Merry Christmas and a happy Who Dat year to all.

The Saints will be giving us all a present in a few weeks : )

By Pat Kirwan |  NFL.com

With two weeks left to go in the regular season, six playoff spots have been clinched and another six remain to be earned.

With an eye toward the postseason, here’s a look at a few trends to keep in mind as the regular season winds down and teams earn those coveted playoff spots.

Do playoff seeds really matter?

The ultimate goal of any team, of course, is to get to the Super Bowl and come out of it victorious. Does a No. 1 seed mean playoff success and a Super Bowl berth? The numbers don’t exactly suggest that.

Since the 2000 season there have been nine Super Bowls played, which means 18 teams advanced to the penultimate game. Teams have advanced to Super Sunday from all six playoff seeds. Here’s a breakdown of which seeds advanced, and then won, the Super Bowl:

Read more of the story here.

This is a loyal creative fan of the Who Dat Nation.

By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune

December 24, 2009, 8:00AM

During the offseason,  when all the New Orleans Saints could think about was playing well enough to win their division and land a spot in the playoffs,  the team developed a mantra: Finish!

After losing several close games a season ago,  “Finish” seemed to be an appropriate theme,  one the Saints apparently implemented and executed throughout much of the first 14 games.

But in recent weeks,  it appears the Saints have forgotten how to start.

Since opening the season by scoring on their first possession in six of their first seven games,  the Saints offense has sputtered early on lately,  causing the team to get behind and scramble to get back into games.

Read more of the story here.

Some nice info from Pat Yasinskas

Which NFC South wide receiver has the best hands? The answer probably will surprise you.

According to ESPN’s Stats & Information, the answer is New Orleans’ Robert Meachem. When it comes to overall catch percentage, Meachem ranks second in the league and is the only NFC South wide receiver in the top 10.

Click here to read the whole story.

By Bob Fortus, The Times-Picayune

December 23, 2009, 7:30AM

Game time: Sunday at noon at the Superdome

TV: Channel 8

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have struggled to a 2-12 record and have been outscored 363-214, but they’re coming off one of their best performances of the season.

A 24-7 rout of Seattle snapped a five-game Bucs losing streak, and, at least for one week, reduced the heat on their first-year coach Raheem Morris.

He has expanded his duties since the Saints last faced Tampa Bay. Morris fired defensive coordinator Jim Bates a few weeks ago and has been running the defense.

Morris is stressing the basics – faster play, harder hitting and better tackling – and liked what he saw against the Seahawks. But he understands the challenge his team is facing this week.

“You want to define yourself, you want to see how well you’re playing on defense, you go play the Saints,” he said. “They’ll let you know pretty quickly where you are and what you are.”

Read more of this story click here now.

Another story by By Pat Yasinskas !

Falling

1. Sean Payton, Saints coach: He has had a brilliant year and now is not the time to ruin it all. Payton fell into the trap he spent all of last year in on Saturday as he totally abandoned the running game against Dallas.

Yes, quarterback Drew Brees is awesome and the receivers are great. But defenses know that and devote all of their attention to them. Part of the reason the Saints won their first 13 games was because Payton had made such a strong commitment to at least have a little balance between the passing and running games. One of the reasons the Saints lost in Week 14 was because there was no running game.

Read more about who is going down and who is going up here.

NewOrleansSaints.com,
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 – 4:20 PM

NEARLY 90 MILLION ALL-STAR VOTES CAST BY FANS ON NFL.COM MANNING, BREES, FAVRE TOP VOTE-GETTERS

Teams to be Announced on Pro Bowl Selection Show December 29 on NFL Network

Indianapolis Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING received 1,545,642 votes to lead all NFL All-Stars in fan balloting for the 2010 Pro Bowl, NFL.com announced today. Fan voting ended on Monday, December 21.

There was a record 89.87 million votes cast on NFL.com and on wireless phones. Fans cast 84.87 million votes on NFL.com and five million votes on their wireless phones.

Read more about this story here.

The New Orleans Saints announced Tuesday that the club has signed free agent fullback Kyle Eckel and safety Herana-Daze Jones and waived kicker John Carney and cornerback Marcus McCauley. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.

Read more about these moves here.

New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced Tuesday that the club has signed free agent tight end Tory Humphrey and placed fullback Marcus Mailei on injured reserve.

Read more about this move here.

Will is having a GREAT year, make sure you vote for him for the Pro Bowl !
Click here now to vote for the Pro Bowl !

Only a short time left before voting is over !

You can check out all about Will Smith on his web site TheWillSmith.com