In February of 2010, the Saints were on top of the world as Super Bowl Champions. However, like every reigning Super Bowl Champion before them since the 2003 New England Patriots, the Saints failed to win a playoff game, losing in embarrassing fashion to the Seattle Seahawks, a team that somehow qualified for the playoffs at 7-9, the first team with a losing record ever to make the playoffs. The Saints reloaded in the offseason and quietly had one of the few best offseasons in the league and appear poised for another run at the title.

The most important part of their strong offseason was shoring up the defensive line. Alex Brown at left end and Remi Ayodele at defensive tackle were major weaknesses for this team on the defensive line last year. They only managed 33 sacks last season and allowing a whopping 41 points to the Seahawks in their first round playoff loss.

Replacing Brown at left end, the Saints have 1^st round pick Cameron Jordan, the 24^th overall pick in April. Jordan will be hurt by the lockout, but he’ll still be a big upgrade. He was wildly considered a top 15 pick who somehow fell to the Saints at 24. Meanwhile, the Saints signed Aubrayo Franklin to play inside next to Sedrick Ellis. Franklin is not a great pass rusher, but he’s a beast against the run when he’s motivated. The Saints were able to get him for just a one year deal so he’ll once again be motivated in his 3^rd straight contract year. He compliments Ellis, a strong pass rusher, well.

At right end, the Saints are counting on a bounce back year from Will Smith. Smith, after 13 sacks in 2009, inexplicably dropped to 5.5 sacks in 2010. He still managed 35 quarterback pressures, which shows he still has it in him. Having Cameron Jordan opposite him should help free him up to get after the quarterback more.

With Smith having a down year, defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis led the team with 6 sacks. He should have a similar total again in 2011, all while providing excellent play against the run. He’s really blossomed into one of the top 4-3 under tackles in the league. He can only play better with Aubrayo Franklin drawing attention next to him. Add in veteran backup Shaun Rogers, still a talented run stuffer, at defensive tackle, and what was once a weakness of this team is now a strength.

At linebacker, middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma is once again an above average linebacker. However, they’ve lacked consistency on the outside for years. On the strong side, talented 3^rd round rookie Martez Wilson will compete with JoLonn Dunbar, who has impressed in limited action in his career, for the starting job. That position should be better off than it is normally. On the weak side, however, Jonathan Casillas, an inexperienced linebacker coming off of major surgery is expected to win the job, but only by default. His competition, incumbent Scott Shanle, might have been the worst starting linebacker in the league last season. 

At cornerback, Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter will start. Greer had a very strong 2009, but had a down year in 2010. Like Will Smith, this decline is pretty inexplicable and the Saints are obviously hoping he reverts to his 2009 form in 2011. Porter, meanwhile, was their best cornerback in 2010. He might miss the opener after offseason knee surgery, though they’re expecting to have him back by then. If Porter misses anytime, 2010 1^st round pick Patrick Robinson will start. Robinson was a reach in the 1^st and didn’t fill an obvious need, but he played decent as a nickelback in 2010.

At free safety, another former first round pick, Malcolm Jenkins, plays very well. He was really missed in their loss to Seattle last year. Had he played, they could have easily won. Roman Harper is once again the strong safety. He struggles in pass coverage and was a big part of the reason why they lost to the Seahawks, but he’s a beast against the run and needed to be retained this offseason. They did, however, overpay, but that was the only player they overpaid this offseason.

Resigning Roman Harper was one of their main priorities for this offseason and though they did overpay for him, they didn’t overpay to tend to their other priorities, which they did very nicely. They needed to fix the defensive line, which I’ve already mentioned, and they also needed to add talent at linebacker, which they did by drafting Martez Wilson, once a fringe first round prospect, in the 3^rd.

 

They also needed to fix up their running game and their offensive line. At center, Jonathan Goodwin, a decent, but declining player, left as a free agent, but they signed Olin Kreutz, an upgrade, in the offseason. Matt Tennant, a 2010 5^th round pick, is the future at the position, but they obviously weren’t comfortable starting him at center just yet.

They resigned left tackle Jermon Bushrod as well. Bushrod is not a great left tackle or anything, but he’s decent and has familiarity with Drew Brees, a huge plus in this lockout shortened offseason. The Saints didn’t feel comfortable starting 2010 2^nd round pick Charles Brown at left tackle just yet, so they resigned Bushrod. Brown could see some action on the right side this season because they cut Jon “Stinkbomb” Stinchcomb, a terrible player, in the offseason. Zach Strief, a career backup, is currently listed as the starter. However, the long term plan is for Brown to be their left tackle.

At guard, the Saints have easily the best duo of guards in the league. Jahri Evans got a big payday last offseason and was worth every penny of it. Carl Nicks, meanwhile, will get a big payday next offseason and he too will be worth every penny of it. Those two combine with Olin Kreutz to form a very formibidle interior line and if Bushrod can play solid once again and Charles Brown can step in for Strief and play well, or Strief surprises, they have a very, very good line.

A strong interior line will only help their running game, another priority of this offseason. I guess you could also say getting rid of Reggie Bush and his ridiculous cap number for 2011 was also a priority. They did that, sending Bush to Miami for a late pick and a reserve safety. Bush will be replaced as a speed/pass catching back by Darren Sproles, another player they might have overpaid for a bit, but not by much.

Easily their biggest addition at running back was Mark Ingram. Ingram was the top back in the 2011 class and fell to 28 because of injury concerns. He has top 15 talent when healthy and he appears to be very healthy at this point. He’ll stabilize a running game that suffered so many injuries in 2010 that Julius Jones was their leading rusher in the Seattle loss. Ingram figures to be the #1 back, while injury prone Pierre Thomas will be their #2.

Chris Ivory, who showed himself to be a decent player as an undrafted rookie, could see time again if there are injuries. Sporles will come in on 3^rd downs and 2^nd and longs. Basically, the Saints have 4 solid running backs so they shouldn’t blow through all their depth once again. Sean Payton loves mixing things up with his running backs so all 4 could have an impact this season.

At stronger running game will only help Drew Brees, who had to throw 144 more times in 2010 than in 2009 because of their lack of running game. The Saints are a pass first team, but won in 2009 because they had offensive balance, something they’ll have once again. Brees will also be helped by his own health. Brees played through a bad knee last year, an explanation for his career high 22 interceptions. Another explanation was his lack of running game, but both are problems that have been solved this season.

At wide receiver, the Saints go 3 strong with Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, and Lance Moore. All 3 have had injury problems in the past. Colston had yet another knee operation this offseason and is still not practicing, while Meachem struggled through leg injuries in 2010 and recently hurt his back in a preseason game. Moore, meanwhile, was very ineffective in 2009 with injury problems, but he is the healthiest of the bunch now. He could be an interesting fantasy sleeper for people who care about that.

In addition to his 3 receivers, Brees will have Jimmy Graham to work with. Graham, a 2010 3^rd round pick, impressed in limited action down the stretch last season. In the 2^nd half of last season, Graham caught 26 passes for 307 yards and 5 touchdowns despite not even being the starter. The mediocre Jeremy Shockey is gone and the starting job is all Graham’s. David Thomas, meanwhile, will continue to see a lot of the field as a blocker in 2 tight end sets.

The Saints had a down year in 2010, but figure to be better in 2011. Drew Brees is healthy. The running game is much more stable. They fixed both the offensive and defensive lines, as well. They showed last season that they have no fear going into Atlanta and winning, a very tough thing to do over the past 3 seasons. I think they leapfrog Altanta for the division again and grab one of the NFC’s 2 first round byes. They have as much as talent as and more continuity than the Philadelphia Eagles.

Quarterback: A

Running backs: B-

Offensive line: B

Receiving corps: B+

Run defense: B-

Pass rush: B-

Pass coverage: B

Coaching: A-

Projection: 13-3 1^st in NFC South