The Saints had a running back who was signed on Monday and who played in the playoffs on Saturday last year, just FYI. Of course that was the Saints organization, and not the Lions organization, so maybe the expectation up there is that Bell won't play. But that's why people here on the forum might be thinking Bell is going to see the field -- he probably would if he were signed as a Saint, especially considering last year's running back corps for us.

The Saints have been where the Lions are, with the running backs, man! Last year we had running backs getting phone calls, hopping planes, flipping through the playbook in the cab on the way to the stadium, then running out the tunnel...the Dome announcer would call out their names as they ran out, and there'd be this sort of muted wash instead of a cheer

We had one guy last year where Drew would announce the play in the huddle, they'd all clap, then on the way to the line Drew would lean over in the running back's ear of his helmet and translate the play terminology into regular English for him, and point to where he was supposed to line up. We unfortunately learned that doesn't work so well on the road in a loud visiting stadium.

. . . "everybody got lose sometime, claus" . . .

go Lions.

I'll iterate:

On offense:
* Payton did not call the Lions game. He was still in crutches.
* Lions did not get a taste of the Package of Violence.
* There are still other players in the Saints offense who have not been featured like Jimmy and Colston and Sproles, and these guys are as capable of big plays as anyone on this offense.

On defense:
* It's improving week to week. Obviously they stopped sCam Newton and the Panthers, but I was more impressed with the previous game against the Clowns: Prime Time game, with the division on the line, the D came out and pretty much stopped Turner/White/Jones/Gonzalez which as a unit is a better unit than the Lions. And personally, I feel much more comfortable looking at the Saints D in recent games vs looking at a D that just got torched by Matt Flynn, and we all know Matt Flynn much better than most of the country, no?

Oh, and don't forget, Robinson cut his hair :)

Thanks for the insight and the very valid point . . . it's well taken and that is a huge difference between the Lions & the Saints, you guys know what it takes . . . that's hilarious about Brees translating the plays into layman's terms for the newby running back . . . that's winning football . . .

go Lions.

I think we will be doing the winning formation with 5 minutes to play, a la Les Miles!

haha . . . believe it or not, they weren't even covering it that close on Detroit sports radio either . . . I think they were two or three games into the playoffs before I heard about and I go right through campus a couple times a week! You never woulda' known . . .

go Lions.

Post more, lurk less.

I just have to believe that our secondary is gonna put some glue on their hands.

And, Martez, Smith, Harper and Casillas look like they haven't been fed in awhile.

Anything can happen in sports. The Saints losing this weekend to the Lions isn't one of them. WHO DAT!

I watched the replay as well. Neither our offense nor our defense played particularly well and we still walked away with a 14-point victory.

Here is Drew Brees' TD to interception ratio in the playoffs: 15 to 2.

15 to 2!!!! Everyone needs to chill. He is going to throw a minimum of 4 touchdown passes. We will score at least 38 points and there's no way the Lions will keep up.