Five bottom-feeders can draw inspiration from Saints
Article By viyer.tsn on 13th February, 2010
The New Orleans Saints have given hope and been a source of inspiration to so many in the Big Easy. They rose up when their city needed it most to become Super Bowl champions. They also should serve as a reminder that any NFL franchise is capable of turning itself around, no matter how bleak the situation may seem.
Steven Jackson is a starting point, but the Rams are far from being showstoppers.
When the Saints were 3-13 nomads in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, no one could have expected the kind of success they've enjoyed since (two NFC championship game appearances, one Super Bowl title).
The Saints' rise after bringing in the right people -- coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees -- should inspire the league's bottom-dwellers.
Here are the NFL's lowest five, according to Sporting News magazine's first 2010 power poll, and what the near-future looks like for them:
32. St. Louis Rams
It has been 10 years since St. Louis had the "Greatest Show" in the NFL. After what happened in 1999 -- the Rams won a championship after going 4-12 in '98 -- the Rams know surprise upswings are possible. But a decade later, the team is mired again among the league's worst.
One of their superstars in '99 was running back Marshall Faulk, now an analyst for the NFL Network. Although Faulk is hopeful his former team can find its way again, he knows there is quite a mess to clean up.
"I'm not sure they know their plan and have an idea of what direction they want to go in yet," Faulk said. "It's just been one year for (general manager) Billy Devaney, and one year for (coach) Steve Spagnoulo."
Success for Kevin Smith's Lions is more difficult while playing in the NFC North.
The problems are similar to the team's issues in the early '90s -- a lack of consistency at quarterback and a series of bad drafts that has especially hurt the defense. The team will need to hit on a young franchise QB to g...
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