NEW ORLEANS -- Time will tell if the stunning comeback the New Orleans Saints pulled out before getting this week off will be a confidence-building turning point or a mere reprieve from an otherwise miserable season.Its too early to make judgments already, said Saints fullback John Kuhn, who scored three TDs, including the winner last weekend. Its going to be nice to take this momentum into the bye, get healthy, come back, kind of get refocused.For now, the 1/3 Saints -- who might have been 0-4 if not for a fourth-quarter meltdown by San Diego last weekend -- can take some solace in the fact 13 other NFL teams were also 1/3 or worse through Week 4. In the NFC South, theyre tied for second, two games out of first with 12 to go.Meanwhile, optimism stems from the anticipated return of several injured regulars in coming weeks, making the timing of the Saints bye week rather fortuitous for the banged-up club.We have a chance to get a number of guys back that have been out; obviously that number has been high for us -- unusually high this early part of the season, Saints coach Sean Payton said. It falls at a good time for a number of players.Starting left tackle Terron Armstead (knee), starting middle linebacker James Laurinaitis (quad), projected starting linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (quad), tight end Josh Hill (ankle) and left guard Senio Kelemete (hamstring) all missed last Sundays game with injuries. The Saints have characterized them as week to week, providing hope that any or all of them could be back by the time the Saints return to action Oct. 16 against Carolina in the Superdome.Additionally, safety Kenny Vaccaro (ankle) and receiver Willie Snead (toe) played through their recent injuries last Sunday. Vaccaro said he and a number of other players would be spending the week off getting treatment at team headquarters.We need it, Vaccaro said of the week off. A lot of guys dont like the early bye because you kind of want it in Week 10 after youre really, really beat up. But weve had so many injuries early and a lot of guys that are playing are banged-up, so itll be exciting to see guys out there fresh, flying around.And in just a few more weeks, starting cornerback Delvin Breaux and first-round draft choice Sheldon Rankins, a projected starter at defensive tackle, could be back. Both of them have broken legs.Yet the schedule only appears to get tougher. And some of the Saints statistical rankings -- particularly on defense -- havent been flattering through the first month.Having ranked 31st in the NFL in defense the past two seasons, New Orleans remained 31st through Week 4, allowing 422.8 yards per game. Perhaps even more concerning for the unit is being dead last in points allowed per game at 32.5. Even last weekend, the Saints gave up plenty of yards (346) and points (34), but came up with a pair of fumble recoveries inside the final seven minutes to give quarterback Drew Brees a chance to lead his latest comeback with a pair of short touchdown drives. The Saints defense then came up with one of its best series of the season to close out the win, producing a sack, followed a couple plays later by an interception on fourth-and-long.We have some momentum based on the way the fourth quarter (in San Diego) finished. Yet, there are a lot of things that need to be cleaned up, Payton said. Were going to see a stretch of good opponents coming up here. If you start with Carolina and then you go to the next week, Kansas City, and the week after that is Seattle. All of those teams were playoff teams (last year) and played extremely well.Payton said coaches are spending much of the bye week analyzing the performance of individual players and re-evaluating which personnel groupings serve the team best in various situations. Even before the bye, some lineup adjustments were made.Rookie free safety Vonn Bell, a second-round draft choice out of Ohio State, started ahead of Jairus Byrd, a former Pro Bowl player with Buffalo who represented New Orleans highest-profile free-agent acquisition in 2014.The job for us is going to be during this bye to look closely at what were doing -- not just defensively or offensively or in the kicking game (and) make sure we have our best players on the field, Payton said.New Orleans first two losses came down to the last possession, meaning even minor improvements could have made the difference between 1/3 and 3-1. Payton is confident his players arent making any pessimistic assumptions that the success rate of the final 12 games will resemble that of the first four.There is enough veteran leadership in this room and players that understand how difficult it is to win each week, and yet how attainable it can be, Payton said. 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"Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. The Los Angeles Sparks have been the top team in the WNBA throughout the regular season and look to stay that way as they travel to Seattle to play the Storm on Friday night at KeyArena as the league gets back to action after a month-long break for the Rio Summer Olympics.The Sparks (21-3) have already won seven more games than they did in all of 2015 and are a half-game ahead of Minnesota for the best record in the league with 10 games to play.Nneka Ogwumike, who leads Los Angeles and is third in the WNBA with a 19.6-points per game average, noticed this years team click almost immediately.The cohesiveness was instant, and the chemistry is impenetrable, on and off the court, Ogwumike said. Its just nice to be able to bring in all the pieces together and make something work so beautifully.Los Angeles has already guaranteed itself a spot in the WNBAs new playoff system, which awards the best eight teams (regardless of conference) in the postseason and grants byes into the semifinals for the two best teams.ddddddddddddSeattle (9-15) enters its final 10 games tied for the eighth and final playoff spot and are one win from matching their total from last season. The Storm, buoyed by a mix of veterans and hard-charging young players including Breanna Stewart, this seasons No. 1 pick, are in a position to reach the postseason for the first time since 2013.I think were ahead of schedule, Seattle coach Jenny Boucek said. Were competing and in position (to win) every night and were really looking forward to taking that next step. So Im encouraged with where our team is.Los Angeles waylaid Seattle by 30 points on opening night back on May 15 when the Sparks Candace Parked shredded the Storm with a 34-point performance. The two teams play for a third time on Sept. 11 at KeyArena. ' ' '