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Can a season turn on one play? The New Orleans Saints' defense is making a case that it can. With one fourth down stop in overtime against the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans' defense seems to have found its groove. The change seemed to come from nowhere.

When the Saints traveled to Atlanta on Nov. 13, they were 6-3 and seemingly spinning their wheels a bit after going .500 over their previous four games. Still, there wasn't much question the Falcons game would shape the NFC South race.

After dominating much of the afternoon, the Saints' defense crumpled, allowing Atlanta to march 85 yards in 1:55 and kick a 27-yard field goal to tie the score. The letdown seemed magnified because, in a blunder typical of New Orleans' secondary in 2011, safety Roman Harper dropped -- on a throw right in his hands -- an interception in the end zone that would have sealed the win in regulation.

"I think defensively, there's a lot to be said for the confidence gained in a good goal-line stand or a short-yardage critical situation like that, and so you practice maybe that situation a dozen times during training camp, and during the course of the season you get into your short yardage defense and it might come up five times in a year," Payton said. "And I think that it was certainly significant in regards to the outcome of the game."

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Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.