Dan Marino’s record for most single season passing yards remains safe, at least for now.

Most people didn’t give Brees a rat-on-a-highway’s chance of throwing for 402 yards against the playoff bound Panthers. Brees didn’t throw for 402 yards, but came within 16 yards of breaking the record, finishing a disappointing season on a low note.

Oh yeah, the Saints lost the game too. Final Score: 33-31, Carolina.

It almost didn’t end like this.

The Saints were down 23-3 at one point, but the Black and Gold didn’t give up. They hammered and hammered at the Panthers and were leading 31-30 late in the game. Jake Delhomme then commenced to throw a long pass to Steve Smith, who quickly made the catch between two Saints’ defenders.

No surprise there.

Carolina kicker John Kasay then nailed a 42-yard field goal with a second left to put the Panthers ahead.

Then it got interesting.

The kickoff was a squib kick which went out of bounds giving the Drew Brees and the Saints the ball with one second left. All that Brees had to do was to throw a pass over 16 yards and he would’ve broken Marino’s pass.

The pass, intended for Lance Moore, fell incomplete.

The Saints finished at 8-8, their record reflects on the season that they have had this year. It was a .500 season, simple as that. You can’t win one, lose one, win one, lose won. You gotta’ have a streak going on and the Saints just did not have any of that going on this year.

Now we look to the offseason. Was this Deuce McAllister’s last game as a Saint. Many people think so; we’ll just have to wait and see.

The game started out bad for the Saints. In the first quarter, the Panthers kicked two field goals.

In the second quarter, the Saints started the scoring with a Garrett Hartley field goal and then the Panthers came right back with a field goal.

Delhomme then threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Mushin Muhammad.

Next, Dante Wesley recovered a fumble for another Panthers touchdown.

The Saints finished out the second quarter action with a 26-yard pass from Brees to Marques Colston to make the score 23-10 at the halftime break.

Jonathan Stewart scored the lone touchdown in the third quarter on a two-yard run, giving the Panthers a 30-10 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Robert Meachem caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees making the score 30-17.

The Saints marched right back down the field and Lance Moore caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Brees making it 30-24.

The Saints marched down the field once more and Moore caught another TD from Brees, this time for 13 yards.

John Kasay then kicked the 42-yard field giving the Panthers a first round bye in the playoffs.

New Orleans Saints offensive lineman Jon Stinchcomb spends his Sundays blocking for Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and the other Black and Gold ball carriers, offensive lineman get little to no recognition on Sundays, but it isn’t recognition that keeps Stinchcomb going.

“I love to help people, especially kids,” Stinchcomb says, and help them he does. He recently created “OL 4 NO” (Offensive Line For New Orleans), a youth football camp. The free camp was run by the Saints’ offensive line during the offseason for New Orleans area kids. The group has also purchased over 200 bicycles as Christmas gift for underprivileged New Orleans area kids. But that isn’t all that he does, not even close to all.

Stinchcomb can usually be found at Children’s Hospital or at a local school. Stinchcomb speaks to high school kids on the importance of a good education or reads to smaller kids, when not concentrating on blocking angles or slamming blocking dummies in practice.

Stinchcomb’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.

He recently received the New Orleans Saints Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his efforts in making his adopted hometown of New Orleans a better place.

A finalist is chosen from each NFL team, each finalist receives a $1,000 contribution to a charity of his choice and at the end of the NFL season, an overall winner will be selected and he will receive a $25,000 contribution to a charity of his choice.

If Stinchcomb wins the overall award, he already knows where the money is headed. The Stinchcomb Family Foundation was established by Jon and his brother Matt Stinchcomb, who also was an NFL offensive lineman (from 1999-2006) and that foundation already has an extra $1,000 with which to help more people with because of the award.

But Jon doesn’t care about the recognition part of the award, all the he wants to do is help people, especially kids.

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First things first.

Reggie Bush is done, for the season at least. Bush sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in the Saints’ game against the Chicago Bears Thursday night. He originally injured it against the Carolina Panthers earlier this season and needed surgery on it.

The Saints still have to play the winless Detroit Lions and the playoff-bound Panthers.

Head Coach Sean Payton said Bush’s knee does not need surgery this time, just a little R and R, he also said that if the team were still in playoff contention, then he wouldn’t have place Bush on IR.

Saints’ spokesman Greg Bensel confirmed Wednesday owner Tom Benson underwent surgery December 10 to remove a cancerous growth on his left kidney. Bensel said in a statement released by the team. Benson is under the primary care of his personal physician and Saints team doctor, John R. Amoss, who said he expects a full recovery.

“It was diagnosed as early-stage renal cell cancer, and the prognosis for this type of cancer removed at this stage is excellent,” said Amoss. “We anticipate a full and complete recovery, and he will not need any radiation or chemotherapy.”

The 81-year old is at home, and will miss the team’s trip to Detroit, but will be back at the office next week sometime.

NFL CAREER – Rugged veteran has been a mainstay on the defensive front since being signed by the Saints as an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2004, starting all 47 games he has appeared in. Young’s consistency has been a hallmark of his career in New Orleans, as each year he has ranked among the defensive line’s top tacklers. In 2006, he started all 16 games and ranked third on the club with 5.5 sacks, his highest total since 2001. Young also posted 57 tackles and a fumble recovery – the eighth of his career. He has paid dividends since joining the club by being one of the defense’s most consistent and hard-working performers. For his career – including his stint with the St. Louis Rams from 2000-03 – Young has played in 107 games, with 78 starts, and recorded 484 tackles, 18.5 sacks, an interception and a pair of forced fumbles.

COLLEGE – All-America third-team, All-Western Athletic Conference first-team selection and Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Texas-El Paso…Played defensive end final season, and had 121 tackles and eight sacks…All-WAC selection as junior with 104 tackles and 3.5 sacks…As sophomore was All-WAC second-team with 76 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles…Redshirted between freshman and sophomore seasons…Graduated with degree in criminal justice

PERSONAL – Lettered in football and track at Andress (El Paso, Texas) HS…A regular presence at community events covering a wide range of causes, including working with child cancer patients…Married (Noelle)…Young’s wife sang the National Anthem prior to Carolina contest in Baton Rouge in 2005…Full name: James Brian Young…Born July 8, 1977 in Lawton, Okla.