1. Griffen needs to play somewhere Benched cornerback Cedric Griffin's Vikings career is essentially over, but Everson Griffen's is just beginning. The second-year defender is an intriguing young player. When the Vikings went to a three-man front in some of their nickel packages a few games back, it's one of the only encouraging adjustments the team has made defensively all season. Griffen enters the game as a linebacker and is raw, but can cover tight ends better than the other Griffin covers receivers at this point. Griffen had tight coverage in a ball he tipped away from massive tight end Jimmy Graham. He also recovered a fumble. And at 6-3, 273 pounds, he's still the fastest defensive player on the team.

2. E.J. certainly showing his age No player on this roster deserves more respect than LB E.J. Henderson. That being said, the Vikings are going to have to move on without the pending free agent at the end of the season. He'll be 32 next year and he just can't cover enough ground anymore. He should have been the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year last year. After all, he did come back from a broken femur, for gosh sakes. It's a shame he doesn't fit what the Vikings ask their middle linebacker to do. Frankly, there aren't many linebackers not named Urlacher who can cover the ground that's asked of the middle linebacker in this defense.

3. Sanford shouldn't have been flagged Of the top five defensive backs that started the season on opening day, strong safety Jamarca Sanford is the only one left standing after Griffin finally lost his starting job. Sanford consistently misses tackles and is out of position in zone coverages. But the guy really does give it everything he has. He forced Graham to fumble the ball on the game's third play. He also had eight tackles, seven solo. And you had to feel for the guy when he was flagged for a late hit out of bounds against Darren Sproles. The penalty gave the Saints a first down at the Vikings' 12 and led to a second-quarter TD. Sproles had slowed and was a half step from heading out of bounds when Sanford shoved him to the ground. When the quickest guy in the NFL is that close to the sideline, you shove him. "He was clearly still in bounds," Sanford said. "Hopefully, you're right when you hit a guy. He kind of slowed down, so that's why they called it." The NFL has gone overboard in its overprotection of offensive players.

5. Change the offense? Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the NFL. We get that. But this is 2011. Building everything around a running back in a quarterback-driven league just won't work, as we were reminded Sunday. Peterson and Brees are equally great at what they do. But one carried his team. The other was barely noticeable. There's no margin for error in the Vikings offense. If everything doesn't go perfectly, then there's little chance of winning. Running backs don't carry teams. They complement great passing attacks the way the Saints' backs do with Brees. If the model for the Vikings offense is Atlanta, look what the Falcons had to do after going 13-3 and getting tossed out of last year's playoffs early. They had to trade five draft picks -- including a first- and a fourth-rounder this year -- to move up from 27th to fifth to select receiver Julio Jones. Obviously, the Vikings should keep Peterson. Just don't make him the centerpiece unless you have your time machine set for 1976.

4. Sproles best of free agents Great franchises make moves that appear to be small but become huge over time. The Saints fall into that category with tailback/returner Darren Sproles. The former Charger, who signed with the Saints after the NFL lockout, probably wasn't considered among the top 20 free-agent acquisitions. Today, he has to be No. 1, ahead of Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph. With 187 all-purpose yards Sunday, Sproles has 2,096 on the season. With 112 yards from scrimmage, he now has 1,064 on the year. No offense to Toby Gerhart, who gives the Vikings a nice power runner behind Peterson, but who would you rather have, Sproles or Gerhart, whom the team had to trade up for to get in the second round last year? Sproles catching screen passes from Brees could be the added tweak that gets the Saints past the Packers in the playoffs. "They might have had 200 yards on screens alone today," Vikings defensive end Jared Allen said. "It's frustrating. It's embarrassing, and it's a terrible feeling."