WVUE Saints Headlines

Saints hire three for coaching staff

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:13:31 -0600

New Orleans -- The Saints are busy building for the 2012 campaign, and Tuesday they announced the official hiring of three additions to Sean Payton's coaching staff.

Steve Spagnoulo, the former head coach of the St. Louis Rams, is the new defensive coordinator replacing Gregg williams, now on Jeff Fisher's staff in St. Louis.

Also, Ken Flajone joins the staff as the secondary coach. He was Spagnoulo's defensive coordinator and replaces Curtis Johnson, now running the show at Tulane.

And, Andre Curtis is in as the assistant secondary coach. He, too, comes over from the Rams.

Drew Brees named FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:54:01 -0600

After a record breaking season and perfect home record, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been named the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year.

Brees set the single-season record for most passing yards with 5,476, eclipsing DAN MARINO’s record of 5,084 yards set in 1984. Brees also set the NFL record for completion percentage (71.2) and most completions in a season (468).

Brees, who was named to the NFC’s 2012 Pro Bowl roster, led the NFL with 46 touchdowns passes and an average of 342 passing yards per game. His 110.6 passer rating ranked second in the NFL. Brees, who led the Saints to a 13-3 record in 2011, was nominated for FedEx Air Player of the Week honors seven times, winning the award three times.

The FedEx Air and Ground Players of the Year are voted for by NFL fans. Brees has been named FedEx Air Player of the Year three times, most recently in 2009.

Brees: Focus on keeping Saints together

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:33:01 -0600

METAIRIE, La. (AP) - Drew Brees says he would be "beyond stunned" if he and the New Orleans Saints don't come to an agreement on a contract extension during this offseason, echoing comments by coach Sean Payton this week.

Brees says his focus is keeping the team together. He doesn't believe his next deal will prevent the Saints from bidding for some other key members of their record-setting offense who will become free agents.

Pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks and receivers Marques Colston and Robert Meachem are in line to enter free agency this winter unless they agree to an extension with New Orleans.

In 2011, Brees set NFL single-season records with 468 completions, 5,476 yards passing and a completion percentage of 71.2.

Saints sign six to futures contracts

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:47:39 -0600

New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced Wednesday that the club has signed DT Mitch King, CB Kmaal McIlwain, WR Andy Tanner, RB Chris Taylor, T Phil Trautwein and T Fenuki Tupou to futures contracts.

King, 6-2, 280, appeared in the first three regular season games of 2011 for New Orleans, recording five tackles (three solo), prior to spending the remainder of the season on the club’s practice squad. Originally an undrafted free agent signed by Tennessee in 2009, he appeared in four games for Indianapolis in 2010, making three tackles (one solo) and spend the final two weeks on the Saints practice Squad. King was a four-year letterman at Iowa from 2005-08, where he totaled 228 career tackles, 17.5 sacks, 12 passes defensed, six forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He was the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the year, first-team All-Conference and Associated Press second-team All-American as a senior, recording 54 tackles and four sacks.

McIlwain, 5-10, 175, spent the final two months of the 2011 season on the New Orleans practice squad. He went to 2011 training camp with the Atlanta Falcons following a career at Newberry College, where he made a total of 93 tackles with six interceptions, 24 pass defenses, two fumble recoveries, four blocked kicks and two touchdowns. As a senior in 2010, McIlwain posted 25 tackles (20 solo), two interceptions and eight pass defenses. He also averaged 33 yards per kickoff return including an 80-yard return for a touchdown.

Tanner, 6-0, 183, spent most of the 2011 season on the New Orleans practice squad. Tanner was originally signed by New Orleans as a rookie free agent in 2010 and spent the final two weeks of that campaign on the team’s practice roster. He played in 38 games at Division II Midwestern State, catching 120 passes for 1,716 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Taylor, 6-0, 224, spent the final two weeks of the 2011 season and most of the 2010 campaign on the New Orleans practice squad. Originally signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2006, Taylor has appeared in seven NFL contests and has rushed 42 times for 160 yards with one touchdown, while adding three receptions for 40 yards. Taylor finished his collegiate career at Indiana with 1,762 yards rushing on 402 carries with 12 rushing touchdowns and one receiving score.

Trautwein, 6-6, 310, spent the final seven weeks of the 2011 season on the Saints practice squad, after going to training camp with the Cleveland Browns. Originally signed by St. Louis as an undrafted free agent in 2009, Trautwein appeared in four games for the Rams that season and also spent part of his rookie campaign on the active roster of the Cleveland Browns, for whole he was also a member of their practice squad in 2010. Trautwein was a four-year letterman at the University of Florida.

Tupuo, 6-5, 323, joined the New Orleans practice squad on October 3, where he would spend the remainder of the 2011 season. Originally drafted by Philadelphia out of the University of Oregon in 2009 in the fifth round of the 2009 draft, he spent his rookie season on injured reserve with a chest injury and spent most of the 2010 campaign on the Eagles practice squad. The Sacramento, Calif., native started served as the Ducks’ starting left tackle from 2007-08 after transferring from Sierra College.

Saints give last press conference of season

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:30:00 -0600

It still doesn't feel like it, but the Saints' off-season is here. Jennifer Hale reports.

Payton all but assures Brees' return to Saints

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:30:22 -0600

METAIRIE, La. (AP) - While Drew Brees could potentially become a free agent this winter and shop around for another team, that scenario strikes Saints coach Sean Payton as a bit far-fetched.

"I don't even know if stunned would be a strong enough word," Payton said Tuesday after players had been dismissed for the season following their playoff loss at San Francisco. "I don't see that happening."

Brees has thrown for more yards than any NFL quarterback since joining the Saints in 2006 and passed for an NFL record 5,476 yards this season, breaking Dan Marino's 27-year-old mark of 5,084.

Brees was among a number of players who had already left town and were not available for comment on Tuesday, but he has also said he expected an extension with New Orleans to eventually be completed.

The coaching staff is slated to take all of next week off and Payton did not want to discuss a timetable for completing a new deal with Brees.

"Certainly, the sooner the better, and yet I think this time away here initially after season ended will be good for everyone to kind remove yourself from the emotion of the season," the coach said.

Still, Payton acknowledged free agency will be challenging for the Saints because other key players from his record-setting offense have expiring contracts, including Pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks and receiver Marques Colston.

"This season, certainly, there are some real good players that potentially are free agents," Payton said. "Each year those are challenges and that's what makes it hard to win in our league. ... We'll look closely at it and try to be objective."

Other key free agents include cornerback Tracy Porter, receiver Robert Meachem, defensive tackles Aubrayo Franklin and Shaun Rogers, and linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar.

New Orleans also needs a new defensive coordinator after Gregg Williams' expected decision to join Jeff Fisher's new staff in St. Louis.

Payton said it was apparent before the season ended that Williams, with his contract expiring, was likely going to join Fisher, an old friend under whom he coached for in Tennessee for a decade.

"It was a matter of getting through the season and not allowing it to be distraction," Payton said, adding that the Saints and Williams never discussed an extension.

Payton says he'll take his time and keep an open mind about assistant coaching candidates. In addition to defensive coordinator, there is also a wide receivers coach opening because of Curtis Johnson's earlier decision to become head coach at Tulane after the Saints' 2011 campaign ended.

"Real talented coaches come in all age groups and they come from all over. They come from college, they come from our league. Some have been head coaches, some haven't," Payton said. "I just look back on my own experiences. Someone gave me an opportunity for the first time. So you try to pay attention to all those things.... But I don't think you try to just profile (and say): `Here's exactly what we're looking for.' ... We try to keep an open mind."

New Orleans won 14 games this season and had its sights set on a second Super Bowl in three seasons before falling in the final seconds to the 49ers on Saturday, snapping a nine-game winning streak that included a comfortable first-round playoff victory over Detroit.

"It was a disappointing way to finish the season, obviously, and that's the hard thing about the finality of the postseason in our league," Payton said. "You recognize how this league is, and that missed opportunity, if you will."

After Further Review: We Were Spoiled

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:04:17 -0600

I begin my final word with a confession: I’m spoiled.

Fred Hickman is spoiled. Jennifer Hale is spoiled and if you are reading this, you are also spoiled.

We were just treated to perhaps the best regular season in Louisiana football history and yet we are left with this incredibly sad and empty feeling.

The Saints’ heartbreaking loss to the 49ers and the Tigers’ absolute no-show in the BCS Championship are what we’ll all remember about LSU and the Saints respective seasons.

Not LSU’s demolition of every opponent, except one. Or, in my opinion, the best season of any quarterback in NFL history.

Nope, none of that.

The final result hurts so bad that we almost forget just how special this season was.

And to me it’s a sign of just how far this state has truly come.

I can remember the days pre-2000 where LSU had some decent talent but a consistent threat to win a national championship? That just wasn’t in the cards.

But now?

Nick Saban hadn’t even raised the crystal ball and early projections for next season were already being discussed and, yes, the Tigers are at the top.

And the Saints pre-Sean Payton?

Forget about it.

Back then, all Saints fans ever wanted was just a playoff win much less a Super Bowl. Now they’ve had their second 13-win season in three years and they still feel down.

But as I’ve soaked all this in, I’ve come to one realization: none of us are wrong for feeling like this.

If you’re upset, it means you care.

And when you’re passionate, the lows are supposed to hurt as much (if not more) as the highs make us feel great. It is what it is. And that’s what makes this so special.

So drink it all in, enjoy the offseason and remember this is the golden era of Louisiana football and the contenders will be back next year.

Chris Rose: Saints

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:30:00 -0600

While the nation celebrated one holiday today, here in New Orleans, we mourned a different one.

You've heard of All Saints Day? Well, today is No Saints Day.

Folks seem to be taking our loss to the 49ers really hard this time around. There's such a sense of finality in the air.

Maybe it was the way it went down, so close, so exciting, so draining.

Or maybe it's just because losing sucks.

What is needed right now are words of comfort and wisdom, declarations of reckoning and healing from a leader of the people.

But I'm the only one that was available.

So here we are.

It's new ground, but it also feels very familiar.

I mean, we practically invented Heartbreak City around here, but what's happened now would have been unthinkable just six years ago:

We expect to win now. We carry a winner's disposition.

Getting into the playoffs is not a gift anymore; it's an expectation.

And expectations can be a dangerous thing.

Of course, just 48 hours after losing, there's a collective sense of – dare I say? - expectation around here about next season.

We all know the deal: The Super Bowl in the Superdome.

The very possibility of what we're all thinking is insane.

So stop. It would be foolish to start dreaming about that, to form any expectations at all.

Best to just chill out a little bit, think about something else.

It could be worse: We've got Mardi Gras to attend to. In Green Bay, they've just got... Green Bay.

Like a guy said on the radio today: Crawfish and beer can go a long way in healing. A few floats and marching bands are a fine salve for our open wounds.

Getting down and dirty means forget.

Like a guy said in the newspaper today: If you didn't have a rooting interest in Saturday's Saints-49ers game, it was probably one of the most exciting games you ever saw.

So there's that.

So find a way to distract yourself from the possibilities of next season; don't set yourself up for a fall.

Be careful of the word “expectations.”

Ya heard me?

I prefer the term: Destiny.

Saints defensive coordinator Williams headed for St. Louis

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:20:15 -0600

New Orleans -- The moving and shaking has begun with the Saints, now that their season has come to a heartbreaking end.

FOX 8 confirms that Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has vacated the post he's held since joining Sean Payton's staff in 2009.

It's all but official that Williams is heading to St. Louis, where he will join the Rams’ new head coach, Jeff Fisher. Fisher and Williams worked together in the Houston/Tennessee franchise for ten years.

Williams did stints in Washington and Jacksonville before coming to New Orleans. He was also head coach at Buffalo, between the Titans and the Redskins.

Names being circulated for a replacement include Steve Spagnoula, the recently fired Rams head coach, and Jack Del Rio, former Jacksonville head coach and Saints assistant.

Jonathan Vilma is already talking about Williams’ future. Late Monday afternoon, he tweeted "Gregg Williams is a great coach, I wish him luck in St. Louis."

Stingy 49ers hold down Drew Brees, Saints 36-32

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:34:05 -0600

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Alex Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and the resurgent San Francisco 49ers capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory Saturday.

Smith ran for a 28-yard TD with 2:11 left and threw another scoring pass to Davis. Coach Jim Harbaugh's NFC West champions (14-3) proved that a hard-hitting, stingy defense can still win in the modern, wide-open NFL by holding off one of league's most dynamic offenses.

San Francisco triumphed in its first playoff game in nine years, moving within one win of returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since capturing the proud franchise's fifth championship after the 1994 season. The Saints finish at 14-4.

Next up for the 49ers is the NFC title game against the winner of Sunday's New York Giants-Green Bay Packers matchup.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)