Saints, Patriots trade praise before swapping hits

METAIRIE, La. -- It has been a week to see how much the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots can stroke each other's ego.

Saints coach Sean Payton called Patriots coach Bill Belichick the best coach in the NFL even though he never likes to say someone is the best at anything. Payton said Belichick can outcoach anyone during the coin toss and that he is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Payton then likened the Patriots to Microsoft with their consistent and constant riches.

"I think it's fairly common in business to look at groups or businesses that are having success and to pay attention to why teams are successful and I think that exists in a lot of areas, not just football," Payton said. "New England's been one of those franchises. It's been one of those organizations that have found the right formula."

The gushing love-fest wasn't just one-sided.

Belichick talked about how he and Payton went on a deep-sea fishing excursion when the two were head coaches at the 2007 Pro Bowl. Belichick said Payton is a sincere man who comes straight from the heart.

"He's really down to earth, humble, sincere and a man that I really respect," Belichick said of Payton.

Belichick also said there's no ifs, ands or buts about how great the Saints are as a team. At one point Belichick was told he sounded like he was ready to concede Monday night's game in the Superdome to the Saints.

He didn't exactly argue against it.

"I've seen a lot of teams and we've played a lot of games," Belichick said. "They're as good as anybody we've faced. There are no weaknesses."

Then there's the quarterback comparisons between the Patriots' Tom Brady and the Saints' Drew Brees. Belichick said he would lump Brady, Brees and the Colts' Peyton Manning together in the same ilk. Brees wanted to deflect the talk of being in the same category as Brady and Manning.

"I'm not trying to make this game any bigger than it is and I'm certainly not trying to make it quarterback against quarterback," Brees said. "Obviously [Brady's] play has a lot to do with their success and my play has a lot to do with our success, just being the quarterbacks of these teams.

"In the end, I'm excited for the opportunity because you like to share the field with guys like that, guys that are considered the best and get an opportunity to compete. My offense is trying to score more than his offense, but it's certainly not me against him in any way, but it is exciting to share the field with guys like that."

Everyone seemingly has boarded the Love Boat.

So who's going to buy into the pleasantries, the flatteries, the sweet whispers of chalk talk?

Drew Brees is the pilot for Sean Payton's high-scoring offense. (Getty Images)

You know the Patriots aren't taking the Godiva chocolate or diamond earrings bait. History has proven that point. They've heard every compliment since winning their first of three Super Bowls after the 2001 season. And with the Patriots' dominance being tarnished since losing to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII two seasons ago and most recently by Belichick's questionable coaching call two weeks ago against the Colts, the favorable Patriots chatter lately is ringing more hollow than in previous years.

This is all new for many of these Saints players. Yet the Saints have done a good enough job deflecting the talk of going undefeated. They have yet to lose despite not playing their best in several games during the past six weeks. They've dampened any sort of distraction thus far that has been thrown their way. The Saints have been both trash-talked and highly lauded by their previous 10 opponents, and yet the results have been the same.

"Certainly when you're playing a good team like this there are certain things that are going to be said and there will be a ton of praise all week long from both sides," Payton said. "By Monday you guys will be tired of hearing how good New England is from me and probably vice versa."

Belichick attempts to mentally exhaust his opponents every week. Through all the chatter of how wonderful the Saints are and how the Patriots shouldn't even show up, he has tried ever so subtly to plant the seed of overconfidence in the Saints' heads through one of his greatest compliments.

Belichick compared the Saints offense to the St. Louis Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" that the Patriots faced in Super Bowl XXXVI. This might be the complimentary nugget Belichick hopes the Saints take to heart considering the Patriots were the one of the few teams that season to befuddle Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Co. for one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. It's the last time the Patriots played in the Superdome and it's where the New England dynasty commenced.

The Saints view the Patriots as their model for excellence. So Payton and his players have lobbed the softballs back to the Patriots all week to emulate New England's pregame style.

We won't know if the Saints will be sucked into the Patriots' adoration sandpit until Monday night. The Saints are at least trying to talk the talk leading up to this marquee matchup.

"We don't believe anything that comes out of their mouth," Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey said. "We believe they are the better team. They've got all three phases. Whatever coach Belichick says, we're not going to buy into any of that. We're going to go into this game and play our asses off."