Countdown - 2nd seed in the NFC

New Orleans Saints – (2006 record – 10-6), projected 2007 record – 12-4



Following a great 2006 season that saw the New Orleans Saints helped lift the spirits of a city that was - and still is - in disarray. Much like last season, the city of New Orleans will look to the Saints to once again lift their spirits, a feet that will be dependant on an offense lead by Drew Brees.

But Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees and the passing game will not be the only means by which the Saints will win games in 2007-08. With versatile Reggie Bush again teamed with bruising running back Deuce McAllister, the Saints will be able to beat teams both on the ground and through the air. The big key to last season was McAllister staying healthy to carry much of the running load between the tackles, allowing Reggie Bush to move around and expose favorable matchups like he did at USC. The Saints hope - with McAllister and Bush both in decent health - to repeat the very same use of their running backs that head coach Sean Payton used in 2006.

Another reason why the Saints were successful in 2006 season - along with Brees and the rushing attack = was the emergence of rookie wide receiver Maques Colston. Colston’s breakout was especially important when the Saints’ former number one receiver, Joe Horn, missed the last half of the season. With Horn now an Atlanta Falcon, Colston will need to once again step up and perform like he did in 2006. While this will be a big challenge for the second year Colston, he does indeed have help. Explosive wide receiver Devery Henderson, rookie first round pick Robert Meachem, and offseason signee David Patten will provide quarterback Drew Brees many options while passing behind one of the best offensive lines in the league.

While the New Orleans’ offense seems to be a lock as one of the best in the league, their defense is another story. While the New Orleans front four – especially defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant – continue to challenge for Pro Bowl spots each year, it is the back seven – especially the secondary - that will hinder the Saints this season.

The aging Mike McKenzie headlines a New Orleans secondary that has tried to improve over the offseason by signing former Colts cornerback Jason David. David is a significant upgrade over aging cornerback Fred Thomas, but will not prove to be enough to change the play of a secondary that was near the bottom of the league against the pass last year. A big reason behind the Saints’ horrendous secondary play last year was Thomas, but equally bad were safeties Jay Bellamy – now relegated to a backup role – and Josh Bullocks – current starting free safety for the Saints. New starting strong safety – taking over for Jay Bellamy – is Roman Harper, who is coming back from a torn ACL last year. I personally don’t think that signing Jason David and adding inexperienced Roman Harper to the starting lineup will not make that significant of a difference this year for the Saints, and this is why I think the New Orleans defense will not play well enough for the Saints to reach the Super Bowl.

Star to Watch – While Reggie Bush gets most of the attention from the media; Deuce McAllister is as just as important to the Saints. McAllister, a bruising 232 pound running back, will need to stay healthy this year – something he has not been able to accomplish in the past - to keep the Saints offense balanced and effective. Without McAllister, Reggie Bush would be forced to run the ball much more between the tackles - where he was terrible last year - and this will damage the effectiveness of the Saints passing and rushing attacks. To say it bluntly: If Deuce McAllister gets injured or is relatively ineffective, the Saints will not surpass an overall record of 8-8. He is that important, and one of the most underrated players in the league.

Player to Watch – As was previously mentioned, the loss of Joe Horn should not be that significant of a blow to the Saints because they have a bevy of talented, young (except David Patten) receivers at their disposal. The fastest and most explosive of the Saints’ receiving core is fourth year wideout Devery Henderson. Henderson had been very disappointing before last season with just three touchdowns and under 300 yards in his first three seasons. And while 745 receiving yards in 2006 isn’t that impressive, the fact that Henderson had only 32 catches for 745 yards last year is quite impressive. Look for Henderson’s 23.3 yards per catch average to decrease substantially this year, because his yards and amount of catches will increase a great deal with a bigger role in the Saints’ offense. Also watch: Linebacking core Brian Simmons, Scott Fujita, and Scott Shanle will all three need to do a good job supporting against the run, and assisting the secondary against the opposing team’s passing attack.

What I expect to see from the Saints in 2007-08:

- Drew Brees will be just about as good as last year, and will be the starter for the NFC in the Pro Bowl just edging out Donovan McNabb.

- Reggie Bush will be excellent next season out of the backfield, catching punts, running pass routes, and serving gumbo in the parking lot before the game if he wants. On a related note: There are two words that will force Texans fans to jump ship in five years when Reggie Bush is the best running back in football: Mario Williams.

- Marques Colston will be a disappointment this year, not coming close to duplicating his 2006 season, but Devery Henderson will pick up the slack. Henderson will be phenomenal, and will prove – more than Colston – that the Saints were justified in cutting aging Joe Horn loose.

- The Saints defense will quite bad, and the dreadlocked Mike McKenzie will show his age when becoming used to chasing after opposing wide receivers streaking towards the end zone after McKenzie realizes that he may have lost a step or two over the offseason.

- One bright spot though, in the defense, will be both Charles Grant and Will Smith. Both will mirror the performance of Freeney and Mathis in Indy and challenge for a spot in the Pro Bowl.

- The last game of the year will be meaningless because both teams – the Bears and the Saints - will have their playoff seeds locked up. But the Saints and the Bears will play a very meaningful game in the conference finals, at Soldier Field, with the Bears once again proving that defense wins championships (or, at least, gets you to the Super Bowl).

- Finally, the city of New Orleans will still be in disarray after the season, and while the Saints will serve as a three hour diversion each week, the harsh reality of the situation will be summed up in one simple question by the survivors of the awful events of hurricane Katrina in 2005. That question: How is America considered the best country in the world when New Orleans still looks like this more than two years after Hurricane Katrina?

How the New Orleans Saints will fare in 2007-08 – Quite frankly, the New Orleans Saint’s division is terrible with Atlanta, Carolina, and Tampa Bay all sub 500 teams. In my opinion, the Saints should easily win at least five, if not six games in their division. Out of their additional ten games, I see the Saints winning an additional six (not opening night against Indy though) for a projected record of 12-4 and the second seed in the NFC’s playoffs. I believe that even though they have the potential to reach and win the Super Bowl, the Saints will lose to the Bears in the playoffs and their season will be considered a disappointment by their fans, unlike 2006.