Just how great were those '09 Saints?
The NFL offseason is a perfect time to debate greatness, and the New Orleans Saints have one glorious moment of greatness in their dreary history.
In 2009, the Saints could do no wrong. Quarterback Drew Brees led them to a 13-3 regular season record and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. From there, they beat Kurt Warner's Arizona Cardinals, Brett Favre's Minnesota Vikings, and Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts en route to the franchise's only Super Bowl win.
The Saints had a lot of good teams in the Brees era, but they were on another level in '09. But how did that New Orleans team compare to the other Super Bowl champions of this century?
Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski weighed in on that topic on Wednesday.
Sobleski ranked the 25 Super Bowl-winning teams based on overall dominance, and he placed the Saints fifth, due in large part to their historic offensive production that season.
"Pros: The Drew Brees-led Saints offense averaged 31.9 points per game, making it easily the highest-scoring offense among 21st-century Super Bowl winners," Sobleski wrote. "New Orleans also went 5-1 against above-.500 opponents while producing seven Pro Bowlers, and the defense made up for overall struggles by producing 39 takeaways.
"Cons: That O-line also turned the ball over 28 times, and that defense was one of just four 21st-century Super Bowl winners to surrender more than 5.4 yards per play."
Brees was in his peak form that season, leading the NFL in completion percentage (70.4) and touchdown passes (34) and finishing runner-up behind Manning in the Most Valuable Player race. He led an incredibly balanced offense in which seven players totaled over 500 scrimmage yards, led by running back Pierre Thomas with 1,095.
The Saints had two first-team All-Pros that season as well: safety Darren Sharper and offensive guard Jahri Evans.
It could be a while before the current Saints team recaptures that 2009 magic and makes it back to a Super Bowl. But those memories will last forever, and the banner in the Caesars Superdome serves as a reminder that New Orleans is capable of greatness.
