The Saints are no longer running on empty - New Orleans Saints - Brief Article

Now that Mike Ditka has brought Ricky Williams to town, Saints fans are ready to trade in their brown paper bags for dreadlock wigs. And the fans aren't the only ones with high expectations.

"We fully expect to follow the Falcons," team president Bill Kuharich says. "Maybe we won't go from 6-10 to 14-2, but we expect to challenge--not for the wild card, we expect to challenge Atlanta and the 49ers for supremacy in the West. And I don't think that's an unrealistic goal going into the third year of Mike's program."

When Kuharich said that a couple weeks ago, it sounded a tad optimistic. But that was before we learned Garrison Hearst and Jamal Anderson may spend the season in street clothes. Suddenly, it looks like the door might be opening a bit for the Saints. Will they run through it ... or into it?

Put me down for a "through it" vote.

If there's any coach who can make these guys into a playoff team--besides Bill Parcells, that is--it's you-know-who. People around the league have marveled at the back-to-back 6-10 records Ditka has squeezed out of minimal talent. "He wills them to win," says former NFL scout Gary Horton, editor of The War Room publications.

That said, Horton is among the many skeptics who think Ditka simply doesn't have enough talent to make the playoffs. But before you start wondering if Iron Mike's cigar smoke has gotten to Kuharich's head, consider the 1997 Giants. Danny Kanell floated enough wounded ducks that year to stock an L.L. Bean catalog. But by running the ball, playing good defense and not leaning on their quarterback too much, the Giants made the playoffs. That formula also worked for the Buccaneers the same year.

"It's not where you line up and throw the ball all over the field," Kuharich says, "but once again, I think it comes down to the bottom line: I don't think fans care how you do it as long as you win."

In other words, it's a good thing Ditka keeps things spicy off the field. Because if everything goes right this season, the Saints are going to be pretty boring. On offense, that is. Watching their defense last year was like riding a traveling-carnival Tilt-a-Whirl: Big thrills, but you know the whole thing could fall apart at any moment. Still, there's enough talent to think the defense might regain the outstanding form it showed in 1997.

Williams will be the big show, running behind a budding powerhouse of an offensive line made up of Willie Roaf, Wally Williams, Jerry Fontenot, Chris Naeole and Kyle Turley. It says here a Fred Taylor-like rookie year (1,200 yards, 10-plus TDs) is not out of the question for Williams, as long as he gets help from quarterback Billy Joe Hobert.

The Saints hope a steady diet of tosses and lead draws to Williams will set up a play-action passing game that keeps defenses from stacking against the run. Although the Saints don't need Hobert to rattle off 300-yard games, they need him to do the same things Kanell and Trent Dilfer did in '97 (and didn't do last year): Don't turn the ball over, and keep drives alive with enough big plays to keep defenses honest. But to do that, Hobert will need help from his coaches.

Offensive coordinator Danny Abramowicz needs to do a better job creating favorable matchups for his receivers. Not having three reliable wideouts is a big problem here-until Eddie Kennison holds on to a couple deep passes, he's Willie Gault without the bobsled outfit. But tight end Cam Cleeland is a bonus. And Abramowicz must establish himself as an expert at out-scheming opponents.

Ditka needs to cut Hobert some slack. Sure, he likes Hobert. Both are cut from the tough-guy mold. But does he trust Hobert? Ditka is stubborn enough to think his team can run the ball on anybody, and the game plan might be to run, run, run until it works or the Saints are down 21 points. Ditka needs to fight that urge and give Hobert the freedom to take a few early shots at the man-to-man coverage he's certain to see.

But if Hobert makes a few mistakes early, you just know that vein in Ditka's forehead will start throbbing, Hobert's leash will get short in a hurry-if he's not taken out of the game-and defenses will go back to zeroing in on Williams. If that happens, Saints fans will have to start wearing bags again.

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Chris Jenkins is a projects editor/online and football writer for THE SPORTING NEWS. E-mail him at [email protected].

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