Ask Mikey. He knows everything!

Come draft time, Tri-parish sports show listeners zone in on only two folks: ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Lockport native Mike Detillier.

For the last 26 years, Detillier has offered his insight on thousands of NFL prospects. Every year, his annual draft book, “Mike Detillier’s Draft Report,” ships from his Lockport home across the country, providing over 200 pages of season overviews on every NFL team and facts and info on potential draftees.

During football season, the father of two can be heard on New Orleans’ WWL 870 AM, along with Bobby Hebert and Deke Bellavia, doing the Saints pregame and postgame radio shows.

SportsNet caught up with the football enthusiast to get an early look at the 2009 Saints football season.

Sports Net: So, Mike, what’s your assessment of the 2009 Saints as they enter training camp this week?

Mike Detillier: I think, one, they’ll be better coached on defense. Greg Williams is one of the few of the standard bearers. You know what you are getting from him as a defensive coach. He’s aggressive and likes to put pressure on the quarterback. I think schemes work if you can convince people because then they’ll work harder at it if they don’t have doubts. I think they can be convinced his style will work. I’m not sure in previous years that they were convinced the style would work. I think they’ll be better coached defensively.

Secondly, they have better players. You look over the last 15 and 16 months, this team has added Jonathan Vilma at middle linebacker, Jeremy Shockey at tight end, Bobby McCray at defensive end, Randall Gay at nickel back, Tracy Porter, Malcolm Jenkins and Jabari Greer at cornerback, Sedrick Ellis at defensive tackle, Darren Sharper at safety, those are all quality guys. You look at defensive tackle Rod Coleman and if he is healthy he can help this team quite a bit. So you have an opportunity there because the defense is better coached and they have better talent. They are going to score points; there is no question about it because they have one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the game today.

SN: We’ve now entered the post-Deuce McAllister era in New Orleans. What’s the running game going to look like?

MD: The running game is always going to be the stepbrother to the passing game because they really want to throw the football. The teams that win in this league normally have a real insurgent defense, have the ability to run the football when they need to and they play solid on special teams. There’s still some question marks there. Can the Saints run the football when they need to? The team that is the most similar to the Saints in the NFL is the Arizona Cardinals, and they made it to the Super Bowl last year and came real close to winning it all. A big difference is what team gets hot late. It happens in all sports. Not a lot of difference between the two teams.

SN: Any chance undrafted free agents Herb Donaldson or P.J. Hill make the team at running back?

MD: I think Lynell Hamilton has a better chance to make the team. P.J. has his weight down. He’s always been a guy who has been a real good north-south runner. Donaldson is a real short, bowling ball type runner, real tough. To make a 53-man squad, for them, they are going to have to have a break. Someone would probably have to get hurt. I like Hamilton. He was very impressive. He’s a big kid, can catch the ball well. Runs with good lower body power.

I’d love for them to get Edgerrin James, to be honest. I know you have to give the young guys a shot but I wish they had gone after Edge. He would have been a nice fit here because he can catch the ball. He is never going to be that feature guy again, but he’d still be very solid for the Saints.

SN: What position is going to make the difference for the Saints this season?

MD: In my opinion, and maybe just mine, the difference this year is going to be special teams. That is going to make or break this football team.

We’ve had a kicking game disaster since John Carney was released. Garrett Hartley did a great job last year, but can he continue – that is in question. Kickers always have that natural tendency to get cold. The Saints have been real fortunate in the kicking game up until two years ago.

The punting game is still in the air. Glen Pakulak has been a journeyman punter in the NFL. Thomas Morstead was a very good college punter. Let’s see how he handles the NFL. I’m not concerned about the deep snapper.

Houser was one of the best in the game but Jason Kyle was very good also.

Reggie Bush, if he is healthy, is as dangerous a punt return guy as there is in the NFL.

On kickoff, Courtney Roby I thought was very good when he was healthy. You have to be careful with Pierre because with him being more of a feature back you are not going to be able to put him as a kickoff guy.

My main concern is coverage units. This game has totally changed. Devin Hester changed the football world.

I’ve been doing this 26 years now. This is the best young group of return men in that time frame. There are really talented guys so you are going to need faster guys on special teams. That’s a big part of this game, the special teams and the coverage unit.

There’s a lot of uncertainty on special teams with the exception of Reggie Bush, he is a dominant guy.

Everybody has good return people. That’s the big question mark for me. They still need Will Smith and Charles Grant to play big when they are going to be eligible, but a big part of the season is going to be special teams.

SN: You mention special teams. Any chance Skyler Green can make the cut this season? He looked pretty impressive in the last two games last year.

MD: It’s a long shot. It’s going to be tough for him. It’s a crowded area at receiver. Will he be in the mix? Yes, but I wouldn’t put money on him making the 53-man roster. It’s just too much for him to overcome.

SN: What will be the team’s strongest point this year, as if it wasn’t obvious?

MD: Drew Brees is the biggest strength you have. But number two is the offensive line has been terrific protecting the quarterback over the last three years.

The Saints have two really good young guards. (Jahri) Evans has the chance to be a Pro Bowl player. Carl Nicks is going to be a really good player on the other side. Jammal Brown, when he has been healthy, has done a nice job at left tackle and Jonathan Stichcomb and Jonathan Goodwin are both steady, solid football players. The front five is pretty solid.

Another thing is the receiving corps. I don’t think many teams have that type of pitch and catch game and you throw Drew into the mix.

You have a Jeremy Shockey and Billy Miller at tight end, Marques Colston, Lance Moore and Devery turned out to be a very good number three receiver. I think Robert Meachem is going to play big this year. I think he has a chance to really surface and showcase his skills and I thought Adrian Arrington was terrific before he got hurt.

Five real strong receivers and throw Roby into the mix who has played a little receiver with the Titans, and it’s about as solid as it can get.

And lastly, believe it or not, the secondary has a chance to be really good.

I think Porter is going to be a solid football player. He’s got the look of a really top-flight corner. Greer is a solid starter in the NFL, Randall Gay is a very good nickel and dime guy. This is a big year for Roman Harper. He has got to prove himself. Darren is an older guy but still has some gas left in the tank.

Let’s see how well they can develop some of the younger guys, Usama Young and Chip Vaughn. That’s talent there. How quickly that can be turned into production remains to be seen but it’s a fairly strong area for the football team. It went from a real questionable area to maybe being the strongest area they have on defense.

SN: On that note, what is the team’s biggest weakness?

MD: You would like to have a big play outside linebacker. Scott Shanle is probably an average starter. You would like to have a pressure guy to get upfield and put pressure on the quarterback but you don’t have it.

Fujita is a good starter on the strong side.

Also, the one thing you never have enough of is depth along the defensive line. It’s the hardest area to get if you lose someone. They just aren’t on the street.

If I was New Orleans, I would be a little concerned about depth at running back and defensive tackle. Brian Young retired. Hollis Thomas was released. They have to hope someone like Demario Pressley can come in and give you solid playing time.

Derrick Brooks would be the perfect fit. I think Derrick can still play. I think he’d win the weakside linebacker spot. He’s still got some gas left in the tank. He’s basically a one-year player, a rent-a-player, but he brings a lot to the table. He’s a former Pro Bowl player. He understands how to play the game very well. In my opinion, he would be an upgrade at WLB but they want to give the younger guys a shot and still maybe bring him in a little bit later.

SN: Every year, one unexpected player excels in training camp, a la Marques Colston three years ago. Who will be that player this year?

MD: Jonathan Casillas out of Wisconsin. He was a guy I had as a third round pick but he hurt his knee late and was real slow to recover. But he is still a very good athlete. He can run the field well. I think he would have to make his mark on special teams but he’s an interesting player and a guy to keep an eye on.

Another guy is (defensive end) Jeremy Parnell from Ole Miss. He is a former basketball player, really just learning the position. I think Casillas has the best shot.

SN: Is this one of the most talented teams the Saints have had in a while?

MD: That’s a difficult question. To me, it’s not about players, it’s always about the team. Sometimes you can get fooled having a lot of really good athletes but they don’t play well as a team. That’s always a hard call as to how they’ll gel.

I think they are going to be a good team, I really do. I think it’ll be them and Atlanta for the division.

I think Carolina will slide. I have nothing against Jake Delhomme but his skills have diminished.

It’ll be New Orleans and Atlanta. We’ll see how Atlanta handles success. No team has ever repeated as NFC South champs. That’s a pretty big statistic. You have to take that serious.

The division changed once they brought in Matt Ryan. He’s the difference maker. He’s such a terrific football player. It’ll be New Orleans and Atlanta battling for the NFC South.

SN: Barring another mediocre season and a missed playoff berth, will Sean Payton be fired?

MD: No. I think it’s more of an organizational hot seat.

He signed a long-term deal last September and I can’t see Tom Benson getting rid of him. But, I think not making the playoffs for three straight years, I think Benson would question are we doing things right organizational wise.

Mickey Loomis and those guys would be in the line of fire. Tom’s not getting any younger and he’s not getting any more patient about how he wants things done.

SN: So, what’s your prediction for the season?

MD: 10-6. I picked Atlanta to be 10-6 this year too. I just think it’ll be a dead heat between the two.

I’m a big believer in scheduling in football, and the Falcons have to play the second place schedule because of how they finished last year. That could make the difference.

It’s not who you play but when, and sometimes where, you play them. It’s also who gets hot at the end of the season, like the Cardinals showed last year.

SN: On a final note, what Saints players will make the best fantasy football pickups this year?

MD: Brees is a top seven pick. After that I would go Colston because I think he is going to put up some big numbers.

I’d also go with Lance Moore as more of a fourth or fifth round pick. Same thing with Pierre because he is going to split some time. It’ll be interesting because you don’t know how they are going to handle that short yardage pass because you have to be able to handle Bush and Pierre the same.

To be honest with you, I think Jeremy Shockey is going to end up putting up some really big numbers. This offense is tailor made for him.

Brees in the first round, Colston in third, Pierre, Shockey, Reggie in fourth.

I think Brees will break Dan Marino’s single-season record and it will come to a point to where he will end up getting 40 touchdown passes. I think this is the year he breaks it.

Look at all the games Shockey, Colston and Reggie missed last year and how close he came to breaking that record. It’s hard to believe but he has a shot. But with the talent surrounding him, I think he can put up even bigger numbers than he did a year ago. He has the receivers to do it.

Lockport native Mike Detillier is the man pros and enthusiasts look to for the scoop on best-bet draft picks and the teams’ chances for a winning season. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER