Alliance... » Saints coach Sean Payton is trying not to let New Orleans'

latest bout with key injuries undermine his club's Super Bowl aspirations.A pair of starting defensive linemen who are both former first-round draft choices — end Marcus Davenport and tackle Sheldon Rankins — left last week's loss to San Francisco with what turned out to be season-ending injuries.But as the Saints (10-3) prepare to meet Indianapolis (6-7) on Monday night Khari Willis Jersey , they do so having already demonstrated how resilient they can be without prominent players in the lineup.The Saints went 5-0 while record-setting quarterback Drew Brees was out with a thumb injury early this season. Star running back Alvin Kamara, top receiving tight end Jared Cook, left tackle Terron Armstead, left guard Andrus Peat, top cornerback Marshon Lattimore and return specialist Deonte Harris have missed games with injuries this season as well. Rankins also sat out the season's first three games while finishing up his recovery from an Achilles tendon tear in last season's playoff opener.Yet by Thanksgiving, the Saints were NFC South Division title holders for a third season running and are still in contention to capture one of the top two playoff seeds in the conference.“It’s been a little bit more than we’re used to,” Payton said of the injuries to top contributors. “You start with Drew, but it is what it is. You learn as you get older that there are certain things you can control. Those are the things you spend more time focusing on than the things you can’t.”The Saints are somewhat fortunate that they entered this season emphasizing depth on the defensive line. They still have experienced, productive players across their defensive front — just fewer of them. And they will be tested against Indy's sixth-ranked running game, featuring Marlon Mack.“One of the things this year that we felt was beneficial was our depth at the defensive line position, carrying eight each game and getting into a rotation." Payton said. “So that when you lose two starters, the depth helps you.”The Colts could use a break, having lost five of six. They're now one loss from playoff elimination as they meet a Saints squad that odds makers have favored by more than a touchdown.Indianapolis coach Frank Reich doesn't expect New Orleans' normally stout defensive front to crumble.“They’re rotating guys who substitute that are good players. I’m sure they feel like us and most teams do, these backups are going to step in and do a good job,” Reich said. "We certainly know we are going up against a good front.”QUIET KAMARADynamic Saints running back Alvin Kamara is coming off a relatively quite game by his prolific standards, with just 25 yards rushing and 18 receiving against San Francisco. That marked his second straight game with fewer than 100 yards from scrimmage, and third in the last five.But Brees doesn't sound worried about Kamara, who needs just 38 yards receiving to become third player in NFL history with at least 500 yards receiving and 500 yards rushing in each of first three seasons.“There's just only so many balls to go around,” Brees said. "Alvin is one of our playmakers. We want to get on the ball. We want to give him opportunities.”FOURTH-QUARTER WOESThe Colts have blown second-half leads each of the past three weeks http://www.coltsfanshop.com/Bobby-Okereke-Jersey , putting their playoff hopes in peril.Indy has slid from the top of the AFC South to third place, and the reason is simple. Houston, Tennessee and Tampa Bay have outscored the Colts 31-0 in the fourth quarter."Very frustrating," tight end Jack Doyle said, but added that he believes the Colts "have the right group of guys" to bounce back.JUMPING INRookie Parris Campbell became the fifth Colts receiver to land on injured reserve this season when he broke his foot last week.Indy filled his spot by bringing back a familiar name, Dontrelle Inman.The Virginia alum was one of the Colts' midseason acquisitions last season, finishing with 28 receptions 304 yards and three TD catches in nine games. But the Colts and Inman couldn't agree to terms during the offseason. He wound up playing four games for the Los Angeles Chargers before returning to Indy.He'll try to take pressure off of four-time Pro Bowler T.Y. Hilton, who has missed five of the last six games with an injured calf and was limited in practice this week.ROSTER MOVESThe Saints moved quickly to add a pair of free-agent veterans — tackle T.Y. McGill and end Noah Spence — but it remains to be seen how they perform in New Orleans' scheme.“There’s a vision with each one relative to what they do well and how we would use them. They are in good football shape and I’m anxious to see how they do.”McGill was a teammate of Colts QB Jacoby Brissett at North Carolina State. He wasn't allowed to touch Brissett in practice, but now might get his first chance to sack him.ARE YOU READY?Indy is making its first Monday appearance since October 2016.That might be a bigger deal for some than Colts 2018 All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard, who enjoyed watching pro wrestling as a kid."I'm not going to lie, I watched Monday Night Raw," the reigning defensive rookie of the year said. “But it's really special when you know the whole world is watching.”AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.Follow Brett Martel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brettmartel INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Adam Vinatieri’s weekend preparations have already kicked into full force.He’s working with wet footballs, determining his best footgear and getting ready for another potentially big day in messy weather. It’s become a trademark of the NFL’s best clutch kicker.After 22-plus seasons in the NFL, Vinatieri has figured out how to thrive in pretty much every element: rain, wind, sleet, snow, ice and mud.So it would be fitting if Vinatieri breaks Morten Andersen’s career record for field goals in a rainy, windy Washington this weekend.“They’re fun in their own way Parris Campbell Jersey ,” Vinatieri said. “I would prefer decent weather and clean games, if you will, but it’s fun sliding around out there and doing that stuff. It makes your job a little more difficult, but whatever the weather is, we’ll be ready to go.”Bet on it.Vinatieri doesn’t spend much time worrying about forecasts because the South Dakota native has produced some of his best work in the worst of times.Nobody will forget the two kicks he made in the Snow Bowl , or “Tuck Rule” game, to help New England beat Oakland in a divisional-round playoff following the 2001 season. It helped the Patriots capture their first Super Bowl.Last year, the oldest player in the league made a seemingly impossible extra point to force overtime in a December blizzard in Buffalo and helped keep the Colts within striking distance just 13 days later in monsoon-like weather in Baltimore.Last week, in the controlled environment of Lucas Oil Stadium, the 45-year-old kicker calmly made 3 of 4 field goals to move within striking distance of Andersen’s career mark (565). Vinatieri is at 562. He’s also 47 points away from breaking Andersen’s career scoring record.“Records are fun to talk about,” said Andersen, who scored 2,544 points in 25 NFL seasons. “Do they define you as a player? I don’t think so. But they can motivate you. I think Adam is more like me, he’s in the now and he wants to win, but he’s earned the right to celebrate it.”Technically, Vinatieri already has more field goals than Andersen, who finished with 583 including playoff games. Vinatieri is the NFL’s postseason record holder for scoring (234) and field goals (56); he has 618 counting the postseason, including two Super Bowl winners in the final minute.But his favorite kicks don’t even show up in the league’s official count.“Obviously, none of the playoff ones count in these http://www.coltsfanshop.com/Ben-Banogu-Jersey , but the most memorable are those when it’s the playoffs and games are on the line and seasons are holding by a string,” Vinatieri said. “So yeah, I would say the Super Bowl, those two, and the one in the Snow Bowl game. Those are probably my top three if I had to rank them.”Along the way, Vinatieri has been surrounded by some of the biggest and best names in football history.He’s played for two Super Bowl-winning, Hall of Fame coaches in Bill Parcells and Tony Dungy, and a third, Bill Belichick, who seems like a shoo-in to make it when his career ends.He’s played with two of the league’s greatest quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and a third, Andrew Luck, who just might join the list one day.He’s won four Super Bowl rings, was the only unanimous selection on the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team, and has participated in a league-record 225 victories.And he still remembers asking Andersen, one of only two full-time kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, about the secret to his long, successful career. Whatever Andersen told him certainly stuck with Vinatieri Rock Ya-Sin Jersey , who has been around longer than a growing number of teammates remember.“I’m the second oldest guy in the locker room and my first year of playing football was his second year in the league,” said right guard Matt Slauson, who turned 32 in February. “So he’s not only had one incredible career, he’s essentially had two incredible careers with two different teams. It’s amazing.”Strangely, though, if Vinatieri does break the field goals record this weekend or this month, he’s likely to do it with two unfamiliar names assisting: long snapper Luke Rhodes and punter/holder Rigoberto Sanchez. Both are in their second seasons with the Colts. Rhodes was 4 years old when Vinatieri was a rookie in 1996, while Sanchez was 2.“You grow up watching him and then especially for me, I wasn’t even in this position two years ago,” Rhodes said. “I’m lucky and blessed to be where I am and pretty excited when the day comes he gets to break the record.”But neither has a choreographed script for a celebration. They’d rather let Vinatieri handle that part on his own — especially if it comes in a muddy mess this weekend.“For me, it’s more about an accumulation of a lot of years of work,” Vinatieri said. “Can I remember every kick? No. But you add them all together, and I won’t reminisce on any of that stuff until long after it’s all done and over, if it happens. I will appreciate all the guys that came before me and set those records so high, and to be able to play long enough to get close to them is pretty special.”