New Orleans Saints 2007 Preview
Background: The New Orleans Saints have been the Gulf Coast's lovable losers for decades. Even in these lean years, the Saints have enjoyed a respectable base of support. The Saints have been there for decades and have become part of the culture, sometimes exciting like the region's wonderful food and music and sometimes difficult to enjoy like the repressive humidity.
Team Identity: The Saints have long been connected to their region. Much like the tattered charm of New Orleans, the Saints have been supported even as they stumbled. However, New Orleans is a tough place in today's NFL. The city lost a large part of its population base because of Katrina. The state and the city have been mired in long standing financial issues.
Owner Tom Benson enraged the public at large when he so openly courted San Antonio as a permanent home. He got his PR act together last season and benefitted from a winning year. However, another successful year will have him moaning about replacing the Superdome yet again.
The Saints fan base deserve a great team, a great stadium, and a great owner. At the moment, they have only one of those things. They need to follow the Colts model, but I'm not sure that Benson is patient or smart enough to do so.
2007 Storyline: The issues with the Saints have always been about consistency. Except for a brief winning period during the Jim Mora years, the Saints have perenially been an up and down team. 10 win seasons can easily be followed by 10 loss seasons.
Last year's team was a media darling. The Saints returned from a year in exile in San Antonio after Hurrican Katrina ravaged New Orleans. The team had a new coach, a new QB, and the most exciting player in the draft, Reggie Bush. This all led to a Cinderella year that ended with the Saints one game away from a Super Bowl berth.
This year's team looks impressive on paper, but now the honeymoon days are over. Fans are expecting greatness. Reggie Bush sits on the verge of becoming a major star. The NFC South is always tough. Teams from that division have played in either the Super Bowl or the NFC Championship Game for the last few years. This year's fans will be waiting to see if the Saints can handle success, something they have never done well.
Expectation Meter: As already mentioned, it is high. Football is back in Louisiana. Nick Saban brought LSU back from the dead, and Les Miles has kept them strong. Now, the Saints appear to be fielding the most exciting offense outside of Indy. Anything less than a Super Bowl run will be very disappointing.
With winning comes expectations. For the good of New Orleans, we hope that the Saints can keep things together for another season. They are a likable team (except for the owner). We will keep our fingers crossed that Sean Payton channels Jim Mora's consistency and avoids Jim Haslett's up and down ways.
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