By John DeShazier, The Times-Picayune

December 30, 2009, 11:03AM

My guess is that New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith didn’t whine on Tuesday and isn’t going to whine today over his Pro Bowl snub. (But you can tell us what you think, vote in the T-P poll)

But that doesn’t dismiss that fact that someone in the Saints’ hierarchy should be filing a police report over Smith being robbed by Pro Bowl voters. In the beauty contest that is Pro Bowl voting, no NFC defensive end has played any better this season than has Smith, who has a career-high 13 sacks entering the regular-season finale against Carolina. Throughout the season none have been any more disruptive or consistent or valuable.

But we know that the Pro Bowl isn’t always about knowledge of the intracacies of the game, even though coaches and players have an equal voting share as fans, and the former two are supposed to be more educated and rational than the latter. We know it’s not always about players who are respected by their teammates and opponents.

Read more of the story here.

By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

December 30, 2009, 10:03AM

The Saints signed defensive tackle Rodney Leisle and tight end Tory Humphrey to the active roster this week, while releasing cornerback Greg Fassitt and safety Herana-Daze Jones. Fassitt was re-signed to the practice squad.

Leisle, 28, spent his first three NFL seasons with the Saints after being drafted in the fifth round out of UCLA in 2004. He played sparingly, appearing in just 17 games with eight career tackles before being released in 2007. The 6-foot-3, 315-pounder spent the last two offseasons with the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals but did not make the final roster cut with either team.

Humphrey, 26, was originally signed by the Saints last week but was released before Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay. The 6-foot-2, 255-pounder spent the last four years with the Green Bay Packers as a backup tight end and special teams specialist. He was released with an injury settlement after breaking his arm this summer.

Fassitt and Jones were both signed last week to add special teams depth, and both were on the field when Tampa Bay’s Micheal Spurlock broke free for a 77-yard touchdown on a punt return in the fourth quarter Sunday.

By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune

December 30, 2009, 5:00AM

Tuesday was supposed to be family day for Saints right tackle Jon Stinchcomb. That meant no football practice, video study or football talk, just a quiet afternoon date with his wife Ali.

But minutes into the matinee of Sherlock Holmes, Stinchcomb’s cell phone lit up. It was offensive line coach Aaron Kromer. Stinchcomb decided to walk outside to call the coach back.

So much for family day.

After hanging up with Kromer, Stinchcomb, a seven-year veteran of the NFL, returned to his seat like a giddy teenager with exciting news for Ali. Stinchcomb was selected to his first Pro Bowl.

Stinchcomb joined quarterback Drew Brees, right guard Jahri Evans, free safety Darren Sharper and middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma on the NFC roster.

Read more of the story here.

By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune

December 27, 2009, 4:40PM

Welcome to our in-game update from the New Orleans Saints–Tampa Bay Buccaneers game at the Superdome. Hit your refresh button to get the latest news from the game.

8:06: Connor Barth’s 47-yard field goal in overtime capped a stunning comeback by the Tampa Bay Bucs, who rallied from a 17-0 deficit to upset the Saints 20-17.

OVERTIME

0:05: Garrett Hartley shanked a 37-yard field goal wide left with 5 seconds left that would have given the Saints the win. We’re going to overtime. Bucs have the momentum and will get the ball first.

2:25: Huge turn of events here. The Saints had a fourht-and-1 and elected to not go for it. They tried to draw Tampa Bay’s punt return team offsides and looked like they did but officials ruled the Saints had jumped instead and penalized them 5 yards. Morstead then shanked his punt and Michael Spurlock returned it 77 yards for a TD. It’s now tied at 17-all. The Saints had 17-0 lead in 2nd qtr

4:57: Charles Grant with the play of the day. He batted down a Josh Freeman pass on fourth-and-1 to give the ball back to the Saints. Tampa Bay was at the Saints’ 19-yard line.

5:01: A huge turn of events here. Bucs coach Raheem Morris with the play of the day. Got a timeout right before the stop on fourth-and-1 by Jon Vilma. That was very close and Sean Payton argued vociferously with officials that Morris did not get the timeout in time.

13:14: The Bucs are officially back in it. They just drove 98 yards in 8 plays to make it 17-10 on a 23-yard TD run by Cadillac Williams. The Saints offense needs to answer. They have punted on three consecutive series.

Read more of the story click here.

by Bradley Handwerger / Eyewitness Sports

When New Orleans hosts the Bucs on Sunday, you’ve likely read as much about the Saints as you possibly can.

But what do you know about the Buccaneers?

That’s where A View From the Other Side comes in. Every Friday during the Saints’ season, WWL-TV.com will ask five questions to at least one beat writer covering the Saints’ opponent that week.

Today, friend Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com is kind enough to help us out. Yasinskas is in his second season of covering the NFC South for ESPN.com. Prior to that he covered the Carolina Panthers for The Charlotte Observer for nine seasons. Prior to that, he covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NFL for The Tampa Tribune from 1993 until 1999.

Read more of the story here.

By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

December 25, 2009, 10:00PM

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been fortunate to suffer only one significant concussion in nine NFL seasons.

It happened in 2004, when he was with the San Diego Chargers, and he got clobbered by the New York Jets’ Jon McGraw. Brees blacked out momentarily and felt plenty woozy and wobbly when he got up. And he remembers how hard it was to focus on the play calls coming in from the sideline.

But he didn’t leave the game right away. He played two more series and even threw a touchdown pass before people started telling him he didn’t look right when he came back to the sideline.

Read more of the story here.

By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune

December 24, 2009, 8:00AM

During the offseason,  when all the New Orleans Saints could think about was playing well enough to win their division and land a spot in the playoffs,  the team developed a mantra: Finish!

After losing several close games a season ago,  “Finish” seemed to be an appropriate theme,  one the Saints apparently implemented and executed throughout much of the first 14 games.

But in recent weeks,  it appears the Saints have forgotten how to start.

Since opening the season by scoring on their first possession in six of their first seven games,  the Saints offense has sputtered early on lately,  causing the team to get behind and scramble to get back into games.

Read more of the story here.

By Bob Fortus, The Times-Picayune

December 23, 2009, 7:30AM

Game time: Sunday at noon at the Superdome

TV: Channel 8

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have struggled to a 2-12 record and have been outscored 363-214, but they’re coming off one of their best performances of the season.

A 24-7 rout of Seattle snapped a five-game Bucs losing streak, and, at least for one week, reduced the heat on their first-year coach Raheem Morris.

He has expanded his duties since the Saints last faced Tampa Bay. Morris fired defensive coordinator Jim Bates a few weeks ago and has been running the defense.

Morris is stressing the basics – faster play, harder hitting and better tackling – and liked what he saw against the Seahawks. But he understands the challenge his team is facing this week.

“You want to define yourself, you want to see how well you’re playing on defense, you go play the Saints,” he said. “They’ll let you know pretty quickly where you are and what you are.”

Read more of this story click here now.

NewOrleansSaints.com,
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 – 4:20 PM

NEARLY 90 MILLION ALL-STAR VOTES CAST BY FANS ON NFL.COM MANNING, BREES, FAVRE TOP VOTE-GETTERS

Teams to be Announced on Pro Bowl Selection Show December 29 on NFL Network

Indianapolis Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING received 1,545,642 votes to lead all NFL All-Stars in fan balloting for the 2010 Pro Bowl, NFL.com announced today. Fan voting ended on Monday, December 21.

There was a record 89.87 million votes cast on NFL.com and on wireless phones. Fans cast 84.87 million votes on NFL.com and five million votes on their wireless phones.

Read more about this story here.

The New Orleans Saints announced Tuesday that the club has signed free agent fullback Kyle Eckel and safety Herana-Daze Jones and waived kicker John Carney and cornerback Marcus McCauley. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.

Read more about these moves here.

New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced Tuesday that the club has signed free agent tight end Tory Humphrey and placed fullback Marcus Mailei on injured reserve.

Read more about this move here.