By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

January 11, 2010, 6:00AM

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ reaction to the Arizona Cardinals’ 51-45 overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the NFC playoffs Sunday was pretty much the same as everyone else’s.

“Unbelievable,” said Brees, who watched the second half of the game at home after the Saints wrapped up their practice and meetings at the team facility earlier in the day.

The highest-scoring playoff game in NFL history was a crowd-pleaser, to say the least, but it was especially compelling to the Saints and their fans since the winning team earned a trip to the Superdome on Saturday to face the Saints in Round 2.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Now the opponent is set, too – the NFC West champion Cardinals (11-6), who reached the Super Bowl last year before falling in the final minutes to the NFL champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

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By The Times-Picayune

January 10, 2010, 7:01PM

The New Orleans Saints will take on the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Superdome.

The Packers/Cardinals defeated the Green Bay Packers 52-45 in the wild-card round Sunday evening in Glendale, Ariz.

By John DeShazier, The Times-Picayune

January 07, 2010, 6:45AM

The New Orleans Saints have one irreplaceable part.

Subtract Drew Brees,  the best ever to play quarterback in the history of the franchise,  and all bets are off. If Brees sits  —  for any reason  —  New Orleans is less than pedestrian,  and anyone who says otherwise only does it to be contrary.

But it sure is noticeable,  too,  when running back Pierre Thomas is out or less than healthy.

Mind you,  it’s not so decimating that the Saints can’t win without Thomas. New Orleans,  in fact,  has a 4-3 record this season when Thomas has carried the ball eight times or less.

But there’s no doubt postseason success,  beginning with the Jan. 16 divisional playoff game at the Superdome,  will be a lot easier if Thomas,  who led the Saints with 1,095 yards from scrimmage,  is on the field,  helping carry the load.

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By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune

January 05, 2010, 12:38PM

New Orleans Saints starting left defensive end Charles Grant has had surgery to repair a torn triceps injury and has been placed on injured reserve, the Saints announced Tuesday.

It appears the injury occurred in the second quarter of Sunday’s 23-10 season-finale loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Grant suffered a similar injury last season that caused him to miss the last eight games of the season.

Grant had 44 tackles and 5 1/2 sacks this season. He was the team’s first-round draft pick in 2002 and has started 106 games with the Saints.

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The Associated Press

The NFL announced Monday that the New Orleans Saints’ divisional playoff game will be 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16 at the Superdome.

The Saints are off this week while the wild-card games are played.

The Minnesota Vikings will play Sunday, Jan. 17.

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By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

January 03, 2010, 4:42PM

The New Orleans Saints are going to try to do something no team in the NFL has ever done.

Lose their final three regular season games and advance to the Super Bowl.

Against Carolina, the Saints didn’t really go in with winning in mind, sitting starting quarterback Drew Brees and pulling other starters early in the game, and fell to the Panthers 23-10.

Were there positives for the Saints? A few. Notably the play of running back Lynell Hamilton, who had 82 yards rushing and receing, and maybe the Reggie Bush punt returns, which today were more positive yards than we’ve seen during the season.

Now the Saints (13-3) will get a week off, then will try to regroup, get healthy and turn back on the switch that led them to the 13 wins. But, by the time they play on Jan. 17, it will have been a month since they’ve won a game.

Backup quarterback Mark Brunell was 15-of-29 for 102 yards.

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By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune

January 03, 2010, 7:07PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With nothing more to be accomplished in the regular-season finale, New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton decided not to play quarterback Drew Brees and a number of other starters in Sunday’s 23-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.

If NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has his way, he would reward teams to avoid such practices.

With so many teams resting starters in Week 17 games, Goodell said the NFL will consider offering incentives to teams playing late-season games to discourage them from resting their starters for the playoffs.

In an interview with CBS, Goodell said various incentives will be considered, including awarding draft choices to teams that play their starters when the outcome won’t impact the playoff seeding.

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By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

December 31, 2009, 5:03PM

First (take) …

The extent of Drew Brees’ playing time Sunday against Carolina remains unknown, but it’d be nice he played long enough to have a chance to set some distinguished records within his reach.

Brees has a chance to break one of the oldest NFL records in the books: the mark for highest completion percentage in a season. He’s completed 363 of 514 attempts for a 70.6 completion percentage. That puts him on track to break the 27-year-old record of 70.55 set by Cincinnati’s Ken Anderson in 1982.

Brees’ completion percentage is impressive for a couple of reasons. First, he’s already attempted more than 200 passes more than Anderson, who played only nine games that season because of a labor strike. Second, Brees is not a dink-and-dunk passer. His 8.54-yards average per pass attempt ranks third in the league and he’s completed 29 pass plays of 25 yards or more, second best in the NFL.

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By The Times-Picayune

December 30, 2009, 1:09PM

Among the most prestigious awards in the NFL, linebacker Scott Fujita has been named the 2009 New Orleans Saints “Man of the Year” for his dedication to community service, his charitable efforts and his performance on the football field. The honor is voted on annually by members of the media, Saints front office staff and local non-profit and business executives.

“There were a number of players we considered for this award because of the impact they have made on our community, but Scott’s contributions this year and throughout his time in New Orleans are particularly noteworthy,” said owner/executive vice president Rita Benson LeBlanc. “We should all be proud of Scott’s dedication – not only the members of the Saints’ organization, but the residents of our region – for his efforts to make where we live a better place.”

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