The Stats:
Regular Season Record: 10-6
Last Six Games: 4-2
All-Time Playoff Record: 2-7
Previous Playoff Results:
Jan. 21, 2007 - NFC Championship - Chicago 39, New Orleans 14
Jan. 13, 2007 - NFC Divisional - New Orleans 27, Philadelphia 24
Jan. 6, 2001 - NFC Divisional - Minnesota 34, New Orleans 16
Dec. 30, 2000 - NFC Wild Card - New Orleans 31, St. Louis 28
Jan. 3, 1993 - NFC Wild Card - Philadelphia 36, New Orleans 20
Dec. 28, 1991 - NFC Wild Card - Atlanta 27, New Orleans 20
Jan. 6, 1991 - NFC Wild Card - Bears 16, New Orleans 6
Jan. 3, 1988 - NFC Wild Card - Minnesota 44, New Orleans 10
The Team:
Team Colors: Old Gold, Black, and White
Head Coach: Sean Payton
Owner: Tom Benson
Mascot: Gumbo
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Offensive Rankings:
Run: 19th (110.1 ypg)
Pass: 1st (281.4 ypg)
Overall: 1st (391.5 ypg)
Points Per Game: 5th (25.8 ppg)
Key Player: Drew Brees
Drew Brees hasn't been the only reason the Saints put together such a successful season, but he can probably be pointed to as the single biggest factor in their turnaround. He threw for more than 4,400 yards and had 26 touchdown passes to just 11 interceptions during the regular season, and is the catalyst for this potent offense.
Defense Rankings:
Run: 23rd (128.9 ypg)
Pass: 3rd (178.4 ypg)
Overall: 11th (307.3 ypg)
Points Per Game: 13th (20.1 ppg)
Key Player: Hollis Thomas
Thomas was having a great season before being suspended for the last four games of the regular season for a violation of the league's steroid policy. The Saints biggest weakness is their run defense, and Thomas is the best the team has at defending against it.
Special Teams:
Key Player: Reggie Bush
As he displayed at the college level, Bush has the ability to be a game-changing weapon on special teams as well as offense.
Turnovers:
Give Aways: 25th (23)
Take Aways: 31st (19)
Outlook:
I really like the way the Saints offense matches up with the rest of the defenses in the NFC field. They have so many weapons, and can hurt you in so many ways. And Drew Brees is great at orchestrating all the pieces.
If they can figure out a way to consistently stop the run on defense, there's no reason they can't make it all the way to Super Bowl XLI.
Saints Roster:
Offense
9 - Drew Brees QB
10 - Jamie Martin QB
35 - Jamaal Branch RB
25 - Reggie Bush RB
33 - Keith Joseph RB
44 - Mike Karney RB
30 - Fred McAfee RB
26 - Deuce McAllister RB
27 - Aaron Stecker RB
12 - Marques Colston WR
18 - Terrance Copper WR
19 - Devery Henderson WR
87 - Joe Horn WR
89 - Jamal Jones WR
84 - Michael Lewis WR
80 - Mark Campbell TE
85 - Ernie Conwell TE
83 - Billy Miller TE
86 - John Owens TE
52 - Jeff Faine C
47 - Kevin Houser C
70 - Jammal Brown OT
79 - Rob Petitti OT
78 - Jon Stinchcomb OT
64 - Zach Strief OT
73 - Jahri Evans OG
76 - Jonathan Goodwin OG
61 - Montrae Holland OG
75 - Jermane Mayberry OG
67 - Jamar Nesbit OG
Defense
97 - Josh Cooper DE
94 - Charles Grant DE
95 - Trevor Johnson DE
93 - Rob Ninkovich DE
91 - Will Smith DE
98 - Willie Whitehead DE
96 - Antwan Lake DT
77 - Rodney Leisle DT
66 - Brian Young DT
54 - Danny Clark LB
56 - Alfred Fincher LB
55 - Scott Fujita LB
51 - Terrence Melton LB
54 - Tommy Polley LB
58 - Scott Shanle LB
53 - Mark Simoneau LB
21 - Jason Craft CB
39 - Curtis Deloatch CB
28 - DeJuan Groce CB
34 - Mike McKenzie CB
22 - Fred Thomas CB
20 - Jay Bellamy S
29 - Josh Bullocks S
37 - Steve Gleason S
41 - Roman Harper S
24 - Bryan Scott S
23 - Omar Stoutmire S
Kicker/Punter
3 - John Carney K
4 - Billy Cundiff K
7 - Steve Weatherford P
