The New Orleans Saints have come a long way, sitting on top of their conference with a 4-1 record despite having their Hall of Fame-bound quarterback, injured Drew Brees, on the mend. Sean Payton is the winningest coach in team history with a 122-75 record and more playoff victories (8) than every other coach before him even appeared in (6). He and Brees brought the Saints their first NFL championship with a win in Super Bowl XLIV.
Saints fans following the team right now are enjoying the greatest stretch of success since New Orleans got a team in 1967. And Saints fans who stuck with the team before Payton and Brees arrived know not to take it for granted. Proof of that comes from a list of the NFL’s 100 worst all-time teams put together by USA Today, in which five different Saints teams made an appearance:
99. 2005 Saints (3-13): They deserve resilience points for winning three times despite being displaced the entire season by Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans’ “home” games occurred at New Jersey’s Giants Stadium, San Antonio’s Alamodome and Baton Rouge’s Tiger Stadium. Silver lining: Drew Brees and Sean Payton arrived a few months later.
90. 1999 Saints (3-13): Coach Mike Ditka was fired after the season, one that began with him trading his entire draft (and more) in order to select Ricky Williams.
83. 1970 Saints (2-11-1): Just imagine if Tom Dempsey hadn’t kicked his then-record 63-yard FG to beat Detroit 19-17 that November.
57. 1980 Saints (1-15): They beat the Jets 21-20 at Shea Stadium in Week 15 for their first win — narrowly avoiding the league’s first 0-16 campaign. The worst of the Ain’ts, as no New Orleans team was outscored this badly (196 points).
52. 1975 Saints (2-12): A microcosm of the Archie Manning years, they were sunk by an offense that produced the fewest points and yards in the league … despite Manning’s otherworldly talent.
Woof. How’s that for a rogues’ gallery of icons from Saints history? With names ranging from Mike Ditka and Ricky Williams to Archie Manning and the Aint’s (recalling the image of fans wearing paper bags over their heads at Saints games) making the cut, it’s easy to see how so much of New Orleans’ football legacy is filled with disappointment. And maybe that fans should appreciate the current incarnation a little stronger.
