Mickles: London trip ends well for Saints

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Oct 28, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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When the NFL announced two days before Super Bowl XLII that the New Orleans Saints would meet the San Diego Chargers in London, Sean Payton was, shall we say, less than thrilled.

Yet, Payton put on a brave face and played the role of good soldier.

He couldn’t say that he didn’t like it, of course, but think about it. There’s not an NFL coach — past or present—who would want to disrupt his team’s routine in the middle of a season by uprooting it and taking it to London for a weeklong stay. And, oh by the way, give up a home game as well.

But, as the old saying goes, all’s well that ends well.

In early February, the trip had all the trappings of a disaster to Payton — the least of which was the possibility of playing on a sloppy, choppy field in Wembley Stadium instead of a cozy Superdome.

As the trip few closer, a lot closer, it became more daunting.

The Saints fell to 3-4 when they were clubbed by the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 19, then boarded a chartered plane for a middle-of-the-night, seven-hour flight to London.

Then, they had to prepare for the Chargers knowing Reggie Bush was back home after having knee surgery. Later in the week came a report that Deuce McAllister, Will Smith and Charles Grant had violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy and could face four-game suspensions for using a diuretic.

It’s no wonder Payton looked rather relieved after his Saints held on for a 37-32 win over the Chargers in a game both teams had to have.

On Sunday, the Saints looked like a playoff contender when they built a 37-20 lead early in the fourth period — only to watch it disappear in the next several minutes as the Chargers frantically tried to catch up.

But a late interception by middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma and breakup of a Hail Mary pass on the game’s final play produced the much-needed win.

Considering they’ll likely be without Bush for a couple of more games, at least, and perhaps McAllister, Smith and Grant as well, it was a satisfying win that made a 10-hour plane ride home a lot easier to take.

And if Payton and his team had to be reminded how important it was, specifically in the difference between being 3-5 and 4-4, all they had to do was check out this little factoid from the NFL: