1 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The '09 champs can run again—and their defense will not hide
The Saints were embarrassingly drummed out of the playoffs last January, their 41--36 loss to the 7--9 Seahawks almost enough to bring those old Aints-scrawled paper bags out of the closet. Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch, in an instant YouTube classic, stiff-armed half the spiritless Saints defense on a 67-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, unpressured, shredded New Orleans for four touchdowns. Riddled by injuries, the Saints had no running back to complement Drew Brees.
In ignominy, though, there are useful lessons. New Orleans addressed two of its biggest needs in the draft when it selected two-way defensive end Cameron Jordan and 2009 Heisman-winning running back Mark Ingram with its first two picks. And still, the Saints needed more, much more. The front office went trolling in the free-agent market, cherry-picking four vital veterans: running back Darren Sproles and center Olin Kreutz to further bolster the run game; and defensive tackles Shaun Rogers and Aubrayo Franklin, easily the two best veteran tackles cut loose by their teams after the 2010 season. In 10 days of free agency the Saints did more to improve their talent level than they'd done since 2006, when they lucked into a quarterback with a bum wing.
Talk about a sea change. Even in the years after Katrina, the Saints had a hard time recruiting free agents because of their stadium (refurbished but outdated) and surface (artificial turf) and city (slow to rebound from the hurricane's devastation).
"If you asked me about free agency two or three years ago, I never would have picked New Orleans," says Sproles. That's what winning a Super Bowl does, as well as establishing yourself as a franchise built for long-term success. The personnel moves, guided by G.M. Mickey Loomis, have been smart and economical. The coaching staff, led by Sean Payton, is prepared and cutting edge. The chance to play with Brees helped persuade Kreutz and Sproles to leave the Bears and the Chargers, respectively. The chance to play for a winner helped persuade Rogers and Franklin, who had spent their careers doing nothing but losing in Detroit and Cleveland (Rogers), and San Francisco (Franklin).
Although they won the Super Bowl 19 months ago and were an 11-win playoff team last year and had a bountiful off-season, the Saints aren't a popular pick to win it all. But unless the alarming injury bug that swept through camp in late August (17 players didn't practice on the afternoon of Aug. 24) stretches into the season, there are reasons to believe that the Saints will again march into January. And those reasons begin with the run, on both sides of the ball.
Brees's brilliant 2009 was supplemented by the legs of Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush, who led a ground attack that churned out 2,106 yards. But because of injuries and a shakier line, that output plummeted to 1,519 last year. The injury-prone Bush, who never became the every-down back he wanted to be, was dealt to Miami. In his place came Ingram, the 28th pick in the draft, and Sproles, who signed a four-year, $14 million contract. In Payton's master plan Sproles will return punts and touch the ball 150 or more times, either rushing or receiving. "Darren creates mismatches all over the field," says Loomis. "And Mark—how do I temper my enthusiasm? When Ricky Williams was here in his prime, there were a few runs where he made you go, 'Whoaaaa.' Same thing with this kid."
The Saints are quietly concerned about the health of wideout Marques Colston—he's had microfracture surgery on both knees in the last two years—so the running game is going to be vital. "I see our backfield as the same three-headed monster we were in '09 with me, Reggie and Mike," says Thomas.
The two most excited newcomers, however, might be Rogers and Franklin. "I was having this conversation with Takeo Spikes, who I played with in San Francisco [and is now with the Chargers]," Franklin says. "He's played 13 years and never gone to the playoffs. We all know this is a job, but you play because you want to win too. What appealed to me was having a real chance to win a Super Bowl."
That goal, seemingly so distant for the Saints after last season's playoff debacle, is again within reach.
PROJECTED LINEUP
WITH 2010 STATS
OFFENSE
2010 Rank: 6
QB DREW BREES
ATT 658
COMP 448
PCT 68.1
YARDS 4,620
YD/ATT 7.02
TD 33
INT 22
RATING 90.9
RB PIERRE THOMAS
ATT 83
YARDS 269
REC 29
TTD 2
FB JED COLLINS (R)*
REC 52
YARDS 512
AVG 9.8
TTD 3
WR MARQUES COLSTON
REC 84
YARDS 1,023
AVG 12.2
TTD 7
WR LANCE MOORE
REC 66
YARDS 763
AVG 11.6
TTD 8
TE JIMMY GRAHAM
REC 31
YARDS 356
AVG 11.5
TTD 5
LT JERMON BUSHROD
G 16
SACKS 6
HOLD 0
FALSE 6
LG CARL NICKS
G 16
SACKS 3
HOLD 4
FALSE 0
C OLIN KREUTZ
G 16
SACKS 1
HOLD 4
FALSE 2
RG JAHRI EVANS
G 16
SACKS 2
HOLD 9
FALSE 2
RT ZACH STRIEF
G 14
SACKS 0
HOLD 8
FALSE 1
RB MARK INGRAM (R)
ATT 158
YARDS 875
REC 21
TTD 14
WR ROBERT MEACHEM
REC 44
YARDS 638
AVG 14.5
TTD 5
DEFENSE
2010 Rank: 4
DE ALEX BROWN
TACKLES 39
SACKS 2
INT 0
DT SEDRICK ELLIS
TACKLES 44
SACKS 6
INT 0
DT SHAUN MOORE
TACKLES 17
SACKS 2
INT 0
DE WILL SMITH
TACKLES 39
SACKS 5½
INT 1
LB SCOTT SHANLE
TACKLES 75
SACKS 0
INT 0
LB JONATHAN VILMA
TACKLES 105
SACKS 4
INT 1
LB WILL HERRING
TACKLES 26
SACKS 1
INT 1
CB JABARI GREER
TACKLES 61
SACKS 0
INT 2
SS ROMAN HARPER
TACKLES 93
SACKS 3
INT 1
FS MALCOLM JENKINS
TACKLES 62
SACKS 1
INT 2
CB TRACY PORTER
TACKLES 60
SACKS 0
INT 1
DT AUBRAYO FRANKLIN
TACKLES 39
SACKS 0
INT 0
SPECIALISTS
K GARRETT HARTLEY
FG 20
FGA 25
XP 40
PTS 100
P THOMAS MORSTEAD
PUNTS 57
GROSS 45.9
NET 38.4
*2007 stats
BOLD: Projected starter
Italics: New acquisition
(R) Rookie: College stats
TTD: Total touchdowns
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
SACKS: Sacks allowed
HOLD: Holding penalties
FALSE: False starts
2011 SCHEDULE
2010 RECORD: 11--5
September
8 at Green Bay (Thu)
18 Chicago
25 Houston
October
2 at Jacksonville
9 at Carolina
16 at Tampa Bay
23 Indianapolis
30 at St. Louis
November
6 Tampa Bay
13 at Atlanta
20 BYE
28 N.Y. Giants (Mon)
December
4 Detroit
11 at Tennessee
18 at Minnesota
26 Atlanta (Mon)
January
1 Carolina
COACH SEAN PAYTON
AGE: 47
SIXTH SEASON WITH THE SAINTS (49--31)
He's been a great fit with G.M. Mickey Loomis, who trusts Payton's personnel acumen as much as his game plans. Payton's not afraid to use his gut—learned, in part, from his days in Dallas with Bill Parcells—and make risky calls. He put his neck on the line to hire defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, whose schemes generate pressure on the QB without premier talent.
SPOTLIGHT
DARREN SPROLES, All-purpose back
Last season in San Diego the sprightly Sproles touched the ball 24 times on punt returns, 51 on kickoffs, 50 on the ground and 59 through the air. That's 184 touches . . . 99 more than Reggie Bush had in New Orleans last season. But that's not the most important statistic the Saints considered when they went to Bush and told him he'd have to accept a pay cut if he wanted to remain with the franchise that drafted him second overall in 2006. And it wasn't the biggest factor when they began talking to Sproles about being Bush's replacement. These numbers weighed most heavily: six, two and eight. Those are the games Bush missed due to injury in the last three seasons. Sproles has not missed a game in that span.
The Saints said all the diplomatic things about the Bush-for-Sproles exchange, but in reality, they would have been foolish not to make a change. "We're pretty much the same player," Sproles says. Except for the staying-on-the-field part. Coach Sean Payton will especially appreciate that Sproles won't complain about how he's used. "The run game, pass, return, I don't care," he says. "I like them all. I just see the open lane when I have the ball and try to hit it. It's the way I've always played." On the fast turf of the Superdome, Sproles should be a good, and durable, match for the Saints.
PHOTO
BOB ROSATO (PAYTON)
PHOTO
JONATHAN BACHMAN/CAL SPORT MEDIA (INGRAM)
TIDE HAS TURNED The selection of 'Bama product Ingram gives a ground attack that sputtered a year ago a punishing every-down back in the mold of Ricky Williams.
PHOTO
ANDREW RICHARDSON/CSM/LANDOV (SPROLES)