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By NOEY KUPCHAN, STATS Writer Dec 7, 5:13 pm EST Kickoff: 1:00 pm EST Sun Dec 11, 2011

After an embarrassing loss at the end of October, the legitimacy of the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl hopes seemed in question.

Four consecutive wins since have the team reminiscing about its championship run of two seasons ago.

Seeking a season-best fifth straight victory Sunday, the Saints visit a Tennessee Titans team that quietly remains in the thick of the AFC playoff picture.

After opening the season 4-1, New Orleans lost two of three, including a stunning 31-21 defeat at hapless St. Louis on Oct. 30. That defeat, however, seemed to serve as a wakeup call for the Saints (9-3), who have built their NFC South lead to two games while outscoring opponents 133-80 during their winning streak.

“The loss to St. Louis left us in the middle of the division with Atlanta and Tampa (Bay),” quarterback Drew Brees(notes) said. ” … November is when you begin to separate yourselves from the pack, and we wanted to be playing our best football.”

New Orleans is three games behind conference-leading Green Bay and one behind San Francisco for the No. 2 seed.

“We feel like we’re one of the elite teams,” receiver Lance Moore(notes) said. “Obviously, we have the third-best record in the NFC, but we can’t worry about what Green Bay’s doing. We can’t worry about what San Francisco’s doing. We have to worry about what we’re doing.”

The Saints’ 31-17 win over Detroit didn’t leave much room for concern. Brees completed 26 of 36 passes for 342 yards and found Darren Sproles(notes), Robert Meachem(notes) and Moore for scores.

Brees, whose 4,031 passing yards lead the league, is the first quarterback in NFL history throw for 4,000 yards in the first 12 games of a season.

New Orleans is scoring 32.8 points per game, nearly identical to the 31.9 it averaged on its way to winning Super Bowl XLIV.

“For the guys who were here in 2009, after (Sunday’s) game and the way we’ve played the last four weeks, there’s a little bit of that feeling like we’ve kind of flipped that switch and we’ve kind of hit that next gear,” linebacker Scott Shanle(notes) said. “Now it’s up to us to see if we can maintain that level.”

While their offense continues to roll, the Saints’ defense has been shaky at times. New Orleans ranks 27th in the league with 378.8 yards allowed.

That should bode well for the Titans’ Chris Johnson, who appears to have finally returned to form following a slow start following his extended holdout. He ran for a season-best 190 yards during a 23-17 win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 27 and rushed for 153 yards and two TDs in a 23-17 victory at Buffalo last week.

“It’s real big because at the beginning of the season the passing game carried us, and now it’s time for the running game to step it up,” said Johnson, who rushed for 509 yards in the first 10 games. “Anytime you want to build a full team, and hopefully make it to the Super Bowl, you’re going to have to have all the elements.”

Second-place Tennessee, one of four 7-5 teams vying for a wild card berth, sits two games in back of first-place Houston in the AFC South. The Titans have won two straight and three of four, and could benefit from a fresher Johnson down the stretch due to the veteran’s absence prior to the season.

“That’s what we’re hoping,” coach Mike Munchak said. “We’re looking at it that way now, that it’s an advantage for us coming down the stretch, that we become the best running football team the last eight weeks of the season and hopefully into the playoffs. That’s how we have to spin it when you struggle early.”

Slowing down New Orleans surely down won’t be easy, and Tennessee could have an especially hard time covering Jimmy Graham(notes).

The tight end caught eight passes for 89 yards versus the Lions and leads the NFL at his position with 1,046 yards. He is the first tight end in team history to post a 1,000-yard season.

“(Brees) is a surgeon out there and makes me look good,” said Graham, on pace to break Kellen Winslow’s(notes) NFL record of 1,290 yards by a tight end set in 1980. “When your quarterback has confidence in you, it raises you to a new level.”

The Saints have dropped four straight to the Houston Oilers/Titans franchise - most recently suffering a 31-14 loss Sept. 24, 2007, during which Brees was picked off a career high-tying four times.

139 Comments

  • 0 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 2 users disliked this comment
    Jason Tue Dec 13, 2011 05:00 pm PST Report Abuse
    Saints you beat the Titans but please stop with the crap you beat the refs also. It's not like the Saints had 19 penatlies called on them, and Titans 6 or under. The face mask on Williams was completely avoidable.
    Saying CJ is a disgrace to the game is crap. No he's not. Name one other rb in the last decade that came closer to breaking Dickerson's record? Also as for Locker being the starter for the whole game would have made no difference I have to say crap.
    The Saints have the 30th Ranked Pass D and Jake Locker easily showed it is the achillies Heel of the Saints. Had it not been a LB Washington would have gone in for the winning td, The Titans scored a TD vs the Saints in a minute and 3 seconds vs the Saints. That's how flimsy the Saints Pass D is.
  • 1 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 1 users disliked this comment
    C.J. Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:41 am PST Report Abuse
    yes they were cheating i must say.
  • 2 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 0 users disliked this comment
    C.J. Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:17 am PST Report Abuse
    geaux saints
  • 2 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 3 users disliked this comment
    kissfan Mon Dec 12, 2011 05:28 pm PST Report Abuse
    sorry if brees beats marinos record not rodgers
  • 0 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 10 users disliked this comment
    kissfan Mon Dec 12, 2011 05:27 pm PST Report Abuse
    if rodgers beats marinos record they should put an axcert by his name claiming that all his games except for 2 were indoors indoor qb's are different then outdoor brees would suck if he were playing the giants packers and patriots every year brees is like favre and manning all he cares about is records and that superbowl he won was a fluke
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    13 Mon Dec 12, 2011 01:24 pm PST Report Abuse
    Another big concern I have is with our "bend but don't break defense". I get nervous every time they start jawing about the "Greg Williams defense" because I just don't see it. If its that great why are we only ranked 27th? What am I missing here? Perhaps I am being too critical? We have talent there but seem to have become somewhat stagnant in some areas. I like our guys and the growing nasty reputation guys like Harper are getting but I think we need big time help on the D-line. We don't have the dominating pass rusher that we need. We dont get enough consistent pentration which leads to more turnovers. We need to be a more balanced team. Being #1 in offense can't always carry a 27th ranked D. We need to be at least ranked in the teens to be completely dominant. team. NO GUT CHECKS, close calls or lucky wins, just more domination on this side of the ball. I am a huge fan, I love my Saints. I just want dominance, silence from the skeptics that say we are lucky and National media (not local) that disrespects by ignoring us.
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    13 Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:49 pm PST Report Abuse
    I am not a fan of our 3 or 4 headed monster when it comes to RB's. I think The saints may need to stick with one a week plus Sproles for options. I have always heard them talk about backs getting 8 -10 touches before they find a rythm. We dont do that for some reason. I want to see more pounding the ball. Everyone is really keying in on our receivers. Law of averages says Brees is going to take a devastating hit sooner or later, especially when it is on the line for some teams or when the playoffs start and it becomes a one loss/season over scenario. They are all expecting 40 passes a game, nows the pefect time to feature one or two backs and pound them. We have depth to do this without worrying if one of them goes down. We dont have that same depth at QB.
  • 11 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 0 users disliked this comment
    Ashley Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:41 am PST Report Abuse
    Great job Saints! Drew Brees is the man again! Too bad for Hasselbeck I hope he gets better.
  • 0 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 3 users disliked this comment
    Kill Michael Vick Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:28 am PST Report Abuse
    I'm tired of these "gut checks" we seem to have at the worst times. At least this one wasn't a loss like most of the others.

    The Saints are lucky to be tied with San Francisco for the #2 seed with three weeks to go, but they are tied with an inferior team, and actually SF has the tiebreak advantage with a better conference record. Going against Green Bay in Green Bay is going to be bad enough, no need to lose a bye & play more road games from "gut checks".
  • 12 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 0 users disliked this comment
    Sammy999 Mon Dec 12, 2011 09:57 am PST Report Abuse
    I cant believe i can not find any articles on how many bad calls there were yesterday by the refs - they are usually preety bad but some of the calls and non calls i saw yesterday is getting to the point of blatant fixes on the points or the game - it is getting harder to just enjoy a day of cruising through the games on the game day ticket. I getting nausated watching some of the flags throwns - something has to be done soon !!!!
  • 6 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 0 users disliked this comment
    504 Nation Mon Dec 12, 2011 09:40 am PST Report Abuse
    In case there's anybody that doesn't remember, John is a leftover crybaby from the Vikings '09 nightmare in the Dome. Poor little man just can't seem to get over the Viqueen trauma.
  • 0 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 7 users disliked this comment
    halwork Mon Dec 12, 2011 09:39 am PST Report Abuse
    Come on. Throwing on third down and 7 when your opponent has no time outs left, less than 2 minutes to go, and you are up by more than 3 is just amateur. Almost cost them the game. (See Chicago/Denver running out of bounds). Defense wins championships. Not enough pass rush from the Saints, couple that with secondary .... Any NFL quarterback will hit an open reciever if given enough time.
  • 1 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 9 users disliked this comment
    John Mon Dec 12, 2011 09:28 am PST Report Abuse
    look like the saints are trying buy there way to the super bowl again
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    Great Expectations Mon Dec 12, 2011 08:49 am PST Report Abuse
    The defense isn't good- they are average and get burnt by big plays. Just like the Patriots and Packers.
    The only thing that is the difference in GB, NO and NE from the rest of the teams is the QB play. The Lions and
    Texans have better defenses than them.
  • 4 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 1 users disliked this comment
    lucious m Mon Dec 12, 2011 08:29 am PST Report Abuse
    the saints are foreal Imean my saints been on the bandwagone fore about 30 years i like it
  • 1 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 2 users disliked this comment
    michael Mon Dec 12, 2011 08:13 am PST Report Abuse
    Chris Johnson!!!! Nice game u @#$% @#$%!!!! That catch on third down then go right down!!!! Couldn't fight for one yard!!!! Sickening!!!!
  • 12 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 1 users disliked this comment
    sharona Mon Dec 12, 2011 07:59 am PST Report Abuse
    Holy cow....what a nail biter! The Saints were able to overcome the Titans and the Refs! Not going to rag on our pourous Defense because they earned their checks on those 2 potential game changing plays- 4th down stop and of course the last play of the game. Wasn't pretty, but it was a win....I'll take it!
  • 2 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 5 users disliked this comment
    Geoff Mon Dec 12, 2011 06:28 am PST Report Abuse
    Should of put Locker in earlier. Matt im sorry to say I think your done,let the kid takeover.
  • 21 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 2 users disliked this comment
    Debbie Mon Dec 12, 2011 06:19 am PST Report Abuse
    It's hard to beat the other team and the ref's, but we did it. WHO DAT =)
  • 17 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 2 users disliked this comment
    NICK Mon Dec 12, 2011 06:18 am PST Report Abuse
    this game had the worst officiating that i have seen in a long time.
    but what was really bad was fox commentators joe buck and troy aikman. joe buck the bookworm and non player is the worst game calling commentator going, then add aikmen agreeing with buck was enough to make you sick.
    then watching former great chris johnson sputter along was equally sickening.
    we held the saints back for most of the game only to watch our hope fade away.
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    Jon Mon Dec 12, 2011 06:18 am PST Report Abuse
    Not really a fan of either team,but he guys in the stripped shirts sucked. That had to be the worst officiated game I've seen in a long time. Both teams got screwed in this game. send the refs back to school.
  • 20 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 1 users disliked this comment
    Lisa Mon Dec 12, 2011 05:45 am PST Report Abuse
    I can't believe the bad calls that were made in this game by the officials, J Graham was in for the td no doubt about it. Locker was out but he was given the td. The holding calls were very questionable on both sides also. I am glad the Saints were able to stop them in the end but it shouldn't have come down to that. The nfl better look closely at the officiating here.
  • 23 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 2 users disliked this comment
    Time Bandit Mon Dec 12, 2011 05:38 am PST Report Abuse
    Saints are in the playoffs again! I remember when we were ecstatic that the Saints made the playoffs FOR THE 1ST TIME! I never thought I'd see Saints fans become nonchalant about their team making it to the playoffs. Now I realize that I'm guilty of that myself!

    MERRY CHRISTMAS SAINTS FANS!
  • 23 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 2 users disliked this comment
    C.J. Mon Dec 12, 2011 05:30 am PST Report Abuse
    Drew Brees is the man! He currently has 4368 passing yards this season with 3 games left to play.

    So that's an average of 336 yards per game. So if you project the 336 yard average times the 3 remaining games that's 1008 yards. 4368 plus 1008 equals a total of 5376 yards by the end of this season. That would easily eclipse Dan Marino's single season passing record of 5074 yards!

    Drew Brees Dat!
  • 2 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 8 users disliked this comment
    CRAKAAAH Mon Dec 12, 2011 05:24 am PST Report Abuse
    the titans offensive coordinator needs to be fired immediately!!! they were never down by more than 6 thru 3+ quarters, they have a rookie QB, going against one of the top scoring teams in the nfl, against a defense that allows 5YPC, and yet chris johnson only gets 11 carries?!?!? @#$% kind of play calling is that?!?! they had under 3 minutes on the clock, down 17-22, in saints territory and they were still throwing everydown with locker! thats @#$% retarded! even if they scored, they would have left too much time on the clock for brees to have a comback game winning drive. any smart coordinator would have slowed it down and give it to thier best playmaker and try to score with little or no time on the clock. @#$% @#$%!!!
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