.”

Several players were still unaware of their coach’s deal when the Saints’ locker room opened up Monday afternoon, but the players were pleased and for the most part said continuity at the top does pay on-field dividends.

“I think if you’re here and you’re here long term as well — like myself, I’ve been here six years and I’ve gotten to have the same head coach, the same GM, and I think it’s important,” linebacker Scott Shanle said. Shanle and Brees are two of the eight players on the Saints’ roster who have been here for Payton’s entire tenure.

“But I think a lot of the time it really depends on how long you’ve been in one spot,” Shanle added. “None of us know how much longer you’re going to be anywhere. But I think if you’re a young player or a high draft pick and you know you’re going to be somewhere for three, four more years I think it’s encouraging when you see a team sign a GM or a coach to an extension that shows there’s certainty there and that always helps.”

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

One of the questions New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was posed at Sunday’s news conference was how the team was going into this season without being the defending champs.

Ever so smooth, Brees handled it perfectly:

“So many of the questions going into last season were: what have you done about the Super Bowl hangover, how do you defend against that and how do you prepare for a season after being the champs,” he said. “That’s a fun thing to be called defending champs, but everybody also tries to make it a stressful thing. In the end, I felt like we handled that situation very well even though we started off with a 4-3 record which was not optimal for us, but I felt like we finished playing some of our best football at the end of the season.

“Unfortunately, the playoffs did not go the way we expected. I still felt like we had as good a shot as anybody going into the playoffs and that’s all we wanted. That’s all you can ask for in this league. I feel like we learn a lot from every season whether it goes really well or we fall a little bit short. I feel like we have a lot of guys on this team that went through both of those seasons – the 2009 and 2010 seasons – and I think that’s going to benefit us moving forward.”

New Orleans Saints 2011 schedule:

at Green Bay, Thursday: All games count as one, but this one will have the hype and feel of more than that as the NFL showcases the last two Super Bowl champions. The Saints’ defense must contend, right out of the gate, with a super offense led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and boasting perhaps a resurgent running game with the return of Ryan Grant.

vs. Chicago, Sept. 18: The Bears went to the NFC championship game last season but few are expecting them to repeat that run. Which means this is a conference game the Saints must win, particularly if they are coming off a loss in the opener. New Orleans will have plenty of time to prepare, given Green Bay is a Thursday night game.

vs. Houston, Sept. 25: The Texans and the Saints meet in a rematch of the week 2 preseason game Houston won easily. The Texans boast a top-notch offense led by quarterback Matt Schaub, running back Arian Foster and perhaps the game’s best wide receiver, Andre Johnson. The Texans have playoff aspirations, too, and thus this game should prove an important hinge for both teams.

at Jacksonville, Oct. 2. The Saints begin a stretch of three consecutive road games, and, given the Jaguars went 8-8 last season and have a losing record over the last five seasons, the Saints must begin the road run with a victory. The Jaguars drafted quarterback Blaine Gabbert last April and while David Gerrard remains the starter, if he gets off to a rough start the Saints could see the rookie.

at Carolina, Oct. 9. The Saints open divisional play on the road against the worst team in the NFL in 2010. The Panthers may be more exciting in 2011 with No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Newton at quarterback, but that doesn’t mean they should be a match for the Saints. If there’s one game circled early as a probable ‘W,’ this would be it.

at Tampa Bay, Oct. 16. Finishing off the year’s most punishing, extended road trip, the Saints face a Buccaneers team with high hopes after a 10-6 finish in 2010. Quarterback Josh Freeman is looking to take another step toward the game’s top-ranked signal callers, and a defense that finished seventh against the pass and ninth in points allowed will try to contain Brees & Co. A tough game at a tough time against a team that could be on the rise.

vs. Indianapolis, Oct. 23. Quarterback Peyton Manning, who will presumably be fully back by now, comes to the Superdome where he has traditionally enjoyed some of his best games. The first meeting between the two teams since Super Bowl XLIV should be an interesting one, although the Colts enter 2011 with a suspect running game, an aging offensive line and a defense that ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in virtually every category last season.

at St. Louis, Oct. 30. One year ago it came down to the last regular-season game to determine whether the Saints would play at Seattle or St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs. The Rams get the chance to show they would have given New Orleans the same early exit the Seahawks did. Quarterback Sam Bradford will be looking to take some of the sting away from a convincing 31-13 licking the Saints put on St. Louis in the Superdome last year.

vs. Tampa Bay, Nov. 6. The Buccaneers have had the Saints’ number in the Superdome the last two years, but the Saints can’t afford a letdown this time around. Coming off of a stretch of four games in the previous five weeks, New Orleans needs to take advantage of the home-field advantage in another critical divisional game.

at Atlanta, Nov. 13. This will be the first of two season-defining games. The Saints are hoping to reclaim the NFC South after Atlanta won it last season. But the Falcons have added even more weapons on offense with rookies Julio Jones and Jacquizz Rodgers. The Saints won in the Georgia Dome last season, then celebrated on the field afterward, which won’t be forgotten.

vs. New York Giants, Nov. 28. The Saints will return from their bye week with a Monday night home date against the Giants. It will be a homecoming for New York quarterback Eli Manning, but he won’t be eager to relive the memories of his last trip to the Superdome – a 48-27 trouncing by the Saints that fueled their Super Bowl run in 2009.

vs Detroit, Dec. 4. This isn’t the “break” in the schedule that it once was. The Lions have been improving under Coach Jim Schwartz and might be making their own playoff push, especially if quarterback Matthew Stafford stays healthy. Second-year defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh may be one of the fiercest opponents the Saints face all year.

at Tennessee, Dec. 11. The Saints’ defense will be having nightmares this week if veteran Matt Hasselbeck is still playing quarterback for the Titans. Hasselbeck torched the Saints as Seattle’s quarterback in the playoffs last season. The Titans are expected to struggle this year, but Hasselbeck could provide balance to go with dominant running back Chris Johnson.

at Minnesota, Dec. 18. The Vikings are one of the biggest wild cards in the league. They’ve still got a lot of veteran talent on both sides of the ball, led by terrific tailback Adrian Peterson. But if veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb doesn’t lead them on a playoff run, they might reboot with rookie Christian Ponder late in the season.

vs Atlanta, Dec. 26. Does it get any bigger than this? Both of these teams head into the year as top Super Bowl contenders. But like last year, one missed field goal could be the difference between the No. 1 seed and the No. 5 seed in the NFC. Chances are, both teams still will be in title contention heading into this prime-time showdown.

vs. Carolina, Jan. 1. Ideally, the Saints will be resting their starters against the Panthers in Week 17, just like they did in 2006 and 2009. But if this turns into a must-win game, it should be an enticing matchup for the Saints. The rebuilding Panthers almost certainly will turn to Newton by this point if he doesn’t begin the season as their starter.

By James Varney and Mike Triplett, Staff writers