The oldest record broken was the one for least sacks allowed in a season. The Saints yielded 13 sacks in 2008, topping the old mark of 15 set back in 1992.

The Saints, who led the NFL in points and total offensive yards this season, also shattered franchise records in those two categories.

They finished the season with 463 points, which broke the old mark of 432 set in 2002 and equaled in a Week 16 win at Detroit, and ended the year with 6,571 total yards -- more than 300 yards more than the old mark of 6,264 set in 2006.

--When the Saints closed the 2008 season against the Panthers, more than one-fourth of the players (14) on the 53-man active roster were not with the team when it opened the season on Sept. 7 vs. Tampa Bay.

On top of that, 10 players who started the opener against the Bucs were not on the field for the first play against the Panthers.

The group included running backs Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas, tight end Jeremy Shockey, defensive end Charles Grant, cornerback Tracy Porter and free safety Kevin Kaesviharn.

Bush (knee), Grant (triceps), Porter (wrist) and Kaesviharn (neck) were among 17 Saints who ended the season on injured reserve.

--The 2008 Saints missed a chance to set a franchise record for home wins when they fell to the Panthers on Sunday.

With a win, the Saints would have finished the season with a 7-1 mark at home -- which included a "home" game in London against the San Diego Chargers.

The Saints still finished with a winning record in the Superdome for only the second time in 15 seasons when they went 6-2. They posted a 5-3 record in 2003, the only other time they've had a winning mark at home since back-to-back 6-2 seasons in 1991 and '92.

Beside the Panthers, the only team to beat the Saints in the Superdome this season was Minnesota, which claimed a 30-27 win on a last-second field goal on Oct. 6.

--After a fourth-place finish in the NFC South, the Saints' 2009 slate of opponents has been finalized.

The Saints will play home-and-home series with their division rivals and play the entire NFC East and AFC East next season. They'll also go against fourth-place teams from the NFC North and NFC West as determined by a scheduling formula set up by the NFL as part of re-alignment in 2002.

The home schedule includes games with Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Dallas, New York Giants, Detroit, New England and New York Jets.

On the road, the Saints will play Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Washington, St. Louis, Buffalo and Miami.

--Saints long snapper Kevin Houser played in his 144th consecutive game against the Panthers.

That broke a tie with Wayne Martin, who played in 143 straight games from 1991-2000, and put him in second place in franchise history behind Jim Dombrowski. He played in 147 consecutive games from 1987-96.