Gregg Rosenthal

NEW ORLEANS - Not since the 1990’s Cowboys have we seen an NFL team savor and celebrate a championship quite like the New Orleans Saints. Those Cowboys showed up in summer tabloids. Drew Brees was more likely to land on Oprah’s couch, while his coach Sean Payton was trying to sell books on Ellen.

Perhaps the Saints kept living in the moment because they know how tough it will be to recapture the magic. They spoke openly about destiny during their championship run. Last year, they were a story about something beyond themselves. Now they are back to being another good-looking winless football team.

No Perfect Team
In today’s free agency-ruled NFL, there are no perfect teams. Even champions like the Saints – who lost only two games they tried to win last year -- have deeply ingrained flaws. The Saints were smart enough to realize that simply bringing the band back together wouldn’t be good enough.

Saints fans should be encouraged the team made unemotional decisions this offseason.

The team’s underrated front office let starting linebacker Scott Fujita walk via free agency because his talent wasn’t worth the money. They cut Super Bowl starter defensive end Bobby McCray last week (for a second time), essentially for an undrafted rookie Junior Galette.

The team didn’t rush to overpay safety Darren Sharper to return because they had second-year pro Malcolm Jenkins readying to replace him.

“[Jenkins] does certain things better than Darren,” defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Wednesday.

Sharper eventually returned on a cheap deal, but will miss the first six weeks of the season. The Saints were confident they could live without him.

Video   Hosts excited for NFC Championship rematch Sept. 9, 2010: “Football Night in America” hosts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison preview tonight’s big game between the defending Super Bowl champions the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings.

An insight into Payton’s decision-making process can be seen in a discussion this week about releasing a recent draft pick, linebacker Al Woods.

“I think the mistake is maybe hanging on to them or not recognizing some of the deficiencies and all of a sudden you go two or three years into that,” Payton said. “We’ve tried to hold true and really evaluate the players once they get here and he was an example of that.”

Payton and G.M. Mickey Loomis show great affection and emotion for their adopted home, but they know when to leave sentiment out of their personnel decisions. That bodes well for the future, but the team hasn’t exactly solved its rush defense woes. For that reason, expect a heavy dose of Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on Thursday night. Minnesota will try to slow the game down.

Still, you get the sense Payton knows his team’s warts better than anyone. He also knows how to coach around them.

Offensive Continuity
An explosive passing attack can make up for so many ills. Dominant passing games are more consistent from year-to-year than great defenses, and they are more important than strong running games.

When we last left the Saints, they possessed a young, experienced offensive unit that could attack defenses in an almost infinite variety of ways. This story hasn’t changed.

No team can duplicate the combination of youth and experience on the Saints offense. The top four wide receivers have been in the Saints system for at least four years; none are over 27 years old. The offensive line also has played together for a while. Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks make the best guard duo in football; both are 27 or under.

Payton explained how continuity helps this group.

“The repetitions in regards to certain play designs and the formations and your ability to play personnel groupings, all of that helps when you are dealing with the same characters. It’s certainly a plus for us,” Payton said.

Video   When a ‘Saint’ came marching in Sept. 9, 2010: Katrina-devastated New Orleans needed a hero and found one in star quarterback Drew Brees. TODAY’s Matt Lauer speaks with the Saints’ iconic football player about his “calling” to “be a part of the resurgence of a city.”

The Saints’ skill position depth can attack an opponent’s weakness mercilessly. The Vikings only have three healthy cornerbacks for Thursday’s game and simply won’t be able to match up. You’ll see safeties on Marques Colston, which is a mismatch. You’ll see linebackers on Jeremy Shockey – another mismatch. Even Lance Moore will be used.

This continuity and depth is what makes the Saints the Saints. In a league that is increasingly complex and geared towards the right play calls and matchups, Payton and Brees have the entire playbook open to them at all times. They know the Saints receiver’s strengths and weaknesses. They know the receivers will be in the right spot at the right time.

It’s one thing to have an experienced, veteran offensive unit. It’s much rarer to have one that is so young, led by an elite quarterback.

The Right Leaders
The Saints will always have a chance while Sean Payton and Drew Brees remain in their prime. They are the NFC’s answer to Belichick and Brady; to Peyton Manning and, well, Peyton Manning. Like Ethan Skolnick wrote this week, overcoming parity in the NFL starts with an elite quarterback.

Payton has developed a keen sense for the pulse of his team. He understands when to pull them back and when to focus on the little things. He has the best coach possible on the field in Brees.

Video   PFTV: Game of the Week Sept. 8, 2010: Mike Florio thinks beating the Vikings will help the Saints prove they are still a strong team and predicts a 10-point New Orleans win.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams doesn’t have the most talented roster to work with, but he knows how to spackle roster holes. That’s why this week’s loss of starting linebacker Jonathan Casillas shouldn’t be crippling. Williams gets the most out of lesser players.

“We take the strengths of the guys, and try not to dwell on the weakness,” Williams said Wednesday. “We try to have them do the things that they do best.”

Like Payton and Brees on offense, Williams leans heavily on middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma. The former New York Jet is the most indispensable player on the team besides Brees. Vilma’s leadership and versatility gives the Saints’attacking defense a chance to be in the right spot to make game-changing plays. And everyone is involved.

Video   Saints fans gear up for duel with Vikings Sept. 9, 2010: TODAY’s Matt Lauer chats with excited Saints fans and one brave Vikings fan at New Orleans’ Jackson Square.

“Whoever we dress on gameday, there’s a package for that particular guy,” Williams said. “And it’s called. Morale stays high when they all know they are going to play.”

Morale is beyond high in New Orleans heading into the season opener. This city is flying, delirious. Walk the streets and it feels like the Super Bowl happened yesterday. The Saints come down eventually, but it won’t be Thursday night against a Vikings team that isn’t nearly as ready for day one after a scattered, sometimes scary offseason.

We won’t truly know how this Saints team is different until they lose a few games; until they face adversity; until a bounce doesn’t go there way at the end of a game like it did last year. But the Saints have the right ingredients in place to recover from the inevitable setbacks, so they can make a run at the only thing more improbable than a Saints world championship. A second one.

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