As everyone is very well aware, the New Orleans Saints went 13-3 (6-2 home, 7-1 away) last season and won their first NFL championship ever by beating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. In a game that seemed like to go back and forth, and even seemed as if it could very easily have been be a Colts blowout early on, the Saints and Sean Payton when against conventional wisdom, made some bold calls, and had a very timely defensive touchdown secure their first Lombardi trophy. It was a great run, with a great ending, for a great city.

Arguably the two best teams played for the title last season, while during the regular season the Saints became the first team to score at least 45 points in each of the first two games of a season since the 1968 Oakland Raiders, while also becoming the fourth since 1970 to have seven different players score a rushing or receiving touchdown in a game when they beat the Giants in Week 6 – joining Seattle (10/30/1977 vs. Buffalo Bills), Cincinnati (12/17/1989 vs. Houston Oilers) and Jacksonville (12/23/2007 vs. Oakland). New Orleans also started the season at 13-0, the best start in franchise history, before falling to Dallas in Week 15, while having scored the ninth-most points in a season in NFL history (510). Questions do remain for the upcoming season; the Saints have 29 players who are restricted or unrestricted free agents. They may have a new look in 2010, but expect this team to be right at the top once again.

Drew Brees has more passing yards (14,579) than any other quarterback in his first fifty games on a new team – rookies or veterans – in NFL history, and had yet another great year with 363 completions, for 4,388 yards and 34 touchdowns. Joining Brees at the top of their individual performance charts were running back Pierre Thomas (793 YDS, 5.4 AVG, 6 TD) and wide out Marques Colston (70 REC, 1,074 YDS, 9 TD), but the list of impactful contributors to this offense is very long! In the backfield, besides Thomas, Mike Bell (172 ATT, 654 YDS, 5 TD) and Reggie Bush (70 ATT, 390 YDS, 5 TD) played large roles at important points in the regular and post season, while quite a few receivers other than Colston put up impressive numbers as well; Devery Henderson (51 REC, 804 YDS, 2 TD); Robert Meachem (45 REC, 722 YDS, 9 TD); tight end Jeremy Shockey (48 REC, 569 YDS, 3 TD); Bush (47 REC, 335 YDS, 3 TD). This team comes at you from all sides, on the ground and through the air!

It was not all offense that brought New Orleans it first title. Honestly, while there were a couple of standout veteran performances, it was seemingly defense by committee for the Saints, with different individuals stepping up to make big plays when needed. Seven-year veteran linebacker Jonathan Vilma led the Saints in tackles (110), solos (87), and assists (23), in addition to his 2 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 8 pass breakups, and 3 interceptions, while yet another vet, 14-year pro and first-year Saint, Darren Sharper had a career campaign at safety with his 15 passes defended, 9 interceptions, and 3 touchdowns leading the team in addition to his being the third leading tackler (71) as well. The other safety, Roman Harper, was second in tackles (102) and first in tackles for loss (10), while 3 New Orleans defensive ends combined for 23.5 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, and 5 forced fumbles; Will Smith – team-leading 13 sacks and 3 forced fumbles, and 3 tackles for loss; Charles Grant – 5.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble; Anthony Hargrove – 5 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 forced fumble. Young or old, trenches or secondary, the Saints will attack from all directions, many completely hidden by their confusing schemes.

Depending on what you read, this is a team that is once again ranked one or two atop the preseason NFL polls, and poised to contend for yet another championship. That is reason enough to get your 2010 New Orleans Saints tickets right away, so you can cheer this explosive team on each and every week they take the field at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.