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Time for a look at some headlines from around the NFC South.

• After San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith downplayed Cam Newton’s stats, Carolina linebacker Jon Beason defended his quarterback. Beason took to Twitter with a message for Smith. Beason said Smith would have been looking for a job if Peyton Manning had signed with San Francisco.

• Kellen Winslow, who was traded away by Tampa Bay on Monday night, said he can breathe in Seattle. He said things were getting a little stuffy in Tampa, where he and new coach Greg Schiano had some philosophical differences.

• New Orleans coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is installing a defense that won’t feature as many all-out blitzes as the Saints used in recent years. But safety Malcolm Jenkins said that doesn’t mean the Saints will be any less aggressive on defense.

• New Orleans offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said backup quarterback Chase Daniel has been stepping up and taking a leadership role with Drew Brees not participating in organized team activities.

• The Sporting News ranks the 32 NFL head coaches and there is not an NFC South coach in the top 14. Suspended New Orleans coach Sean Payton isn’t included in the rankings, but his replacement, Joe Vitt, is. New Orleans fans, who have been a bit sensitive lately, aren’t going to be happy when they see where Vitt was ranked.

We mentioned that the Saints will be inserting more zone coverage into their defense when we told you about linebacker Martez Wilson making the move to defensive end.

If Wilson stays at end, he might have to drop into coverage from time to time. But the secondary is going to be impacted much more by any change in coverage schemes.

“It is a little bit of a transition for cornerbacks Patrick (Robinson) and Jabari (Greer) but they really have done a good job so far fitting into that mode,’’ interim coach Joe Vitt said. “There is a little bit more adjustment wise with motion and formation, but that is why we have OTAs.’’

Vitt said there’s been a league-wide trend of offenses getting more big plays, and said those plays are less prevalent against zone defenses.

“Offensively, last year, we had 124 big plays of runs of 10 yards or more or pass plays of 20 yards or more,’’ Vitt said. “Defensively, we gave up more last year than we ever have at 99. The big plays on offense, we would like to keep that number exactly where it is. We have to get that number on defense down to about 75. Just a little bit more zone defense and not selling the farm is going to give you an opportunity to keep those big (plays) off your back.”

Safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Roman Harper also will face adjustments. But Vitt said new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is doing a good job of getting his system installed.

“Spags is a hands-on coach,’’ Vitt said. “He loves to teach. He loves to have the whole defense in there so everybody is on the same page. I would categorize him as a player’s coach. He puts a lot of the decision-making on the player in the course of practice and the course of a game. He doesn’t dwell on mistakes. I think he is going to produce a very positive atmosphere around here for us.”

In this earlier post, I gave you my take on what the suspensions of linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive end Will Smith mean for the New Orleans Saints on the field.

Let’s follow that up with some numbers from ESPN Stats & Information.

• As I said in the previous post, Vilma tried to play through a knee injury last season before having surgery and missing five games. Before and after the surgery, Vilma didn’t look like the same dominant player he was in previous seasons. That’s supported by the fact that the Saints got better defensively when Vilma was out. In the games Vilma played, the Saints allowed 6.0 yards per play and 5.0 yards on rushing plays. When the Saints were without Vilma, they allowed 5.6 yards per play and 4.8 yards per rush. On pass plays, the Saints allowed 6.9 yards when Vilma played and 6.3 when he didn’t.
• Vilma wasn’t healthy all of last season, and Smith missed the first two games while serving a two-game suspension for using a banned diuretic. But in the games Vilma and Smith did participate in, they played a lot. Smith was in on 87.3 percent of the defensive snaps in the games in which he played -- that’s a very high number for a defensive end because most teams rotate three or four defensive ends. In the games Vilma played, he was on the field for 91 percent of the defensive snaps. The only Saints who had higher percentages in the games in which they played were safety Malcolm Jenkins (96.6), safety Roman Harper (93.9) and cornerback Jabari Greer (92.6).
• Smith had a team-high 10 sacks the past two seasons when the Saints sent at least five pass-rushers. That total was the fourth-best in the league over the past two seasons when using additional pass-rushers.
• Smith led all New Orleans linemen with seven passes defensed/intercepted in the regular season since 2010. He also had nine tackles for loss in that same time period.

This is the time of year when you hear a lot about offseason workouts. This is when teams can begin conditioning drills and get out onto the field to start working on football and that continues through minicamps and organized team activities.

It’s a great time to build chemistry. You’ll also hear a lot of coaches bragging about how almost all their players are participating in the workouts, which is great. But, in some cases, there’s a lot of money to be earned just for showing up and working out in the offseason.

I just got a look at all the offseason workout bonuses scheduled to be earned (if the players take part in a majority of the workouts) by NFC South players this year and there were some eye openers. Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik doesn’t use a lot of workout bonuses in the contracts he negotiates. But, when he does use them, they’re significant. Tight end Kellen Winslow and cornerback Eric Wright have the largest workout bonuses in the division for 2012 at $500,000 each. Offensive tackle Donald Penn is right behind them at $400,000 and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is scheduled to collect $300,000. Linebacker Quincy Black has a $250,000 bonus and defensive tackle Amobi Okoye is slated to make $200,000. Those six are the only Buccaneers with workout bonuses this year, but they come to a total of $2.15 million.

Carolina general manager Marty Hurney and New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis are much more liberal in their use of workout bonuses. The Saints and Panthers each have 21 players scheduled to earn workout bonuses this year.

Carolina’s scheduled workout bonuses add up to $2.055 million. I won’t list anyone under six figures. But here are the guys who can earn big money. Charles Johnson, Jon Beason, DeAngelo Williams, Ryan Kalil and Ron Edwards each are scheduled to make $250,000. Charles Godfrey, James Anderson, Olindo Mare and Garry Williams each can earn $100,000.

If all the New Orleans players take part in enough workouts, the Saints will have to pay out $2.381 million. Sedrick Ellis leads the Saints with a $250,000 workout bonus. Jahri Evans, Lance Moore and Scott Shanle each are scheduled to make $200,000 and Will Smith is slated to make $150,000. Marques Colston, Roman Harper, Jabari Greer, Jermon Bushrod, Jonathan Vilma, Malcolm Jenkins, Devery Henderson, Pierre Thomas, David Thomas, Korey Hall and Will Herring each are scheduled to make $100,000.

Apparently, Atlanta’s Thomas Dimitroff, who probably works out more (he rides a bike religiously) than any NFC South general manager, doesn’t believe in workout bonuses. Dimitroff has used them very sparingly in the past. This year, there’s not a single Atlanta player schedule to earn a workout bonus.

Now, that the NFL draft is over, let’s have some fun. Let’s start looking ahead to next season with team-by-team looks at what I project as the opening day lineups for each of the four NFC South teams.

Let’s start with the New Orleans Saints, who might not have any rookies open the season as starters because they didn’t have a draft pick until the third round. Also, let’s keep in mind that the Saints could be dealing with some suspensions from their bounty program. We won’t speculate on possible suspensions. We’ll just go with the depth chart as I see it now and I’ll throw in comments where there could be competition.

OFFENSE

• QB Drew Brees (assuming his contract situation gets straightened out)
• RB Pierre Thomas (you can also count Darren Sproles as a starter)
• FB Jed Collins
• WR Marques Colston
• WR Devery Henderson (Lance Moore will play as much as the starters)
• TE Jimmy Graham
• LT Jermon Bushrod
• LG Ben Grubbs
• C Brian de la Puente
• RG Jahri Evans
• RT Zach Strief

DEFENSE

• DE Will Smith
• DT Sedrick Ellis
• DT Brodrick Bunkley
• DE Cameron Jordan
• LB Curtis Lofton
• LB Jonathan Vilma (it remains to be seen if Vilma or Lofton will play in the middle)
• LB Scott Shanle
• CB Jabari Greer
• CB Patrick Robinson
• FS Malcolm Jenkins
• SS Roman Harper

SPECIALISTS

• K Garrett Hartley (assuming he wins training camp competition with John Kasay)
• P Thomas Morstead
• PR Darren Sproles
• KR Darren Sproles

Let’s take a look at some notes and headlines from around the NFC South.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have kept alive their streak of not giving a single signing bonus in this free-agency period. According to contract details obtained by ESPN.com, defensive tackle Amobi Okoye signed a one-year deal and is scheduled to earn $1.8 million ($700,000 of it guaranteed) in base salary. Okoye also can pick up an extra $200,000 for taking part in the majority of the team’s offseason workouts. Okoye didn’t receive a signing bonus. Neither did free agents Vincent Jackson, Carl Nicks and Eric Wright. Neither did cornerback Ronde Barber when he re-signed with the team. This is a pretty unique approach by the Bucs, and it doesn’t seem to have prevented them from landing free agents. While other teams are offering big signing bonuses to spread out pro-rated salary cap hits over the life of the contract, the Bucs are stepping up and putting big base salaries in the first year or two of their deals.

In this radio interview, New Orleans safety Malcolm Jenkins says he has confidence the rest of the coaching staff can handle the team in the absence of coach Sean Payton. But Jenkins also said it’s up to the players to step up and take on more of a leadership role. Get ready to hear a lot more along these same lines. It’s already becoming clear the Saints are planning to use their adversity as motivation.

Bradley Handwerger writes that the Saints sent a very clear message that this is still Payton’s team by announcing assistant head coach Joe Vitt will take over as interim head coach. Vitt has been Payton’s top assistant since they arrived together in New Orleans. Vitt isn’t likely to change much of anything, and Payton’s system will remain intact while he serves a season-long suspension.

The Buccaneers had USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil in for a visit this month. Don’t get too excited, because the Bucs simply are doing their homework. Most speculation has had Kalil going before the Bucs pick at No. 5. But there’s been some growing speculation Kalil could slip a bit. If LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne and Alabama running back Trent Richardson go before Tampa Bay picks, it’s at least possible the Bucs could take Kalil. They appear to be set with Donald Penn at left tackle. But right tackle Jeremy Trueblood is heading into the last year of his contract, and is the biggest question mark on the offensive line. The Bucs have been investing a lot in their offensive line. I wouldn’t totally rule out the possibility of them taking Kalil if he falls to them.

Check out this inspirational story to find out what former Carolina defensive back Reggie Howard is doing in his post-football life.

The Panthers officially announced the re-signing of linebacker Jordan Senn. He played well last season after the Panthers had a bunch of injuries at linebacker, and coach Ron Rivera said Senn would have a shot at a starting job this season. But the Panthers didn’t pay Senn anything close to starter money. According to contract details obtained by ESPN.com, Senn will make $700,000 in base salary on his one-year deal. The Panthers again took advantage of the veteran minimum salary benefit. That means Senn’s base salary will count only $540,000 against the salary cap. He also got a $65,000 signing bonus, and his total cap figure will be $605,000.

Former Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp spoke out for the first time since news of his bankruptcy filing broke. Sapp said a bad investment in the construction business started his financial troubles. He said he didn’t want to file bankruptcy, but his only other option was going to jail. Sapp said he doesn’t know if he’ll remain with NFL Network, but pledged to work his way through his problems.

As you might expect, a lot of Saints fans are angered at filmmaker Sean Pamphilon for releasing tapes with former New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams talking about injuring members of the San Francisco 49ers the night before a January playoff game.

This is coming on the same day New Orleans coach Sean Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant head coach Joe Vitt are appealing their suspensions to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Ever since news of the Saints’ bounty program broke, some New Orleans fans have blamed everyone from Goodell to the media for having it out for the Saints. Now, that blame is shifting to Pamphilon.

I’ve gotten notes from several Saints fans questioning Pamphilon’s motives for releasing the tapes and the general mood is best summarized by New Orleans safety Malcolm Jenkins on his verified Twitter account.

“Sean pamphilon is a coward and should be ashamed for taking advantage of Steve Gleason! How much did u get paid for that audio?’’ Jenkins tweeted. Jenkins' tweet has since been deleted from his page.

Pamphilon reportedly was given access to the team as he worked on a documentary about former New Orleans player Steve Gleason, who is battling ALS.

In a statement to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Pamphilon explained why he released the tapes. Here's the statement:

"If this story hadn't broken and been made public, I would not have shared this it. I would not have compromised my personal relationships and risked damaging Steve Gleason's relationship with the Saints. I would have crafted these words and sentiments for another forum, perhaps years down the road. If it weren't for the fact I feel deeply that parents of children playing football MUST pay attention to the influence of men who will sacrifice their kids for W's, I would not have written this. Some will call me releasing this audio for fame or money grab. True haters will call it exploitation. People of character and conscience call it was it is: tru(e)."

What remains unclear is if Pamphilon also gave the tapes to the NFL. The league’s security department is filled with former FBI agents and others who have strong law-enforcement backgrounds and that’s the branch of the league office that conducted the investigation. It’s possible the security department had the same tapes that were released to the media.

It’s also possible the tapes are news to the NFL, just like they were to the rest of us. If that’s the case, I don’t think Payton, Loomis and Vitt will have any chance of having their suspensions reduced. If anything, Goodell could issue even stiffer punishments.

The New Orleans Saints continue to take hits from every angle for running what the NFL has said was a “bounty program’’ over the past three seasons.

The latest shot comes from Tampa Bay, where Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman said he and his teammates were warned by their former coaches to watch out for cheap shots when playing the Saints the last three years.

“We just knew every time we played the Saints, they were going to take some cheap shots,’’ Freeman told The Tampa Bay Times. "I mean, it was always something we acknowledged. We knew Gregg Williams’ defenses were physical and they were going to get after you. Knowing what we know now, it’s not surprising that was the system that was set up for them.

“It is what it is. I’d just say it’s not surprising.''

During a 2010 game in Tampa Bay, Freeman was hit out of bounds by New Orleans safety Malcolm Jenkins, who was fined $10,000 for an illegal hit. Freeman said he knows many of the New Orleans players and has no personal grudges against them.

He also acknowledged football is a physical game, but he said games with the Saints were different than games with other teams.

"Everybody plays hard, but nobody goes out and tries to hurt each other,'' Freeman said. "You go out to hit people hard, you know, straight up. But we didn’t see whole lot of that other stuff except when we were playing the Saints.''

The NFC South might not have a true standout safety, but it has plenty of durable ones.

Five division safeties participated in more than 90 percent of their team’s defensive plays in 2011. We’ll wrap up our series, which started last week, of playing time at every position with the safeties. Special thanks to NFC South Blog unofficial (and unpaid) intern Chris Walker from Saint Leo University for helping tabulate the results.

Carolina’s Sherrod Martin led all division safeties by participating in 96.8 percent of the defensive snaps. That percentage ranked No. 18 in the NFL as Martin was on the field for 990 of Carolina’s 1,023 defensive snaps.

Atlanta’s Thomas DeCoud (94.9 percent), Tampa Bay’s Sean Jones (93.8), New Orleans’ Roman Harper (93.2) and New Orleans’ Malcolm Jenkins (91.3) also were among the league leaders. Carolina’s Charles Godfrey wasn’t far behind them at 83.7 percent.

Here’s a look at some other NFC South safeties who got at least moderate playing time:

• William Moore, Falcons, 59.5
• Tanard Jackson, Buccaneers, 49.9
• James Sanders, Falcons, 45.2
• Corey Lynch, Buccaneers, 26
• Jordan Pugh, Panthers, 23.8
• Cody Grimm, Buccaneers, 16.7

Defense wasn’t a strength in the NFC South in the 2011 season. In fact, it was a big problem for the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and only an occasional strength for the Atlanta Falcons.

But there were some solid individual performances. With that in mind, let’s roll out the All-NFC South defense.

Defensive end: Charles Johnson, Panthers. He got his huge contract in the summer, but didn’t take the money and disappear. Johnson came through with nine sacks and also played the run fairly well.

Defensive end: Adrian Clayborn, Buccaneers. Yes, I’m taking the rookie over Atlanta veteran John Abraham. I know Abraham ended up with 9.5 sacks, but 3.5 of them came against Jacksonville and rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Abraham was ordinary most of the season and was on the field for only 13 percent of Atlanta’s defensive snaps. Clayborn finished with 7.5 sacks. He also was on the field for about 80 percent of Tampa Bay’s defensive snaps, showed he can rush the passer and played the run well. Not much went right for the Bucs in the 2011 season. But they hit on their first-round draft pick.

Defensive tackle: Corey Peters, Falcons. He started in 2010, but was only a run-stuffer then. Peters emerged into a complete defensive tackle in his second season and showed signs he can generate a pass rush in the middle.

Defensive tackle: Brian Price, Buccaneers. Off the top of my head, I was preparing to go with Atlanta’s Jonathan Babineaux or New Orleans’ Sedrick Ellis. Then I looked at their statistics and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m going with Price, who quietly put together a nice season. He finished with three sacks and was one of the few Bucs who played the run well. More importantly, Price made a nice comeback from surgery on his pelvis and played through the pain of an ankle injury for most of the second half of the season.

Linebacker: Curtis Lofton, Falcons. In a year in which Carolina’s Jon Beason was hurt and New Orleans’ Jonathan Vilma slowed down, Lofton emerged as the NFC South’s best middle linebacker.

Linebacker: Sean Weatherspoon, Falcons. The second-year pro might now be the division’s best all-around linebacker. Weatherspoon is a playmaker and plays with an attitude that the rest of Atlanta’s defense needs to copy.

Linebacker: James Anderson, Panthers. With Beason and Thomas Davis going down early, Anderson was the bright spot in Carolina’s linebacker corps.

Cornerback: Jabari Greer, Saints. He often gets overlooked, but this guy is the best cover corner in the division.

Cornerback: Chris Gamble, Panthers. Gamble got benched by coach John Fox at the end of the 2010 season and his career appeared to be on the downside. But Gamble got a fresh start with coach Ron Rivera and bounced back with a strong season.

Safety: Malcolm Jenkins, Saints. He didn’t make as many big plays as I think he’s capable of, but Jenkins is an enormous talent. If the Saints can add a pass rush, the big plays will flow for Jenkins.

Safety: Thomas DeCoud, Falcons. He was benched briefly early in the season, but DeCoud seemed to get the message that he needed to play better. He finished the season with four interceptions and 86 tackles.

The New Orleans Saints have agreed to terms with Steve Spagnuolo as their new defensive coordinator Thursday, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

This is a big victory for the Saints because I’m pretty sure Spagnuolo is the guy Sean Payton had targeted for this job, probably even before previous coordinator Gregg Williams left for St. Louis and a reunion with Jeff Fisher after the Saints lost in the playoffs.

If you want a picture of a Spagnuolo defense, don’t think too much about the St. Louis team he had been the head coach of since 2009.

Think more of the New York Giants, when Spagnoulo was their defensive coordinator in 2007 and ’08. The Giants won the Super Bowl in the 2007 season. Prior to that, Spagnoulo had a long run as an assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles, who played in four NFC Championship Games during his tenure. Spagnuolo worked for the Eagles from 1999 through 2006.

In short, his defense -- in theory -- is a lot like we’ve seen out of the Giants this postseason. It relies on a lot of pressure from the front four and not much blitzing. Spagnuolo prefers tall/angular cornerbacks that can play man-to-man coverage and also likes playmakers at safety.

Williams relied much more on the blitz than Spagnuolo typically has and the change in coordinators likely means there will be some changes in the defensive personnel.

Cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Patrick Robinson probably can fit the Spagnuolo profile, but Tracy Porter, who can be a free agent, might not. Free safety Malcolm Jenkins has the potential to be a playmaker, but strong safety Roman Harper, who blitzed a lot under Williams, might not be a great fit because he’s not particularly strong in coverage.

Up front, the Saints will have to generate more of a pass rush. Will Smith is the team’s top defensive end, but he’ll turn 31 in July and is not coming off a good season. The Saints may look at Smith’s high cap figure and realize they can free up $6 million by cutting him. Cameron Jordan was a first-round pick in 2011 and showed he can play the run, but isn’t yet a prolific pass rusher. Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis can generate some push in the middle, but the Saints likely will have to add at least one strong pass rusher on the front four.

There also could be change at linebacker, but that probably was coming no matter what. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma showed some signs of age last season and outside linebacker Scott Shanle turned 32 in November.

There’s some work to be done on the personnel front. But the Saints got the man they wanted to direct their defense.

For two full seasons now, Drew Brees has been showing up for games with a kid brother in tow.

We’re talking about the New Orleans Saints’ defense. It’s just good enough to go out there and stand on the field while Brees is on the sideline. But it’s not nearly good enough to win games on its own.

Brees and the offense have done the heavy lifting last season and this season, and the Saints have won a lot of games. But, if the Saints are going to get back to being Super Bowl champions like they were in the 2009 season, the little brother is going to have to grow up in a hurry and carry his weight.

Maybe it comes in Saturday’s divisional-round playoff game at San Francisco. Maybe it comes in the NFC Championship Game, or maybe it comes in the Super Bowl.

But, at some point this postseason, the New Orleans defense is going to have to stand on its own two feet if the team is going to win a championship. I’m not saying the Saints need to go out and totally shut down an offense. That’s not the style of defense they used in their championship season, and it’s not what’s in their defensive playbook.

I’m simply saying there will come a point in time when the New Orleans defense has a chance to step up and make a play or two. If it happens, the Saints can win a championship. If it doesn’t, they’ll have another premature exit like last year, when they went to Seattle and couldn’t tackle Marshawn Lynch.

San Francisco’s Frank Gore can run the ball and quarterback Alex Smith has figured out how to be efficient. The 49ers are quickly becoming famous for their defense, a unit that ranked fourth in the NFL this season.

If that San Francisco defense can just slow Brees a little bit, this may be one game where New Orleans’ offense isn’t enough. You can go 13-3 in the regular season with no defense, but you’re bound to need some stops or some turnovers in the postseason.

If the Saints don’t realize that, they’re going to get burned. It seems everybody’s talking about the matchup between Brees and the San Francisco defense. Brees re-wrote the passing record books and the 49ers’ defense gets compared to teams like the 1985 Chicago Bears. Once in a while, there’s even a bit of talk about the San Francisco offense, but there really hasn’t been much said about the New Orleans defense.

That’s something the New Orleans defense has noticed.

“We’re very prideful being professional athletes and we want to make sure that we all give the best possible effort and are getting the best possible results we can get,’’ New Orleans cornerback Jabari Greer said. “You want to be seen as the better unit. We realize the challenge that we have against these guys this week. They have a good defense. They have a good offense. They really are a different team than what we saw in the preseason. As a defensive unit, we know that we have a challenge on our hands. As our coach says, the best defense will win the game.”

Greer was referring to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, not head coach Sean Payton, whose mind clearly is focused on the offensive side of the ball.

There used to be an adage in the NFL that defense wins championships. It’s been forgotten in recent years as rules have become friendlier for offenses, but I think you still need a little help from a defense to win a championship.

Is the Saints’ defense good enough to do that?

Well, the numbers aren’t pretty. The Saints were No. 24 in total defense during the regular season. They ranked No. 12 against the run and No. 30 against the pass.

But it’s pretty clear what the Saints need to do defensively. They just need to look back to 2009. That’s the year Williams joined the staff and practices suddenly became a lot more interesting. Williams preached the importance of getting turnovers and any time a ball hit the ground or was up for grabs in practice, the Saints’ defense pounced on it, even if it wasn’t loose until long after the whistle.

The Saints rode that attitude almost as much as they rode Brees that season. They produced 39 turnovers and ranked No. 2 in the league.

But the turnovers have disappeared the past two seasons. The Saints tied for 20^th in the NFL with 25 turnovers in 2010. In 2011, they were No. 31 with just 16 turnovers.

The reasons for the defensive decline are something of a mystery. The Saints have put a lot of currency into their defense in recent years. They drafted defensive end Cameron Jordan in the first round this year. Cornerback Patrick Robinson came in the first round in 2010, safety Malcolm Jenkins in 2009 and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis in 2008.

But the sacks, interceptions and fumble recoveries have all dipped since 2009 and that’s puzzling. Besides all the first-round picks, there is other individual talent on this defense. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma is the unquestioned leader, strong safety Roman Harper is a big-time hitter and defensive end Will Smith has been to the Pro Bowl in the past.

The current San Francisco offense won’t be confused with the high-powered passing attacks teams like the Saints, Packers and Patriots have had such success with. The 49ers rely on Gore and the ground game as the foundation of the offense and Smith and the passing game are asked to make big plays on occasion.

“A team like this is almost a throwback team so to speak,’’ Vilma said. “For them to line up like they do, they are going to punch you in the mouth and do it for 60 minutes. That’s to their credit and they deserve credit for the way they’ve played and the style that they play and it will be a big challenge for us.”

It’s ironic Vilma used the term “throwback.’’ The Saints don’t have to suddenly become a defense that’s going to shut down an offense for an entire game. They just have to get back to something like they were in 2009.

Make a key stop or two. Come up with an interception or recover a fumble.

If the defense can just do a little of that, Brees can take care of the rest.

The New Orleans Saints have declared wide receiver Lance Moore (hamstring) out for Saturday’s playoff game with Detroit.

New Orleans still has plenty of healthy receivers with Marques Colston, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson. But the Saints use all sorts of different personnel groupings and Adrian Arrington could pick up some of Moore’s playing time. Arrington has very limited playing experience.

The Saints also declared linebacker Jonathan Casillas (knee) and tight end John Gilmore (toe) out for Saturday. Martez Wilson and Ramon Humber could get more playing time with Casillas out.

The Saints are listing Meachem (knee), linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee), safety Malcolm Jenkins (neck) and safety Jonathon Amaya (shoulder) as probable.

The only Detroit player who is listed as anything other than probable is safety Chris Harris, who is doubtful with a back injury.

The New Orleans Saints appear to be getting relatively healthy as they prepare for Saturday’s playoff game with Detroit.

Safety Malcolm Jenkins, who sat out the regular-season finale with a neck injury, practiced fully Wednesday. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee), who also missed the final regular-season game, practiced on a limited basis.

Receiver Lance Moore (hamstring), tight end John Gilmore (toe) and linebacker Jonathan Casillas (knee) did not practice Wednesday.

» NFC Wrap-ups: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Arrow indicates direction team is trending.

Final Power Ranking: 2
Preseason Power Ranking: 5

Biggest surprise: The Saints knew it was significant when they signed Darren Sproles soon after the lockout ended. They had traded Reggie Bush and were looking for someone to replace him. But I don’t think even the Saints realized how much of an upgrade Sproles would be over Bush. Sproles turned out to be the best free-agent signing in the entire NFL and was a big reason the Saints went 13-3 and set all sorts of offensive records. Sproles had been a very nice player in San Diego, where he played the role of speed back, receiver and return man. Sproles took on all those roles in New Orleans. But he was used quite a bit more as a runner than he ever had been by the Chargers. Sproles averaged 6.9 yards per carry and also caught 86 passes for 710 yards and seven touchdowns -- all career highs.

Biggest disappointment: Despite having big-time talent in free safety Malcolm Jenkins and cornerback Jabari Greer and two other good cornerbacks in Tracy Porter and Patrick Robinson, the Saints managed only nine interceptions, which tied them for No. 28 in the NFL. That’s disappointing because the core philosophy of coordinator Gregg Williams’ defensive scheme is to come up with turnovers. That was a key when the Saints won the Super Bowl in the 2009 season. They’ll need to start coming up with some turnovers if they plan on going far this postseason. It would help if the Saints could force some mistakes with a pass rush that was mediocre during the regular season.

Biggest need: More athleticism at linebacker. The Saints got by with their current cast of linebackers this season, but there weren’t any real standouts. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma and outside linebacker Scott Shanle are getting older. Jonathan Casillas showed some potential when healthy and rookie Martez Wilson came on a little bit at the end of the regular season. This isn’t a glaring weakness. But the Saints could make their entire defense better if they added a playmaker or two at linebacker.

Team MVP: This is the easiest call ever. Quarterback Drew Brees is the MVP for the Saints. Heck, you can make a very strong case he’s the MVP of the NFL. In fact, I’ll go ahead and make that case right now. Yeah, I know Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers will probably win the league-wide MVP award, largely because his team went 15-1 and the Packers have such a huge national following. But Brees’ numbers were better in many areas. Quite simply, Brees had one of the best years ever by a quarterback. His 5,476 passing yards set a league record. He also threw a career-high 46 touchdown passes and completed a career-best 71.3 percent of his passes. With his contract expiring the minute the Saints are done playing in the postseason, Brees has made his case to become the highest-paid player in NFL history.

On the road to greatness: The Saints obviously liked what they saw out of rookie tight end Jimmy Graham last season. His debut was so promising that the Saints felt comfortable in releasing veteran tight end Jeremy Shockey. But you have to wonder if this was a little like Sproles, where the Saints got even more than they thought they were getting. Graham, who played only one year of college football after playing basketball at the University of Miami, turned in one of the most prolific seasons ever by a tight end. Graham had 99 catches for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns. His athleticism caused all sorts of matchup problems for opposing defenses and this guy hasn’t even hit his full potential yet.