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Sean Payton is going to hate this column.

The New Orleans Saints head coach is doing everything he can to curb the burgeoning enthusiasm surrounding his surging football team.

But no matter how much he poor mouths his team off the field, the Saints are countering his efforts with their dominant play on it.



Everyone can see it. The Saints are rolling.

They won their fourth consecutive game here on Sunday and they did so in subtly authoritative fashion.

They spotted the Packers an early lead with some shoddy tackling and a pair of uncharacteristic interceptions by Drew Brees and still were good enough to rally and win going away.

Their 26-17 victory was their four straight by nine or more points. They haven't lost in more than a month and now find themselves in first place in the NFC South Division.

Considering their shaky 0-2 start to the season, even Payton is struggling to find valid complaints about the way things are going. But give him this: He's trying. With each successive victory, he strides to the post-game podium and does his best Debbie Downer impersonation.

"We're still fighting," Payton said, dismissing a question about his team's four-game winning streak. "We're coming to work. We're preparing. ... We're still learning.

"It's not time to come up with any summaries (of how good we are) yet. We still have a lot of work ahead of us and very easily could have lost a game like this with some of the mistakes we made."


The Saints' sound overall play is hard even for a stickler like Payton to deny. Throughout the four-game winning streak, he has been relegated to picking nits on his team's execution.

On Sunday, he was reduced to harping on a missed blocking assignment on an extra point that led to a blocked kick in the third quarter. Otherwise, there wasn't much to complain about once the Saints overcame Brees' early turnovers and began to execute.

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WHODATINCA

Um, it's kinda his job.

dizzle88

I wouldn't say dominance just yet but we have a good football team for the first time in years.

The reason I don't say dominance is because the defense has carried the offense for 2 straight games, Drew needs to stop turning the ball over. Neither Michael Thomas nor Brandon Coleman were open on those passes that were intercepted.

I'm ecstatic about the win and the current streak, but let's just keep everything as low key as we can for now and work on not turning the ball over on offense.

73Saint

What makes me warm and fuzzy is the appearance of, wait for it...

Halftime Adjustments. Is it just me or what? Been a while since I've seen that. Sure is nice.

ScottF

Dominance?
Momentum and improvement yes, but nowhere near dominance.

Miami boxed up a game, put a bow on it, and hand-delivered it.
Carolina was a well-played game. Period
We blew a 30 point lead at home and pulled one out
A second string QB kept his team in the game into the 4th qtr

keep finding ways to win and leave dominance talk to the "experts"

Thirty3

Wonder if the half time adjustments are NOLAN.

K Major

Add Nielson, Michael Hodges, Aaron Glenn & Bryan Young as well. These guys are collectively getting it done.

What I've been most impressed with this year is that players are consistently in the right spot on defense.

Rugby Saint II

We are a young team and young teams make mistakes. Fortunately, we have the coaching to correct any mistakes and keep this team focused.

dizzle88

To me, it seems like Brees is making more mistakes than the younger guys.

The Dude

There is definitely a noticeable difference in the abilities of the coaching staff. Hats off to Payton for putting his ego aside and listening to his assistants.
All things considered that's the difference. Offense has taken a small step back lately and the defense had taken a step forward. To me that's a wash. The difference is coaching. Having the right players in the right place and using them correctly is all coaching.