Sean Payton's going to get fined for that -- he may just also have sunk the Saints...

... or, at the very least, exposed that they probably have been sunk.

It appears, if you listen to New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton last night, that the NFL rigged the Atlanta Falcons the victory over the Saints last night.

Payton has been blasting anyone in his path since the game (including today) about numerous errors he believes the officiating crew made in the contest.  He is being investigated by the league for his conduct, and may be fined quite a bit for his continued tirades.

The last one was the Last Chance Miss -- as, if you believe the league narrative, he lost the game by losing the plot, garnering an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by running onto the field to call a time out with about one minute left.  It appears that Peyton is claiming the official badgered him into the penalty.

Now, there are false alarms about this kind of thing (Seahawks-Patriots last year reeked a Seahags rig-job to push them, and we all saw what happened), but there has to be some belief that the NFL, for whatever reason (Seattle and LA probably the top two candidates), may be about to de-push the surprising Saints and a defense, moribund for years, that has surprised - with a ton of fines attached.

As of right now, this might be the final gasps for the Saints as a Super Bowl contender, which would leave Philadelphia, Minnesota, and whoever wins the NFC West between the Rams and Seahawks as the main candidates on that side of the ledger.

To me, I think everything revolves around that game next week in Pittsburgh between the Patriots and Steelers -- if the Steelers win, think Philly.  If the Patriots win, the rest of that group comes into play in various respects.