Saintswrath

With only three games on the schedule in November, the Saints want to make sure it's a productive -- and memorable -- month. Coach Sean Payton emphasizes to his team the importance of starting a playoff push in November, which is also the month the divisional races and battle for the top two seeds in each conference start to heat up.
Because they get a bye after Sunday's game with the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome, the Saints have only three games in which to get where they want to be when the first of December rolls around.
The Saints (6-3) plodded through a five-game grind in October in which they played four road games and finished it with a bad 31-21 loss to the previously-winless St. Louis Rams.
But they bounced back and started their light November schedule with a 27-16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who defeated them three weeks earlier, to set up a critical game with the reigning NFC South champion Falcons (5-3).
The month will conclude with another big game against the New York Giants on Nov. 28 on Monday Night Football.
"Coach Payton kind of hit that note this week," running back Chris Ivory said after the win over the Bucs. "It's November, and he harped on that. He told us that November will say a lot about this team and where we stand.
"Coming out with this win at the start of November, that says a lot," he added.
Indeed.
Payton puts a premium on November games and, counting the win over the Bucs, is 9-0 in that month since 2009. He was 5-0 when they went on to a victory in Super Bowl XLIV that year and was 3-0 last year.


New Orleans Saints - Team Report - NFL - Yahoo! Sports