By Pat Yasinskas

Now that the Carolina Panthers have stepped into this century, the NFC South has a new look from top to bottom.

Cam Newton is flinging footballs, the Panthers are scoring points, and the days of John Fox signing off on a third-and-long draw play to Nick Goings are history. The Panthers have their franchise quarterback in Newton, which gives them something in common with the Saints, Falcons and Buccaneers.

Newton joining New Orleans’ Drew Brees, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman just might make the NFC South the league’s only division with four franchise quarterbacks. That’s great

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Doug Tatum, The Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Saints announced Thursday that they will wear throwback uniforms in Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans at the Superdome.

The last time the Saints wore throwbacks was Dec. 1, 2002 against Tampa Bay.

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By Pat Yasinskas

New Orleans coach Sean Payton said Monday the Saints expect to get defensive end Will Smith back sometime this week.

Smith was suspended for the first two games of this season after testing positive for the banned substance “StarCaps’’ in 2008. He also was required to forfeit four game checks. Smith hasn’t been formally reinstated yet, but Payton said he expects that by the middle of the week.

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NEW ORLEANS — When Drew Brees needed a 12-yard completion to keep a drive alive against Chicago’s vaunted defense, he stepped up in the pocket and aired it out instead.

The aggressive approach produced a stunning 79-yard scoring pass to Devery Henderson and set an energizing tone that carried the Saints to a lopsided 30-13 triumph Sunday over a Chicago franchise that had dominated the series in recent years.

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By James Varney, The Times-Picayune

Technically, the New Orleans Saints have lost three games in a row and given up 83 points in the past two of those. In truth, only those two mattered. The game that began the losing streak, against Tampa Bay, was a meaningless ender to last regular season, whereas the others were a playoff loss at Seattle and the 2011 opener at Green Bay.

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By James Varney, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton stuck by a best-case-scenario timetable for the return of Marques Colston, while also offering veiled hints that wide receiver Lance Moore may be available Sunday.

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By Pat Yasinskas

Real quick, name the most stable franchise in the National Football League?

By one measure, it’s the New Orleans Saints. Yes, the same franchise that was a laughingstock for its early decades and wasn’t even sure it would stay put after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, has become the model for the rest of the league.

Check out this column by Jeff Duncan and scroll down a ways to find a very important nugget. Duncan points out this will be the sixth consecutive year the Saints have had the same coach, general manager and quarterback. That’s Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis and Drew Brees and that’s a very strong combination.

There’s not another franchise in the league that has had the same coach, general manager and quarterback for the last six years. Yes, not even the Patriots, Colts, Steelers and Packers, who are usually pointed to as the models for stability.

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