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Houma native Tina Breaux is usually a pessimistic Saints fan.
“I love ‘em, but I’m always expecting the worst,” Breaux said with a laugh. “I hate to say it like that, but when you have a year like we did last year where you make it so far and get so close and lose it on the last play? It’s hard to be optimistic after that.”
But Breaux and her husband are overcoming their tendencies and are calling for a Black and Gold Super Bowl in 2018-19.
The Breaux are among hundreds, if not thousands, of local fans who think the Saints are among the teams to beat this year — a drastic turnaround for a team which had suffered three-straight losing seasons before bursting through the ice last year and making it to the NFC Divisional Round of the Playoffs.
Beaux said her bold predication for the season is that the team wins the Super Bowl and quarterback Drew Brees retires.
Her husband, Scott, said he wouldn’t go so far as to say the team will win it all.
“It’s hard to win in the NFL,” he said. “You have to get lucky.”
But after a little arm-twisting from his wife, he finally came around.
“I think we’re the best team,” he said with a smile.
Lots of local fans agree.
The source of optimism for New Orleans is multi-pronged this fall, as fans think there’s a lot to love about the 2018-19 version of the team.
The Times asked 13 people about New Orleans’ chances and 11 said definitively that the team would make the playoffs, while just one said he predicted a letdown year. The other said he predicts a winning season, but believes the NFC will be loaded, which could cause the team to draw the short end of the stick.
The reasons for optimism vary from fan-to-fan, but one young man’s name comes up often in discussions — halfback Alvin Kamara.
Kamara burst onto the scene as a rookie last fall, rushing 120 times for 728 yards and eight touchdowns while also catching 81 passes for 826 yards and five scores.
In year two, fans think that Kamara will be even better and some speculate that he could even be the MVP of the entire league.
It’s not too far fetched to imagine.
Kamara’s counterpart in the backfield, Mark Ingram, is out for the first four games of the season with a suspension for using Performance Enhancing Drugs.
That should enhance Kamara’s workload even greater this fall.
“I think the young man is just a blessing to our football team,” Raceland native Keith Williams said. “I always said that we missed Darren Sproles in our offense and we weren’t the same since he left. Well now, we have Kamara and he’s bigger, harder to tackle and even better.”
But while everyone thinks the world of Kamara’s abilities, local fans are worried about his durability.
Thibodaux native Ross Verret said he hopes the Saints ride some of their veteran backs early in the season in an effort to keep Kamara fresh later in the year.
Kamara played all 16 games last year, but was never used in the traditional role of a featured back, often being limited to 15-20 touches per game.
At Tennessee, Kamara was oft-injured, which was part of the reason why New Orleans was able to snatch him up in the Third Round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
New Orleans signed veteran Shane Vereen to keep some wear off Kamara’s body with Ingram out of the lineup.
“I know what he can do statistically, but I’d rather we be patient,” Verret said. “Id rather he be fresh for the big ones than to chase that big, 1,500-yard season with him.”
Fans are even excited about New Orleans’ secondary. That’s probably the first time in 10 years that we can say that.
Last year, New Orleans was young in the back-end of its defense, but the team’s talent was undeniable, led by Marshon Lattimore, Ken Crawley, De’Vante Harris, P.J. Williams, Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams — all players who are 25 or younger.
Of course, fans have a long memory for heartbreak, so many talked about Marcus Williams’ mistake at the end of the game against the Vikings, which cost the team a chance at the NFC Championship Game.
But while the memory will last forever in Saints’ history, fans were forgiving of Williams, several adding that he will have a big future.
“Take that one play away and he was almost flawless as a rookie,” Houma native Steve Shaw said. “He made a mistake, but he was an amazing find.”
“You have to love how the kid has handled himself since then,” Thibodaux native Scott Young added. “He’s said and done all of the right things. You have to root for a guy like that to get back on top.”
So now, it’s time to make predictions.
Just about everyone asked said the Saints would finish between 10 and 13 wins — the highest prediction coming from Dyrion Johnson, of Houma, who said 14-2 and the lowest prediction coming from Sam Reese, of Houma, who said 8-8.
Of the 13 people asked, 5 people said the Saints would make the NFC Championship and lose, while 3 others had greater hope and predicted the Super Bowl.
One of those is Tina Breaux who said she remembers how last season ended all too well and is ready for a reversal in fortune.
“That was heartbreaking — one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to deal with in sports,” she said. “But that’s the great thing about athletics. There’s always tomorrow. I think our tomorrow will be bright. As bright as we’ve had in quite some time.”
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