Sean Payton Regarding Saints In Playoffs – ‘We Control One Thing’

I've seen a lot of Saints "Fans" jumping off the bandwagon since Sunday's loss to the Carolina Panthers. Yes, they looked awful.  Yes, they failed to clinch a division title. Yes, they failed to clinch a playoff spot. The division title, a playoff, spot, even the #2 seed are all still attainable. A win gets them in. A win, combined with a Panthers loss to Atlanta gives them the NFC South title, and #2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Head coach Sean Payton told the Associated Press,

"We're approaching this like a playoff game. The key for us is to handle the holiday week, with Christmas being on a Wednesday, put together a good plan and a good set of practices and put our focus into playing our best football Sunday."

Payton confirmed rookie OT Terron Armstead will start against the Buccaneers, adding,

"Going through the tape now twice, I was extremely encouraged by the way he played."

Here's a parting thought. The Saints closed out the 2009 regular season with three straight losses... and managed to win it all that year.