Most people in Baton Rouge are so focused on the 2003 season of LSU football, they are forgetting something that means just as much or almost more in the world of football.
What could that possibly be?
It’s the 2003 New Orleans Saints football season, of course.
After last year’s late season debacle, in which the Saints could not defeat one of three division cellar dwellers, including the Cincinnati Bengals, Saints fans are chomping at the bit for a fresh start.
The black and gold fans proved just that, snatching up season tickets in record numbers, with many of them coming at just $150 for a ten-game season. Those cheap tickets also are obviously the cheap seats, so plastic bags of Jim Beam, profanity and mullets will be flowing.
Unfortunately, I don’t see what all the hoopla is about.
What would make anybody think, including myself, that the Saints could possibly improve on a decent 9-7 record, albeit it was not good enough for the playoffs.
Would it be the offense, which largely remains the same, but will be void of a egomaniacal offensive tackle Kyle Turley?
I definitely have my doubts.
Star running back Deuce McAllister, who did post huge numbers last season, does have a history of getting hurt, and without him, the offense is nothing.
And the optimism can’t surround quarterback Aaron Brooks, who has the killer instinct of Barney.
There are receivers Joe Horn and Donté Stallworth, but Horn is getting older and Stallworth pulls his hamstring when he gets out of bed.
And we all know the high hopes can’t revolve around the so-called revamped defense, who supposedly could field an Olympic caliber 4×100 relay team.
Along the line, defensive ends Charles Grant and Darren Howard do show great promise, but Howard injured his knee in the preseason and obviously will be affected, and Grant still probably needs another year to develop.
In the middle, Grady Jackson cares about winning so much that he came to none of the off-season voluntary workouts and showed up late to camp. To his credit, he did lose some weight and if he keeps working, could return to his form with the Oakland Raiders.
Starting alongside him will be rookie Jonathan Sullivan, a product of Georgia, who as a rookie can’t be expected to make an immediate splash.
Linebacker is still a glaring weakness, with Sedrick Hodge and Derrick Rodgers starting on the outside and veteran Darrin Smith manning the inside. This position will be better than last year’s group of ice wagons, but will still struggle to stop the run.
In the secondary, Dale Carter will start opposite of either Fred Thomas or Ashley Ambrose, and frankly, that position can’t be any worse from last year’s version.
At free safety, the Saints went from a head hunter in Sammy Knight to a speedster in Tebucky Jones, so the verdict is still out on that decision.
At strong safety wise, second-year, fifth-round draft pick Mel Mitchell takes the starting spot from veteran Jay Bellamy, and Jones and Mitchell must develop an understanding for each other before they can be successful.
I hope just as much as anyone else the Saints can take it to the next step and advance in the playoffs, but from my point of view, New Orleans may be waiting a few more years for what it has always wanted- a Super Bowl championship.