Sean Payton sees a future where kickoffs might be kicked out. (Cox Sports TV)

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton spoke with ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio on Tuesday about the future of kickoff returns.

Payton understands that fans — and many players — are miffed about kickoffs moving from the 30 to the 35, effectively reducing chances for big kick returns. He also knows that with the information the league had about  injuries, kickoffs were a central target for change.

“Then you have to be able to take steps, so that 10 years down the road when someone is asking you, ‘Hey at this time, when you knew it was such a dangerous play and you continued on with the kicks from the 30 — and now you have someone who is seriously injured.’”

Payton acknowledged that kickoffs could eventually vanish from the landscape of football.

“Sitting in on John Madden’s coaches committee, and discussing this topic, this is a tough one, in regards to trying to reduce collision speed.  There are a number of things you can do offensively and defensively, but when it comes to kicking that ball and these guys are running down the field (at) a pretty good rate of speed, even if they have a five-yard start as opposed to, last year, the 10-yard start.  I wouldn’t be surprised, Mike, if down the road that’s where it was headed.  Unless we come up with some good answers.  And that’s the trick.”

Payton is clearly not on board with the league removing onside kicks.

PFT did the hard work on this one, so here’s the link to the story.

A picture says 1000 words (Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images via ESPN.com)

The New Orleans Saints shocked the world and defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win Super Bowl XLIV, and bring the Lombardi Trophy home to the city of New Orleans.

Trailing 10-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, head coach Sean Payton made a series of gutsy calls – including a failed 4th and goal attempt in the 2nd quarter and successful onside kick to start the 2nd half – that helped the Saints chip away at the lead and put themselves in a position to win.

Drew Brees went 32-39 for 288 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions to collect the MVP award, and the Saints defense came up big when it mattered to preserve the lead.  The game winning-play came when Tracy Porter picked off Peyton Manning and brought it 74 yards to the house with 3:12 remaining.

WATCH VIDEO OF PORTER’S INTERCEPTION AFTER THE JUMP

Porter also picked off Brett Favre to seal the NFC Championship game two weeks ago (video here).  And for Manning, who is already regarded by many as the best QB of all time, it is a legacy-defining play.

Full Super Bowl XLIV highlights from NFL.com here

Congratulations to the Saints … and good for the city of New Orleans.

Sean Payton acts out a scene from "The Xbox Kid". The refs are unimpressed.

Nola.com reports that Saints head coach Sean Payton is currently shopping a movie screenplay around Hollywood. And this isn’t just another crappy re-hash of a 1970s TV series or something. Oh no. Get this:

The movie, currently titled “The Xbox Kid,” is about a boy from a poor family in New Orleans who starts controlling the outcome of NFL games through a refurbished Xbox given to him by his grandfather following a devastating hurricane.

Payton said the idea came to him when his son Connor would play upcoming Saints games on his Xbox during the 2006 season.

“I just wrote about four pages, piddling around with it,” said Payton, who later turned the idea over to a professional screen writer to flesh it out.

The best joke that I could make right here has already been made, so I’ll just re-print it (from the comments of the Nola.com article):

“Hope the kid doesn’t run a reverse to kill the clock.”

BAAHAAHAAHAA!  Too funny.

CAA is currently shopping the script on Payton’s behalf, and let’s not kid ourselves, it’s more original than anything Hollywood has come up with in years. This thing is going to get picked up tomorrow.

Read on after the jump for an extended tirade on Sean Payton’s play-calling abilities.

But as the headline might have suggested, I’m not a big fan of Sean Payton. The Saints’ wunderkind has done pretty well for himself in the Big Easy, and before that in Dallas where Bill Parcells tagged him as the next disciple-in-waiting.  But Payton first made his mark in the NFL as offensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

And while the Giants made it to Super Bowl XXV in 2000, Payton seemed to fall in love with his playbook far too often. Legend has it he used to sleep in his office at the Meadowlands while coming up with plays, and I truly think he believed he could outsmart the game.  Instead of drawing up plays that played to the Giants strengths as athletes, he would be getting overly cute and running gadget plays at the wrong time.

Jim Fassel took play-calling duties away from Payton in 2002.  Today, Fassel no longer works in the NFL, and Payton is the new Hollywood darling.  Go figure.

But the prime example of Payton’s awful play-calling is the aforementioned fumbled double-reverse from the 2007 playoffs.  Against the Bucs, up 23-20 with 2:30 remaining, instead of running out the clock, Payton called this play, which he had dubbed the “Superdome Special”.  Double-reverse.  Drew Brees hands the ball to Reggie Bush who makes an awkward toss to Devery Henderson, which of course, he fumbles.  Tampa Bay drives the field for a game winning TD with :17 left.

I’m just saying, if I’m a Saints fan, I’m not too comfortable with that guy at the controls.