32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #14: The New Orleans Saints

The Saints were the surprise story of the 2006 NFL season. They exploded onto the scene with new superstar Reggie Bush in their offense. They managed to make it all the way to the NFC Championship Game before falling to the Chicago Bears. 2006, was a great year for every New Orleans’ fan. However, 2007 was not so great. The Saints lost their first 4 games. In what seemed to be a meltdown, The Saints did everything they could to get back into the season. They finally were able to win a game. Not only that, they strung 4 wins together. They then lost 2. This pattern would continue until the Saints would finish the season with a 7-9 record and they would end up missing the playoffs as well. It wasn’t the year they were expecting and this year they must do everything they can to get back to being a contender.

Their defense fell apart last season. Up front, they have a lot of impressive talent. Charles Grant, Will Smith, Scott Fujita, & Jonathan Vilma all have the tools to get it done for this team, but its their cornerback position that really dropped the ball last season. It was far to easy to throw the ball against this team. Jason David could not get the job done. He was made to look foolish on almost every play. This defense needs to improve in pass coverage or they will never have a chance to make it back to the playoffs. I believe the Saints are a good enough team to even make a run at the championship, but without a strong defense that can get the job done, they will never get there. It takes 11 men to make a great defense. Defense wins championships. I am ready to see what Sedick Ellis can add to this defense. He is a star defensive tackle out of USC. Everyone knows USC has a great football program. Lets just hope that this first round USC draft pick doesn’t turn out to be a bust like their last first round USC Draft Pick.

At Wide Receiver, stand out star Marques Colston returns to make those big plays, if he can hold onto the ball. Even if Colston can’t produce, there are still very good recievers on this team that can step it up at the right time. Devery Henderson, David Patten, Lance Moore, Terrance Cooper, & Robert Meacham all have the tools to be big stars in the NFL. As long as they continue to produce, the Saints have a good shot at scoring a lot of points. The big surprise for this team came just a few days ago when the Saints made a trade to acquire Jeremy Shockey from the New York Giants. I think he’s a selfish player that gets in the way of the offense, but even still, he’s a great tight end and he can make plays. Thats what this team needs and they have it now.

In 2006, The Saints had one of the most feared running games in the NFL. The combination of the veteran Deuce McAllister and the standout from USC Reggie Bush was tough for opposing defenses to figure out. In 2007, they finally did figure it out. Deuce McAllister barely ever saw the ball, but when he did he was pretty much shut down. Reggie Bush could not get the job done in between the tackles when his number was called. During the course of the season, Deuce got hurt and missed the rest of the season and we saw what this team would look like if Reggie Bush was the starter. Its not good. He couldn’t produce. The team was going downhill. Then Reggie got hurt and he missed the rest of the season. This brought in Aaron Stecker and with Stecker, it was the best the team had looked all season. I don’t think thats a sign of things to come, but things were certainly different. If Deuce can play this year, he is going to need to be the center of their offense. Reggie Bush is great only when he is brought in to do other things. He’s a great receiver out of the backfield and he’s great when he can run to the outside. Deuce has to be the one to get it done in between the tackles. If Deuce can’t go, then we will probably see Aaron Stecker take over for him, but don’t be surprised if we see Pierre Thomas steal some carries. I don’t see Reggie Bush getting a lot of carries this year and I think thats a good thing. He’s more effective that way.

Drew Brees is a fantastic quarterback. He is accurate, has a good arm, and can win football games if you let him. Drew Brees needs a chance to open up this offense this year. He is their only viable option at Quarterback and its not a bad option at all. Brees needs to be able to throw the ball down the field to one of his talented wide recievers. This is an offense thats based around the run, but maybe they need to work on making it more balanced. Brees can get it done. They have to let him do it.

To sum it all up. The New Orleans Saints have all the talent in the world to be a viable contender in the NFL, but last year was a catastrophe. They have to re-establish themselves as a great team. Every player on that team has to contribute when their number is called. They have some very tough games on their schedule including the San Diego Chargers, the Minnesota Vikings, & The Green Bay Packers, but even in losing those games, they can still make the playoffs. They have a lot of winnable games this year, but they must get the job done to make it happen. Will this be the year that the Saints will go marching in... right into a Superbowl championship? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t bet against it.