The Saints will play Saturday Jaunuary 16 at 3:30 inside the Superdome. The Vikings will play on Sunday.
SAINTS CONFIDENT THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT IN PLAYOFFS
The Saints are still alive. A day after the 2009 NFL regular season concluded, there is still football to be played in New Orleans ,and the overwhelming message being given out at Saints Camp on Monday was that despite the team entering the playoffs on a three game losing streak, they’re only one of six with a shot of playing for a Championship in the NFC.
“I think it was pretty good. I think it’s a confident group. You know when you win 13 games, and earn a one seed, it’s part of what you started out to accomplish. You start the season you want to win your division. You want to get in the postseason. You want to give yourself the best chance in the postseason. I think those parts have been checked off, but you want to win a championship as well,” Saints head coach Sean Payton said Monday morning when asked about the mood of the locker room following a third straight loss. “I think this is a group that’s ready for that challenge, and the good news is we’re going to get ready to see here soon,” says Payton. “But I like the locker room like I said. I like the leadership that we have, the commitment that we have to doing things well and the right way, and I think that will serve us well here in the postseason.”
The Saints 2009 season has been a historical one with the team setting franchise records in wins and securing the number one seed. The Saints now begin their quest for their first Super Bowl title, but to do so they must become the first team to lose its final three regular season games and reach the big game.
It’s a stat that neither bothers or weighs on Payton’s mind. “Certainly we understand the importance of getting on to the second season, and look there’s so many of those numbers that we heard it all year long. We heard it at wins. We heard it at nine wins. We heard it at ten wins, and then all of a sudden we were paying attention at how we beat Washington and Atlanta,” Payton said of how the team’s play is being analyzed. “We’ll be ready.”
Sunday Payton decided against risking further injury to players already banged up or seeing other players become injured. Players and coaches prior to the Carolina game spoke of the importance of putting together a solid performance or at the very least playing some good football in Charlotte. With starters either sitting on being pulled early in the game, that didn’t happen.
“I’m not worried about being second guessed honestly. I don’t pay attention to it. I think what’s most important is accomplishing the goals and I think we’re on the right track when we went 13-3 in New Orleans and we’re being second guessed we’re doing something right,” Payton says. “So we just keep plugging and I think what’s most important is the feeling in the locker room amongst the coaches and the players. I think that’s always making sure that that group is together and that’s why I like this team’s chances.”
The Saints are putting their faith that a healthier defense and renewed focus aided by a one and done scenario that is the playoffs, will bring back the style of football that had the Saints being the talk of the league earlier this season. Players in the locker room echoed Payton’s confidence that once the Playoffs begin, fans will see the style of football that catapulted the team to 13 straight wins.
While fans and media would have liked to have seen the team correct its mistakes and play better football on the field prior to ending the regular season, the belief at Saints camp is, that can happened on the practice field.
“It’s about playing our best game and what we’re in a position to do is clean up and make corrections and I look forward to the practices we have leading up to finding out who our opponent is, and getting more work offensively and defensively against each other,” Payton said. “I think our players are excited about the challenge and I think they’re anxious to play and the hard thing always is having to wait like we have to and that’s part of the deal, but I think they’ll be ready for it.”
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