Keep your eyes on No. 51 when the Saints are on the field on defense Sunday. That's middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who the Lions tried to acquire last winter but who choose to go to New Orleans instead.

The Jets put Vilma on the trading block because of a chronic condition in his knee. The Lions needed a middle linebacker and offered a draft pick in return. New Orleans did the same, and though by all accounts Vilma had a great visit with the Lions, he wanted to be closer to his home in Miami and the Jets acquiesced.

I know there were some concerns within the organization over Vilma's knee and I do believe the Lions made a fair offer for the 26-year-old linebacker. But I wonder if Detroit had upped its bid if the Jets would have taken that instead. New Orleans gave up a conditional fourth-round pick for Vilma. According to NFL.com, the pick will not grow to a third-rounder because the Saints have not offered Vilma a contract extension.

It's probably best the trade didn't go through. The Lions need all the draft help they can get and Vilma alone wouldn't have meant a respectful season. But he's having a decent enough season to at least wonder what might have been.

“I really like him. A lot,” Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. “I liked him coming out and I liked him when he was at New York and I like him now. He's a heck of a player. He's a guy who prepares and lives it and (is) serious about it. It means everything to him.”

• Maybe I'm crazy and I know they've got arguably the most difficult remaining schedule of any NFC playoff contender, but I'm starting to feel the Cowboys as legitimate Super Bowl contenders again. They've played well since Tony Romo's been back under center, the Giants have slipped a tad without Plaxico, and I still can't see Arizona and some others winning the NFC. That's not good news for the Lions. A quick playoff exit for the Cowboys means the first-round pick Detroit acquired in the Roy Williams trade will be somewhere in the low-20s. A Super Bowl appearance means they draft 31 or 32 and the Roy Williams deal doesn't look quite as good.

• Safety Gerald Alexander spoke with reporters for a few minutes Monday for the first time since he fractured a vertebrae in his neck while tackling Adrian Peterson in an Oct. 12 loss to the Vikings. If you missed my story Friday, Alexander is in good spirits and doing fine physically. He's been cleared to resume jogging and anticipates starting a workout program shortly after the new year. He also was able to joke about the hit that ended his season, saying, “Try to run up on a horse, you might get bucked.” Fitting description trying to tackle the most violent running back in the NFL.

• Drew Brees deserves plenty of credit for New Orleans' top-ranked offense. The man has thrown for 4,332 yards, is within striking distance of Dan Marino's single-season passing record and could torch a patchwork secondary Sunday. But Lions linebacker Ryan Nece said Saints coach Sean Payton is just as big a part of the offensive equation.

“As I'm studying him on film, he has something special for every defense and so it shows his coaching ability to go in and study defenses and break them down to find their weaknesses and, OK, this is how I'm going to exploit this individual or this scheme or whatever it may be,” Nece said. “As a defensive player, you know that you got to be on your Ps and Qs and know what you're doing because he's been watching you. And if he knows where you're weak, he's going to exploit it.”

• For the local folks, Shields Restaurants around metro Detroit are giving away free large, two-topping pizzas if the Lions win Sunday. The offer is valid for dine-in only and available 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday.