Saints vs. Chargers

What do we expect from the New Orleans Saints tonight? I can tell you that we are going to win this one and the couches are going to get in the players face when the players fuck up today. We all hope the team is ready and the couches do there job!

Suspended New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton, GM Mickey Loomis, LB coach Joe Vitt will attend Chargers game

Larry Holder, The Times-Picayune Published: Oct 3, 2012 6:49:44 PM

Drew Brees will apparently have some unexpected guests on Sunday night as suspended New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton, General Manager Mickey Loomis and linebackers coach Joe Vitt will be allowed to attend the Saints-Chargers game.

Brees asked for and received permission from the league, a source said and the NFL confirmed Wednesday night, for all three suspended Saints staffers to watch the game from inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as Brees tries to pass Johnny Unitas for the most consecutive games with a touchdown pass.

Here's a statement from the NFL: "Drew Brees requested permission for Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, and Joe Vitt to attend Sunday night's game in which Drew will attempt to set the record of 48 straight games with a touchdown pass. Commissioner Goodell has granted that permission. Coaches Payton and Vitt and Mickey Loomis will be permitted to watch the game in a private area of the stadium and will have no contact with the team."

WVUE-TV first reported the story.

It's a stark contrast in what Payton said Tuesday about possibly attending the game.

"No, no," Payton said Tuesday morning when asked about his possible attendance. "I've kind of got a full plate here. A handful of people texted me that. Right now, I'll be able to watch it, and shoot, just being able to watch it on TV is no different than being there in person. It's just an honor to be connected to this."

Source: Sean Payton to attend Saints game

Jay Vise Reporting A league source tells WWL's Kristian Garic that suspended Saints Head Coach Sean Payton will attend this Sunday's home game against San Diego to witness the attempt by Drew Brees to break the 52-year-old Johnny Unitas passing record.

The source also says that suspended Assitant Coach Joe Vitt and General Manager Mickey Loomis will also be allowed to attend the game.

Sean Payton talks about New Orleans Saints slow start, possible interest in Cowboys job

Dallas - Shortly before taking the stage Tuesday, suspended New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton informed the man that would be interviewing him that no question was off limits. Payton was the featured guest at an SMU Athletic Forum event at the ritzy Hilton Anatole hotel near his home in North Texas.

Although Payton declined to be interviewed by the local media, he spoke for about 45 minutes, discussing several topics with Dallas Cowboys radio voice Brad Sham, before taking a few final questions from the several hundred in attendance.

Payton stayed true to his word, discussing what his season-long suspension has caused him to miss most, the Saints' 0-4 start and what he would say in the locker room before Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers.

But the loudest reaction from the Dallas crowd came after Payton responded to a question about coaching the Dallas Cowboys in the future. The former Cowboys assistant is good friends with several Cowboys players and current head coach Jason Garrett.

"I'd rather answer a bounty question," Payton responded.

After the crowd's laughter quieted, Payton added: "Right now my focus is on staying with New Orleans and really getting back on the sidelines."

In regards to his one-year suspension for his involvement in the alleged bounty scandal, Payton said it was a negative that has become "a blessing and a positive, in regards to my family." The increased family time has allowed him to be an offensive assistant on his son's sixth-grade football team and regularly attend his daughter's cheerleading events.

Payton said the inability to have contact with close friends has been the most difficult part.

When asked what has caused the Saints to go winless through the first month of the season, Payton talked about how a struggling run defense and an inability to run the football on offense makes the quarterback's job much more difficult.

"I thought Sunday against Green Bay, they played one of their better games of the year," Payton said. "Had they played that way earlier in the year, they probably would have won a couple more games."

He added: "I do think that they'll turn this thing around. I think they have the right people in that locker room and the right assistant coaches. Granted, it's a tough challenge, but I just know how that team is made up."

So, what would he say to the team before Sunday's game?

"It would be, 'We're home here, it's Sunday Night Football, it's national TV, and it's not we got to get a win, it's we're getting a win tonight and this is how we're going to do it,'" he said.

Missing from that speech would be anything about Drew Brees attempting to break Johnny Unitas' NFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass.

"He's going to get that," Payton said. "Finding a way for Drew to throw a touchdown pass is not difficult. I think more important is finding a way to get that first win."

Payton says Saints will ''turn this thing around"

Jay Vise Reporting Suspended Saints Head Coach Sean Payton today said that he thinks the struggling Black & Gold will make the changes needed to right the season.

"I do think that they'll turn this thing around, and I think that they've got the right people in that locker room, the right assistant coaches," Payton said.

Payton spoke at the Southern Methodist University Forum in Dallas.