Now it's the Saints turn to respond to their first loss of 2009. Head Coach Sean Payton says his approach remains the same win or lose.
"One thing we've tried to do is to really be honest each week as we've gone through the season. We've had some good wins and we've had some wins where we were able to put the tape on and see things we needed to clean up. The mindset we've taken throughout the course of the year is that after that 24 to 48-hour period after the game is over with, by the time the players come back in on Wednesday they're ready for the next challenge and the next step," Payton told reporters. "As a competitor, it's painful whenever you lose. For the players, coaches, all of us, there's a sting to it because of the momentum that we had gained throughout the course of the year with the wins. That being said, our plan will be very consistent with the way we've approached each of our weeks this season."
Also on the Cowboys loss, Payton says there is an additional sting to it because it's been so long since the Black and Gold have tasted defeat.
"Certainly when you get to where we were with three weeks left in the season, there's additional pain there. We hadn't felt that way in a long time. We hadn't felt that feeling of how it feels to lose a game in a long time. There are two aspects that drive you; how it feels to win and the feeling of accomplishment of having done something together as a team and then the pain of how it feels to lose. Both of those things are motivational factors in athletes and coaches. Both of those things drive you to do well."
Payton also feels the pain of having lost the chance to lead his team to a perfect 16-0 regular season.
"I just think that when you work all week and you invest a lot of energy and effort into a game plan and you're able to do that with success for ‘X' number of weeks in a row and then you come up short in a game, it's painful. Someone asked a foolish question if there was a sense of relief and the answer to that would still be no. That is a foolish question. The feeling is pain because there's a competitive side to wanting to win each game you play. We'll swallow it and get on and make the corrections and be ready to have a real good workweek this week. That's the thing that hurts with losing."
Even with the dream of the undefeated season gone, the Saints are still in the driver's seat in the NFC playoffs, holding a 2 game lead over Minnesota for the top seed in the conference. The focus for Payton and his Saints this week has been defeating a 2-12 Tampa Bay team and securing that top seed in the NFC.
"We're 13-1 right now. I think the most important thing is focusing on securing the one-seed. That's what we have to do right now and obviously we have to look closely at the things that hurt us in a loss (Dallas 24 N.O. 17) like that. The big plays, special teams, offensively – really we have to look at all those areas and look to try to improve like we talk about improving week to week. I think we'll have our focus. Obviously it hurts to lose a game but we'll respond to it."
Black and Gold roster shuffle:
On Tuesday the team waived kicker John Carney and cornerback Marcus McCauley. Fullback Marcus Mailei is placed on the injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.
Two days after waiving veteran kicker John Carney, the Saints brought him back as a kicking consultant. He cannot play in the league the rest of the season.
Added to the squad are tight end Tory Humphrey, safety Herana-Daze Jones and fullback Kyle Eckle has been resigned
Tory Humphrey is fourth-year player out of Central Michigan who spent his first three seasons with the Green Bay Packers. During his NFL career Humphrey has played in 24 games, catching 11 passes for 162 yards.
Herana-Daze Jones is also in his fourth NFL season, having played for the Bengals and Broncos previously as a pro. The former defensive back at Indiana University has played in 30 regular-season contests and made 43 tackles and forced a fumble on special teams with 8 more stops on defense.
Kyle Eckel who is in his third-year out of the Naval Academy who has played in 22 career regular-season games in stops with the Saints (2009), Philadelphia and New England, gaining 175 yards on 59 carries with one catch for six yards and 13 tackles on special teams. Eckle previously played in five games for the Saints earlier this season, with one start, carrying the ball 2 times for 6 yards.
Remember WWL AM and FM is your radio home for the New Orleans Saints. Be with us on Sunday when the Saints play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Superdome. Our pregame coverage starts at 8am, kickoff is set for 12pm, then talk about the game with Bobby Hebert and Deke Bellavia on the Point After.
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