|
Well Saints fans the beginning
of football season is almost upon us. With the start of
training camp, it's time to take a look at the upcoming
season. Saints fans have become familiar with the high
expectations early and the depressing let downs late into
the season. There have been too many seasons, for the
comfort of Saints fans, that have ended with the Saints
looking from the outside in on the playoffs. Every year we
flutter to find an excuse for our all too early
elimination from contention. This is something Saints fans
have dealt with since the inaugural season back in 1967.
Every year we ask ourselves
the same questions, "When will it be our turn to bask
in the glory of a title?" or "What would have
happened if a few plays or injuries had went another
way?" and sigh to ourselves "Next year will be
our year!". With all the short comings of this
organization you begin to wonder if it will ever happen.
Do the Saints really have a chance at a title? The answer
to that question would be "YES!". I mean why
not, every team has a chance right? If you don't think so
look back at the Carolina Panthers not even a year ago.
Sure they didn't win it all but can you say they didn't
have a chance. Well I bet you would have a said they
didn't a year ago. Did anyone think the New England
Patriots would win it all in 2001-02 against the mighty
Rams? Mighty Rams? Did you think you'd hear that before
the '99 season? The truth be told, everyone in the NFL has
opportunity to make a run. It's up to the players,
coaches, and yes fans! So is this finally the year of the
Saints? Are there reasons for faith, well lets take a
look.
Led by 4th year starter
Aaron Brooks the Saints' offense has shown flashes of
greatness. Brooks has shown poise at a position that needs
it most. Aside from a case of the fumbles last year,
Brooks showed improvement in his ability to run the
offense, as he posted a career best 88.8 quarterback
rating and threw for 24 touchdowns to only 8 interceptions
despite a injury plagued year that limited both Joe Horn
and Donte' Stallworth. With all the negatives put on
Brooks you have to take a long look back to a certain Mr.
Manning to find a better Saints quarterback. Aaron has
posted some of the best passing numbers in Saints history
since becoming the starter and ranks in the team's top
five in every major passing category, including: Net yards
passing (8,918, fourth), pass attempts (1,280, fourth)
completions (708, fourth), completion percentage (55.3,
fifth), touchdowns (62, third) and passer rating (79.4,
second). He has thrown for over 300 yards five times since
emerging as the team leader in 2000 in relief of injured
starter Jeff Blake in Week 11 (vs. Oakland, 11/19/00).
Striving to not have a
repeat of year's past wideout Donte' Stallworth has worked
on his conditioning in the offseason to prevent the
nagging injuries, along with improving his work ethic to
develop himself into a real force for 2004 and if he CAN
stay healthy look for great things from this speedy
receiver. Horn, despite rumors of a possible trade,
returns as one of NFL's most prolific receivers since
signing with New Orleans in 2000 adding to one of the
league's best receiving cores. Another bright spot for the
New Orleans offense was the emergence of tight-end Boo
Williams who in replacement of the injured Ernie Conwell
proved to be the tight-end Haslett and company has been
looking for since their arrival in New Orleans. To add to
this already thrilling group unit, "Deuce is
loose" and has been since getting the starting nod in
2002. McAllister has emerged as on one of the leagues,
arguably, top 5 runningbacks. One thing however there is
no argument about is that Deuce is one of the league's
most dangerous threats and is one of the major keys to New
Orleans success in 2004. He gives the Saints a valuable
asset whether it be through running the ball, receiving,
or blocking. All areas McAllister has mastered over his
still young career. Deuce has eclipsed the 1000 yard mark
in each of his two seasons as the Saints starter, having
his best in 2003 with 1,641 yards rushing, reaching the
100+ mark in 9 consecutive games and his second
consecutive Pro Bowl nomination.
The Saints' defense is one
of the teams biggest question marks coming into the
training camp. After a failure with the "lunch bunch
theory" coach Haslett look to speed and a nonstop
motor on defensive line with the free agent pick up of DT
Brian Young and the drafting of Ohio State defensive end
Will Smith with the 18th overall pick in April's draft.
With the offseason addition of defensive line coach John
Pease the Saints' defensive line look to be improved. The
main area's of concern going into the offseason, however
were at the linebacker and cornerback spots. Haslett and
crew hope that the drafting of MLB Courtney Watson and the
development of second year linebacker Cie Grant fill the
needs at linebacker. The Saints also went out and picked
up CB Jason Craft and New Orleans Voodoo standout Monty
Montgomery give them the depth needed to be successful at
stopping the pass. There have also been reports the 5th
year man Fahkir Brown has improved dramatically and could
vie for a starting spot during training camp. There are
still too many question marks on defense that should be
answered during training camp and preseason.
After all has been said the
question still remains. Is this the Saints year? Well only
time can tell but with the surplus of young talented
players you definitely can't rule them out. Regardless of
the overall outcome of this season, it should be a fun
exciting ride. So get your jersey's out of the closet,
pull out the Mardi Gra beads, and start the chants of
"WHO DAT!" because it's football time in the Big
Easy!
|
