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It looks like there’s at least a chance the New Orleans Saints could be playing in the season’s first game for the third straight year.

As the defending champion Super Bowl champion, the New York Giants will host the Thursday night opener at MetLife Stadium. That game will be played Sept. 6.

I’m just looking at the eight teams the Giants are scheduled to host in 2012 and the Saints look like one of the three leading candidates, along with Green Bay and Pittsburgh. The league doesn’t usually schedule division opponents in the opener.

You also can probably scratch the Buccaneers and Browns from the list since they’re not marquee teams. Green Bay and Pittsburgh each have national followings and the Giants and Packers could be paired in a rematch of the playoff game in which New York went into Lambeau Field and defeated the Packers.

But don’t count out the Saints. They also draw strong television ratings and they played the Thursday night opening game at Green Bay in 2011 and hosted it against Minnesota in 2010.

Drew Brees is capable of many great things. But you can’t go to the miracle well 63 times in a game and expect it to produce every time.

That was proved Saturday as Brees and the New Orleans Saints lost 36-32 in a divisional playoff game to the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park.

History will tell us this was one of the best games in playoff annals, coming as it did with four lead changes in the final 5 minutes and San Francisco’s winning touchdown with 9 seconds remaining. History will be right, because this game was exciting all the way around.

But the surrounding hysteria might get in the way of history, so let’s go ahead and go on the record with one very important item that cannot be overlooked: You can’t go deep into the postseason with Brees and Brees alone.

That’s what the Saints tried to do, and it came painfully close to working. They had Brees attempt 63 passes. He completed 40 of them, and it looked like he had the miracle the Saints needed when he hit tight end Jimmy Graham with a 66-yard touchdown pass with 1:37 left.

But football -- particularly when it’s in the postseason and on the road -- is about much more than a quarterback, even if he’s surrounded with Graham, Darren Sproles and Marques Colston.

You must have defense, special teams and a running game. The Saints had none of those things against the 49ers, and that’s why they lost.

They simply asked too much from Brees, and they should have known better.

Just go back and look at New Orleans’ three losses during the regular season. There’s a little lesson here.

In the opener at Lambeau Field, Brees attempted 49 passes -- a number that would end up as his regular-season high. He lost a shootout to Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay, and there’s no shame in that. But look closely at the Saints' other two losses, because they came against inferior opponents. In an Oct. 16 defeat to Tampa Bay, the last game the Buccaneers won, Brees attempted 45 passes.

Oh, and then there’s that inexplicable loss to St. Louis two weeks later. Brees attempted 44 passes in that game. Win either the St. Louis or Tampa Bay game, and the Saints are the No. 2 seed and playing at home, where they were undefeated in the regular season.

There’s a line of demarcation where too much Brees becomes a bad thing. It’s somewhere in the low 40s. Yeah, Brees threw 44 times in victories against Houston and Jacksonville, 45 times in a three-point win over Carolina and 47 in a December victory against Tennessee. But none of those was pretty, and Houston was the only playoff team among that bunch.

In games in which Brees attempted 43 or fewer passes, the Saints were 8-0. They also were at their best in those games. They had a running game, some defense and no huge mistakes by the special teams.

But the Saints apparently didn’t notice that trend. They put too much on Brees on Saturday, and they did have some valid reasons for that. Brees didn’t help matters with two interceptions, and the Saints turned the ball over three times in the first quarter.

They fell behind 17-0. Then, they let Brees bring them back but didn’t do anything to help him. The running game, which had been so much better than last season’s, was nonexistent. Sproles, Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas combined for only 13 rushing attempts and 32 yards.

Thomas left the game with an apparent concussion after losing a fumble near the goal line in the first quarter. Without him, the New Orleans offense became predictable. When Ivory was in the game, it was obvious the Saints were running. When Sproles was in there, it was obvious they were throwing.

And they threw way too often against a defense that can generate pressure. On his 63 drop-backs, Brees was sacked three times. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Brees was under duress an additional 17 times. When under duress, Brees completed five of 16 attempts (31.3 percent). Brees also threw away five passes after throwing away only eight during the regular season and in the first round of the playoffs.

Again, there should have been a lesson from the regular season. The most times Brees was sacked or under duress (17) was in the St. Louis loss. Against Green Bay, Brees was sacked or under duress on 12 of his drop-backs.

The more often you have Brees drop back, the more you’re asking for trouble, especially when you have two All-Pros at guard but very ordinary tackles.

However, the biggest letdown of all came from the defense. It happened twice after Brees brought the Saints all the way back to take the lead.

The New Orleans defense was pretty good in the 2009 championship season, but it’s fallen off dramatically since then. After doing a decent job against the 49ers most of the game, it totally collapsed in the final four minutes.

The Saints allowed Alex Smith to score on a 28-yard run, the longest of his career. No one should ever confuse the slow-footed Smith with Steve Young. But now, in addition to Young, he’s going to get compared to Joe Montana.

After the late touchdown to Graham, Smith took the 49ers on a drive for the ages. He hit tight end Vernon Davis with a 14-yard touchdown pass to win the game with 9 seconds left. Matched up against strong safety Roman Harper most of the game, Davis finished with seven catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

The Saints should have known going into the game that Harper on Davis was a huge mismatch, but they kept letting it happen and they kept making Smith look great when it mattered most.

This game showed what’s been suspected since after the Saints won their Super Bowl. Their defense isn’t that good anymore.

That’s obvious now, and there are bound to be ripples, maybe even big waves, after this loss. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ contract just expired, and there already has been speculation he could be joining his old buddy Jeff Fisher in St. Louis. Coach Sean Payton, who once gave up part of his own salary to get Williams, might not stand in the way of a move after this one.

It’s going to be a busy offseason for the Saints. They must sign Brees to a new contract because his deal is up. The Saints have other expensive potential free agents such as Colston and guard Carl Nicks.

There’s no doubt the Saints will keep Brees and, in the process, probably make him the league’s highest-paid quarterback. But as they look at their salary-cap situation after taking care of Brees, they should take a long, hard look at their roster.

It’s time for some changes. You can do all sorts of flashy things and break lots of records by letting Brees carry your team. But he can win a championship only when he has some help around him.

It’s time to give Brees that help.

NEW ORLEANS -- Thoughts on the New Orleans Saints’ 45-16 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

What it means: The Saints (12-3) clinched the NFC South, which means they’ll be one of the top four seeds in the playoffs. They still have a shot at going as high as the No. 2 seed, but they’ll need to win their finale and hope San Francisco loses. The Falcons (9-6) already are in the playoffs, but now they can’t do any better than the No. 5 seed. Also, New Orleans’ victory means that, once again, no team has won the NFC South in consecutive years since the division came into existence in 2002.

Record time: With two minutes and 51 seconds left in the game, Drew Brees made history. With a touchdown pass to Darren Sproles, Brees broke Dan Marino's record for passing yards in a season. Marino had 5,084 yards in 1984. Brees came into the game needing 305 yards to break the record. He finished with 307 yards. Brees also threw four touchdown passes.

The Sproles factor: I might be overlooking someone, but I don’t think I’m too far off in saying Sproles was the best free-agent signing in the NFL this year. Sproles has made huge contributions as a runner, receiver and a return man. Early this season, I still saw some fans wearing Reggie Bush jerseys. I don’t think I’ve seen one in a couple of months.

The great debate: After watching the Saints absolutely dominate what had been a good Atlanta team for the past month or so, I think it’s fair to start talking about how the Saints match up with the Green Bay Packers. Remember, the Saints took the Packers down to the wire in the season opener at Lambeau Field. I know for certain the Saints are a better team now than they were in September. Yeah, you can bring San Francisco into the argument too, but that kind of waters things down. The Saints and Packers play great offense and a postseason game between them would be as exciting a game as you could ask for.

What I didn't like: From an Atlanta perspective, the way the Falcons lost this game had to be demoralizing. The Falcons had seemed to be on a roll in recent weeks. They’re already in the playoffs and they should have an easy finale. But the momentum Atlanta had built over the past month or so has been shattered. If they somehow end up facing the Saints again in the playoffs, that’s not a good psychological matchup. The Saints have defeated the Falcons twice already and that’s got to be in the heads of the Atlanta players.

What's next: The Saints host the Carolina Panthers in the regular-season finale on Sunday. The Falcons host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints are focused solely on their “Monday Night Football’’ game with the Atlanta Falcons right now. A victory will give them the NFC South title.

But fans and media have been getting ahead of the game and comparing the Saints to the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans’ quarterback Drew Brees to Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. There’s also been a fair amount of debate about which of those quarterbacks should win the Most Valuable Player award.

Well, the looking down the road continues. In this Insider post, Chris Sprow goes into great detail about how well Brees has played in the past six games. He says that if Brees continues playing the way he has been, the Saints can beat the Packers, even if it’s in the NFC Championship Game in Lambeau Field.

He then points to several other reasons why the Saints might be better than the Packers, including the New Orleans defense and the continued emergence of Jimmy Graham.

NEW ORLEANS -- We’ve known for quite some time that the New Orleans Saints’ offense could probably score enough to stay with an NBA team if it needed to. Defense, though, hasn’t exactly been a strong point during the Sean Payton era.

Heck, you get the idea the coach only uses a defense because it’s required. You can’t fault him, because running an offense the way a smart kid would play a video game has brought New Orleans far more wins than losses through the years.

But it was the defense that was largely responsible for Sunday night’s 31-17 victory against the Detroit Lions at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Sure, Drew Brees (342 passing yards and three touchdowns) worked his usual magic and the offense put up the usual big numbers (tight end Jimmy Graham became the first tight end in franchise history to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season). But the defense, which has been known to give up some yardage and points, played perhaps its best game of the season.

Yeah, the Saints only allowed seven points in a win against the Colts and 10 in a victory against the Jaguars. But those were the Colts and the Jaguars. The Lions have a real offense (see Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson).

“(Johnson) can take over a game,’’ Payton said. “And the quarterback (Stafford) is playing with confidence.’’

Sure, Stafford put up 408 passing yards and it’s not often you can say a defense played a good game when it gives up 400 passing yards. However, the New Orleans defense did play well. Stafford only threw for one touchdown and Johnson was limited to six catches for 69 yards. Holding Detroit to 17 points is more than respectable.

“That was a big part of the game plan,’’ cornerback Tracy Porter said. “We created population around him and were able to minimize the damage he can do.’’

The New Orleans defense was particularly good early on. Johnson had just two catches for 19 yards in the first half, and the Lions didn’t score until there were 2 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first half. New Orleans went into halftime with a 24-7 lead. The Lions got back into the game with 10 unanswered points in the third quarter, but never scored again.

“Some of those stops on third down early in the game were pivotal and we were able to get a lead,’’ Payton said. “In that second half when that momentum swung a little bit, we got a key score and then a key stop defensively. All in all, it was a good hard-fought win. We have a ton of respect for that team we just played.’’

They should, because the Lions have a good offense and the Saints are going to see more good offenses down the line, especially if they get into the playoffs, which seems pretty much automatic at this point.

The Saints improved to 9-3 and clinched their third straight winning season. And they're going to need more games like this from their defense.

Let’s be brutally honest, the Saints are never going to have a great defense that can shut teams down all the time. That’s not the way coordinator Gregg Williams plays. His emphasis is more on being opportunistic, creating turnovers and making some big stops when needed. That’s what the Saints did against the Lions. That’s also what the Saints did in the 2009 season when they won the Super Bowl. They regressed defensively in 2010 and that’s part of the reason why they were bounced in their first playoff game.

Up until the Detroit game, the current defense has played more like the 2010 unit than the 2009 group. But this game might end up being a turning point. It was no coincidence that middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma returned after missing four games with a knee injury. Vilma led the Saints with 10 tackles.

“He’s the guy that runs the show,’’ free safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “Our other guys did a really good job filling in for him, but it’s a lot easier when he’s in their making the calls.’’

The Saints were able to pressure Stafford. He was sacked three times and hurried five others. The Saints did a good job containing the running game as well: the Lions finished with 87 net yards on the ground.

“Three and out is just as good as a turnover,’’ said Porter, who created New Orleans’ only turnover of the night with a fourth-quarter interception.

As Porter and Jenkins chatted in front of their lockers before meeting with the media, they talked about how the Saints should have had more interceptions. They started with two passes that went off Jenkins’ hands. Then, they started doing some more math.

By the time they were done, the conclusion was the Saints should have had five more interceptions.

“It wasn’t perfect,’’ Payton said. “There’s a handful of things we’ve got to get corrected to get to where we want to go to. But we’ve got time to do that.’’

Where the Saints want to go is the Super Bowl. Even with all their offense, the Saints are going to need some help from their defense down the road. Getting some stops and keeping Johnson under 100 yards and out of the end zone was very good.

Keep doing that and add some turnovers and the Saints could be really scary in the playoffs. Speaking of the playoffs, it’s looking at the moment like the unbeaten Green Bay Packers are the team to beat in the NFC.

But don’t hand the Packers the NFC title just yet. The Saints could have something to say about it before all is said and done. They went up to Lambeau Field for the season opener and took the Packers down to the last play of the game before losing.

Like the Saints, the Packers score points in bunches. But Green Bay’s defense hasn’t been dominant. The Saints have improved on defense since the opener.

If they can keep doing the good things they have recently and improve on those handful of things Payton talked about, the Saints might be able to slow the Packers enough to win -- if they end up meeting down the road.

NEW ORLEANS -- Thoughts on the New Orleans Saints’ 49-24 win against the New York Giants on Monday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

What it means: The Saints are 8-3 and still alone at the top of the NFC South. They also have the city of New Orleans rocking as the season comes down to crunch time. When teams have to come into the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for prime-time games late in the season, the Saints have a huge home-field edge. They’ve got the Lions coming in for a prime-time game Sunday, and the Falcons come to New Orleans the night after Christmas. If the Saints win the NFC South and get the No. 3 seed, they’re pretty much guaranteed a trip to the NFC Championship Game, which could be a return trip to Lambeau Field, where the Saints started the season with a close loss to the Packers. But, hey, I'm thinking anything is possible for the Saints right now. This season is starting to remind me a lot more of 2009 than 2010.

The streak is over: The Saints had lost the coin toss in each of their first 10 games. That ended Monday night as they won the toss and elected to receive.

What I liked: Everything on offense. The Saints have so many weapons, and coach Sean Payton and Drew Brees use them all so well, it’s almost unfair for a defense to have to put only 11 players on the field. It might have been a little hard to notice because of Brees' ridiculous passing numbers, but the Saints also ran the ball pretty well.

The confidence factor: I wasn't crazy about it at the time when Payton went with a fake field goal on the first drive. It didn't work. But he basically was saying, "I don't care if we score here or not. This offense is going to put up so many points that it won't matter if we get seven, three or zero points here." He was right.

What I didn’t like: New Orleans’ defense gave up way too many yards. Then again, it didn’t really matter because there was no way a depleted New York defense was going to stop Brees and the New Orleans offense. But New Orleans still needs some improvement on defense, or that might come back to bite the Saints in the postseason.

Unsung hero: Linebacker Will Herring was hurt much of the early part of the season, and we haven’t seen much of him since he’s been healthy. But Herring showed up big, intercepting Eli Manning in the first quarter.

What’s next: The Saints host the Detroit Lions on Sunday night.

If you haven’t seen it already, I strongly suggest you take a look at this story by Rick Stroud that explores different theories on what is wrong with the Buccaneers.

It includes some really strong comments from Herm Edwards, now an ESPN analyst, but a former assistant with the Bucs and a head coach for the Jets and Chiefs.

Some of what Edwards had to say is similar to some things that have been written in this space. Let’s start with quarterback Josh Freeman. I have written several times that, although Freeman certainly deserves part of the blame, most of it should fall on the guys around him. I’ve heard from a few readers who suggest I’m “coddling" Freeman.

I stand by what I said about his problems being due primarily to the poor play of wide receiver Mike Williams and running back LeGarrette Blount. Edwards said pretty much the same thing.

"I feel a little for [Freeman] because he's a good player," Edwards said. "I look at the personalities he has to deal with -- Kellen Winslow, Mike Williams, LeGarrette Blount. He's looking at all this mess saying, 'Really?'"

I’m not sure if Winslow really belongs in there. The tight end hasn’t been putting up big numbers and he’s been accused of being a selfish player in the past. But he’s behaved pretty well since he joined the Bucs. Winslow spent most of the lockout working out with Freeman. That can’t really be said about Williams and Blount. Each of them showed up for workouts at times, but they weren’t regulars.

Edwards also criticized the Bucs harshly for picking up defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.

"Why bring in a guy who doesn't like football?" Edwards said. "You want that guy influencing your young football team?"

That leads to another hot topic. There have been suggestions from many corners that the Bucs have some players who are not strong character guys and don’t have any very strong leaders.

"I see that [Coach] Raheem [Morris] got on them for not giving effort," Edwards said. “But when you have players who have some character flaws in the locker room, there's no steady force. When you're winning, it's okay. When you hit tough times, they take over. And when you lose, it's magnified."

It’s been kind of a crazy stretch for the Bucs. Morris has sniped at several writers, publicly and privately. He’s also pointed to a difficult schedule, which has led some people to say he’s making excuses. The past week or two has reminded me a little bit of the days when Sam Wyche was coaching the Buccaneers.

Let’s just say there never was a lot of stability when Wyche was running the show. I’m not quite ready to say the current Bucs are out of control, but there certainly have been signs they might be headed in that direction.

If the Bucs go into Lambeau Field and somehow beat the undefeated Green Bay Packers, everything suddenly will be fine with Tampa Bay. If not, the strange times might get even stranger.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 11 (remember, the New Orleans Saints have a bye):

Crunch time: It would be a very long shot for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to go into Lambeau Field and defeat the Packers. But I’m going to be keeping a close eye on this one for reasons other than the final score. I want to see if the Bucs show effort in this one. In last week’s loss to Houston, a lack of effort was a serious problem. There’s been a lot of emphasis around One Buccaneer Place this week on getting a better effort. I’m real curious to see if that happens. If it doesn’t, coach Raheem Morris officially could move onto the hot seat. When a team isn’t giving much effort in the second half of a season, ownership -- and the rest of the world -- will look at that as a reflection on the coach.

Running away:The Bucs have started slowly on offense pretty much all season and have had a tendency to fall behind early. That’s become an even bigger problem in the current three-game losing streak. The Bucs have been quick to abandon the run after falling behind. In the past three games, they’ve averaged just seven running plays in the second half. When that happens, quarterback Josh Freeman is placed in a tough spot. Freeman, who only threw six interceptions last season, already has thrown 13 this season. That leads the NFC and is second in the NFL. The last Tampa Bay quarterback to have 13 interceptions through the first nine games of a season was Trent Dilfer back in 1996.

Road woes: The Carolina Panthers have lost their past 11 road games. That ties them for the second-longest road losing streak in the league since 2006 and it’s the longest active streak in the NFL. The only longer streak was by the Lions, who lost 26 straight road games from 2007 to 2010.

Home woes:The Falcons were dominant in the Georgia Dome in the first three years of coach Mike Smith’s tenure. But they’re 2-2 at home this season. A loss to Tennessee on Sunday would give the Falcons more home losses than they’ve had in any season since Smith took over. But it’s not like the Georgia Dome has suddenly become a friendly place for visiting teams. It was about as loud as I’ve ever heard it last Sunday. People who say the Falcons are struggling at home need to remember their two losses have been to the Packers and Saints.

Stay in your lane: The Atlanta linebackers are going to be a key in Sunday’s matchup. They need to keep Chris Johnson from turning the corner. After a very slow start, Johnson has come on the past two games. Through Week 8, he was averaging just 2.5 yards per carry when running outside the tackles. In the past two games, he’s averaged 5.7 yards when running to the outside.

ESPN’s panel of experts is pretty much unanimous in its NFC South predictions this week.

All 10 of them have Tampa Bay losing to Green Bay. Hard to argue with that one. The 4-5 Bucs aren’t playing well and they’re heading into Lambeau Field to play an undefeated team. Unless LeGarrette Blount suddenly learns to pass block and Tampa Bay receivers stop dropping passes, it’s tough to imagine the Bucs having any chance to keep up with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense.

The panel also is unanimous in picking the Detroit Lions over the Carolina Panthers. Again, tough to argue that one. I was thinking the Panthers would show improvement in the second half of the season and pull some upsets. That still might happen. But it’s tough to see the Panthers going into Ford Field, which suddenly has become one of the league’s toughest road venues, and winning.

The only game where the panel isn’t unanimous is Tennessee at Atlanta. But this was only one vote off. The Falcons were picked nine times, with Mike Golic taking the Titans. I think the Falcons have the better team, but I’m a little curious to see how they respond after last week’s overtime loss to New Orleans. They could bounce back strong. But there’s also the possibility the Falcons still might be emotionally and physically drained from the loss to the Saints.

As we all know, the NFC South had a historically bad opening week. All four teams lost and that’s only the third time that’s happened since the NFC South was created in 2002.

But all losses aren’t created equal. I’d say Carolina’s loss to Arizona was actually encouraging because rookie quarterback Cam Newton had such a strong debut. I also think it’s tough to read too much into New Orleans’ opening loss, although I am concerned about the defense. The Saints went into Lambeau Field and took the defending Super Bowl champions down to the final play.

There’s no glossing over the losses by Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Both were ugly.

Which was the ugliest? I’d vote for Atlanta’s loss to Chicago because the Falcons didn't look anything like the smart and efficient Falcons we've seen the past three seasons. But let’s hear your thoughts. Take a look at our Call It poll to the right and cast your vote for the most discouraging NFC South loss in Week 1 and feel free to back up your reasoning in the comments section below.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The New Orleans Saints spent most of the preseason talking about how they wanted to get their defense back to its 2009 form.

It looked like they punched the wrong code into their time machine in Thursday’s 42-34 season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

Instead of the opportunistic defense that helped the 2009 team win the Super Bowl, what we saw against the Packers was the same defense we saw in last season’s playoff loss to Seattle, the 2008 defense or the 2007 defense. That’s not nearly good enough if you want to get back to the Super Bowl or be an elite team.

Sure, it’s only one loss and it came on a night when one of the league’s strongest fan bases was out in force to watch as the Packers unveiled their Super Bowl banner from last season. The Saints weathered an early storm and the game came down to one play -- rookie running back Mark Ingram getting stuffed at the goal line after the clock had run out.

“You play this game six months later, and it may end up with a different result,’’ New Orleans coach Sean Payton said.

That’s entirely possible, but only if the Saints start playing better defense. They can’t go on like they did against the Packers.

“When you have Drew Brees as your quarterback, you always have a chance,’’ safety Malcolm Jenkins said.

Yeah, but that's not an attitude you want your defense falling back on. You can’t afford to put everything on Brees’ shoulders all the time and expect to be mediocre. That’s what happened in 2007 when the Saints went 7-9 and in 2008 when they went 8-8. It’s also what happened in the playoff loss to Seattle.

Three first-quarter touchdown passes by Aaron Rodgers, all sorts of blown assignments and missed tackles helped the Packers make history. They scored the second-highest point total in a season opener in franchise history. The first was 53 in 1919, the first year the Green Bay franchise existed.

I have no idea what the 1919 Green Bay offense looked like, but I have no doubt it could have scored some points against this New Orleans defense. Second-year pro Patrick Robinson struggled as the nickelback, Roman Harper looked like he never left Seattle’s Qwest Field and the pass rush wasn’t all that much of a factor.

“The progress we make from Week 1 to Week 2 will be very important,’’ Payton said.

There’s no doubt about that. The Saints face another tough NFC North team Sept. 18 when they play host to the Chicago Bears. If there aren’t improvements by then, the Saints could be in bad shape. The Texans, who have some offensive weapons, are third on the schedule. The Falcons and Buccaneers, who have some offensive talent of their own, each are on the schedule twice, and there’s no doubt those NFC South opponents got some film from this game that could come in handy down the road.

“There will be a lot of things we see on tape we’ve got to clean up,’’ Payton said.

Some of it will have to do with fundamentals and some of it with the scheme. With top pass-rusher Will Smith serving a two-game suspension to start the season, the front four weren't able to generate a lot of pressure. The Saints, who blitzed more frequently than any other team in the league last season, did throw some blitzes at Rodgers, who has a history of being successful against the blitz. Rodgers completed 27 of 35 passes for 312 yards and was sacked twice.

“It’s a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game,’’ Payton said. “He’s got a quick release and a lot of targets. You recognize that you want to throw him off balance to some degree, and it’s a lot more challenging than it sounds.’’

Not every opposing quarterback is going to be as good as Rodgers, and not every offense is going to be as good as Green Bay’s.

“He’s as good a quarterback as we’ve gone against in a while,’’ linebacker Scott Shanle said.

But the Saints, who failed to produce a turnover, are starting off in dangerous territory.

They can’t afford to wait for Smith’s suspension to end to get their defense on track. That process has to start immediately, or the Saints run the risk of another 2007 or 2008.

In those days, Brees would put up big numbers every week, but the defense didn’t do much. That led to the firing of defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs after the 2008 season and the hiring of Gregg Williams to replace him in 2009. That first season, Williams brought a new attitude to the defense.

The championship team didn’t have a dominating defense that could shut down a team. What it had was an opportunistic defense that created a bunch of turnovers. That’s the form the Saints need to get back to quickly, or their season could slip away.

It could slip back to the point where Brees needs to be perfect every week for the Saints to even have a chance to win. He wasn’t perfect against the Packers. Instead, Brees was merely very good. He completed 32 of 49 passes for 419 yards and three touchdowns.

When you’re getting that kind of production from your quarterback and scoring 34 points, you should be able to win a lot of games. The Saints don’t have to be perfect on defense. They just have to do something they didn’t do against the Packers. They need to shut down a drive or two and make a few big plays. If they do that, they won’t have to rely on Brees to pull out miracles at the end.

If they can stop an offense every now and then, the Saints can get back to 2009. If not, they’ll go straight back to 2007 or ’08.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- I’m here at Lambeau Field, where things are very quiet --for the moment.

ESPN.com colleagues Kevin Seifert and Gene Wojciechowski are with me and we’ll bring you all the news and analysis before, during and after the game. Seifert and I will be chatting during the game, so keep an eye on the blog for that.

I’ll be back with inactives about 90 minutes before game time and will check in on anything else that pops up in the meantime.

APPLETON, Wis. -- Since the word is there is going to be a massive crowd, not only in Lambeau Field on Thursday night, but at all the pregame events, I’m going to start making my way up to Green Bay to make sure I arrive in plenty of time.

For those not familiar with the geography, Appleton is roughly a 30-minute drive from Green Bay. Early in my time covering the NFL, I learned that it’s best to stay in Appleton because there are more hotel options than Green Bay. In fact, most visiting teams stay at a particular hotel in Appleton because it’s viewed as the only hotel in the area that has enough ballrooms to hold team meetings and such.

Green Bay is not a small town, but it’s not a huge city. That makes the atmosphere unique. The Packers aren’t just Green Bay’s team. They’re all of Wisconsin’s team. That was evident Wednesday night as I drove from the Milwaukee airport up to Appleton. I’m guessing that 75 percent of the billboards I passed had something to do with the Packers. I’m sure it will be more of the same on the drive from Appleton to Green Bay.

Once I get settled into Lambeau Field, I’ll check back in. I’ll also get you the pregame inactives as soon as possible. NFC North colleague Kevin Seifert, Scouts Inc.’s Matt Williamson and I will be chatting live during the game. Stay tuned to this blog for the chat as the game approaches. We’re scheduled to start chatting about 8:15 p.m. ET.

The Atlanta Falcons are going to get massive exposure in their Sunday game with the Chicago Bears.

Take a look at the map of where games will be televised on the excellent website the506.com. Look at the red states because those are the ones where the Falcons and Bears will be the featured game at 1 p.m. ET on FOX. Looks like they’ll be taking up more than half the country.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions (look real hard for the little splashes of green) will play in the same time slot. The game has not sold out, so it will not be televised in the Tampa Bay market. Its only Florida exposure will be in the Panhandle and the Naples area. Outside of that, it looks like Michigan will be the only other place where the game is televised. Viewers in Tampa and Orlando can watch the Bears and Falcons.

We all know the Saints play Thursday night at Lambeau Field and that game will be televised all across the nation.

I’m a little surprised to see the 4 p.m. ET game between Carolina and Arizona is getting so little exposure. The Panthers and Cardinals might not be a marquee matchup, but it is Cam Newton’s NFL debut. The game will air only in North Carolina and Arizona and parts of South Carolina and Nevada.

The ESPN.com Week 1 Power Rankings are up and the NFC South has three teams in the top 12. For what it’s worth this time of year, let’s remind you that 12 teams make the playoffs.

The New Orleans Saints are No. 5 and the Atlanta Falcons are No. 6. Fair enough. In my eyes, you can flip a coin on these two NFC South powerhouses.

But what I’m wondering is, what happens if the Saints go up to Lambeau Field on Thursday night and beat No. 1-rated Green Bay? Winning on the road against the Super Bowl champs? Shouldn’t that automatically vault the Saints over the Eagles, Steelers and Patriots and into the No. 1 spot?

I think so. But we’ll worry about that if the Saints win.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers come into the season at No. 12. Not bad for the league’s youngest team. But we should get an early sense of what the Bucs are all about. On Sunday, they host Detroit, another young team that many think is on the rise.

In a bit of a surprise, the Carolina Panthers aren’t No. 32. Instead, they’re No. 31, one spot behind the Bengals. I’ve got a hunch the Panthers are going to be a lot better than last year. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they win their opener. It’s at Arizona.

The Cardinals are ranked No. 21. Yeah, I know they’ve added quarterback Kevin Kolb, but is he really going to change things that much and that fast for a team that was 5-11 last season?