Saints End Season On Sour Note

The New Orleans Saints' 2010 regular season scheduled ended on a sour note, on Sunday, after they fell, 23-13, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at the Louisiana Superdome. Mike Triplett, of the Times-Picayune, has the story, below.

 Quarterback Josh Freeman #5 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers avoids a tackle by Jimmy Wilkerson #99 of the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome on January 2, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana.   The Buccaneers defeated the Saints 23-13.

Courtesy---Mike Triplett/Times-Picayune

In a flat finish to the regular season, the New Orleans Saints lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-13 on Sunday at the Superdome, forcing the team to jet off to Seattle for a wild-card game on a down note.

The Buccaneers (10-6) entered the game mathematically eligible for the playoffs. They thus had more to play for than the Saints (11-5) and showed it. But the fact the Saints offered such flaccid execution and turned over the ball three times when they insisted they wanted to win had to be disconcerting. The franchise wore a brave face regardless after securing the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs.

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2011/01/new_orleans_saints_end_regular.html