Hard as it is to believe, the Saints are still in control of their own season.

Winning just four times in their first 10 games makes things tough, unless you are in the NFC South.

Yet here they are, with a 4-6 record and still in a tie for the division lead with a solid chance at hosting a playoff game.

It doesn’t matter how you get there as long as you get there.

Now the Saints face a six-game stretch where they will play three times against their own division, two of those at home.

All you can ask for as an athlete is to have a chance. The Saints somehow, someway still have that chance.

Holding your destiny in your own hands is a good thing, unless you have fumbled as many games away as the Saints have this year.

Now if they can just hang on to what they got, the playoffs are in sight.

However, it must start tonight.

The Saints get to in play prime time inside the Superdome, which usually means an easy victory no matter who the foe.

The last two times the Saints played nationally televised night games they won easily. First they beat Green Bay at home by three touchdowns on a Sunday night. Four nights later it was an 18-point win on a Thursday in Carolina.

Back then it looked like the Saints had righted the ship and it was smooth sailing ahead. They were opening a three-game homestand, a rare thing in the NFL.

Nothing could possibly go wrong, yet everything has.

A blown lead against San Francisco, the third time that has happened this year, was followed by a blowout last week at the hands of Cincinnati.

Home is becoming no longer where the sure wins are for New Orleans.

Now its Baltimore coming to the Dome, but at night.

Let’s face it, we have no idea what to expect when the Saints take the field. Figuring this team out is next to impossible so why try.

“I would say this by (Thanksgiving) you have a better feel for who you are and I think maybe there are some seasons where you kind of gather that maybe earlier than later,” head coach Sean Payton said.

Thanksgiving is three days away.

“There are years, of course with a quick start, you kind of get a feel for where you are at,” Payton added. “I think we have a pretty good feel as to here are the things that we have to be better at in these next six weeks and then paying close attention to the personnel on the field each time.”

Better late than never.

Payton is of course giving us great coach speech. Watching him on the sidelines is even more interesting.

At times he looks stunned at how the Saints are playing, which is the same as most of the rest of us.

This team has become a true head scratcher, if not one that forces you to pull your hair out.

At their best the Saints appear elite, capable of great things. Then there are the times they look like Tampa Bay, which they need overtime to beat at home.

If seeing is believing, we have no idea what to believe when we see this team with our own eyes.

Yet no matter what the record, fact is this team can still win the division.

“That is the truth, but we cant escape the reality of where we are right now,” said quarterback Drew Brees. “We’re a 4-6 team right now. I believe we can be much better than that. None of us are happy with that, none of us feel like since we’re still in contention that that’s good enough.”

Yet it is just good enough to keep them in contention for a title. Now it’s up to them to go out and prove they can win it.

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Jim Gazzolo is managing sports editor. Email him at jgazzolo@americanpress.com(Associated Press)

Rogelio Solis