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If you’ve spent any time at all around New Orleans middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, you know he’s a guy with a lot of pride.

That’s why I wasn’t at all surprised as I read through a transcript of Lofton’s quotes from Thursday’s media session. Lofton spent the past four seasons in Atlanta. When he hit the free-agent market, word got out that the Falcons viewed him only as a two-down linebacker going forward.

“When you are a free agent, every weakness you have, they are going to look at,’’ Lofton said. “If you look at my time in Atlanta, my first year I was a first- and second-down linebacker. My second year, I played more than 95 percent of the snaps. The past two years, I played 99 percent of the snaps. I guess, if you play 99 percent of the snaps, you couldn’t say that I was a first- and second-down linebacker.”

Lofton, who is expected to be a three-down linebacker with the Saints, admitted that label bothered him.

“As much as you don’t want it [to], it plays in the money,’’ Lofton said. “That’s what it comes down to. Every team has their makeup of what they think a player can do and what they think he can’t do. A lot of teams may have said that. A lot of teams didn’t. It is on me to prove those guys wrong. I do have that chip on my shoulder. Every day I am going to go out and get better, and work on my weaknesses.”

Lofton also said a few other things that at least look like they were veiled references to (or maybe even direct shots at) the Falcons. The Atlanta defense Lofton played in looked a little like what coordinator Steve Spagnoulo is implementing in New Orleans.

“They are similar, but they are not the same,’’ Lofton said. “Spags, I would say he is more aggressive, and I like that.’’

The Falcons like to preach a “family’’ concept, frequently saying they like to draft players, develop them, and keep them for the long term. They didn’t keep Lofton, even though he was a leader of their defense pretty much from the start of his rookie season.

“When I was going through the process and they said the Saints were interested in me, I only took one visit, and that was here,’’ Lofton said. “Up in Atlanta, I hated these guys. That is the rivalry, you hate each other. Once I got here, hanging around coach (Sean) Payton, (general manager) Mickey (Loomis), (assistant head coach Joe) Vitt, and coach Spags, it felt right,’’ Lofton said. "It was family. Before I made my decision, I called Harp (Roman Harper), I called Will (Smith), and they were very receptive. They talked to me and said 'Hey, we need you. Come be a part of something great.'"

The Falcons haven’t won a playoff game during a four-year streak of winning seasons, which is more than a little bit of a sore spot among Atlanta's front office, coaches, players, and fans. I’m not sure that Lofton was aiming for that spot, but it sure sounded like it.

“The reason why I came here is to win a championship, and that is what everyone’s expectations are,’’ Lofton said.

Sounds to me like the NFC South's best rivalry has become even more heated.

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.”

Let's take a look at the top Tuesday morning headlines from around the division.

This one sounds a little strange at first. Carolina coach Ron Rivera said Brandon LaFell “encapsulates who we are’’. Think about that for a minute. LaFell is a young player that has shown some flashes of promise. But, overall, LaFell hasn’t done all that much. He hasn’t even been able to permanently lock up the No. 2 receiver job, but the hope is he can fill that role and start showing more consistency. So, in a way, LaFell does represent the Panthers. They’re a young team with a lot of potential, but they have yet to arrive.

Joseph Person takes a look at the top position battles for the Carolina Panthers' defense as they begin workouts on the field. The top one is for the No. 2 cornerback job. Fans might not want to hear this, but it looks as if that’s Captain Munnerlyn’s job. He remains undersized, and that makes him a target for opposing offenses. But unless Brandon Hogan, who played little as a rookie as he recovered from knee surgery, takes a huge step forward, I don’t see anyone else on the roster ready to challenge Munnerlyn.

There is one slight positive to New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees being unsigned and not participating in offseason workouts. Safety Roman Harper said that makes it easier to install the defense of new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Harper said if Brees was around, he would show no mercy on a defense that’s going through some big adjustments.

Gary Shelton writes that Kellen Winslow shouldn’t be surprised by the Buccaneers' decision to trade him. He’s right. It was pretty obvious that Winslow’s a guy who is used to doing things as he pleases. It’s also pretty obvious coach Greg Schiano runs a very tight ship. If Winslow really wanted to play for Schiano, he should have realized it was time for some changes. At the very least, he should have first talked to the new coach about his plans for the offseason. I’m not sure Schiano would have been excited at the prospect of Winslow spending some of his time working out in San Diego. But it’s at least possible the coach and player could have worked out a deal if the situation was put on the table before workouts started.

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

The fifth round of the NFL draft is over and it is worth noting this was the first time in this draft that each of the four NFC South teams had a pick in the same round.

Let’s take a look at who’s joining the NFC South from the fifth round.

The Buccaneers added West Virginia linebacker Najee Goode. He’s viewed primarily as an inside guy, but has the ability to slide outside. The Bucs are coming out of this draft much deeper at linebacker.

The Panthers took Coastal Carolina cornerback Josh Norman. He’s not a threat to contend for a starting job anytime soon. But Norman has good instincts and should have a chance to play on special teams.

The Saints selected Samford safety Corey White. He doesn’t have typical safety size, but does have good cover skills. That’s significant. Starting safety Roman Harper isn’t known as a cover guy. New defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes to have safeties who can cover, so there’s room for White on the roster.

The Falcons picked Wisconsin fullback Bradie Ewing and Troy defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi. Ewing’s not spectacular in any area, but does everything reasonably well. He likely will start off as a special-teams player, but eventually could take over for veteran fullback Ovie Mughelli. Massaquoi already is 24 years old, but he does have some upside as a pass-rusher. The Falcons need all the pass-rushing help they can get.

Let's take a look at some of the top headlines from around the division.

The Falcons are without a first-round draft pick. That means you can expect plenty of criticism of last year’s trade to move up and get receiver Julio Jones between now and the draft. It’s understandable, as the Falcons are sitting there with needs on the offensive and defensive lines, and needs for depth in other areas. But I can’t say the trade to get Jones was a mistake. He showed plenty of promise in his rookie season, and could end up being one of the league’s top receivers. No doubt the cost was high, but it’s too early in Jones’ career to say the Falcons gave up too much to get him.

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton has said he expects major improvement over a debut season in which he won Offensive Rookie of the Year. Head over to SportsNation to vote on how much you think Newton will improve.

Jordan Gross’ high school in Idaho will get some new weight-room equipment, courtesy of the Carolina offensive tackle.

Here’s a list of five first-round draft prospects for the Panthers. I’d add Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and Boston college linebacker Luke Kuechly to that list. I’d also scratch Stanford guard David DeCastro from that list. He’s a great prospect, but I can’t see the Panthers using a top-10 pick on a guard.

There’s been wide-spread speculation that middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma will face a suspension when the NFL hands out player punishments for the Saints’ bounty program. Although the league has said anywhere from 22 to 27 players were involved in a three-season span, there hasn’t been much speculation about which other players could face suspensions. Until now. Safety Roman Harper and defensive end Will Smith are mentioned as possible candidates in this report.

Jeff Schultz takes New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees to task for not acknowledging the existence of a bounty program.

After going through the first day of the offseason program, New Orleans cornerback Jabari Greer talked about the strength of the Saints’ locker room, and how that should help the team with the adversity it faces in the aftermath of the bounty program. He's got a point. Although it was clear there was some friction between coach Sean Payton and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the chemistry among the New Orleans players has always been a big positive in recent years.

The Saints have re-signed special-teams player/receiver Courtney Roby. They also released linebacker Jeremiha Hunter.

Gary Shelton runs through the argument that is consuming Tampa Bay fans -- should the Bucs take LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne or Alabama running back Trent Richardson with the No. 5 overall pick? It’s a tough call, and I don’t think the Bucs would be making a huge mistake by going either way. I lean slightly toward Claiborne, because the trending wisdom in the NFL is that you don’t draft a running back early in the first round. Then again, the way coach Greg Schiano has been talking, his offensive system might make running back a more important position than it is for most other teams.

One of the first things first-year law students are told is to look to their left, their right and at themselves. Then, they hear how at least one of the three of them won’t be there the following year. It’s the start of the weeding-out process.

The NFC South is about to go through one of its own. Give me your list of the 15 biggest names in the NFC South. Thanks, I’ve got them and I think we’ve got a pretty good consensus.

Now, I’ll tell you why a third of those names could be gone by the time the league year starts in mid-March. It happens every year in every division and it’s usually due to age, injury and salary-cap situations.

But 2012 could be the year of the facelift in the NFC South. More than usual, the faces and the names that are on the bubble are especially prominent. Let’s take a look at five big NFC South names that could be gone from their teams in the next month:

John Abraham, Falcons. He’ll turn 34 in May, which is ancient for a pass-rusher. There were signs in 2011 that Abraham was slowing down, after putting up an impressive 13 sacks in 2010. The numbers may not look terrible on the surface because Abraham did finish last season with 9.5 sacks.

But let’s put that in perspective and remember that 3.5 of those came in a game against a very bad Jacksonville team. That’s like counting home runs from batting practice. Without the Jacksonville game, Abraham had six sacks. I don’t want to hear the argument that every down year in Abraham’s career has been followed by an up one.

When a defensive end reaches 33 or 34, you generally see him trending in only one direction and that’s down. Abraham’s had a very nice run with the Falcons, but they invested a lot of money in Ray Edwards to play opposite him last year. Edwards didn’t light it up, so the Falcons may have to invest more money or draft picks in defensive ends this year.

Abraham’s also an unrestricted free agent. Could the Falcons bring him back at a reasonable rate for one more year and use him as a pass-rush specialist? Sure, it’s possible. But, with Mike Nolan taking over as Atlanta’s defensive coordinator, it might be a good time to find a new face of the Falcons’ pass rush.

Will Smith, Saints. For a long time, Abraham and Smith have been viewed as the NFC South’s top two pass-rushers. But it’s possible they’ll both be gone. Smith’s situation is slightly different than Abraham’s.

To start with, Smith remains under contract, which is precisely the reason he’s even in this discussion. Smith is scheduled to count $10.15 million against the 2012 salary cap. That’s an issue for a team that’s trying to figure out how to keep free-agent quarterback Drew Brees, guard Carl Nicks and receiver Marques Colston.

Let’s do the math real quick here. The Saints could save a $1 million roster bonus if they cut Smith before the 15^th day of the league year. If they did release Smith, the Saints would only be on the hook for $4 million against the salary cap. In other words, they could free up $6.15 million in salary-cap space.

Throw in the fact that Smith will turn 31 in July and produced only 6.5 sacks in 2011 and I think you can see the Saints have to at least consider this possibility. But there also are some things weighing in Smith’s favor. It’s not like the Saints have another dominant pass-rusher (safety Roman Harper led the team with 7.5 sacks last season) and new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes his pass rush to come almost exclusively from the front four. That could weigh in Smith’s favor. But, if Smith really wants to shift the scales and make sure he stays in New Orleans this year, he might be willing to restructure his contract to make it more cap friendly.

Jonathan Vilma, Saints. I can hear the screams coming from fans already. Vilma’s not Brees, but he’s close to being an icon and he should be because he’s had a great run.

But let’s face the reality. Can anyone honestly say they saw greatness in Vilma this past season? He looked a step slow before and after the knee surgery that forced him to miss five games. Vilma will turn 30 in April. Anytime you’re talking about a linebacker whose game is based largely on speed, knee surgery and 30th birthdays are not good signs.

As I pointed out on Smith, economics are a big deal for the Saints. Vilma is scheduled to count $7.6 million against this year’s cap. If the Saints release him, they instantly free up $5.2 million in cap space.

Thomas Davis, Panthers. We’re purely making educated guesses on Vilma, Smith, Abraham and the final guy on the list. But Davis’ departure from Carolina is more than an educated guess. Sadly, it’s a foregone conclusion.

The Panthers took a shot on Davis last summer when they signed him to a big contract extension after he had come back from two torn ACLs. Then, he went out and suffered the same injury for the third time early last season. That’s why the Panthers basically included an “out clause’’ when they gave Davis the new contract.

His deal calls for an $8 million option bonus on the second day of the league year. That’s not going to happen. The Panthers will release Davis because it’s the only move that makes economic sense. But he is well-liked by ownership, the front office and coaches, so it’s not impossible to see Davis ending up back with the Panthers at a much lower salary if he can’t land a nice deal somewhere else.

Ronde Barber, Buccaneers. You’d like to say that Barber has earned the right to end his career as a Buccaneer whenever and however he wants to. But this isn’t a perfect world. Yes, it is possible Barber could simply decide to retire. It’s also possible he may want to continue playing and new coach Greg Schiano could want to keep him as an elder statesman. In that scenario the Bucs simply could hand Barber another $4 million contract like they did in 2011.

But it’s also possible Barber may want to continue playing and the Bucs don’t feel they need to keep a cornerback who will turn 37 in April. That’s where this one could get sticky.

The Bucs looked terribly cruel when they sent Derrick Brooks packing in 2009. This situation isn’t quite the same because Barber’s no longer under contract and maybe he makes it easy on the Bucs and simply retires.

But Aqib Talib, the other starting cornerback, is facing trial on an assault charge in Texas in March. There’s no guarantee Talib will be with the Bucs next season and it’s not like the team has a ton of other talented cornerbacks.

This might be one situation where the Bucs might be wise to ignore the youth movement they’re following everywhere else and bring back the one guy they know they can count on -- if he wants to keep playing.

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

Time to take a look at the NFC South players that are scheduled to have the highest 2012 salary-cap figures.

Let’s be clear, these numbers are not what the players will actually make in 2012. These numbers simply reflect what they’ll count against the salary cap. And let’s also be clear that this list isn’t quite complete. You can bet Drew Brees will be on here once the quarterback signs a new deal with the New Orleans Saints. There also are some guys that probably will be cut or have their contracts restructured before the start of the year. Tampa Bay defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth is a perfect example of that.

He’s scheduled to count $7.2 million. The Bucs can release him without any salary-cap hit. It’s a similar situation for Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis, who is scheduled to count $5.9 million. Davis is coming off his third torn ACL in two years and is due a big bonus in March. I seriously doubt he’ll get to collect that bonus.

Anyway, as it stands right now, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan is the easy winner for the NFC South’s highest cap figure. He’s scheduled to count $13.5 million toward the cap ($11.5 million in base salary and another $2 million in prorated bonus money). Aside from Ryan, 30 other NFC South players are scheduled to count more than $5 million toward the salary cap. Let’s take a look:

• Jordan Gross, Panthers, $11.5 million

• Charles Johnson, Panthers, $11 million

• Steve Smith, Panthers, $10.7 million

• Will Smith, Saints, $10.15 million

• Chris Gamble, Panthers, $9.75 million

• Davin Joseph, Buccaneers, $9.5 million

• Gerald McCoy, Buccaneers, $9.44 million

• DeAngelo Williams, Panthers, $8.7 million

• Josh Freeman, Buccaneers, $8.545 million

• Roddy White, Falcons, $8.03 million

• Jonathan Vilma, Saints, $7.63 million

• Travelle Wharton, Panthers, $7.6 million

• Sedrick Ellis, Saints, $7.6 million

• Albert Haynesworth, Buccaneers, $7.2 million

• Dunta Robinson, Falcons, $7 million

• Jermon Bushrod, Saints, $6.9 million

• Donald Penn, Buccaneers, $6.43 million

• Roman Harper, Saints, $6.35 million

• Jabari Greer, Saints, $6.25 million

• Jeff Faine, Buccaneers, $5.925 million

• Tony Gonzalez, Falcons, $5.92 million

• Thomas Davis, Panthers, $5.9 million

• Quincy Black, Buccaneers, $5.75 million

• Jon Beason, Panthers, $5.5 million

• Ryan Kalil, Panthers, $5.35 million

• Justin Blalock, Falcons, $5.3 million

• Jeremy Trueblood, Buccaneers, $5.25 million

• Jahri Evans, Saints, $5.2 million

• Cam Newton $5.01 million

Here’s what I think is a fascinating Insider post by Mel Kiper. He revisits the 2006 NFL draft and does it over again from scratch.

Obviously, Kiper’s got the benefit of hindsight. But it’s kind of fun to look back now and see how things could have been different for the NFC South teams.

Remember, the Saints had the No. 2 overall pick that year and the Houston Texans had the No. 1 choice. There was a lot of debate on if the Texans would take Mario Williams or Reggie Bush.

In the end, Houston went with Williams and the Saints took Bush. Williams and Bush each had their moments, but neither has quite lived up to his draft status. Bush was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2011.

As Kiper does the 2006 draft all over, he no longer has the Saints drafting Bush. He has them taking center Nick Mangold. Imagine that? Mangold is widely considered the best center in the league. The Saints could have the best center in the league surrounded by Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks, who are considered the best guards in the league.

But it wouldn’t have worked out that way in Kiper’s scenario. Remember, the Saints had one of the all-time great drafts in 2006. They added Evans, receiver Marques Colston and safety Roman Harper in later rounds.

In Kiper’s new draft, Evans, Colston and Harper don’t make it out of the first round and they land with other teams.

The Carolina Panthers had the No. 27 pick that year and they used it on running back DeAngelo Williams. In Kiper’s new draft, Williams would have been off the board long before Carolina drafted. Instead, Kiper has the Panthers selecting Antoine Bethea, who has turned into a very solid cornerback.

In 2006, the Buccaneers drafted guard Davin Joseph at No. 23. He’s turned out to be a solid player and is at the Pro Bowl right now. But, in Kiper’s new draft, Joseph is scooped up several spots before the Bucs can take him. Instead, Kiper gives Tampa Bay Kamerion Wimbley. Hey, at least with Wimbley, the Bucs would have had a pass rush in recent years.

The Atlanta Falcons didn’t have a first-round pick in 2006. They traded it to the New York Jets for defensive end John Abraham, who has had a very productive run in Atlanta. But the Jets turned that pick into tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. Had the Falcons landed Ferguson in 2006, they never would have drafted Sam Baker in 2008.

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.

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.

Thoughts on the New Orleans Saints’ 36-32 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday at Candlestick Park.

What it means: You can’t defy conventional wisdom. In a game that will go down as a postseason classic, the Saints broke almost every rule and tradition. But they still lost in the end, as tight end Vernon Davis scored a touchdown with 9 seconds remaining. That capped a game that had four lead changes in the final 3 minutes, 53 seconds. The Saints came painfully close to proving they could win on the road, outdoors and in the postseason. They almost showed you can turn the ball over five times and still win. They also came close to proving wrong the old adage that defense wins championships. But there were no miracles this time.

What I liked: The game was as exciting as any you’ll ever see. It had drama and surprises from start to finish. San Francisco jumped out to a 17-0 lead at home, but Drew Brees rallied his team and put the Saints right back in the game. New Orleans’ defense played surprisingly well most of the day, right up until the end.

What I didn’t like: New Orleans’ defense folded when it mattered most. Alex Smith, who has never been confused with Tim Tebow, broke loose on a fourth-quarter touchdown run. Then, after Brees put the Saints ahead with a touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham, the defense collapsed again. Smith, who had been considered a bust for most of his career, brought back memories of Steve Young and Joe Montana with his game-winning drive. Davis abused strong safety Roman Harper most of the day, and he did it again when it mattered most.

What’s next: An offseason that’s starting sooner than expected for the Saints. There are some key personnel matters to deal with. Brees is no longer under contract. He undoubtedly will return to the Saints, but he’s going to take up a lot of salary-cap room. With Marques Colston, Carl Nicks and several other key players scheduled to become free agents, the Saints will have to make some big decisions. They also could have change on the coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ contract is expiring, and there is speculation he could be joining his old friend Jeff Fisher in St. Louis.