The Saints will try to shake off their most

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - If the New Orleans Saints are looking for comfort, they can take some in this: Their week was almost smooth compared to their opponents. And unlike the Bears, theyre still in the playoff hunt. The Saints will try to shake off their most lopsided loss of the season and give their post-season hopes a boost when they visit Chicago on Monday night. Its a matchup between two of the leagues most disappointing teams. You can watch the game live on TSN1, TSN3 and TSN4 at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. They come in with identical records (5-8) and are trying to put a difficult week behind them. The Saints got blasted 41-10 at home last week by Carolina. The Bears got hit with another round of turmoil, with offensive co-ordinator Aaron Kromer acknowledging he was a source behind a critical report by the NFL Network about quarterback Jay Cutler. Man, this is a humbling league, New Orleans coach Sean Payton said. The Saints began the week tied for the NFC South lead with Atlanta — their next opponent — despite dropping four of five. They allowed 497 yards and got pounded by a Carolina team that came in with six straight losses. Payton said during the week he would not rule out lineup changes, and safety Kenny Vaccaro said Thursday his role is changing. He would not say exactly how, and his coach offered few details. Payton also made some roster changes this week, cutting receiver Joe Morgan on Tuesday and promoting receiver Seantavius Jones from the practice squad. A lot of it is the expectation that showing up and playing is enough, right tackle Zach Strief said. Its not: OK, I put my uniform on, I look good, I walk out on the field and now that were here and were the Saints and we have this history where well win games, now were just going to win this game. ... Thats not the reality of this league. For the Bears, this season has been one harsh reality check. They came in with visions of a playoff run, only to fall out of contention for the seventh time in eight years. The situation with Kromer was just another in a line of distractions. He owned up in public to what he did on Friday after asking players and coaches for forgiveness on Monday. That happened after he complained to the NFL Networks about Cutlers ability to audible out of run plays that might not work. The story also suggested the Bears had buyers remorse for signing their quarterback to a contract extension after last season. But according to the Chicago Tribune, Kromer insisted in his apology to the team that he never mentioned that. Kromer said he never considered quitting over this and coach Marc Trestman insisted he did not think about firing him. But the episode raised more questions about the leadership and the direction of the franchise in a season when there were already more than a few. The Kromer situation was just another log in a fire that includes linebacker Lance Briggs missing practice to open a restaurant near Sacramento in the week leading up to the opener; defensive end Lamarr Houston suffering a season-ending injury celebrating a meaningless late sack at New England; and some eyebrow-raising incidents involving Brandon Marshall. Among them was a long, rambling news conference over past allegations of domestic abuse; flying to New York weekly to record Showtimes Inside The NFL program; and challenging a Detroit fan on Twitter to a boxing match for charity. Kromers leak cuts to one of Trestmans pillars, and that is building relationships based on trust. There appeared to be a breach even if Cutler insisted the offence came away from Mondays meeting in a better position. He owned up to it, Cutler said. He let everyone know, Hey, I made a mistake. This is where we stand. And this is where we need to move on to. I wish more guys were like that. He said the Bears have to continue on and that the offence will come together. But they have looked more like a broken bunch. The Bears have been hit hard by injuries, with Briggs, Charles Tillman and Marshall among the key players on injured reserve. Chicago joined the 1923 Rochester Jeffersons as the only teams to give up 50 or more points in consecutive games when it got pounded by New England and Green Bay. The struggles on defence and regression on offence have added up to the most disappointing season in recent memory. We know the (offensive) system works, Kromer said. It worked last year. And its worked in the past in places both myself and Marc have been. Question is: Who will be around to fix the Bears after this season? ___ AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap MLB Jerseys From China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys . Today, he looks at the offensive line. 1. 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Authentic MLB Jerseys Outlet . - Anthony Beauvillier had the winning goal in the third period as the Shawinigan Cataractes edged the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 2-1 on Wednesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play.WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have traded the rights to Canadian receiver Giovanni Aprile to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for non-import defensive back Matt Bucknor. Bucknor spent two seasons with Hamilton after signing there as a free agent in 2012. He appeared in all 18 of Hamiltons 2012 regular-season games -- starting 14 -- and finished fifth on the team with 43 tackles and had foour more on special teams.dddddddddddd Bucknor played nine games in 2013 with two tackles, five special-teams tackles and one forced fumble. He also participated in Hamiltons 45-23 Grey Cup loss to Saskatchewan last November. The Bombers drafted Aprile in 2012 with the intention of converting him to a defensive back but released him so he could return to play for Queens. ' ' '