I don’t know if any of you intrepid readers of this here blog have heard the bad news yet, but word on the street is that Sunday’s complete demolition of the 49ers came at quite a price.

Seems the entire roster is questionable for the Jacksonville game, having been afflicted by what’s commonly known as the bends, due to their rapid ascent from the divisional abyss.

See, this is why I hate nitrogen. Hands down the biggest pain in the ass of all the diatomic elements. Just leave it to nitrogen to screw something up. Why can’t you be more like fluorine?

This, people, was what Moe "Kid Presentable" Szyslak would call total fustigation. The 49ers were unable to sustain verticality for even a single round. If you DVR’d it, you can actually pinpoint the exact moment when the 49ers souls were crushed. Pause right after the Saints’ fourth offensive play from scrimmage and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

So far this year, the Saints have been called ugly, pug ugly, fugly, pug fugly, but not until Sunday have the Saints been anything resembling pretty. Well that was freakin’ pretty.

Drew: 31/39 for 336. Old Man Patten: 5 REC for 109, including 43 on the very first play from scrimmage. Colston: 8 REC for 85, 3 TDS. Little Superstar: 113 total yards, including a nifty little 25-yard run. Nine players with at least one reception. Jack Hunt: No drops! Mare: 1 FG, 4 PATs, no misses. Scotty Badass was a man possessed. Another game without an opposing 100-yard rusher. In fact, San Francisco didn’t have 100 yards rushing total. Another game holding the opponent below 20. In fact, San Francisco’s 10 are the lowest of any Saints opponent all year.

This is the kind of performance a brother can get excited about. Sure, Deion Sanders will tell you that the Saints haven’t beaten anybody yet. And he’s right. But he’s also an asshole. We all knew going in that the 49ers suck. So what?

It would be one thing if the Saints had pulled out a one-score nailbiter. But the only thing being bitten Sunday were the 49ers’ pillows after the Saints bent them over early and often. a 24-0 halftime lead is nothing to scoff at, no matter who the opponent is. Especially when you’re a team that’s been struggling for the first two months of your season to get your groove back. Well, it’s back, bitches. Fasten your seatbelts.

Now, with three straight wins under their belts, the question for us fans becomes "Just how far can this thing go?" Jacksonville doesn’t look anywhere near as daunting anymore. Quinn Gray was a spectacular 7/16 for 100 yards Sunday. The Jagwires rushed for 133 yards, but Tampa’s rushing defense is 22nd in the league. The Saints rushing defense is 10th. Jacksonville’s offense has gone completely one-dimensional, and it just happens to match up against the strength of the Saints defense. Don’t get too close to Gary Gibbs this week, you might slip on the drool.

Meanwhile, Carolina gets the Vince Youngs and Tampa gets Arizona.

If you’re like me, your gut reaction is that Tampa will probably beat Arizona. Not so fast. Tampa has lost two straight, coinciding exactly with Fabulous Jeff Garcia remembering that he’s 37 years old and hasn’t started this many games since 2004. Two fumbles lost against Detroit, three interceptions against Jacksonville, and sacked five times in the last two games. He ain’t so fabulous anymore. 19 of 41 yesterday for a passer rating of 45.5. Oof. Arizona is coming off a bye week, and their three road losses have been by 3, 3 and 2. Don’t chalk it up as a Tampa win.

The Titans are red hot, and much like when they played the Saints earlier this year, they will benefit from riding on the wake of an opponent’s soul-crushing loss to the Colts the previous week. And Carolina is terrible. They’re giving up more points than they’re scoring, they’re giving up more yards than they’re gaining, they’re 21st in both total offense and total defense. They can’t pass for shit. They can’t stop the opponent from passing.

God help me, by this time next week, the Saints could be tied for first in the NFC South. They’re clearly playing the best football in the division right now, and if you’re like me, you’re starting to get the sense that if it doesn’t happen this weekend, it’s just a matter of time.

There’s nobody left on the schedule that the Saints can’t beat, if the offense has turned the corner it looked like it turned Sunday.

• Jacksonville: QB situation is a mess. One-dimensional offense.
• St. Louis: A complete trainwreck. 0-8. Worst offense in the league. Giving up 27.4 points per game.
• Houston: Can’t run. Can’t stop the run. Giving up 26.1 points per game.
• Carolina, Tampa, Atlanta: All suck. The only legit QB in the bunch is already beginning to turn to dust.
• Arizona: Not looking too bad right now, but we all know what happens to the Cards late in the year.
• Philly: Again, not looking too bad right now, but Donovan will be a distant memory by week 16. Hi Kevin Kolb!
• Chicago: Will be starting Devin Hester at QB by week 17. Owes a huge karma debt to New Orleans, though my own personal schadenfreude all by itself is steadily reducing that balance. My bad.

Of course I’m not saying the Saints are going to win them all and run the table.

Or am I?