Football
Associated Press 17y

Saints, Eagles thrive behind men in the trenches

NEW ORLEANS -- Sean Payton grew up rooting for the sports
teams in Philadelphia, and got his first NFL coaching job with the
Eagles.

Since leaving Philadelphia, though, Payton has become quite a
nemesis for Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. The two match
wits again Saturday night when Payton leads the New Orleans Saints
(10-6) against the Eagles (11-6) in an NFC second-round playoff
game.

"I've got a lot of respect for Sean," Johnson said. "He's
always been a guy that presents problems. I kind of know him; he
kind of knows me and we will see what happens. He does a great job
as far as a play-caller and moving people around."

In his first season as a head coach, Payton improved the Saints'
victory total by seven en route to securing the second seed in the
conference. He also was named Coach of the Year after reviving one
of the league's historically unsuccessful franchises and
rejuvenating a city torn apart by Hurricane Katrina.

The Saints already beat Philadelphia this season, and Payton was
9-6 against Andy Reid's Eagles as an assistant coach/offensive
coordinator with the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

None of that success will matter if the Saints don't win this
one and advance to the NFC championship game for the first time in
the team's 40-year history. New Orleans is just 1-5 in the
playoffs, while the Eagles have played in four conference title
games and one Super Bowl this decade.

"During Andy's time there, they've been able to accomplish all
the things that we want to accomplish and build here," Payton
said. "That's a good football team year in and year out that has a
chance to play in the postseason and to possibly go on and play for
a championship.

"Those are the things that Andy, his staff and his team have
been able to accomplish since he's been hired from the late 90s up
until now. They've been one of the most consistent teams from a
won-loss standpoint over the last five or six seasons of any team
in our league. They've done a great job. Those are the things that
we wanted to aspire to be."

Payton spent his formative years in the Philadelphia suburb of
Newtown Square in the early 1970s, and even attended the Flyers'
Stanley Cup championship parade as an 11-year-old in 1975.

He played quarterback and linebacker as a kid, and later found
his niche as a coach. Payton was the quarterbacks coach on Ray
Rhodes' staff in Philadelphia in 1997-98. He joined the Giants in
1999 after the Eagles brought in a new coaching staff.

During his four seasons as an assistant in New York, including
the final three as offensive coordinator, the Giants were 6-3
against the Eagles. In his three seasons under Bill Parcells with
Dallas, the Cowboys were 3-3 against the Eagles.

Payton has outfoxed Johnson with quarterbacks including Kent
Graham and Quincy Carter, Kerry Collins and Drew Bledsoe. All-Pro
Drew Brees makes his job easier.

"He's obviously a very good coach," Eagles linebacker Jeremiah
Trotter said. "We've had our battles over the years, he and Jim
Johnson. He does a great job of knowing his personnel, what they
can and can't do and getting the most out of them and mixing things
up. We obviously know they script the first 15-20 plays at a very
high tempo, very fast. So, we've got to come out ready to play
early."

In their meeting at the Louisiana Superdome in Week 6, the
Eagles fell behind the Saints 17-3 at halftime before rallying to
go ahead 24-17 in the fourth quarter -- only to lose 27-24 on John
Carney's 31-yard field goal as time expired.

New Orleans controlled the ball the final 8:26, converting three
third-down situations on the winning drive. A penalty for having
too many men on the field negated a sack on third-and-10 that would
have given the Eagles a chance to get the ball back with the score
tied.

The Saints are facing a much different team this time around.
The Eagles are missing quarterback Donovan McNabb and Pro Bowl
cornerback Lito Sheppard, who dislocated his elbow in the wild-card
win over the Giants. Philadelphia has won six straight games behind
backup quarterback Jeff Garcia, and Johnson's defense has regained
its stinginess.

"They're playing with a lot of confidence," Brees said. "As
far as the type of defense they are, they're the same type, which
is one that has a very aggressive mentality that thrives on getting
the turnovers, playing very physical and I think we all understand
that. They have the potential to show you a lot of looks. The thing
for us obviously is that I felt like we did a great job of handling
it the first game. Now we need to make sure we're ready for that.
I'm sure they'll have something special for us."

The teams met once before in the playoffs, with the Eagles
winning on the road in 1993. It was Philadelphia's first playoff
win of the Randall Cunningham/Reggie White era after three
first-round playoff losses under Buddy Ryan.

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