NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

This one hurts. Really..

The Saints failed to clinch home field advantage for the NFC playoffs with a lacklusater 20-17 loss against the Tampa Bay Bucanneers.

New Orleans started the game quickly, scoring the game’s first 17 points and forcing Tampa turnovers. The Saints ran early and often on their first drive, finishing with an 8 yard Pierre Thomas TD run. The Saints struck again five minutes later with a 30 yard TD strike to Robert Meachem, set up by Darren Sharper’s 9th INT of the season.Garrett Hartley added a 28 yard field goal to put the Saints up 17-0.

But that’s when the Saints’ offense stalled. Tampa added a late field goal just before halftime to cut the lead to 17-3. Tampa showed signs of life in the second half, driving the ball down the field on their first drive of the half, which ended in a Tracy Porter INT in the end zone. The Bucs continued to put the pressure on the Saints, slowing the Saints’ offense down and moving the ball behind RB Cadillac Williams. Tampa drew closer on a 23 yard TD run by Williams., cutting the lead to 17-10.

Tampa again stalled the Saints and drove the ball once again. The Saints defense stepped again, stopping the Bucs on a key fourth down late in the 4th quarter. However, New Orleans could do very little with the ball and had to punt the ball back to Tampa. Michael Spurlock took the punt for Tampa and returned it 77 yards for the game tying score.

The Saints finally got a decent drive going after that and put themselves in position to win despite the teams’ struggles. But, Garrett Hartley missed a 37 yard field goal that would have sealed the win for the Saints.

In overtime, Tampa took the opening kickoff and rode Cadillac Williams down the field to set up Connor Barth’s game winning 47 yard field goal.

Drew Brees finished the game 32-37 for 258 yards and 1 TD. However, Tampa took away the deep throws downfield and put pressure on the offensive line, forcing Brees and the offense to settle for short and quick passes.

The Saints got back to running the ball again this week, rushing for 124 yards on 23 attempts. Pierre Thomas led the team with 60 yards before leaving the game with a rib injury.

So what happened? Is the Saints defense to blame? They did allow Tamp to rush for 176 yards on the day and could not stop Carnell Williams late in the game. However, they did force turnovers this game and made a key fourth down stop late in the fourth quarter and held the Bucs to just 17 points. How bout the offense? They stalled after a hot start, tallying just 112 yards in the five drives between the Hartley field goals. We’ll take a closer look and see what’s ailing the Saints the last few weeks.

With the loss, the Saints drop to 13-2 on the season. They finish the season on the road against a Carolina team that has blown out the Vikings and Giants in back to back weeks.

Let’s hope the Saints can find a way to cure their blues this week. We Saints fans are hurting for a win.

Despite a season that has seen the team go from division champs to being home for the playoffs, the Panthers appear to be standing pat with John Fox as their head coach and GM Marty Hurney moving forward to 2010. The Charlotte Observer reports today that the pair will be will be "offered the opportunity to return next season" by owner Jerry Richardson.

The Panthers were NFC South Champs a season ago, but there bounced in the Divisional Playoffs by the eventual NFC Champion Cardinals. This season they got off to a slow start, and never really recovered. But, despite a number of injuries, they have won two straight games, including a 41-9 pounding of the New York Giants yesterday at the Meadowlands.

Though they will stay on, the paper says that the pair will not be given a contract extension. Fox is due to make more than $6 million in 2010, the final season of his deal. The team declined to confirm or deny the report. Team spokesman Charlie Dayton said Fox and Hurney are under contract for next season, and he's heard nothing to indicate they won't return.

It is not the first time that Fox’s team has faltered after a big playoff run. He led Carolina to the Super Bowl after the 2003 season two years after inheriting a 1-15 team from George Seifert, he's never had consecutive winning seasons in his eight years on the job. The Panthers have also never finished worse than 7-9.

If new Browns President Mike Holmgren has made a clear decision on if he is going to keep Eric Mangini as the teams head coach in 2001 – he’s not saying. Monday Holmgren spoke to the Cleveland media for the first time in a conference call, and stated that no decision has been made about if he’s going to keep Mangini, who is 4-11 in his first year as head coach, around.

"I'm not a big fan of the quick hook," he said. "I never did that with quarterbacks when they played for me and I really don't think one year is enough to prove what you're trying to get done. I wouldn't be a big fan of just allowing a guy to coach just one year and out. But having said that, I haven't made any decisions yet."

Mangini has led the Browns to three straight wins, and with a win Sunday over Jacksonville at home, they will end the season with an impressive four-game win streak, and will end the year 5-11, one game better than in Romeo Crennel’s last season which was 4-12.

"I feel I have some time to think about this and I want to do what is right for the organization and the Cleveland Browns," he said. "That's my charge. I want to see the team's record better. I want the organization to be functioning properly. I want the fans to be very proud of their team.

Holmgren was brought in to right the ship in Cleveland that has been sinking for some time. Mangini’s first 12 games saw the team go 1-11, and there’s been plenty of sideline issues all season long, with players complaining about practices, to player fines, to issues when players go on IR.

One thing that Holmgren did say is that he will hire a GM, and that means that if Mangini is going to stick around as coach, he’s no longer going to have say as the final word in team decisions, and now he will not only have to answer to Holmgren, but also to the new GM as well.