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July 25, 2012It’s impossible to predict how the Saints will do in ’12-13
July 25, 2012
A lot has happened since the game clock struck 0:00 in San Francisco on Jan. 14, ending the Saints’ 2011-12 season with a painful, 36-32 playoff loss to the 49ers.
Bounty allegations have turned into suspensions for both players and coaches. Suspensions have turned into flirtations with free agents and also a coach known as Tuna.
Contract negotiations have turned into holdout threats. Holdout threats have resulted in revised offers and new, sparkly $100 million contracts.
Someone even accused the Saints of wiretapping the Superdome – crazy, right? That investigation is still ongoing.
With all of the baggage still dangling over the team’s heads, the Saints officially closed the book on the 2012 tumultuous offseason this week with the start of training camp.
With their eyes focused on winning a second Super Bowl, the Black and Gold players believe this offseason’s distractions are now officially a thing of the past as the team tries to rally in the name of the Lombardi Trophy.
“The excuses are there as to why we shouldn’t succeed this year,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees told WWL Radio. “Because of the suspensions and the bad publicity and all of these other things.
“But the fact of the matter is this team is built on the philosophy of creating a winning environment. The culture that is to bring the best out of everybody, to create competition, to lean on one another when times are tough, when somebody is not there and the next man is up. We have a job to do and we are never going to make excuses.”
Excuses or not, the Saints are loaded on offense in ’12.
Fresh off a record-breaking 2011-12 season, Brees returns for his seventh-straight season in New Orleans.
The quarterback reached rarified NFL air last season when he broke the NFL single-season record for yards (5,476) and completions (468), while also posting 46 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions.
The quarterback will report to the team happy after signing a 5-year, $100 million contract this offseason.
“This is what we all wanted,” Brees said. “We all wanted for me to have the opportunity to finish my career in New Orleans. That’s all I ever wanted this entire time. I’m glad to see that’s accomplished.”
With the quarterback locked up, the Saints also return arguably the deepest backfield in the NFL with halfbacks Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram, Chris Ivory and Darren Sproles all in the fold.
The group of four combines speed, power, agility and receiving skills to give the team options in its backfield.
“We push each other to do our best,” Thomas told the team’s official website. “Everybody steps up and takes charge. … We are trying to be the best backfield in the league.”
Away from the backfield, the Saints also return a receiving corps led by standouts like Marques Colston, Lance Moore and Devery Henderson.
The team also drafted former Wisconsin standout Nick Toon in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft to fill a void left when Robert Meachem signed with the San Diego Chargers in free agency.
The rookie said he cannot wait to be a part of the Saints’ high-powered offense.
“Drew Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” Toon said. “I am looking forward to going out there and catching passes from him and helping the Saints in any way that I can.”
Up front, the Saints will have to replace All-Pro Carl Nicks, who signed a long-term contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
His void will be filled by former Baltimore Raven Ben Grubbs, who signed with the team in free agency.
On defense, a lot of the Saints’ faces will remain the same.
But the man calling the shots will be different.
New Orleans hired Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to operate its defense.
He replaces blitz-heavy former coordinator Gregg Williams, who was placed in NFL exile after allegedly organizing the Saints’ bounty program.
The biggest challenge for the Saints’ 2012 defense, according to the coordinator, will be picking up the new scheme.
“When you are putting in something new, you have to go at a teaching tempo,” Spagnuolo said. “You have to keep feeding it to them and repeating it. I hope that they pick it up.”
New teaching methods and new coaching styles will be something the Saints have to get used to in 2012.
That’s because head coach Sean Payton will miss all of the season because of the bounty scandal.
His appointed replacement, Joe Vitt, will also miss six games.
That means the Saints will hear various voices throughout the season – a trio consisting of Vitt, Spagnuolo and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael will have input in the team’s strategy and game plans.
How it works during the heat of the season remains to be seen.
In offseason minicamps, Vitt said things have been different, but everything has worked without a hitch.
“This is a transition for me and I have to do whatever is best for our football team,” Vitt said. “I am not going to lie to you, I am still finding my way a little bit.”
But Brees said nothing will stop the team short of its goal.
He said the Saints will be ready when the opening whistle blows in September.
They hope to play in the Super Bowl – which just so happens to be in New Orleans.
“That is the mindset that we take every day – that it’s going to be a black-and-gold Super Bowl,” Brees said.
New Orleans Saints halfback Pierre Thomas breaks a tackle during a game last season. Thomas and the Saints are ready to shake off the offseason adversity to try and win a second Superbowl.
