While the Saints returned to New Orleans and prepared for their championship parade, just 11 people welcomed home the Super Bowl-losing Colts on Monday, according to the Indianapolis Star.

“Win or lose, they’re still our team,” said Karen Calhoun, who carried a “Where’s the parade” sign.

Unfortunately for Colts fans, the parade will be in New Orleans.

Other interesting news on a Tuesday morning.

• Talk about adding insult to injury. The Saints’ Super Bowl T-shirt are being made at an Adidas plant in Indianapolis.

• Louisiana State Senator A.G. Crowe wants a “Who Dat Nation” specialty license plate.

• Super Bowl commercials are fun and games until somebody gets hurt, according to Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers.

• Everyone is discussing whether the Eagles will trade one of their three quarterbacks, but the Philadelphia Daily News reports that nothing is close to happening.

• New Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz “made a great impression,” WR Earl Bennett told the team’s official Web site.

• Kerry Collins might be the Titans’ backup QB next season, but after he’s finished with football, he wants to be a country songwriter, according to a Nashville Web site.

It’s now that time of year, the portion of the offseason where the Carolina Panthers address what to do with DE Julius Peppers.

Peppers, who played under the franchise tag in 2009 for a base salary of $16.683 million, could potentially become a free agent again. The Panthers, who are free to negotiate with Peppers now, must decide whether to try to work out a long-term deal or use the franchise tag on him again, which would cost them a 20 percent pay raise with a one-year tender — in the neighborhood of $20.1 million.

The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday that the ball is in the Panthers’ court. Peppers’ agent, Carl Carey, said they are waiting for the Panthers to decide how they will handle the impending free agency before commenting, and that the five-time Pro Bowler has no existing issues with the team.

“I think it’s appropriate that we reserve our comments until after the Panthers’ organization has publicly announced their intentions regarding Julius’ impending free agency,” Carey said. “Julius feels good about being selected to his fifth Pro Bowl and is focusing on representing the Carolina Panthers in Miami.”

As the report points out, it’s a complicated matter for the Panthers. And Peppers is waiting for them to make the first move.

If Carolina wanted to trade Peppers, they’d have to put the franchise tag on him, but that would obligate them to the $20.1 million tender offer if he signed it and if no trade could be worked out. As was evident last year, Peppers being tagged with such a large tender number could prevent other teams from wanting to make a trade because they’d not only have to meet his contractual demands, but also would have to compensate the Panther with draft picks, players, etc.

More …

It seems as though this has been the Year of the Concussion in the NFL.

So many players — including some notable names — have experienced them through 12 weeks. Brian Westbrook, Clinton Portis, and Trent Edwards have missed games because of concussions. Last year’s Super Bowl quarterbacks, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner, were added to the list after missing Week 12. Then DeSean Jackson went out and suffered a concussion on Sunday.

And those are just the notables.

Preventing head injuries has become a hot-button issue this season, and the league is looking at ways to reduce the risk. What’s more, writes the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, is that the tough-guy culture in the NFL is changing as a result. Ex-players — and even fans — hope erring on the side of caution takes priority:

“They were tough guys,” (former Steelers offensive lineman Tunch) Ilkin said. “They played hurt, they played sick, they played through all types of injuries. That was the standard. When I came into the league and looked at them, I said, ‘That’s the way to do it.’ “

But players like Mr. Ilkin and former Steelers safety Mike Wagner hope that is changing, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s decision to sit out the Steelers’ game Sunday against Baltimore might be proof.

But when players are cautious in dealing with injuries such as a concussion — which has short-term effects but long-term consequences — some fans, as well as teammates, have questioned their toughness. Where in the past players took it upon themselves to play through the pain, today’s athletes are much more informed, and much more careful, about injuries.

Other stories from Around the Web on Tuesday:

• The Saints proved they belong among the best after Monday night.

• The New England Patriots were simply marched over by the victors.

• The Colts were happy to clinch the AFC South, but a division title was just a first step towards loftier goals.

• With QB Brett Favre reading and reacting, the deep ball has been big for the Vikings.

• Now that the big stuff is out of the way, the Chargers are working on fixing the little things.

• Now is the time for 49ers QB Alex Smith to establish his role with the franchise.

• Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt is hoping his team won’t remember the Titans.

• The paths have reversed for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.

• Are the Ravens legit? We’ll know after they play the Packers on Monday Night Football.

A lot of attention was paid to the fact that the Patriots had burned all of their timeouts prior to their fourth-and-2 gamble against the Colts in Week 10, preventing Bill Belichick from challenging the spot of a short completion to Kevin Faulk. But given his recent success — or lack thereof — when throwing the red flag, it’s likely Belichick would have lost that challenge.

As the Boston Globe’s Adam Kilgore points out, Belichick is 1 for 5 this season in challenges, including going 0 for 2 vs. the Jets Sunday. Belichick has not successfully challenged a play since Week 2 at the Jets. Writes Kilgore:

Bills owner Ralph Wilson has talked a good game to his fan base, expressing his commitment to bringing a Super Bowl to Buffalo. The arrival of Terrell Owens in the offseason was, apparently, a sign of such a commitment.

But if Wilson is serious about making the Bills a prominent NFL franchise once again, it’s time to fork out the money and bring in the right people, writes Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan. The firing of coach Dick Jauron on Tuesday was but a first step in the right direction, although it should’ve happened during the bye week if not back in January:

But that’s typical of the current Bills, who have been a dysfunctional mess for a decade. On and off the field, there’s rarely any rhyme or reason to what they do. The only thing you can count on is that they’ll lose — and that the owner will function on the cheap.

That must come to an end now. The Bills are at a crossroads, whether Wilson admits it or not. He has a bad team, an inferior front office, an increasingly disaffected fan base, and no franchise quarterback. And now, at last, a vacant head-coaching position.

Whatever it takes, Wilson has to loosen the purse strings and pay the going rate for good football people. It’s time. No more hiding behind the small-market excuse. No more pretending that good coaches and personnel people aren’t worth the big bucks in a rich, thriving National Football League.

Other stories from around the Web:

• If the Ravens are to make the playoffs, they’ll have to navigate through some tough tests to get there.

• The Seahawks’ game at Minnesota will serve as another reminder of the Steve Hutchinson fiasco.

• New Bengals RB Larry Johnson craves to play against the Chiefs on Dec. 27.

• The Cardinals are turning their focus to stopping a trio of elite RBs in Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson the next three weeks.

• Josh Morgan is taking over as starting wide receiver for the 49ers with the blessing of the man he’s replacing, veteran Isaac Bruce.

• Giants RB Brandon Jacobs hopes to break out of his early slump.

Leading by six points, facing fourth-and-2 at their own 28-yard line, with 2:08 left in the game, the Patriots elected to gamble.

Bill Belichick is no stranger to controversial decisions, but opting to go for it in that situation — which failed and ultimately led to the Colts’ 35-34 comeback win on Sunday — was a blunder unlike any we’ve seen from Belichick, writes Boston Globe columnist Christopher L. Gasper:

He chose Tom Brady over Drew Bledsoe in 2001. In Super Bowl XXXVI, instead of kneeling on the ball with 1:30 left and no timeouts and playing for overtime, he let a second-year quarterback fire away and set up the winning field goal. He cut starting safety Lawyer Milloy five days before the 2003 season, and watched his team win its last 15 games, including the playoffs, to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Those all turned out to be strokes of genius. But last night, we witnessed the biggest error of the Belichick era.

Other stories from Around the Web on Monday:

• Whoa, daddy! RB LaDainian Tomlinson had a day to remember in the Chargers’ 31-23 win over the Eagles.

• The Bengals completed the sweep of the Steelers by pulling the curtain on Pittsburgh with defense.

• The Packers desperately needed a win like Sunday’s 17-7 victory over the Cowboys.

• The best and worst of Cowboys WR Roy Williams emerged during Sunday’s loss in Green Bay.

• There is no room for error, but the Panthers’ season still has a pulse after a 28-19 win over the Falcons.

• The Dolphins’ 25-23 win over the Bucs was the gutsiest Miami victory — ever.

While some might not have understood him, former Chiefs RB Priest Holmes commanded the respect of his teammates. He may have lacked size, speed and most of the physical tools one might deem necessary to be a great NFL back. But Holmes more than made up for it with his heart and effort, evidenced by the fact that he ended his career as Kansas City’s all-time leading rusher.

It’ll remain that way for the foreseeable future, too — some say appropriately — after the Chiefs decided to release disgruntled RB Larry Johnson on Monday following his one-week suspension. Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski writes that the Chiefs made the right move, largely because LJ was definitely no Priest Holmes:

Monday, as you know, the Chiefs released Johnson — with him just 74 yards shy of Holmes’ team rushing record. You know, there were times when Johnson looked to be an even better runner than Holmes. Johnson IS big, and he IS fast, and when he ran hard he inspired images of Jim Brown, even in some of Brown’s former teammates. He ran for 1,750 yards and scored 20 touchdowns despite starting only nine games in 2005, and in 2006 he carried the ball an NFL record 416 times. His teammates appreciated his talents and his intensity, and they probably understood him better than they did Priest Holmes.

But, best I could tell, they did not admire him. They did not respect him. They did not take pride in having him as a teammate. How could they? And I don’t just say this because of the off-the-field stuff — the arrests, the drama, the Twitter rampage.

No, more, they didn’t respect the kind of football player Larry Johnson was. He could not catch. He did not block. His effort seemed intermittent. He griped constantly. You think there was a single guy on this team who pointed at Larry Johnson and proudly said: “That’s what the Chiefs are about”?

Other stories from Around the Web on Tuesday:

• The Patriots-Colts rivalry has been a special one this decade. They meet again on Sunday, and you can read the Indianapolis point of view and get Boston’s take.

• Andy Reid says the Eagles are always “taking the next step,” yet they continue going in circles.

• It’s a nice view atop the NFC East, but the Cowboys better not lose their grip.

• The most powerful man in the Packers organization, team president Mark Murphy, is disappointed with Green Bay’s 4-4 start.

• The Chargers’ three-game winning streak has their confidence at a high level.

The 2009 Bengals are no longer the same old squad, as evidenced by their 17-7 win over the Ravens on Sunday. They are, according to Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty, the New Same Old Bengals (NSOBs).

Which is to say these Bengals are like the last playoff team of 2005, only better:

The New Same Old Bengals (NSOBs) play exacting team defense and score when their quarterback believes it’s required. The Same Old Bengals were fractured and ego-driven.

Even when they were good in 2005 they were immature. “Young and dumb’’ in the words of Carson Palmer.

The new Same Olds believe in the hokey power of trusting each other. They offer without apology that they’re better in 2009 because they, well, they like each other. They get along. They want to do well for the player next to them.

“The camaraderie in here is like nothing I’ve ever seen,’’ Chinedum Ndukwe remarked.

More stories from Around the Web on Monday:

• The Bears got a first-hand look at Cardinals QB Kurt Warner’s brilliance on Sunday.

• Who’s No. 1? Philip Rivers is — not Eli Manning — after he led the Chargers’ 21-20 comeback over the Giants on Sunday.

• The Giants’ season is now on life support.

• Colts first-year coach Jim Caldwell is pushing (almost) all the right buttons.

• Cowboys WR Roy Williams can smile after the Cowboys beat the Eagles 20-16 on Sunday.

• Has two straight come too late for the Titans?

• After dropping their fourth straight on Sunday to Tennessee, the 49ers can forget about the playoffs.

As the Dolphins prepared this week to take on the New England Patriots in an AFC East showdown on Sunday, outspoken Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter told NFL Network that he thinks officials use a different rule book for Pats QB Tom Brady.

On Friday, Brady responded to Porter’s comments, telling The Boston Globe that he doesn’t think he’s ever persuaded an official to throw a flag.

“You may get more calls. I don’t know. I think the ref calls what he sees. I don’t think I’ve ever influenced a call. The refs we have are very good. If they make a call on that, great. If they don’t, that’s fine.”

Porter also revealed on NFL Network that he dislikes the entire Patriots organization. According to the Patriots’ official site, Patriots players just brushed off the latest round of trash talk:

“I love that 55 guy. I do,” said another 55 guy, Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, with a knowing laugh. “He’s a great athlete, a great player, and a good friend. I love what he does out there. You know, everybody has their own identity, and that’s Joey Porter. Joey is who he is, and that’s why I respect that guy so much.”

Except for a brief chat with reporters following last weekend’s 30-6 loss to the Bears, Browns owner Randy Lerner has remained silent while the team and coach Eric Mangini have looked in complete disarray during a 1-7 start.

Until now.

Lerner agreed to answer a lengthy list of questions from the Cleveland Plain Dealer via e-mail, touching on everything from the firing of general manager George Kokinis to Jamal Lewis’ frustrations to now-backup QB Brady Quinn’s status.

You can read the interview by clicking here.

Is there anyone who plays the game with as much vigor and as much intensity as Dolphins LB Joey Porter? Porter is the king of trash talk, and he always seems to turn it up a notch when he faces the Patriots.

Why? Because Porter hates New England. It’s a hatred that runs deep, dating back to his Pittsburgh days. And yet despite Porter’s abhorrence for the Patriots, Boston Globe columnist Christopher L. Gasper writes that New England fans shouldn’t hate Porter back:

You don’t have to like him. You can shower him with boos, but don’t hate him. …

If Porter were a Patriot, fans here would love him — love him — the same way they loved Rodney Harrison, who also had a penchant for talking smack, getting under the opponents’ skin, and ending up on the Sports Illustrated NFL player poll of the league’s dirtiest players, just like Porter.

No one is ripping Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo for his trash-talking and opponent-baiting because he is wearing the uniform of the hometown team. We applaud Rondo’s moxie for not backing down from Chris Paul or Kobe Bryant. He plays with an edge.

So does Porter.

Porter and the Dolphins take on the Patriots this Sunday in a key AFC East matchup.

Other stories from around the Web on Thursday:

• Former first-round picks Vince Young and Alex Smith, who square off Sunday when the 49ers meet the Titans, are getting second chances to thrive as starting QBs.

• Coach Tom Coughlin says the Giants are playing a one-game season.

• The Falcons’ version of “Saving Private Ryan” is protecting their quarterback.

• Bengals WR Andre Caldwell is just taking it all in.

• Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner is sticking to his plan and won’t scale back.

The Chargers will travel across the country this week to play the Giants, who are 5-3 but on a three-game losing streak.

Can the Chargers — who entered this season with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations — take advantage and finally beat a team with a winning record? They couldn’t earlier in the year when a then-struggling Steelers team beat them in Pittsburgh. In fact, San Diego has yet to beat a winning team in three tries this season and is 10-16 against winning teams since 2007, including 3-11 when those games take place on the road.

The San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Sunday’s game at Giants Stadium is, indeed, a defining moment for this Chargers season:

There are certain games that give direction to a season, define a team, make a career.

The Chargers are going to the Big Apple — actually New Jersey, but a big stage nonetheless — to play one of those games.

And no one can dispute it. …

Defensive end Luis Castillo did not hesitate nor hold back when the importance of this Sunday’s game at the New York Giants was brought up.

“This is a heavyweight fight,” Castillo said. “We’ve been in the same position against a great team that’s been struggling a bit. We had a chance to go in there and make a statement, and we didn’t do it. We haven’t done well with those. This is a game we need to step up.”

Other stories from around the Web on Wednesday:

• The slumping Giants are struggling to communicate.

• The Packers are a wild-card team, at best.

• The Patriots are showing more balance on offense.

• Adjusting to the Eagles’ script is the key to the Cowboys having a happy ending.

• Losing at home is testing more than Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt; it’s testing the fans’ patience.

• There is plenty of blame to go around for the Buccaneers’ offensive woes.

The 49ers’ 3-1 start is a distant memory, faded behind a three-game losing streak that has dropped them to 3-4 and surpassed by the Cardinals for first place in the NFC West.

San Francisco now finds itself needing to rebound with back-to-back home wins, but the pressure isn’t so much on the players to do so. Whether or not the 49ers can get out of this rut lies squarely on the shoulders of head coach Mike Singletary, writes San Jose Mercury columnist Tim Kawakami:

He can inspire, we know that. He can enunciate a clear message that resonates in the locker room, the executive suite and on billboards and in commercials everywhere.

As an icon, he’s a keeper: Singletary is colorful, he is straightforward, he is authentic and he long ago earned the right to try to elevate the 49ers. …

Let’s see if Singletary is fluid enough and canny enough to negotiate his team through this lull. Let’s see if pure adrenaline and passionate belief blends into good, consistent coaching.

Other stories from around the web on Tuesday:

• TE Owen Daniels’ injury gives him the opportunity to prove the Texans wrong — again.

• As it turns out, the Vikings have also outperformed the Packers in the offseason.

• The Saints defense is a force, not a farce.

• The play of Panthers DE Julius Peppers has been on the money.

• Steelers WR Santonio Holmes’ sickle cell is not affected by the altitude of Denver.

The Cardinals are not your conventional team. They throw when they should be running the ball. They blitz when other teams play the prevent. Coach Ken Whisenhunt is not apologizing though. He told the Arizona Republic that his team plays its best when, as Kent Somers put it, “they are giving the lecture, not taking notes.”

The Cardinals did not try to run out the clock to close out the Giants on Sunday night. But the aggressive blitz calling did force New York QB Eli Manning to make one of his patented, ill-advised throws to seal the game for the Cardinals. Cardinals S Antrel Rolle intercepted Manning with 1:08 remaining — the third of the game.

Whisenhunt does not back down from being aggressive.

“I really felt that was a chance to win the game,” he said, “and I had a tremendous amount of confidence in our defense. The easy thing to do was run three times and take some time off the clock, but then you are always thinking about, ‘Well, I had a chance to make a play and I didn’t call it.’ “

Other news making its way around the Web on a Friday morning.

• Is there a ‘franchise’ QB to be found in St. Louis’ future? There was a time when QB Marc Bulger pushed veteran Kurt Warner aside. Is that time coming for Bulger to be pushed aside?

• Steelers police locker room themselves. The Chiefs made news this week — in a bad way — when Larry Johnson spoke out against coach Todd Haley (which is putting it mildly). The Steelers do not have such problems because of the veterans in the locker room.

• Ravens’ Rice is living tall. Some doubted that the diminutive Ray Rice could play in the NFL. But not Rice himself.

• Schaub unseasonably cool come rain or shine. Texans QB Matt Schaub has become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

The numbers prove that RB Reggie Bush has been slowly phased out of the vaunted New Orelans Saints’ offensive onslaught. So how does the former Heisman Trophy winner out of USC feel about his reduced role?

Guess it depends on when you ask him.

In a story published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Bush took a humble, in-stride approach:

To his credit, Bush has accepted his reduced role with class. He hasn’t pouted. He competes with zest. He runs decoy routes and carries out play fakes with aplomb.

“We’re winning, things are good right now, we’re undefeated, ” Bush said. “It would be selfish of me to put my own personal goals ahead of this team.”

OK, that’s nice. That’s being a good teammate. But according to a recap on ProFootballTalk.com, Bush had a bit more to say on Sporting News Radio’s The Monty Show:

When discussing the criticism he has faced since entering the NFL and not performing like this generation’s Gale Sayers, Bush seemed to predict that he’ll eventually be named the league’s MVP.

“Once I do win an NFL MVP, once we do win a Super Bowl, once I am in the Pro Bowl, it’s going to be that much more special because of all the criticism that I had to come through,” Bush said.

Other stories around the web on Wednesday:

• With RB Leon Washington done for the season (and maybe beyond), there is no doubting Thomas Jones now for the New York Jets.

• Coordinator Bill Davis has the Cardinals defense flying high.

• Even with the 1-2 punch of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants are taking a pass on the run.

• Obscure linemen are playing key roles for the Colts defense.