The Saints only had 4 picks in last April’s NFL Draft but two of them really have helped the team this year.  CB Malcolm Jenkins out of Ohio State was selected in the first round (#14 overall).  He played in 14 games this season for the Saints and he had 55 tackles, defensed 4 passes, forced 2 fumbles and he had a interception.  The Saints picked punter Thomas Morstead in the 5th round out of SMU (#164 overall).  All he did was start all 16 games for the Saints.  He punted the ball 58 times for 2,528 yards (43.6 avg.), had 4 touchbacks (6.9%) and he pinned the opposing team inside their own 20-yard line 18 times (31%).  Safety Chip Vaughn (4th round, #116 overall) and ILB Stanley Arnoux (4th round, #118 overall) both out of Wake Forest spent their rookie years on I.R.

GRADE FOR 2009:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

The New Orleans Saints are heading to their first Super Bowl trip in franchise history after winning a close game in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game.  The Saints’ 23-year-old kicker Garrett Hartley hit a 40-yard field goal in overtime to send the Saints to the Super Bowl.  The Saints offense had a solid game, but the defense had more to do with this win than their potent offense.  Although they gave up a ton of yards (475 total yards), they forced 6 fumbles (recovering 3 of them) and picked off quarterback Brett Favre twice.  One of those interceptions could not have come at a bigger moment in the game.  After the Vikings were pushed out of field goal range with under a minute to play in regulation, the Vikings needed to make a play to get themselves back into their kicker’s range.  Brett Favre rolled out to his right, and tried to throw across his body to the middle of the field, when Tracy Porter easily jumped in front of it and picked it off.  This ended the Vikings chances at winning in regulation and sent the game into overtime.  The Saints one the toss and Drew Brees got the Saints into field goal range and the rest was history.

Drew Brees and the Saints offense didn’t total very many yards, only getting 257 total yards.  What they did do well is manage the game and take care of the ball.  The Saints only had 1 turnover, as compared to the Vikings 5, so it didn’t matter that the Vikings had over 200 yards more than them on offense.  Reggie Bush did not have the game he had last week, and was not effective running the ball (8 yards on 7 carries).  He did catch 2 passes for 33 yards, including a touchdown so he still made an impact.  Pierre Thomas ran the ball well, rushing for 61 yards and 1 touchdown on 14 carries.  This was a huge win for the Saints and probably the most important win in franchise history.  Now they have to worry about Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, who they will square off against in the Super Bowl on February 7th in Miami.

The New Orleans Saints are trying to make it to their first Super Bowl, but they need to get through Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings first.  The Superdome should provide the Saints with some great home-field advantage and they are a much better team at home in that dome.  Drew Brees should be able to put some points on the board, but he will be getting a lot of pressure from a very strong Vikings’ defensive line.  Jared Allen leads that defense so Brees may need to get rid of the ball quicker than usual.  That means they could use some of those deadly screens and run the ball more with Reggie Bush.  Bush had one of the best games of his career and it wasn’t just his stats, it was the way he ran it.  He ran the ball with a physicality that he has lacked most of his NFL career, gaining 84 yards and a touchdown on only 5 carries.  He also had a punt return for a touchdown and caught four passes for 24 yards.  I think he can be the difference-maker against the Vikings and their strong aggressive defense.

Drew Brees had the best QB rating in the regular season, but Brett Favre was right behind him in the number two spot.  Favre has been playing some of the best football of his career, which is saying a lot since he is a future hall-of-famer.  The Saints need to make sure they get some pressure on Favre or he will hurt them.  They cannot forget about Adrian Peterson either, as the Vikings are likely going to run it a lot since the Saints give up 122 rushing yards per game.  This could be a very high-scoring game with both teams having such good offenses.  I am going with the Saints though, they have more playmakers and the Superdome will be buzzing.

PREDICTION:  New Orleans Saints 31, Minnesota Vikings 28

The New Orleans Saints looked great in their recent blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Divisional Round.  Drew Brees did a great job helping the Saints offense make an early statement.  After the Cardinals opened up the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown run by Justin Hightower on the Cardinals first play, Brees led the Saints to 14 straight points.  Then Reggie Bush, who had a big day for the Saints, made a huge play by going 46-yards for a touchdown and giving the Saints a 21-7 first quarter lead.  It was a huge blow to the Cardinals and it set the tone for the rest of the game.  Bush had 84 rushing yards and the touchdown on 5 carries, but he also had an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown to seal the win for the Saints in the third quarter.  Brees ended up with 3 touchdowns on 23/32 for 237 yards.

The Saints defense did a great job against a very good Cardinals offense.  The Cardinals just came off a victory over the Packers where they scored 51 points, so they definitely know how to put some points on the board.  The Saints defense got very physical with the Cardinals and roughed up quarterback Kurt Warner.  They kept Warner out of the endzone and he finished with just 205 yards and an interception on 17/26 passes.  Other than the first play when Hightower took it to the house, the Saints defense did a good job shutting down the Cardinals running game.  This was a convincing win over a good team by the Saints, and it is going to be a very exciting matchup between them and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game.

The Saints have signed their all-time leading rusher, 31-year old RB Deuce McAllister to a contract through the end of the playoffs.  With Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell a little dinged up I really like this signing.  McAllister palyed in 13 games for the Saints last season and he carried the ball 107 times for 418 yards (3.9 ypc) with 5 TD runs and he also caught 18 passes for 128 yards (7.1 avg) with a TD grab.  McAllister has now played in 97 games in his career with the Saints and he has carried the ball 1,429 times for 6,096 yards (4.3 ypc) with 49 TD runs (most in team history).  He has also caught 234 passes for 1,720 yards (7.4 avg) with 5 TD grabs for the Saints.  McAllister should be well rested if the Saints need him.  The Saints signed McAllister to replace DT Rodney Leisle who has been placed on Injured Reserve with a knee injury.

UPDATE:  Deuce McAllister has decided to retire after serving as a undressed team captain in last week’s game.  He will be replaced on the roster by DT Marlon Favorite.

The New Orleans Saints had one of the most explosive offenses throughout most of the 2009 season, but they seemed to slow down a bit as the season progressed.  They are now going up against an Arizona Cardinals team that just scored 51 points, and their quarterback Kurt Warner threw more touchdowns (5) than incompletions (4).  The Saints defense has to get pressure on Warner, or he will just sit back and pick the secondary apart like he did against the Packers last week.  Warner also got a lot from his running game, something he isn’t usually used to, so the Saints will need to do a better job than the122 rushing yard average they gave up this season.  Warner is not very mobile and is a great pocket passer, so the Saints need to collapse that pocket and force the 38-year-old Warner out of his comfort zone.

The Saints offense should be able to get back to their high-scoring, play-making ways in this game.  The Cardinals defense is not very strong who give up a lot of points.  They let the Packers put up 45 points last week, so Drew Brees should take note of some of things Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers was able to do.  The Saints running game should be able to do a lot of damage to the Cardinals run-defense that gave up 113 rushing yards per game this year.  Pierre Thomas, Mike Thomas, and Reggie Bush should all have productive games.  This will be a close high-scoring game, but I think the Saints have a better defense and more weapons on offense.  They are also at home, so I’m going with the Saints by a touchdown.

PREDICTION:  New Orleans Saints 38, Arizona Cardinals 31

30-year old QB Drew Brees really had the Saints’ offense humming this season.  He played in 15 games for the Saints this season and he completed 363 of 514 passes (70.6%) for 4,388 yards with 34 TD passes and 11 INTs (109.6 QB Rating).  Brees also carried the ball 22 times for 33 yards (1.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has now played in 122 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,697 of 4,164 passes (64.8%) for 30,646 yards with 202 TD passes and 110 INTs (91.9 QB Rating).  Brees has also carried the ball 244 times for 482 yards (2.0 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  The Saints really need to protect Brees in the playoffs or they will have no chance of winning the Super Bowl because the Saints don’t have much depth at QB.

39-year old lefty Mark Brunell looks like he’s shot.  He played in all 16 games (he was the holder on kicks) this season for the Saints and he completed 15 of 30 passes (50%) for 102 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (44.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for -12 yards (-3.0 ypc) this year.  Brunell has now played in 173 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,753 of 4,624 passes (59.5%) for 31,928 yards with 182 TD passes and 107 INTs (83.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 513 times for 2,421 yards (4.7 ypc) with 15 TD runs in his career. 

The Saints have lost starting left defensive end Charles Grant for the season due to a case of torn triceps.  Grant played in all 16 games for the Saints this season and he made 44 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 2 passes.  Grant will be replaced in the starting line-up by 28-year old Bobby McCray.  McCray has played in all 16 games for the Saints this season and he has 12 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  This is a huge loss for the Saints and they need McCray to step up the rest of the way.

The Saints didn’t put much of a effort into this game yesterday and it showed on the scoreboard.  Mark Brunell looked rusty and old as he completed 15 of 29 passes for 102 yards with a INT.  Lynell Hamilton led the way for the Saints on the ground yesterday with 48 yards rushing on 10 carries (4.8 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 38 yards (12.7 avg).  Reggie Bush (5 car, 35 yards) and Mike Bell (17 car, 28 yards) both were also busy in the running game for the Saints.  TE Darnell Dinkins was the leading receiver for the Saints with 4 grabs for 20 yards (5.0 avg).  The Saints finished up with only 213 total yards on offense (111 rushing, 102 passing) in this game.

CB Randall Gay (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and LB Jonathan Casillas (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way on D for the Saints yesterday.  DL Anthony Hargrove had a solid game for the Saints too with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  The Panthers finished up with 327 total yards on offense (178 rushing, 149 passing) in this game.  The Saints finished up the year with a 13-3 record and the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

The Saints are going to start 39-year old Mark Brunell at QB tomorrow with undrafted rookie Chase Daniel serving as the back-up.  Drew Brees will the the #3 QB.  Brunell has thrown 1 incomplete pass this season for the Saints and tomorrow will be his first start since the 2006 season with the Redskins.  Brunell has played in 172 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,738 of 4,595 (59.6%) for 31,826 yards with 182 TD passes and 106 INTs (84.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 513 times for 2,421 yards (4.7 ypc) with 15 TD runs.  Brunell has enough tricks up his sleeve to play a good game tomorrow for the Saints so don’t count them out.  But, this was the right move as there was no need to play Brees.