Sean Payton reinstated to NFL, not interested in hollering at Gregg Williams

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton was reinstated by the NFL this week, just days before the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
When asked if he had spoken about former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, Payton told reporters: "I have no interest in talking to Gregg."
OUCH. This is a guy you won a ring with...
Anyway, Payton's season-long suspension due to Bountygate was hard to take, he said.
"It was more or less something you can't control. To dwell on it with the time that I had ... the first week or so, it was difficult," Payton said. "You felt a lot of different emotions. At that point, you have to move on from it. Regardless of how you felt, knowing there were eight months. You'd drive yourself crazy if you just continue to hold those thoughts, whether you thought it was fair or not."
The coach is looking forward to evaluating players at the Senior Bowl.
Will the Saints make a Super Bowl run next year?

Saints activate Vilma. Oh, yeah!

Jonathan Vilma, the New Orleans Saints' linebacker who has come to symbolize BountyGate, has been activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Bucs. OH, YEAH!!! And get this, Vilma is expected to play. The Saints had to cut reserve wide receiver Greg Camarillo, the big, lanky target breeze went to early in the San Diego game when Jimmy Graham was banged up, to make room.

Week 3: Saints come back on Texans, 40-33

These New Orleans will play with your emotions in the first half of games but make no mistake: They will be somewhere in the thick of it come January.
Ask the Houston Texans, who scored at will in the Super Dome only to come away with a 30-33 whupping.
The Saints had no answer for Andre Johnson in the first half, but they doubled him in the second, shutting him out (He finished with 128 yards).
Matt Schaub (373 yards, 3 TD, int) played like Peyton Manning out there but Drew Brees (270 yards, 2 TD, 2 INTs) played like Brees.
Brees was picked off twice trying to go to new reciever Jimmy Graham, but forgave him when he scored a touchdown and was pretty much relentless with the undersized defensive backs for Houston.


"I love the fact that we can have something happen on the field that's a negative [an interception] ... and instead of him getting down like some young players might and having that affect what happens later on, he comes out and make a couple huge catches," Brees said. "He's mentally tough, physically tough, he wants to be great and he wants me to be able to trust him and have confidence in him, which I do to the utmost."

To be sure the Texans left points out on the field, especially in the first half.


"Our red zone performance wasn't good enough against a team like that, or any team, for that matter," Schaub said. "We needed touchdowns. We settled for too many field goals. We had to find a way to put it in the end zone."

SEA DAT? Saints lose to Seahawks, Marshawn Lynch (video)

The New Orleans Saints got bumped from the playoffs with a 40-34 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday.

Before the game few spectators and commentators gave the Seahawks few chances of staying with the high-powered Saints, but all that is on paper.

In reality, the Saints were beat-up and broken down, shells of their former selves. They suited up without starting running backs Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory, safety Malcolm Jenkins and tight end Jeremy Graham.

By the third quarter of this one, Reggie Bush would be on the sidelines, saying that he had hurt "the same leg" that he broke earlier in the season.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks had nothing to lose, and came in confident and loose. The game came down to a stirring, theatrical 67-yard run by Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch. 

The word, "Beastmode" will forever be associated with this game.

The Saints, meanwhile, will have to regroup and retool and it will probably be without some of the people that got us here.

17-14: Saints avenge earlier loss to Falcons

Could this be the NFC Championship matchup? Saints edge the Falcons by three (although they should have won going away).
Drew Brees makes two awful mistakes that keep the suspense going in this one, but the Saints easily turn in their finest defensive performance of the season in beating Atlanta 17-14.

Steelers may Saints one dimensional, and pay for it (video)

Got to give it to the Pittsburgh Steelers, they have one of the top defenses in the NFL, again. But fortunately they ran into New Orleans and Drew Brees, one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
Who else can throw an interception, lose the football on a sack fumble, and be hailed as a hero but Brees?
He did it Sunday night, throwing for 304 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Big Ben and Rashard Mendenhall did all they could to stop the Gold and Black, but on this night, a gloulish night, the Black and Yellow didn't have the magic. Saints win 20 - 10.

Cleveland Brown shock Saints 30-17 (VIDEO)

Last year it was the New Orleans Saints that caught teams by surprise, throwing care to the wind and dialing up all the gadgetry allowed on the gridiron.
The Cleveland Browns showed the world champs how it was done Sunday, amassing a whole 200 yards of offense and winning, going away, 30 -17, in the Super Dome.
Drew Brees had four interceptions, including two brought back for touchdowns by linebacker "Killer" Bowens.
Even former Saint Scott Fujita caught one of Bree's errant passes.
The Saints offense, going weeks now without Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas, is anemic, incapable of any ground game and a desparate passing attack.
The only good news? Safety Darren Sharper is back after missing the first six games, and receiver Marques Colston finally surpassed 100 yards receiving and caught a touchdown.
But can the Saints still win the division?

Drew Brees speaks out against bullies (VIDEO)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees recently taped an anti-bullying message. Last year the Saints bullied a few people by the name of Kurt Warner, and Brett Favre, on the way to their first ever Super Bowl championship title.

Saints injuries just keep mounting

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has a brace on his knee.
Safety Darren Sharper was out even before the season started after undergoing surgery.
Running back Reggie Bush has a broken leg.
Pierre Thomas has knee and ankle problems.
Oh it goes on and on, that's just the big names.
The latest broken Saint? Safety Tracy Porter had knee surgery and will miss up to four weeks.
Can the Saints continue to compete with injuries mounting like they are?
Saints coach Sean Payton says it looks like the New Orleans has slowed down, but actually the defenses they are facing are dictating the way the Saints attack.
"Certainly we see people getting a little softer in their coverages and yet we still constantly are paying attention and looking for ways to get an optimum look to get behind the defense," Payton said in a recent interview. "But sometimes there are plays that when they come out of my mouth and Drew (Brees) calls them in the huddle, all of us are (thinking) 'shot' and then it ends up being a dump-off or a check-down. 

Saints survive Carolina Panthers, 16 -14

Saints new-old kicker John Carney probably didn't think he would be needed so urgently in a so-called "high-powered" offense, but the only thing high-powered about the New Orleans Saints these days is their kicking game.
Against the fiesty Carolina Panthers squad, the Saints had to scratch and claw to hang on Sunday, 16- 14 as rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen almost pulled off an upset before regressing badly during his team's final few plays.
For sure, the Saints were undermanned. Actually the Saints are hurtin' bad. Both starting running backs are out. Two safeties are out as well. A hodge-podge of offensive players did what they could but two early turnovers made this game a nail biter.
Drew Brees played a great game, but the Saints receivers, most notably Devery Henderson, couldn't hang on to the easy ones, and when they did they couldn't take the tough shots the Panther defenders gave them without losing the football (Lance Moore).
Still, the Saints had Carney, who hit three huge field goals. In the process, he showed the NFL why a decent kicker -- no matter the age -- is so valuable.
It was ugly, but a win is a win.

Will Panthers Catch Saints Sleeping?

Drew Brees has a sore knee. Pierre Thomas has a shaky ankle. We all know Reggie Bush is out for a while, and yet it's still game on.
The Saints, one week after losing a close one to the Falcons, better pick themselves up off the mat quick. The Carolina Panthers come to town.
While their record is 0-3, New Orleans would be foolish to sleep on a team that has had the best running back tandem in the league for three years now. And the Saints have yet to stop that run attack.
Jonathan Stewart and Deangelo Williams single-handedly almost beat the Saints last year and have spit their season series in recent years.
As for the Panthers, coach John Fox is on the hot seat despite losing his franchise quarterback (who should have been gone a few years ago, but he's a Louisiana boy so I'll go easy on him).
Saints coach Sean Payton is watchful of the Panthers, for good reason.
"You have to pay close attention to the weapons," said Payton in a recent interview. "You have to look closely at their two halfbacks, to the experienced offensive line, Steve Smith. From a defensive perspective you study closely the scheme and what they do. It varies with who's behind center, but most importantly is identifying where the threats are and making sure that you know where those guys are on every play. If Clausen is able to hand off with success,  that changes his job description for the game."

Falcons beat Saints in OT, 27-24 ... BARELY

Well, Garrett Hartley finally missed one that cost us the game, like Saints kickers in the past, most recently Olinda Mare.
With a first and goal at about the Falcons 12 yard line, the Saints try a field goal with about 9 seconds left in regulation. I thought it was enough time to try one pass to Marquez Colston, but evidently Sean Payton thought otherwise.
I told you the 4 things the Saints needed to do to win the game. The Saints did only one of them today, and that was try, with success, the long ball.
The Falcons, led by a strong running game powered by Michael Turner and Jason Snelling, were able to methodically move down the field in OT and kick the game winner.

4 Things That Need to Happen for the Saints to beat the Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons come down to the Big Easy for a showdown over NFC South supremacy today.
The Saints, 2-0, have had one of the NFL's most potent offenses over the last few years. But not this year. The offense has scored only two touchdowns each in the two games this season. The Saints margin of victory this year? 3.2 points.
Still, the Falcons, who looked like world beaters last week when they obliterated the Arizona Cardinals 41-7, can't afford to rest on their laurels.
Here are 4 things that need to happen for the Saints fans to continue to party on Bourbon Street after the game.

GO LONG: The Saints have taken several shots downfield this season and the success has been lacking. Speedy receiver Devery Henderson has been just out of the reach on a couple of those balls as Drew Brees shook the rust off in week 1 and had to contend with high winds in week 2. These week, playing in the Super Dome, he'll have none of those excuses. Henderson and Robert Meachem will both need to fly downfield and look up for the deep ball.
The Falcons have upgraded their secondary specifically for this game (despite what they say), so they have been anxiously awaiting the aerial techniques of Brees and Co.

RUN, PIERRE, RUN: Running back Pierre Thomas has not had a breakout game this season although he has been effective in spurts. With Reggie Bush out for at least 6 weeks, Thomas will have to show that he can carry the load now. The Saints brought in former Redskins runner LaDell Betts for change up, but Thomas will be the majority of the carries. In two games so far, he's averaging a paltry 3.2 yards a carry, but let's face it: Thomas has asked to be the focal point in the Saints running attack for a few seasons now, here's his chance. Against a stout Falcons defense, is 100 yards on the ground asking too much of the Saints running game?

T.O. RATIO: Saints lived off turnovers on their run to the Super Bowl last year, and this year they've seemed to get better at it, if that's possible. While the Saints are 19th against the pass, they are No. 1 in the NFC in forcing turnovers. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan doesn't make a whole lot of mistakes, but surely, in a hostile dome for the first time this season, he'll make a few.

STOP TURNER: No NFL team, anywhere this season, has faced three premier running backs in three consecutive weeks as the Saints will be doing when Falcons bruiser Michael Turner comes to town. In week 1, the Saints held Adrian Peterson to 87 yards. In week 2, Frank Gore slashed them for 5 yards a carry on the way to 112 big ones on the ground (It would have been worse if the Saints didn't force crucial turnovers inside their own 30 yard line three times). Now comes Turner, who churned up the Saints for more than 150 yards in their last meeting at the Dome. Turner is not the fastest back, but when he's going downhill he is hard to bring down. Also add all purpose back Jason Snelling, who ran out of his mind last week vs. Arizona (129 yards) and the Falcons are bringing the most potent running tandem the Saints have faced this year and maybe last year too.

But -- and that's a big but -- if the Saints can do the aforementioned things today, the Saints win. And that's my story.

Can the Saints slow down the high-flying Falcons?

The New Orleans Saints are 2-0 and have won both games in dramatic fashion. Against the Vikings, the Saints struck early then went to a smashmouth running game to seal the victory, 14-10.
A week later, they traveled to Candlestick Park to face an aggressive 49er team and capitalized on four turnovers and the leg of kicker Garrett Hartley to escape with a 25-22 win.
It doesn't get any easier. This week, they host the Atlanta Falcons coming off a high-flying 41-7 win against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Saints will need more than 17 points to beat this team. Two offensive touchdowns a game won't cut it.
Will the Saints win? Especially without Reggie Bush, who broke his leg Monday night?
I don't know. What I do know is that with bruising running back Michael Turner coming to town, the Falcons will have faced three of the best running backs in the NFL in as many weeks.
In week one, Adrian Peterson ran around the Saints for 87 yards on 19 carries, a 4.6 yard-per-carry average.
In week two, Frank Gore plowed through them for 112 yards on 20 carries.
Now in week three, here comes Turner and a resurgent Jason Snelling.
How much can a defense take?

Saints edge Niners 25-22

Everybody was waiting to see if the Saints would drop 35 or 40 on the San Francisco 49ers a week after they lost by 25 points to a new coach.
People were waiting for Drew Brees to throw for 400 yards, and for Reggie Bush to run a punt back for a touchdown.
They'll have to wait a little longer.
The Saints used the sturdy leg of kicker Garrett Hartley to escape Candlestick Park with a 25-22 victory on Monday night.
The Saints defense caused three turnovers, none bigger than when Courtney Roby recovered a muffed punt in the 4th quarter deep in 49er territory.
Bush left the game with a knee injury after getting piled on after briefly fumbling a fair catch. Brees was as cool as ice, but still a little off as several of his throws were high.
San Fran's Frank Gore gored the Saints defense for 100 yards rushing and quarterback Alex Smith looked like Fran Tarkenton, running around Saints defensive linemen for first downs.
Still, in the end, the Saints were able to move the ball methodically down the field after the 49ers tied it with a Vernon Davis two-point conversion.
Who Dat talking about beating dem Saints? Is it Atlanta?

Saints beat Vikes in opener, 14 -9

The New Orleans Saints shook the rust off last Thursday in the 2010 season opener for the NFL. The Vikings had revenge on their minds after a horrendous NFC championship game that lifted the Saints to the Super Bowl and then on to victory.
As Week 1 came to a close around the NFL, the New Orleans victory was big because the Falcons and Carolina lost, giving the Saints an early 1-game lead. The Bucs also won their opener.
While the score was only 14-9, the Saints were pleased to get the win, as the city basically shut down and kids got out of school early for a Saints parade and banner unfolding.
Ah, the big easy.

Why the Saints Season Sucked

They had good reasons you know.
And I won't call say "injuries" because, hey, every team suffers the hurts. It's the nature of the beast.
But the Saints had some devastating ones that absolutely killed their chances.
All-world receiver Marques Colston was left coughing up blood after some nasty hits against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15.
To whom much is given, much is expected. And Reggie Bush had raised expectations tremendously after a hot finish in his inaugural season. He got roughed up pretty good too as the season wore down, ending in a mysterious knee injury
that may have been damaged weeks earlier.
Not to mention the injuries of all injuries this season, the end of Deuce McAllister's season.
Along the way, rookie and fan favorite Pierre Thomas got so savagely beaten that he had blood in his stool and a damaged kidney pierre_thomas_misses_practice.html toward the end of the season. He still put together the third-best yards from scrimmage by a Saint in team history in the season finale at Chicago.
Perhaps indemic of the season was the loss (torn ACL) of the best-playing defender, cornerback Mike McKenzie, the week before Christmas. And it's saying alot when Mckenzie is your best-playing defender, but without him the Saints secondary was little more defenseless than a baby in the jungle.
Saints coach Sean Payton never did like Pierre Thomas for some reason, and played him only out of desparation despite what he says. Thomas' start in the last game was actually cemented the week before against Philadelphia Reserve tailback Jamaal Branch suffered a broken leg on the opening kickoff against the Eagles and that crippled an already depleted running corps. That left the Saints with only Aaron Stecker and Pierre Thomas in the backfield. And shortly after, Stecker went down with a foot injury in the second quarter. At that point it was either Thomas or the trooper on the sidelines.
In any event this season was a referendum on Payton's true coaching abilities: He failed. Period. He failed to see early enough what he should have known. That the Saints have to have a plan D, plan Bs aren't good enough anymore (ask Arthur Blank, and dem Falcons). So, I leave you with that familiar refrain, and sigh: Maybe next year.

Saints End Season 7-9, Who Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Thunk It?

The season was just so ... pregnant with possibilities: Brees, Payton, Colston, Bush, Duece, playoffs, Super Bowl.
Dud.
That's what the season was, a dud.
The execution and playcalling that was so excellent and easy-looking in 2006 was mucky, sloppy for the 2007 campaign. Nothing summed up the season more than the botched Reggie Bush-to-Devery Henderson reverse on a crucial need-to-run-the-clock-out third down that cost the Saints a game against Tampa Bay. Or maybe it was the relentless inability of free agent bust cornerback Jason David to play even decent defense on man to man coverage. Who shoulda, woulda, coulda thought that David's best play would be the fumble return for TD in the first quarter of the first game of the season?
Surely the loss of running back Duece McAllister hurt them more than they thought.
"You understand when you lose a player like him you are going to change," Payton said. "Now you're asking the quarterback to drop back in no huddle and empty, playing from behind on the road. Last year we were able to get Deuce going in the second half, which kept the defense off the field. When you don't have that, it's harder to play good defense."
Still, looking at the numbers, Drew Brees set a team record for TDs in a season, and a league record for completions and will likely go to Hawaii as a reserve in the Pro Bowl. Not bad for a qb that at one point in the year had 1 TD to 11 interceptions.


"Seven-and-9 is a losing season," said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who set one NFL record for completions in a season, set two team records (touchdown passes and yards in a season) and tied another club mark with 60 pass attempts in the game. "No one wants a losing season. This is very, very disappointing."
"There were ups and there were downs, there were good times and there were bad times," said defensive tackle Hollis Thomas. "You never want your season to end like this."

Said Brees: "We really felt one of the other teams would slip up and we'd be in (the playoffs). It didn't work out."
It worked out for Colston, who was snubbed by the Pro Bowl voters even though he numbers were better than most receivers.


"It's different," Payton said. "Different teams, different circumstances. An NFC championship game and 7-9. It's an irony that the season ended here, but we've got a lot of work ahead of us.
"The things that keep you from winning games came up, and it's a thing that hurt us in our losses this season," Coach Sean Payton said. "We had lots of big plays over our head, big plays in the kicking game. We lost that battle."
"It's been a rocky roller coaster," center Jeff Faine said. "I just didn't feel like we ever maintained our momentum for the year."
Momentum is something Reggie Bush didn't even smell this year: No flips into the end zone this year, not even any solid blocks. His numbers testify to his ineffectiveness this year. Of course, most of it can be blamed on the coaches' inability to utilize him effectively, but maybe Kim Kardashian has had a Jessica Simpson-like effect on him, who knows.


"We start this offseason with free agency and the draft and that's where our focus is going to be: on improving this team and getting ourselves back into the postseason next year where we belong."

Victory at Bears Is Last Hope For Saints

Okay, Saints, you MUST beat the Bears.
You must.
It wasn't that long ago, in a driving snow, that New Orleans struck fear in the most sturdy of Chicago fans: Reggie Bush took a swing pass, swerved past one defender and sped into the end zone and pulling the Saints to within two points in last year's playoffs.
Speaking of the P-word, the Saints (7-8) can still get back to the playoffs as a wild card if they win and both the Redskins and Vikings lose later in the day, but the Bears (6-9) were eliminated from playoff contention two games ago.
It’s a rematch of last year’s NFC title game, but neither the Saints nor the Bears are headed back to the game. The Bears come off an upset win, while the Saints come off an upset home loss to the Eagles as a disappointing season closes out.
As New Orleans heads to the Windy City, they have gameplanned to watch Bears kick returner Devin Hester.

“You have to pay attention to what he can do — he can single-handedly change a game,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “There’s no question that he’s one of the best return guys that this game has seen. From a return standpoint, it’s been a while since this league has had someone of his magnitude.”
Hester has 11 returns for touchdowns in 34 NFL games. As a rookie last season he set an NFL record with six returns for touchdowns — three punts, two kickoffs, and a field goal. He became the first player in NFL history to return the opening kickoff of a Super Bowl for a TD.
The guys responsible for covering the Saints’ kickoffs and punts know they have to get to Hester as fast as they can, surround him, and be disciplined in their tackling.
“You can either not kick it to him, or if you kick it to him, you just have to be sound in your coverage,” safety Kevin Kaesviharn said. “You try and play the way you’ve been taught to play, the techniques you’ve been taught to play, and that should take care of it.
“I think in that situation, if you do kick it to him, you need to have everyone running to the ball because he’s a guy that can make you miss and obviously he’s got 11 touchdowns already, and it’s his second season. He’s pretty darn good.”

Saints win one, beat Seattle, end of world near

The Saints finally tasted victory Monday night, beating the Seattle Seahawks 28-19 after jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first half. They sacked Matt Hasselbeck five times for losses totaling 29 yards.
"We wanted to come in and try to put some pressure on the quarterback, fly around, get more different looks," said safety Roman Harper, who had two sacks on blitzes.
New Orleans came into the game with one sack this season. To start the game, they sacked Hasselbeck on the Seahawks' first possession. Hollis Thomas dropped him for a 6-yard loss, setting up a punting situation on which the Saints scored on a fumble recovery by Pierre Thomas.
Early in the second half, the Saints sacked Hasselbeck on consecutive plays. Defensive tackle Brian Young sacked him on second down, and Harper sacked him on a third-down blitz. Later, Charles Grant got his first sack this season. Harper got another sack late in the fourth quarter.
"We just rushed," Grant said. "We did a little more blitzing to free up the rush."
As good as the game was, I still maintain that Reggie Bush is not an every-down back. Sure, he needs to be on the field every play, but 3rd and inches, 4th and 1, dude is not gonna be moving many piles forward and it showed. Late in the fourth quarter, Bush eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark, but was stuff for losses on two consecutive run plays, taking his total to about 94 yards. In the fourth quarter, with the Saints driving for another scored he was stood up and fumbled near the goal line. On the next possession he ran the ball on consecutive plays and got about 3 yards total, to finish with 97 yards. They need a big back, someone to do what Deuce McAllister did. I like the move away from Devery Henderson also. Taking advantage of his first start for the Saints, Lance Moore scored his first career touchdown.
Moore, who started at wide receiver in place of Henderson, scored on a 7-yard end-around in the second quarter to give New Orleans a 21-0 lead.
"I had great blocking out there," Moore said, mentioning blocks by Marques Colston and Mike Karney. "There was nobody in my face."
Moore also caught three passes for 35 yards. His 20-yard reception on the Saints' second scoring drive gave New Orleans a first down at the Seattle 35.