NFL Team Previews: New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints rolled into last year’s playoffs as an offensive juggernaut and had they not inexplicably led San Francisco’s Alex Smith beat them on late drives not once but twice in divisional round it’s very fair to think New Orleans would have beaten the Giants at home for the NFC Championship and then beaten New England in the Super Bowl. Instead, the defense fell apart. Then it all came apart in the offseason, as the fallout from Bountygate came down hard. Head coach Sean Payton has been suspended for the season, and interim coach Joe Vitti is suspended for the first six games. Key defensive players in end Wil Smith and linebacker Jonathan Vilma will miss a good chunk of the season. TheSportsNotebook previews the Saints as they try and pick up the pieces…