QBREES9

Saints not panicking after losses

By SHELDON MICKLES
Advocate sportswriter


If you thought the New Orleans Saints were running around panicking after their 23-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, you would be wrong.

Very wrong.

Three losses to end the regular season may seem like a problem, considering that no team has ever ended a season in that fashion and still made the Super Bowl, but the Saints weren’t thinking that way Sunday.

More than anything, they were looking forward to some rest and relaxation after playing 20 games in 21 weeks. With that, they had an eye on being refreshed and recharged for a playoff run when they return to practice Saturday after four days off.

They simply didn’t want to hear about the momentum they may or may not have lost after winning their first 13 games.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll be ready when we come back,” Pro Bowl tackle Jon Stinchcomb said when asked if the Saints had the ability to turn the switch back on.

“I know the character and heart of this team. We’re going to be well-prepared for the next game.”

The next game comes a week from Saturday when the top-seeded Saints host an NFC divisional playoff game in the Superdome.

They’ll play Philadelphia if the Eagles defeat the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night. However, if the Cowboys win, the Saints would get the survivor of Sunday’s Green Bay-Arizona game.

Because they won’t know until late Saturday night, at the earliest, who they’ll play, the Saints were ready to work twice on Saturday and Sunday against themselves — much as they do in training camp — after getting their legs back.

“We had our rest, so I think for a lot of the guys we’re wanting to get back to doing the little things we talk about,” strongside linebacker Scott Fujita said. “We talk about dotting the ‘Is’ and crossing the ‘Ts.’ Now is the time to do all of those things.

“This is the time to be extra critical of ourselves. We have to look at the things that have been holding us back the last few weeks. We realize what’s at stake here, so it’s back to playing one game at a time.”

Fujita was a member of the 2003 Kansas City Chiefs, who earned the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a 13-3 record but promptly went out and dropped a 38-31 decision to the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round.

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