Camp countdown: Saints face tough task in fighting Super Bowl hangover
Article By Unknown on 1st July, 2010
By Mike Triplett, Sporting News correspondent
On the morning after he led the New Orleans Saints to the first Super Bowl victory in franchise history, sleep-deprived MVP quarterback Drew Brees said, "I think what's going to be fun is using the term 'repeat' all next year."
Pierre Thomas will see a bigger role in the Saints' offense this season.
But as recent history has shown, that will be much easier said than done. Over the past 11 years, only one team has repeated a Super Bowl win (the 2004 Patriots). None of the other 10 defending champions even reached a conference championship game, and five missed the playoffs altogether.
Still, the Saints have plenty of reason for optimism, as they kept their roster almost intact. The defense should be even better in Year 2 under coordinator Gregg Williams. And, of course, they still have offensive whiz Sean Payton calling the shots for Brees, a master at running the offense. What's new Offense: The Saints used a committee approach at tailback in 2009, with Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Mike Bell splitting the workload. But Thomas emerged as a bona fide No. 1 back in his third season, gaining 1,095 yards from scrimmage in the regular season. Thomas appears primed to take on a bigger role now that Bell has gone to Philadelphia. Third-year pro Lynell Hamilton seems like a natural fit to replace Bell as the short-yardage specialist and physical pounder, though he has only been used in small doses so far in his career. With the trade of Jammal Brown to the Redskins, Jermon Bushrod is now cemented at left tackle. With Brown out last season, Bushrod stepped in and did a solid job. He held up well during the playoff run and should be improved after a full year of experience. Defense: The Saints parted ways with longtime left end Charles Grant, releasing him before the start of free agency. But they replaced him...
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Still, the Saints have plenty of reason for optimism, as they kept their roster almost intact. The defense should be even better in Year 2 under coordinator Gregg Williams. And, of course, they still have offensive whiz Sean Payton calling the shots for Brees, a master at running the offense. What's new Offense: The Saints used a committee approach at tailback in 2009, with Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Mike Bell splitting the workload. But Thomas emerged as a bona fide No. 1 back in his third season, gaining 1,095 yards from scrimmage in the regular season. Thomas appears primed to take on a bigger role now that Bell has gone to Philadelphia. Third-year pro Lynell Hamilton seems like a natural fit to replace Bell as the short-yardage specialist and physical pounder, though he has only been used in small doses so far in his career. With the trade of Jammal Brown to the Redskins, Jermon Bushrod is now cemented at left tackle. With Brown out last season, Bushrod stepped in and did a solid job. He held up well during the playoff run and should be improved after a full year of experience. Defense: The Saints parted ways with longtime left end Charles Grant, releasing him before the start of free agency. But they replaced him...
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