By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees still believes his team is in its prime and that the Saints have a chance to do great things.

But he said this season proved that it’s never easy.

“I think clearly we are not a one-shot wonder,” Brees said when the phrase was presented to him in a question Tuesday. “We’ve been able to sustain a pretty high level of performance over the last five years. I believe we have the most wins in the NFC in the last five years.

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By James Varney, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush, scheduled to make more than $11 million in 2011 under the final year of his contract, said he hopes to remain a Saint but understands there is considerable uncertainty around his future.

Not all of that is strictly individual, of course, because the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players’ union is set to expire March 4 and both sides appear poised for hardball negotiations that could delay the start of next season or lead to a lockout by the owners. But that all means Bush’s personal situation is very cloudy.

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By James Varney, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is expected to interview with the Denver Broncos soon for their vacant head coaching position.

Saints Coach Sean Payton confirmed Monday the Broncos had faxed a request form to the Saints after New Orleans season ended abruptly with a wild-card playoff loss to Seattle last week. Denver executive John Elway tweeted on Monday that the Broncos will interview Williams on Wednesday.

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By Mike Triplett

A look at the New Orleans Saints’ contract situation

The full list of players who are scheduled to be free agents this season. Under the previous CBA, players with four years of experience or more were unrestricted free agents, and players with three years of experience were restricted free agents.

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By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune

Saints fans were shocked last year when fewer than a dozen Colts fans met their team at the Indianapolis airport after Super Bowl XLIV.

Even if the Saints hadn’t won in Miami, there would’ve been a celebration when they came home. Of course, our guys did win last February. And the biggest crowd anyone could remember filled downtown streets for a victory parade two days later.

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By James Varney

The New Orleans Saints will hold their first 2011 draft meeting later this week with a plan to turn their full focus on that matter during the Senior Bowl later this month.

The game is scheduled for Jan. 29 in Mobile, Ala., and the Saints, like every NFL team, will have scouts and assistants frisking around the proceedings leading up to the game. The meeting this week will be devoted to evaluating the Senior Bowl rosters, Coach Sean Payton said.

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By Mike Triplett

The New Orleans Saints‘ draft slot was set after the first round of the NFL playoffs.

They’ll pick 24th in Round 1.

The four losing teams in Round 1 of the playoffs pick in slots 21-24, based on their record.

The Saints (11-5) had the best record among first-round playoff losers.

Story from TP

By Mike Triplett

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton declined to discuss any of his team’s prospective free agents or potential salary casualties when he met with the media Monday.

But clearly, the Saints’ coaches and front office will spend a great deal of their time in the coming months on those player evaluations.

The Saints have 27 players that will likely become unrestricted free agents, depending on the terms and timetable of a new collective bargaining agreement between the NFL’s owners and players. That list is led by names like tailback Pierre Thomas, safety Roman Harper, offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod, receiver Lance Moore, linebacker Scott Shanle, center Jonathan Goodwin and defensive tackle Remi Ayodele.

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By James Varney

Nothing happened in the Seattle playoff loss to add significantly to the New Orleans Saints injuries woes, according to Coach Sean Payton, but the team does have some lingering issues on that front.

Safety Malcolm Jenkins, for example, still has swelling on his right knee but the team hopes that will subside and no surgery will be needed, Payton said in his post-season press conference Monday. Similarly, defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove’s knee will hopefully dodge the knife in the off-season, Payton said.

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By Bob Marshall, The Times-Picayune

SEATTLE — The New Orleans Saints were in the playoffs Saturday, and once again pigs grew wings and Satan was forced into an igloo as football history was made.

But there will be no party with the Lombardi in Who Dat Land this time.

Instead, the Saints will have a long offseason searching for cures to the shortcomings exposed when the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks, the first losing team to make the playoffs in a nonstrike season, humbled the 11-5 defending Super Bowl champs, 41-36.

And anyone who followed this team knows there’s a lot of work to do.

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