Saints ready for action in new season

The rich have finally reached a deal with the richer and football will be played this season. Rest assured, the New Orleans Saints will be ready when the opening kickoff takes place.

Still sour about last season’s first round playoff defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks, the New Orleans Saints players have come together to practice all throughout the summer, despite not being obliged to with the offseason work stoppage.

Because of that diligence, the team doesn’t expect to miss a beat when camp opens and the season officially gets underway.

“We as players are really just kind of sitting here waiting to hear, ‘OK, are we locked out or are we not locked out?'” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “If we’re not locked out, then we’re ready to go in and start the season.”

With last season’s defeats still fresh in his mind, Brees organized a series of offseason workouts throughout the summer at Tulane.

The quarterback paid for the workouts out of pocket and said he did so to keep the team from becoming stagnant with NFL employees locked out of their facilities.

Other teams held similar workouts over the spring and summer months, but it’s widely reported that the Saints were among the teams to have the most participation, sometimes having up to 50 players taking part in the voluntary event.

“At some point, this will end,” Brees said. “And of course, hopefully it’ll end sooner than later, but we’ll be ready when it does.”

Saints’ coach Sean Payton was not able to attend those activities because of the labor stoppage. But he said he’s followed the reports closely and added he’s not surprised his team has turned out in droves to get ready for the season on their own time.

“I like to hear,” Payton said of the reports of voluntary workouts. “I can’t see them doing that much. I like to hear what you guys have seen. … We have great leadership.”

The leadership Payton referenced is why many believe this could be a special season for New Orleans.

The Black and Gold’s offense is expected to return the vast majority of its 2010 unit that averaged 372 yards and 24 points per game last season.

Most of that production starts with Brees, who has been among the NFL leaders in passing each of his seasons in New Orleans.

Last season was no different as the signal caller completed 448-of-658 attempts with 4,620 yards, 33 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

But Brees isn’t alone in New Orleans’ rich offensive talent pool and stalwarts like receiver Marques Colston, halfback Pierre Thomas and offensive lineman Jahri Evans all return and are ready to build on the team’s recent success.

Don’t forget about rising star and rookie halfback Mark Ingram, who the Saints traded up to draft with the No. 28 overall pick in this April’s NFL Draft.

The former Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama will provide depth to a backfield that was depleted last season with injury.

He’s ready for the challenge.

“They called me and said, ‘Mark, we just traded back into the first round and we’re about to grab you,'” Ingram said. “It really made me happy and put a huge smile on my face. I talked to Coach Payton and Mickey Loomis and they told me they were excited to have me and asked if I was ready to be a Saint. … I’m really excited to be a part of a first-class organization like the Saints.”

Defensively, the Saints also will feature key returnees like linebacker Jonathan Vilma, defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis and cornerback Tracy Porter from a unit that ranked No. 4 in total defense last year.

Despite the successes, many expect the Saints to tweak their defense through free agency after being gashed at times in the second half of the season, most notably in the playoffs by the Seahawks, who scored 41 points in a five-point Wild Card Round victory.

Veterans like Roman Harper, Randall Gay and Darren Sharper are all free agents and may not be on the roster when the new season begins.

Sharper and Harper both have said they hope to be back. Sharper has even worked out with the team throughout the summer, despite not being under contract.

“It’s not a bad situation at all,” he said. “Everyone knows I love playing here. I love the team, my teammates and my coaching staff and just everyone there.”

Regardless of how free agency shapes up, the team will have one prominent new star, California defensive end Cameron Jordan.

The Saints selected the massive end with the No. 24 pick in the NFL Draft. He is expected to join Ellis in the youth movement the team is attempting to begin along its front line.

At 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, Jordan believes he can be an every-down lineman in the NFL, a luxury the Saints cannot wait to see.

“I think I stack up pretty well against the run. I think that’s one of my specialties. That’s what I have been doing,” Jordan said. “As far as the pass, that’s what I love to do.”

Assuming the lockout doesn’t drag into the regular season, the Saints will kick off Thursday, Sept. 8 against the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

In addition to that game, the Saints will play a home tilt with the Chicago Bears on Sept. 18 and two games with the Atlanta Falcons.

Against AFC opponents, the schedule isn’t much easier and the Saints will face off with the Houston Texans on Sept. 25 and the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 23.

No one is claiming it’ll be easy. But the Saints sure appear ready for the challenge.

After the way last season ended, they are just ready for some football and they don’t believe the lockout will stand in their way of success.

“We do feel like we have a veteran group, a group that understands what it’s like to win in this league,” Payton said.

“We’re ready to go,” Sharper said. “We addressed our biggest positions of need in the draft and … it seems as though things are lined up for another Who Dat run at a Super Bowl this year.”

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees celebrates with receiver Marques Colston in the end zone last season. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Streeter Lecka