NFL League and Player Capsules: Vikings-Saints 'encore' kicks off NFL season

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Saints' first Super Bowl title was so big in New Orleans that Mardi Gras, a revered local institution dating back well more than a century, became popularly known as, "Lombardi Gras."

New Orleans' momentous victory over the Indianapolis Colts occurred in the middle of the city's parade season, so the Saints' celebratory ride through town with the Vince Lombardi Trophy was simply added to the lineup. In the following days, players, coaches, team officials and the trophy made appearances in traditional parades as well.

And while Mardi Gras ended way back on Ash Wednesday, it seems as though Lombardi Gras still isn't over quite yet — certainly not by the looks of the French Quarter, where a massive concert stage has been built on the river front, overlooking historic Jackson Square.

In the hours before the defending champs kick off the NFL season against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night in the Louisiana Superdome, the Big Easy will host a concert featuring Dave Matthews and Taylor Swift, an NFL-sponsored parade and a citywide bash for which a number of schools and businesses have already decided to shut down.

"It's like the Super Bowl all over again," Saints running back Reggie Bush said.

Indeed, Saints owner Tom Benson will show off the Lombardi Trophy once more at a newly completed festival plaza next to the Superdome that has been named Champions Square. Then the festivities move inside the dome, where those with the hottest ticket in town will witness the raising of a 2009 championship banner before kickoff.

The Vikings would like to see the party end right about there, and they have their reasons for believing they can make that happen.

Minnesota outperformed the Saints in numerous statistical categories when they met in last season's NFC championship game and might have won if not for five turnovers.

The Vikings outgained the Saints 165 yards to 68 on the ground and 310 yards to 189 in the air. In the end, Minnesota was done in by three lost fumbles and two interceptions, the last by Saints cornerback Tracy Porter when the Vikings were threatening to take a late-game lead.

"They took us to the brink of destruction," Saints safety Roman Harper recalled. "If it wasn't for another Tracy Porter pick, who knows where we would be. ... It was a great game last year and should be a great game this year."

There is one considerable difference, however, as Minnesota coach Brad Childress was quick to point out. When this game ends, both teams get to keep playing.

"We've got 15 games after that," Childress stressed. "You beat New Orleans, Miami's coming to town. You lose to New Orleans, Miami's coming to town."

That hasn't diminished interest in a game that also features the return of Brett Favre, who'll start his 20th season despite offseason left ankle surgery that had him mulling what would have been his third retirement. Instead, he reported to the Vikings halfway through the preseason.

"I feel pretty good," Favre said. "People continue to say, 'Can he hold up the whole year?' You can say that about any quarterback that plays the game. It seems like at age 40, and soon to be 41, that I am the easy target to pick on ... yet I continue to outlast all these guys."

Favre performed brilliantly in the NFC title game despite taking a pounding from a Saints defense that drew a few flags — and fines — for some of the heavy hits they delivered.

Childress and some of Favre's teammates have since suggested that the Saints appeared to be trying to hurt their quarterback, although Favre said this week he had no complaints.

The Saints say so-called "remember me" hits are part of an aggressive style taught by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, and that they play the same way every game.

With the chatter that has gone back and forth, Saints quarterback Drew Brees figures the Vikings may be looking for a little payback. Certainly, it wouldn't hurt Minnesota's cause to knock the reigning Super Bowl MVP — who completed an NFL record 70.62 percent of his passes last season — out of the game.

"If you play defense in this league, you love to take a shot at the quarterback — a legal, clean shot — albeit you hit him as hard as you can," Brees said. "We've been pretty good in regards to protecting the quarterback, trying to get it out and to avoid sacks and all those things. ... Obviously, I know they're going to be coming after me, and that's fine."

Minnesota topped the NFL with 48 sacks last season, led by end Jared Allen's 14½. The Vikings defense also ranked sixth in yards allowed (305.5 per game).

The Saints' offense led the NFL in total yards (403.8 per game) and has all of its key players back.

The biggest changes for New Orleans came on defense, where there will be three new starters, including Malcolm Jenkins at free safety while All-Pro Darren Sharper continues his rehabilitation from offseason knee surgery.

Minnesota's offense will be without injured receiver Sidney Rice, while running back Chester Taylor left for Chicago in the offseason.

Still, receiver Percy Harvin — also a threat in the running game — will be lining up all over the field, and the Saints still have to figure out how to stop Adrian Peterson. Peterson rushed for 122 yards and three TDs against New Orleans last year and who is eager to prove he's overcome his past fumbling problems.

Saints fullback Heath Evans summed up the rematch this way: "They've got a lot to prove, we've got a lot to prove, and we both know it, so it will be everything it's cracked up to be."

Hard not to like a fat, jolly man who isn't afraid to talk big in a league where big talking tends to be discouraged. Bill Belichick he's not, as evidenced in a scene on HBO's "Hard Knocks" where Ryan mercilessly lashes his team for poor performance, then closes it out by yelling, "Let's go eat a (expletive) snack."

Fun stuff every week. So entertaining that it's almost sad to see the preseason end.

But true reality begins Thursday night in New Orleans. It continues through the weekend and on to Monday night in the Meadowlands when the Jets must begin to deliver on their many brash promises.

And the reality is that the Jets are probably not nearly as good as Ryan relentlessly hypes them up to be.

He sees them winning the Super Bowl. The wise guys in Vegas see five or six other teams with a better chance.

"There are darling teams every year that people seem to fall in love with," said longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro. "The Jets are a good football team, but to make them one of favorites to win the Super Bowl is insane."

The same could probably be said about the Minnesota Vikings, who face the unenviable task of opening the season with a rematch against the defending Super Bowl champions. Brett Favre drove oddsmakers so crazy with his waffling that some sports books doubled Minnesota's odds on winning the Super Bowl when it looked as though he wasn't going to play.

Favre may not make it through Thursday night's game, much less the whole season. His ankle is already an issue, and there's only so much beating a 40-year-old quarterback can take.

But the NFL is a league so mired in mediocrity that one player can mean the difference between an 8-8 season and a Super Bowl. That's why the Vikings begged Favre to come back, and why Ryan finally threw a hissy fit before the cameras to make sure Darrelle Revis was back with the Jets.

Yes, the Jets could conceivably win a Super Bowl. The Vikings, too, if Favre can somehow have a second miracle season in a row and restrain himself from throwing into triple coverage.

Yes, parity reigns, and if you need proof it's in the lines offered up in Vegas for the sport Americans love to bet almost as much as they love to watch.

"A good third of the teams in the NFL have a legitimate shot at winning the Super Bowl this year," said Jay Kornegay, who runs the sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton. "We've always had parity, but this year it just seems like so many teams have a shot."

While the public embraces the Jets as the new "America's Team," the wise guys like a team like the Baltimore Ravens. While the Vikings have people jumping on their bandwagon, the Green Bay Packers have the shortest odds to come out of the NFC Central and win it all.

And if you've got some money to bet on the Tennessee Titans at 40-1, well, remember that you heard it here first.

It's a big change from just a few years back when the New England Patriots were dominating the NFL and the only real questions were whether they would go undefeated and whom they would play in the Super Bowl.

The NFL claims to hate the idea of point spreads on its games but, because they are researched carefully and there is real money on them, they provide the best indicator of what is going on in the league. In the opening weekend, there's not one game with a spread as large as seven points, and half the games figure to be decided by a field goal or less.

"There's maybe two to four plays in a game that decide who wins or covers a game," Kornegay said. "That doesn't leave much room for error."

It's also good in the sports books, where a close spread means even more millions changing hands.

But it may not be so great for Ryan and the Jets. They may have promised more than they can deliver, if the slender 2½-point spread in their opener against the Ravens is any indication.

"Hard Knocks" was a lot of fun and good enough to win an Emmy.

It's a lot harder to write a script for winning a Super Bowl.

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org.

"At this point, it's kind of out of my hands," Bush said Wednesday after practice with the New Orleans Saints.

Bush said he could not "confirm or deny" whether he has met with anyone from the Heisman Trophy Trust and deferred comment to the trust when asked about a Yahoo! report that said he could be stripped of the award by the end of the month.

"If I'm not mistaken, I believe the Heisman Trust people released a statement saying whatever was (reported) yesterday was inaccurate, so that's where we're at," he said.

On Tuesday, trust executive director Robert Whalen told The Associated Press that there has been no decision on the status of Bush's Heisman.

The NCAA found major violations in USC's football program and levied serious sanctions against the school in June, including the loss of scholarships and a two-year bowl ban. The Trojans have dissociated themselves from Bush, who was accused of accepting money and other benefits from sports agents.

Losing the Heisman could further tarnish Bush's legacy, although Bush noted, "On the field, play speaks for itself."

"That's for the fans to kind of make their minds up about," he added.

The NFL's 2010 regular season kicks off on Thursday night when the Saints host the Minnesota Vikings.

With the rematch of last season's NFC championship game looming, Bush said he hasn't even thought about whether he'd actually return the trophy if officially stripped of the award.

"Here we are the day before the biggest game of the new season and that's where my focus is," Bush said. "It's a big game. We're playing the Minnesota Vikings. It's going to be crazy. So that's where my focus is now. I've said all that I want to say and everything else has to play itself out. ... It's an unfortunate situation for everybody, including the kids at USC."

Bush said he has not spoken to anyone at Southern Cal "for a while." He said he remains friends with Trojans coach Lane Kiffin and talks with him on occasion, but added that he hasn't "spoken to anybody regarding this specific stuff."

Titans quarterback Vince Young finished second in the Heisman balloting in 2005 before beating Bush's Trojans in the BCS national championship game. He refused to get drawn into any discussion about the Heisman potentially being available.

"I really don't kind of know what's going on, just kind of heard a little bit about it," Young said. "But no comment. Really no comment about it right now."

When asked if he would accept the Heisman if offered to him:

"No comment right now, no comment," Young repeated.

Saints coach Sean Payton appeared annoyed that the report came out two days before his club's first regular season game, although he said he was not concerned it would affect Bush's play.

"He has done a great job of dealing with that," Payton said. "Certainly from a timing standpoint, you get disappointed. It's just a report. But his focus and his maturity level has been fantastic. He has had a great training camp.

"He's smart enough to understand the challenges this team we're playing presents, let alone trying to answer any of his critics. I think he's getting ready to play well and have a good season."

-- Brett Martel

The Tennessee Titans quarterback, who finished second in the Heisman voting to Bush, declined to comment on the situation, saying he really doesn't know what's going on.

And Young also sidestepped the question of what if the Heisman were offered to him, offering only a "no comment."

Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday the Heisman Trophy Trust would strip Bush of the award by the end of the month, but the executive director said that no decision had been made yet.

Young led Texas to a title over Bush's Southern California Trojans in the 2006 BCS national championship.

-- Teresa M. Walker

Tweeting

Ochocinco's coach calls his tweets "nonsense"

CINCINNATI (AP) — Bengals coach Marvin Lewis doesn't care about Chad Ochocinco's dinner plans or anything else in his personal life.

They wanted to talk contract.

Whether he liked it or not, Brady faced questions Wednesday about entering the final year of his current deal. With the season opener a few days away and work being done toward a contract extension, the New England Patriots quarterback provided few details.

No, he said, he hadn't signed a new contract.

Yes, he loves playing for the Patriots, has an outstanding relationship with team owner Robert Kraft and owes it to the team to focus on football.

And, no matter how much he knows about how close he is to a new deal, he kept that to himself. He wouldn't even say he's excited about the possibility of being with the Patriots for a long time.

"I don't assume anything anymore in life," Brady said. "I don't think anything is guaranteed to us beyond what we have today and I really feel that way."

That philosophy was driven home when his 2008 season ended midway through the first quarter of the opener when Kansas City safety Bernard Pollard crashed into his left leg, causing serious ligament damage in his knee.

"You also pinch yourself every time you walk off the field healthy and say, 'Man, at least I get a chance to go out next week and play,' " Brady said.

With four surgeries in the past eight years, is Brady more eager to sign before Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, providing security in case of another injury?

"It's not even a part of my thoughts right now. I haven't thought about it yesterday, today," Brady said. "I'm just thinking about the team we have to play. I owe that to this team. They have a lot of things going on, too, but when they come into work, they're focused on the team. I think that's my responsibility and my role and that's what I love to do anyway. That's what I'm going to continue to try to do."

Brady is scheduled to earn $6.5 million this season as part of his six-year, $57.3 million contract.

With signs pointing to an extension at least before that deal expires, Brady wouldn't say if he's confident that would happen.

"I don't know. I don't know. I have no idea," he said. "We've had a chance to deal with it (the contract) this offseason and we are where we're at. I'm excited with where we're at for this season. I think that's what I owe this team. I don't assume anything. I just want to come out and play football."

Brady spoke in front of about 50 people holding notebooks, digital recorders and cameras at the locker of defensive back Bret Lockett, who is on injured reserve. It's at the end of a row of lockers and has more room around it than Brady's locker. In past years, Brady spoke at his own locker and reporters overflowed into the adjacent space of Randy Moss.

The wide receiver has his own contract issues. His deal also is in its final season and he said Monday in an interview with CBSSports.com, "it kind of feels like I am not wanted."

Moss, a fixture at preseason practices, did not participate Wednesday due to illness, according to the Patriots practice report.

"I want him. He knows that. I tell him every day," Brady said. "He's everything we look for in a receiver. He's been a great player for his whole career. Look at what he's done here in terms of his productivity. Look at what he's done this preseason in training camp. He's been a great example, a great leader."

In three seasons with New England, Moss has averaged 83 catches for 1,255 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Brady also wants two-time Pro Bowl left guard Logan Mankins, a restricted free agent who hasn't reported because of a contract dispute.

"We'd all love Logan here. Everybody in this building would, but he's not," Brady said. "We have to move on and play a game this weekend. Who knows what's going to happen?"

Whatever happens with his contract, he said it won't affect his relationship with Kraft.

"Our relationship isn't based on how much money he pays me. 'I'm great when he pays me what I want, and I hate him when' " Brady said. "It's very unconditional, the relationship I have with coach (Bill) Belichick and the whole organization. I'm blessed to play here and I love playing here.

"There's no better job in the world that I'd rather have," he said. "That's why I want to do it for a long time."

-- Howard Ulman

Nwaneri signs long-term contract with Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars have raved about guard Uche Nwaneri during minicamp, training camp and the preseason.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs stormed off from an interview session with reporters after being questioned about his role.

Jacobs has been demoted to the No. 2 back behind Ahmad Bradshaw. He refused to answer questions about comments he made last week that he was unhappy with his role.

After answering some questions about the Giants' new stadium and the upcoming season, he was asked about the team's two-back system in 2008, when he and Derrick Ward shared carries and each ran for 1,000 yards.

Part of the question was did both backs forget their egos?

"You think I'm stupid, aren't you? You guys are funny, man," Jacobs said before he walked away, leaving the room with an expletive.

Humphrey, who also plays on special teams, had been waived earlier in the week when the Saints added veteran linebacker Danny Clark to the roster.

Saints coach Sean Payton says his decision to bring Humphrey back and release a cornerback stemmed from his belief that starting cornerback Tracy Porter has recovered enough from a recent bout of left knee soreness to play well against the Minnesota Vikings in both team's season opener Thursday night.

Payton also says starting linebacker Jonathan Vilma is probable for the opener, while reserve running back Chris Ivory and reserve linebacker Stanley Arnoux will not play.

The team says it released offensive lineman Erik Pears on Wednesday to make room for Alford. Alford was cut by the Giants on Saturday because of New York's depth on the defensive line.

Alford missed all of last season with a knee injury. He had 3½ sacks his first two years in New York and also had a key sack of Tom Brady in the final minute of the Giants' Super Bowl win over New England in February 2008.

Alford worked with Raiders defensive line coach Mike Waufle, who spent the past six seasons in New York.

C Sendlein, punter Graham among Arizona captains

Injuries

Bucs trying to keep QB Freeman healthy for opener

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl tackle Jake Long is back at practice on a limited basis.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs was in full pads for the first time since Aug. 28 and practiced on a limited basis for the Chicago Bears on Wednesday.