SAINTS POISED FOR RUN AT HISTORY
By Ken Trahan
In NFL history, only eight teams have managed to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The big game has been played 44 times. The Steel Curtain of Pittsburgh did it twice with many of the same players, a tremendous feat. The last team to repeat was the New England Patriots, winning the Lombardi Trophy in 2004 and 2005. That is still recent enough in the memories of Saints fans to provide hope for the 2010 New Orleans Saints to join the list of the elite.
When you examine the teams which have repeated as Super Bowl champions, all had one significant factor in common–super quarterbacks.
Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls with Bart Starr. Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins won Super Bowls seven and eight with Bob Griese. Chuck Noll’s Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowls nine and 10, along with Super Bowls 13 and 14 with Terry Bradshaw. Bill Walsh’s San Francisco 49ers won Super Bowls 23 and 24 with Joe Montana. Jimmy Johnson’s Dallas Cowboys won Super Bowls 27 and 28 with Troy Aikman. Mike Shanahan’s Denver Broncos won Super Bowls 32 and 33 with John Elway. As mentioned, Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots won Super Bowls 38 and 39 with Tom Brady.
While all coaches mentioned are either in the Pro Football Hall of Fame or will likely be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all seven quarterbacks mentioned are either in the Pro Football Hall of Fame or will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
To repeat as Super Bowl champions, you need an elite, innovative coach. Perhaps more importantly, you need an elite, all-time great at quarterback.
Starr was a tremendous leader. Griese was much the same. Bradshaw was simply tough and had a big arm. Montana was a cerebral assassin, deadly accurate in Walsh’s West Coast offense. Aikman threw a beautiful ball and handled pressure well. Elway may have been the most physically gifted passer in NFL history. Brady is the next generation of Montana.
That brings us to Drew Brees. Since becoming a member of the New Orleans Saints, Brees has made three Pro Bowls in four years. He was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and the NFC Offensive Player of the Year three times. He was a Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. He has completed an impressive 66.85 percent of his passes, including 70.4 in 2009.
Unquestionably, in the Saints quest to two-peat, they have the right formula on the sideline and under center to do so. Sean Payton is an elite coach, a brilliant play-caller, innovative along the lines of Walsh. Brees is an elite quarterback, deadly accurate, protective of the ball, a tremendous leader, universally respected by his teammates. The formula is there.
So is the talent, at least on offense. Pierre Thomas is poised to have his beat year in his quest to obtain a huge contract. He expressed his dissatisfaction in the off season about his current deal. Keep in mind that Thomas made the Saints’ team as a free agent, hardly the stuff large pay is made of. He will get his money if he continues to accelerate his production in 2010.
Reggie Bush looks faster and stronger than at any point since he has been a Saint. Heath Evans is back to pave the way for both to run better and to catch the ball out of the backfield.
The offensive line is arguably the league’s best. Jonathan Goodwin is a solid, unspectacular center. Carl Nicks is a big, physical guard while Jahri Evans is the best in the business at the other guard spot. Jon Stinchcomb made the Pro Bowl at right tackle last season while Jermon Bushrod played well enough at left tackle for the Saints to part ways with Jamaal Brown.
Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas provide good targets at tight in the passing game. Rookie Jimmy Graham has a promising future. The wide receiving corps is good and deep. Lance Moore returns after being injured most of last season and he has had a great training camp. Marques Colston is among the league’s best. Devery Henderson is a home-run hitter. Robert Meachem is a big-play, big receiver. Adrian Arrington has the ability to become the same type of player if he sticks.
Veteran Patrick Ramsey and second-year player Chase Daniel have looked good behind Brees. The Saints should be better in that area.
The big question is on defense. Gregg Williams’ unit produced an astonishing, league-leading 39 turnovers a year ago. Can they replicate that performance or come close to it? If so, the Saints will play deep into January, perhaps in February once again in 2011.
Of course, that is unlikely to occur. The Saints will have to become more proficient at getting conventional stops, more three-and-outs, to turn the ball over to their potent offense.
To that end, defensive ends Alex Brown and Jimmy Wilkerson are in and Charles Grant is out. That’s a two-for-one deal the Saints were willing to make. They should be better, deeper there. Bobby McCray and Jeff Charleston provide depth, if both make the final roster.
The question is whether the Saints can perform better against the run. Sedrick Ellis is a solid player who must step up to become a legitimate run-stopper inside. Remi Ayodele must continue to produce. Demario Pressley and Anthony Hargrove must continue to be serviceable players. Can former LSU lineman Al Woods contribute? We haven’t seen much from him in training camp.
At linebacker, Jonathan Vilma is the unquestionable leader of the defense. He is smart. He runs very well and is outstanding in pursuit. Scott Shanle is under-appreciated. He moves to strong–side linebacker with Jonathan Casillas taking over on the weak side. Depth is a real question mark.
While the secondary is very talented, the big question surrounds the health of Darren Sharper and the ability of Malcolm Jenkins to play well at safety.
Sharper was a catalyst for the Saints’ success in 2009 with his nine interceptions, including three for scores. He has been unable to get on the field in the preseason as he recovers from a knee injury. His smarts, play-making and big-hitting are needed.
Jenkins has the size and physical ability to translate into a fine NFL safety. Can he grasp the concepts of the position quickly? Does he have a nose for the football like Sharper? Will he produce like the number one draft pick he is?
Roman Harper played better a year ago. He is best suited in run-support. At cornerback, the Saints have their best duo in franchise history in Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter. When healthy, they were terrific in 2009. If they stay healthy, the Saints defense will be improved in 2010. Veteran Randall Gay of LSU returns while top draft pick Patrick Robinson has physical ability in reserve though he will have a learning curve. Usama Young, Pierson Prioleau and Chris Reis are candidates to stick at safety.
The return game is in good shape with Courtney Roby returning kickoffs and either Reggie Bush or Lance Moore returning punts. The kicking game features the dynamic, youthful duo of Garrett Hartley and Thomas Morstead.
Hartley shined under pressure in the postseason last year. He appears on his way to a long and prosperous career in New Orleans. Morstead has a big leg, great hang-time on his punts and depth on his kickoffs.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the New Orleans cover-teams were poor in 2009 and have been awful in the preseason of 2010. They must improve dramatically. Look for the final roster spots on the team to be addressed by Payton picking guys who can excel in this department.
The final question is this–how hungry are the Saints? In the NFL, where the talent level is close all around, it is often all about who stays healthy and who wants it more. My gut feeling is that Brees, Payton, Williams, Vilma and the like will not allow the team to become complacent.
The opening game with Minnesota will tell us much. The Vikings are loaded for bear, wanting to avenge last year’s NFC championship game result. The Saints want to prove that the win was no fluke. Frankly, Saints players are tired of hearing about how the Vikings outplayed them that night and were the better team. I get the feeling that this game may not be close either way. How will Brett Favre perform at the age of 40, coming off of a serious ankle injury inflicted by the Saints?
In the NFC, Minnesota, Dallas, Atlanta and Green Bay appear to be the biggest threats to unseat the Saints. San Francisco could be a sleeper.
When you have an elite quarterback and an elite coach, the possibility of making history is plausible, real though history suggests that is going to be very difficult to do. Let the games begin!
Ken Trahan serves as sports director of WGSO 990 AM/WGSO.com and is president and general manager of neworleans.com Sports. Trahan is the also the general manager and chairman of the board of the Saints Hall of Fame Museum in the Louisiana Superdome, and runs the Life Resources Sports Ministry
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