all Drew Brees and the

CHICAGO - Turns out all Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints needed to solve their problems was to show up in Chicago. NMD Clearance .Nothing like playing the Bears to break a slump. Even better, the Saints jumped into first place.Brees threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns, and New Orleans beat Chicago 31-15 on Monday night to grab the NFC South lead.The Saints (6-8) moved into first place ahead of Carolina (5-8-1) and Atlanta (5-9) after losing four of their previous five games. They also rebounded from a 41-10 loss to the Panthers.I think weve shown a couple times we can handle adversity, Brees said. Lets make sure we can handle success, too.The Saints host the Falcons before finishing the season at Tampa Bay.The tendency after success is to relax, and its not time to relax, Brees said.Brees completed 29 of 36 passes and reached the 4,000-yard mark for the ninth straight year. He threw two touchdown passes to Josh Hill and another to Marques Colston.Pierre Thomas had five catches for 83 yards. David Hawthorne had three of New Orleans seven sacks and the Saints intercepted Jay Cutler three times to bring his NFL-leading turnover total to 24.We were not in unison tonight collectively on the offensive side of the ball and that starts with me, Chicago coach Marc Trestman said.For the Bears (5-9), the loss comes after a week in which they were again engulfed in controversy. Offensive co-ordinator Aaron Kromer acknowledged he was a source behind a critical report by the NFL Network about Cutler, owning up to it in public Friday after earlier asking players and coaches for forgiveness.Cutler completed 17 of 31 passes for 194 yards, and the Bears couldnt get anything going. They managed only 278 yards against one of the leagues worst defences on a soggy night in which thousands of seats went unused.There were 10,749 no-shows, and that might not have been a bad thing for the Bears, the way they played.The Saints went ahead in the second quarter after wasting several opportunities in the opening period. Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller was called for a 17-yard pass-interference penalty trying to defend Jimmy Graham, setting up New Orleans with a first down at the 8.Brees then rolled to his right on the first play of the second quarter and found an open Hill, who lunged across the goal line.The first half was so bad for Chicago that its best play might have been Patrick ODonnells 56-yard punt that went out of bounds at the New Orleans 5 with about four minutes left in the second. But the Saints responded with a 10-play, 95-yard drive.Brees threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Colston with 38 seconds left, giving the Saints a 14-0 lead. Cutlers pass was then picked off by Pierre Warren on the final play in the half.Brees and Hill connected for a 7-yard TD on their first possession in the third on a similar play as their first score, making it 21-0. It was 24-0 early in the fourth when Cutler hit Marquess Wilson with a 1-yard touchdown pass, denying New Orleans its first shutout since 2012.The Saints wasted a big scoring opportunity in the early going.New Orleans took over at the Chicago 24 after Patrick Robinson intercepted a pass that went off Martellus Bennetts hands on the games third play from scrimmage. Rather than grab the lead, the Saints quickly gave the ball back.Nick Toon got stripped by Brock Vereen after a 10-yard reception and Jared Allen made the recovery at the 3.The Saints came away empty-handed on their next possession when Shayne Grahams 51-yard field-goal attempt fell short. But the Saints eventually found their stride.I think theres a sense of urgency that we need to create each week, and we need to be mindful of how important that edge is to play well, coach Sean Payton said. Its something we made a point of emphasis with everyone.NOTES: Bears kicker Robbie Gould was inactive with a right quadriceps injury, leaving the kicking duties to Jay Feely for the second straight week. Safety Chris Conte and offensive lineman Michael Ola missed the game because of back injuries. ... Saints LT Terron Armstead (neck) started and LB Junior Galette (knee) played after they were listed as questionable. ... Singer Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy performed the National Anthem.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL NMD Store ." The game can be seen live on TSN starting with Monday Night Countdown at 6:30 p.m et/3:30 p.m. pt. The Patriots, who had a bye in Week 10, will look to continue the offensive success they had a week earlier when New England scored 55 points and racked up 610 yards of total offense in a 55-31 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Steelers. NMD Wholesale . They signed their first kicker. Ottawa inked Nick Setta, a 32-year-old native of Lockport, Illinois, to a contract.MONTREAL -- Benoit Groulx says it will take more than flashy statistics to ensure a spot on Canadas junior hockey team. The Gatineau Olympiques head coach will lead Canada in its quest to end its gold medal drought at the 2015 world junior hockey championship held in Montreal and Toronto at the end of this year. As Groulx begins naming players to his roster over the next two weeks, he wants to look beyond goals and assists when sending out invitations to training camp. He and the rest of the coaching staff are looking to reinvent the selection process that has proved unsuccessful in the last tournaments. "Recent history has shown us that being a hundred-point guy on a first line is no longer enough at the Juniors," Groulx said from Montreal on Thursday, after Hockey Canada introduced him as the teams head coach. "Our players have to raise their game. These are players who will one day be in the National Hockey League. They have the talent, but can they elevate their play? "Thats the message were sending. The level weve competed at these last few years simply wasnt enough." Canada is suffering through a five-year gold medal drought at the tournament after winning five consecutive years between 2005 and 2009. The teams last medal, a bronze, came in 2012. Groulx was an assistant coach at the 2014 junior championship in Malmo, Sweden, where Canada finished fourth after losing to Russia in the bronze-medal game. The 46-year-old says only elite players can challenge for the top of the podium. "We need guys who are self-driven, who are relentless, guys who want to make the difference," said the Hull, Que., native. "We need hundred-point players who are ready to make changes, ready to play out of their comfort zones. To win that championship, you need world-class players." Canada has 11 players eligible to return from last years squad, including goalie Zachary Fucale and forwards Jonathan Drouin, Curtis Lazar and NHL prospect Sam Reinhart. The teams one-week development camp begins Aug. 9 in Montreal. The Canadians will also host an exhibition tournament involving the Russian and Czech national junior teams which will be held in Montreal and Sherbrooke, Que. The goal is to keep competitiveness high as the world junior championship approachees. NMD Cheap. "Those are two great countries, two teams that we lost to last year," said Hockey Canadas Scott Salmond. "Any time you can bring those teams back in a competitive environment, and send a message to them, its great. Its not a summer camp, its a competition, and we want to play there to win." After the exhibition games, Canada opens the 11-day tournament on Dec. 26 with a group game against Slovakia in Montreal. Canada will play its four round-robin matches at Montreals Bell Centre. The Canadians are in Group A with the United States, Finland, Slovakia and Germany. Toronto will welcome teams from Group B, which includes Russia, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Switzerland. The gold-medal game will take place at the Air Canada Centre on Jan. 5. Groulx wouldnt guarantee Canada would make it to the ACC for that final, but he is relishing the opportunity to play in front of the home crowd. Incidentally, Groulx would have coached a national junior team on home soil in 2009 had he not resigned. After initially accepting Hockey Canadas invitation, he later took a head coach position with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. Groulx says theres no changing course this time around. "Montreal and Toronto are two of the most passionate sports cities in Canada, and even in North America," he said. "Its a huge challenge that I look forward to. Pressure will be good for us. Whens theres pressure like that, people are very aware of it. Playing in Montreal and Toronto forces us to prepare adequately. "People in Canada expect us to win. For us, thats the ultimate. But our focus is on the process more than anything else." Notes: With 15 gold medals, Canada is the most successful country in the competitions 38-year history. a Dave Lowry (Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League) and Scott Walker (Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League) will be Groulxs assistant coaches. a Finland won last years tournament, beating Sweden in the final game. a Groulx took the Gatineau Olympiques to three Memorial Cup appearances, in 2003, 2004 and 2008. ... Hockey Canada also named the coaching staff for Canadas under-18 team. Head coach Derek Laxdal will be joined by assistants Jody Hull and Eric Veilleux. ' ' '