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A little bit of news on the Saints and, this time, it’s not controversial.

The Saints have re-signed veteran kicker John Kasay to a one-year contract. Kasay, who spent much of his career with the Carolina Panthers, joined the Saints last season after Garrett Hartley suffered a preseason injury. Kasay, 42, went on to set franchise records with 147 total points and 63 extra points last season. He connected on 82.4 percent of his field-goal attempts.

Hartley injured his hip last year and all indications have been that he’ll be ready for this season. The Saints may have brought Kasay back as insurance or they might want to put Hartley in a competitive situation during training camp.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- We just got the list of the inactives for the New Orleans Saints in Thursday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

Kicker Garrett Hartley, receiver Lance Moore, running back Joique Bell, cornerback Johnny Patrick, offensive lineman Matt Tennant, tight end John Gilmore and defensive tackle Tom Johnson will be inactive.

Hartley and Moore are out due to injuries. The Saints brought in veteran kicker John Kasay to fill in for Hartley. In Moore’s absence, the Saints will rely on Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem, but they also have activated Adrian Arrington and he could get some playing time.

We won’t start our leaguewide Stock Watch feature until next week. But I’m going to go ahead and do one for the NFC South this week because we have more than enough to work with.

FALLING

Aqib Talib, cornerback, Buccaneers. We’re starting his stock low because he had a turbulent offseason and he’s going to be under the microscope. This guy can’t afford a wrong move on or off the field. He’s got to stay focused on football and get his career on a good path.

Mike Peterson, linebacker, Falcons. All indications are the veteran has lost his starting job to Stephen Nicholas, who got a big contract to stay with the team. Peterson re-signed for the veteran minimum and Nicholas got first-team work throughout the preseason. But the good news is Peterson’s the kind of guy who can handle a backup role and be a mentor. He also still might be able to step in and play a little bit, if needed.

John Kasay, kicker, Saints. He starts off the season on the hot seat after missing a field goal and an extra point in his preseason debut with New Orleans. Released by Carolina earlier this summer, Kasay’s a proven veteran who has made many big kicks throughout his career. He was signed to fill in while Garrett Hartley is out with a hip injury. But coach Sean Payton isn’t the most patient guy in the world when it comes to kickers, so Kasay better get on track in a hurry.

RISING

Garrett Reynolds, guard, Falcons. He won the starting job at right guard by beating out Mike Johnson. This is a chance for Reynolds to pave the way to a nice, long career. He’ll be playing next to right tackle Tyson Clabo and that will help. Offensive line coach Paul Boudreau is a master at working with guys who were drafted late or not at all and turning them into reliable players.

Sione Fua and Terrell McClain, defensive tackles, Panthers. Ready or not, the two rookies are going to play extensively. The Panthers tried to buy them some time by signing free agent Ron Edwards, but he got hurt. The Panthers tried a few other veterans, but they either couldn’t play or were hurt. The Panthers are just going to have to throw McClain and Fua out there and hope they grow up in a hurry.

Julio Jones, receiver, Falcons. We’re going to start this rookie’s stock very high because that’s exactly what the Falcons have done in the preseason. They’ve showcased their first-round draft pick, throwing to him often and letting him run reverses. You generally like to save those things as surprises for the regular season. But my guess is the Falcons wanted to go ahead and make opposing defenses very aware of Jones because that may free things up for some other offensive players.

With the start of the regular season just days away, the New Orleans Saints suddenly seem to have a major problem.

John Kasay, the veteran kicker the team signed earlier this week, missed a field goal attempt and an extra point attempt in Thursday night’s preseason finale. Kasay was signed after regular kicker Garrett Hartley injured his hip.

There are reports Hartley could be out anywhere from six to 10 weeks, but coach Sean Payton after Thursday night’s game called those reports inaccurate. He said if Hartley was going to be out that long he probably would be placed on the injured reserve list and indicated that’s not in the plans.

Still, it appears obvious Hartley will miss at least several games. Can the Saints afford to stick with Kasay after what they saw Thursday?

Payton hasn’t always shown a great deal of patience with kickers. But, in this case, I think he needs to be sure he doesn’t overreact. I wouldn’t go judging Kasay on one game.

He’s made a bunch of clutch kicks in his career and there aren’t many guys I’d rather have lining up for a field goal with the game on the line. Kasay is 41 and had been out of work for more than a month after the Carolina Panthers released him.

Although Kasay had been working out on his own, he’s had very little practice time with the Saints. He kicks with his left leg and that means there’s an adjustment period for the holders.

Lots of other kickers will come free as teams cut their rosters to 53 players by Saturday evening. It might be tempting to grab one of them and scrap Kasay.

But that also might end up being a mistake. Maybe Kasay just needs a little time to adjust to a new holder and long-snapper.

You don’t know what you’re getting with another kicker. Despite Thursday night’s performance, you know what you’re getting with Kasay. You’re getting a guy who’s been consistent throughout his career and made plenty of big kicks.

John Kasay is 41, which is one of the major reasons the Carolina Panthers released the kicker last month. But as Kasay met with the New Orleans media after signing with the Saints on Tuesday, he said he feels like he still can be productive.

“I am not as young as I use to be,’’ Kasay said. “I am not fooling anybody with that but there have been a handful of guys who have done very well playing into their 40’s. Morten Anderson, John Carney, Gary Anderson, Matt Stover, Jason Hanson. It’s a privilege to be able to play and to do the same thing I was doing as a kid.”

Kasay said he had continued working out, even though he wasn’t sure he would get another chance to kick in the league. That changed quickly after New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley suffered a hip injury in Sunday night’s preseason game.

“This came together obviously very quickly based on what happened to Garrett,’’ Kasay said. “That’s just the nature of the league. I am married. I have four children and school started last week. I was back-to-school-night last night. That’s how fast life changes.”

Coach Sean Payton wouldn't go into specifics about the severity of Hartley's injury and it's unclear if the Saints think they'll be going with Kasay for the long term or only the short term. Payton said familiarity with Kasay is one reason the Saints chose him.

“With his experience, we know the player a little bit more than some of the others because he’s been in our division,'' Payton said. "He’s consistent. He’s a veteran player and we just started getting some work with him today. Really the adjustment is in the hold because he’s a left-footed kicker.”

Punter Thomas Morstead and backup quarterback Chase Daniel worked as holders with Kasay in Tuesday's practice.

“That’s a good question,'' Payton said when asked who will hold. "I think we’ll go with the holder that is most apt at doing it. Both of them, Chase right now and Thomas Morstead, are getting comfortable doing that and working through the kinks.”

As friend and former co-worker Scott Fowler first reported earlier Tuesday, John Kasay is staying in the NFC South.

He has signed with the New Orleans Saints. The team just sent out the official announcement. Kasay’s signing comes after kicker Garrett Hartley injured his hip in Sunday’s preseason game. We still don’t know how serious Hartley’s injury is and if Kasay’s stay will be for the short term or the long term.

Kasay hit 86.2 percent of his field-goal attempts last season and was the last remaining player from the 1995 expansion Panthers. He was released partly because the Panthers didn’t want to carry a kickoff specialist and Kasay hadn’t handled kickoffs in several years. The Panthers brought in Olindo Mare to handle place-kicking and kickoff duties. Kickoffs won’t be a problem for the Saints because punter Thomas Morstead can do that.

The Saints also confirmed the release of defensive end Alex Brown. In other moves to get down to Tuesday’s 80-man roster limit, the Saints waived the following players and designated them as injured – guard Roger Allen, linebacker Ezra Butler, receiver Jarred Fayson and running back Chris Taylor. The Saints also waived receiver John Chiles, tackle Dan Gay, fullback Kolby Hurt, safety DeAndre McDaniel, cornerback Mark Parson and center Ryan Taylor.

There’s a reason why the New Orleans Saints have been one of the NFL’s best teams the past couple of years.

Sure it helps that they have Drew Brees as their quarterback. But there’s more to it than that. What sets the Saints apart is their willingness to be aggressive -- on and off the field. The latest example came Tuesday night.

As much of the rest of the league sat around waiting for a possible labor lockout, the Saints were making some aggressive moves. They signed defensive tackle Shaun Rogers to a one-year contract worth around $4 million and they reached agreement on a five-year contract to keep kicker Garrett Hartley.

Think of the Rogers’ deal as being similar to the Saints acquiring linebacker Jonathan Vilma or tight end Jeremy Shockey in trades or signing cornerback Jabari Greer and safety Darren Sharper as free agents in the past. Those moves helped the Saints win a Super Bowl in the 2009 season.

With Vilma, Shockey, Sharper and Greer, the Saints identified players they felt they really needed. There was competition for each of those three and the cost wasn’t cheap. But none of that stopped the Saints. General manager Mickey Loomis approaches his job the same way coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams approach their jobs. Loomis goes out and makes sure he gets want he wants.

That’s what he did with Rogers, a guy who had some very good years in Detroit and Cleveland before being reduced to a role player with the Browns last season. The Saints have a definite need at defensive tackle. They have a good young player in Sedrick Ellis and not much else. They had been getting by with Remi Ayodele as the starter next to Ellis. But Ayodele was nothing more than a large body. He could help stop the run, but wasn’t capable of making big plays.

Rogers should bring that ability to the Saints. Plug him in next to Ellis and the defensive line suddenly could be very good. Even if it’s only for a year, this move could really help the Saints. Shockey and Sharper helped the Saints in the short term. Now, Shockey has been released and Sharper may retire or leave through free agency.

Rogers could be a one-year patch. Or he could be more. If he goes out and has a good season, the Saints will treat him the same way they have Vilma and Greer, who are part of their core. No matter how it works out, you can’t accuse the Saints of standing still.

The Hartley signing is slightly different because the Saints are simply retaining one of their own players. But a five-year deal for a kicker is an aggressive move. I’d expect nothing less from the Saints. They’ve had some kicking issues in recent years. But they feel Hartley has solidified that position, so they’re going ahead and locking him up for the long term.

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

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 16.

The no-show bowl. I think it’s safe to say that next week’s Outback Bowl between Penn State and Florida will draw this season’s biggest crowd to Raymond James Stadium. Penn State fans are known for traveling and Tampa isn’t far for most Florida fans to travel to say farewell to coach Urban Meyer. It’s a good matchup. But, even though I’m wearing a Penn State hat as I type this, I don’t see how the Gators and Nittany Lions are that much better of a matchup than Sunday’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Seahawks are very much in the hunt for the NFC West title and the Bucs still can get to the playoffs if they win this one and next week at New Orleans. This game won’t be aired on local television in the Tampa Bay market, and it’s probably going to draw about 35,000 fans. Blame it on the economy, the day after Christmas or whatever. But it seems pretty strange that every other game in the league with playoff implications sold out with ease.

Brees or Ryan? We talked about this the other day. Is Drew Brees still the NFC South’s best quarterback or has Matt Ryan surpassed him this season? I believe it’s a real close call and I think we’ll know the verdict immediately after Monday night’s game. In other words, the winner takes all -- at least for this season.

Running on empty. The Bucs have been one of the great success stories of the league this season after going 3-13 last season. They’ve turned the corner and the future looks bright. But last week’s embarrassing home loss to Detroit tells me the Bucs might have finally hit the wall this season. Coach Raheem Morris has squeezed every drop of talent out of his young team, but a ton of injuries appear to have finally caught up to the Bucs. Only a few weeks ago, I would have said the Bucs were headed for 10 or 11 wins. Now, the eight wins they already have is looking like a pretty realistic measure. This season has been a success in many ways. But winning against the Seahawks or next week in New Orleans would be nice, because it would allow the Bucs to close the season with momentum that can be carried over to next season.

Special rivalry. I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way, and it’s really nothing more than a hunch. But I think Monday's game between New Orleans and Atlanta will come down to special teams. My reason is simple. In their previous meeting in the Superdome in September, the Falcons won largely because Garrett Hartley missed a field goal. Atlanta fans like to remind New Orleans fans of that miss. And New Orleans fans like to remind Atlanta fans that the NFC South standings and the overall playoff picture might look a lot different if the Falcons hadn’t been “lucky.’’ Lucky or good, I think a special-teams play will make the difference in this one. Maybe it’s a made or missed field goal attempt, a long return of a kickoff or punt or something else on special teams. It just seems like special teams are becoming a natural part of the NFC South’s best rivalry.

High-stakes game. This game has huge meaning for both teams. But let’s boil it down to simple terms. If the Falcons win, they are the NFC South champion and will hold the No. 1 seed in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. If the Saints win, they still have a shot at grabbing those two things from the Falcons. New Orleans also would have to win its finale against Tampa Bay and the Falcons would have to lose their finale against Carolina. If that happens, New Orleans would claim the No. 1 seed. Oh, by the way, I haven’t been able to confirm it yet, but there are rumblings that Atlanta receiver Roddy White has invited Trent Dilfer to hang out on the Falcons’ sideline -- or maybe not. (Here's what Dilfer said about the Falcons earlier this week.)

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It's halftime here at Cowboys Stadium and the Saints have dominated so far. The Saints lead 20-6.

They jumped out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead, but did allow Dallas' offense a nice long drive in the second quarter to trim the lead to 17-3. Garrett Hartley made a 45-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter to swing the momentum back toward the Saints. But Dallas kicked a field goal on the final play of the first half.

If you aren't already on our live game chat, hop over here. I'll be back on the chat by the time the third quarter starts.

INDIANAPOLIS -- After lots of wins, the Colts and their perfectionist quarterback talk about all the room for improvement.

After Indianapolis’ 19-9 win against previously undefeated Kansas City on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, it was more believable than usual.

With a third-string strong safety starting the game and a third-string running back finishing it, a field goal battle felt like it would ultimately hinge on which quarterback would make the bigger play.

It rates as no surprise that Peyton Manning outpointed Matt Cassel in that regard, but it was hardly a sharp afternoon for the four-time MVP.

As defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots from 2001-04, Romeo Crennel helped devise some quality game plans against Manning. In the same capacity for the Chiefs, he revisited some of those successful plans, tweaking them to his personnel and faring pretty well.

En route to 244 passing yards, Manning connected on only 59 percent of his passes with an interception and a sack. He didn’t connect on anything longer than 24 yards and wound up with a 65.0 passer rating. That’s a touch lower than the rating he put up in that throw-away regular-season finale in Buffalo last season. It was his worst in a game the Colts played to win since Nov. 30, 2008, in an ugly 10-6 win at Cleveland against a team coached by… Crennel.

Manning said it was all set up to test the offense’s patience.

Three places Manning usually thrives were cut down by Crennel and K.C., according to ESPN Stats & Information. Manning came into the game with a 112.3 rating out of the shotgun, 116.5 against five defensive backs or more and 113.9 on play-action. Against the Chiefs, those numbers were 59.4, 66.4 and 27.8, respectively.

“We’ve got some guys that can get open, that can get the job done even when Peyton is off,” receiver Reggie Wayne said, kind of repeating my premise about Manning being less than his usual self, not offering it himself. “I felt like he did pretty good with what they were giving us. He hung in there and did what he was supposed to do."

The Chiefs loaded up people in coverage, daring the Colts to run effectively. Joseph Addai got the ball a lot early on, but wound up with just 50 yards on 17 carries. When Addai suffered a shoulder injury that ended his day, Mike Hart took over and got 50 yards of his own on 11 carries.

A 3.1-yard ground average didn’t scare Kansas City and won’t frighten anyone else. Defenses will be thrilled to take it as a trade-off for limiting Manning if they can.

“I think we’re going to have to be patient from here on out until we get our running game going the way it’s supposed to,” said Wayne, who caught six passes for 75 yards. “Everybody is going to be keying on the pass, forcing us to run. We just have to find a way from here on out. It’s going to be tough.”

Ultimately, however, the Colts pulled ahead 12-9 in the field goal battle. In the fourth quarter, the Colts drove 12 plays and 71 yards to the game’s lone touchdown, on an 11-yard run by Hart with 4 minutes, 2 seconds remaining.

Afterward, the guys on offense were thankful for the defensive effort and efficiency.

Wayne said he didn’t think defenders liked an Indianapolis Star story this week. In the print version it was headlined: “What’s wrong with these guys?”

“They should have taken offense to it,” Wayne said. “It was tough. But they did a great job today. We laid it on them a little bit and the touchdown at the end was something that we really needed.”

That defense held the Chiefs to two conversions in 12 third- and fourth-down attempts and kept them out of the end zone.

“The offense had some situations there they couldn’t get things totally taken care of this week,” linebacker Clint Session said. “And we had their back. We took it personal, the way we were talked about.”

A few other things I think are worth contemplating:

Next man up: It’s a cliché that the Colts put into action as well as anyone in the league.

Against the Chiefs it was next man up after that, with Aaron Francisco at strong safety replacing Melvin Bullitt, who replaced Bob Sanders. The same thing happened at running back, with Hart replacing Addai when he was hurt with Donald Brown already out injured.

Francisco was with the Colts last season, but spent camp with Carolina, hadn’t played a game this year and was re-signed by Indianapolis on Tuesday.

“I kind of got myself to forget this defense after I went to Carolina and learned the system down there, but I guess after the first practice everything started coming back to me,” he said. “It’s not really a hard defense to learn. I feel like I did good. I know there will be a lot of things I’ve got to correct. I think I did enough to help us win, though.”

Hart is the smallest of the team’s top three backs. Addai was happy for him.

“Mike got a chance to do what he can do,” Addai said. “You always trust what he can do because he’s a solid player.”

Skidding sideways: Kansas City kicker Ryan Succop's game-opening onside kick took a strong left turn and didn’t travel 10 yards, resulting in a flag and a Colts’ possession starting at the Chiefs’ 37-yard line.

I asked several Colts about it. While the answers varied, none said what hundreds of guys on other teams would have taken from it: “They were afraid they wouldn't be able to hang with us and needed a jump-start right at the beginning.”

The resulting Colts' drive stalled at the Chiefs' 2, and Adam Vinatieri converted the first of his four successful field goals to provide a 3-0 lead.

It was the first onside kick the Colts have faced since the infamous Garrett Hartley kick that started the second half of Super Bowl XLIV and swung momentum heavily in favor of New Orleans.

“I was anticipating someone would do it,” Colts head coach Jim Caldwell said. “… If you show a weakness at any point in time, at some point and time it’s going to come back up. So you better work on it. So that was something we anticipated possibly seeing.”

A free three: As good as the Colts were defensively, they easily could have been 3 points better.

When Addai failed to convert a fourth-and-2 from the K.C. 39, the Chiefs got the ball back with 18 seconds left in the first half.

Kelvin Hayden hit Chris Chambers out of bounds after a 13-yard gain, giving away 15 yards with the unnecessary roughness and helping set up the first of Succop’s three field goals.

It’s an uncharacteristic sort of play for the Colts, who don’t generally give things up so easily.

Had things gone the other way, it would have been near the top of this column instead of at the bottom.

» NFC High Energy: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

A look at a player who gave his team a significant boost in Week 4.

A little over a week ago, 46-year-old John Carney was sitting on his couch in San Diego and watching football on television.

On Sunday, he made all three field goal attempts, including a last-second, game-winning kick for the New Orleans Saints. The game marked the third, and most unlikely, stint with the Saints for Carney. Retirement seemed like a real possibility after Carney didn’t get any offers to sign in the offseason and the preseason didn’t create any new openings.

But Carney continued working out on his own and waiting for the phone to ring. It did after Garrett Hartley missed a short overtime kick in a Week 3 loss to Atlanta. Carney was a logical choice because of his ties to the Saints and the fact that he and Hartley have worked together in the past.

The Saints still are hoping Hartley can work out his accuracy issues and are keeping him on the roster. Carney may only be a short-term solution as well as a mentor for Hartley.

But, at least for one week, Carney was able to come in and give the Saints a spark -- and a victory.

NEW ORLEANS -- I’m heading down to the locker rooms for interviews with the Panthers and Saints. I’ll be back with more postgame analysis in a bit. But in the meantime, here’s Rapid Reaction on the Saints' 16-14 victory.

What it means: A win is a win. But all three of New Orleans’ victories have been ugly. This team has some issues and injuries. You can survive that against the Panthers, but there are some tough games coming up later in the season and the Saints can’t win some of those unless they start playing a lot better. Despite playing better than they have all season, it’s over for the Panthers. They’re 0-4 and John Fox is a lame-duck coach. Injuries to receiver Steve Smith and defensive tackle Ed Johnson looked significant enough that Carolina could face a couple of games without those two players. The effort was there Sunday, but that’s tough to continue when you’re in a downhill spiral.

Hero: John Carney. The 46-year-old kicker was signed this week after Garrett Hartley missed a field goal in overtime last week. Carney connected on all three of his attempts, including the game winner.

Injuries of note: Carolina wide receiver Smith left the game with an ankle injury late in the third quarter. The Panthers went with rookies Brandon LaFell and David Gettis the rest of the game. New Orleans opened the game without starting strong safety Roman Harper, who was injured last week. Pierson Prioleau started in Harper’s place, but was injured in the first half. Chris Reis took Harper’s place, but suffered a shoulder injury. The Saints had to finish the game with Usama Young, their only remaining safety.

What’s next: The Saints will be on the road the next two games. First, they travel to Arizona. Then, on Oct. 17, they go to Tampa Bay. The Panthers host Chicago in a game that has a big subplot as Bears defensive end Julius Peppers returns to play against his former team for the first time. The Panthers have their bye the following week.

NEW ORLEANS -- As expected, the Saints will be without injured running back Pierre Thomas for Sunday’s game with Carolina.

The Saints have said Ladell Betts will start in place of Thomas. The Saints also are without injured running back Reggie Bush, and that means Chris Ivory and DeShawn Wynn likely will share carries with Betts.

The Saints also will be without starting strong safety Roman Harper. Pierson Prioleau will start in his place. John Carney will handle place-kicking duties as Garrett Hartley is inactive after missing a short kick in overtime last week.

Also inactive for the Saints are linebacker Anthony Waters, offensive lineman Charles Brown, tight end Tory Humphrey and defensive end Junior Galette.

It seems like everybody’s got a little advice for New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley after he missed a short field-goal attempt in overtime against Atlanta.

Former New Orleans kickers are talking about the obstacles he’s facing. The Saints went out and brought back John Carney, although they're holding onto Hartley, at least for now.

But maybe the guy Hartley should listen to most is quarterback Drew Brees. After all, Brees is the leader of this team and he’s also a guy who went through some hard times earlier in his career. Brees told the New Orleans media on Wednesday that he has sat down and talked to Hartley about getting through a rough period.

“I told him I’ve been benched three times,’’ Brees said. “I said, it’s all part of the process. Every young player has to learn it. There’s no shortcut to it. There’s no easy way to it. You just have to learn it the hard way. You’re learning it the hard way. Make the most of it. Absorb everything you can from John Carney. John Carney’s a Hall of Fame kicker. I’ve lost track of how many years he’s played. He’s played more years than Hartley’s been alive probably. Really, we should look that up. Is that true?’’

For the record, it’s not quite true. Carney, 46, appeared in his first NFL game in 1988. Hartley, 24, was born in 1986. But you get Brees’ point, which is to learn from your elders.

“How many opportunities do you get like that,’’ Brees said. “When I had the opportunity to play with Doug Flutie when I was a rookie and then Mark Brunell, you constantly are a sponge and take in everything you can. Garrett Hartley has a ton of talent and he’s already made some big kicks in his career and there are plenty more that he has to make in the future. This is just one of those times where he has to gut it out a little bit.”

» NFC Stock Watch: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

FALLING

1. Marques Colston, wide receiver, Saints. The guy who is supposed to be New Orleans’ best wide receiver and maybe even the best receiver in the NFC South had just four catches for a very inconsequential 25 yards Sunday. Colston has yet to catch a touchdown pass this season. With his mediocre start and the quarterback struggles in Carolina taking a toll on Steve Smith, it’s become abundantly clear that Atlanta’s Roddy White is the best wide receiver in the division.

2. New Orleans’ defense. When it’s not forcing turnovers, this unit is rather ordinary. The first three games have shown teams can run the ball on the Saints and teams are going to continue to do that. Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are two strong personalities. They co-existed when the defense was making turnovers and the Saints were winning big last year. But a few more losses could really put this relationship to the test.

3. Garrett Hartley, kicker, Saints. It appears as if the Saints are going to hang onto Hartley even though they’re bringing in veteran John Carney. The Saints aren’t completely ready to give up on a talented young kicker who has made some big kicks in his career. But his miss of a 29-yard field goal in overtime cost the Saints a victory Sunday. They can’t afford to carry two kickers for too long, so Hartley better figure out what’s causing his inconsistency and fix it quickly.

RISING

1. Matt Ryan, quarterback, Falcons. People like to debate if Ryan’s an “elite’’ quarterback or not. I’m not sure what the exact qualifications for that are. But, if going into an extremely hostile environment and playing a nearly flawless game against the defending Super Bowl champions is on the list, then I’d lean toward calling Ryan an elite quarterback.

2. Atlanta’s pass rush. The numbers still aren’t dominant. But the Falcons are generating pressure. They didn’t make any dramatic moves in the offseason because they said they believed in what they had. Turns out, they were right. John Abraham's bouncing back, Kroy Biermann is on the rise, Jonathan Babineaux is one of the better interior pass-rushers in the league and the much-maligned Jamaal Anderson put enough pressure on Drew Brees to force a huge interception Sunday.

3. Lance Moore, wide receiver, Saints. You don’t replace all that Reggie Bush does with a single player. But Moore took on Bush’s role as punt returner and spent some time at slot receiver Sunday. Moore was quieted by injuries much of last year. But he’s an athlete and a playmaker and he’s going to get a chance to showcase those abilities while Bush is out.