FanHouse JahriEvans

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

Gregg Williams hasn't informed a free agent decision for New Orleans yet, hasn't hand-picked the inevitable defensive playmaker the Saints choose with their 14th-overall selection this year, hasn't installed a single scheme in a minicamp. Yet Williams' reputation has preceded him to the Crescent City, and his hiring as defensive coordinator is already considered one of the most important moves in team history.

After almost two decades of guaranteed defensive putridity, the last three of which have revolved around Gary Gibbs' lack of talent identification and bland scheming, the idea of Williams and his history of intelligent, hard-working, active, complex defenses coming to the Superdome is music to the ears. It also might finally push the Saints over the top.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: Drew Brees is, to me, the third best quarterback in the league. And that's not just because I have a giant man-crush on him. Say what you will about your Tony Romos and Carson Palmers, but I'd take Brees over those two, especially as he appears to be in the prime of his career. All he's done since arriving in New Orleans is put up gaudy numbers through the air, but he plays a heady game based on quick (and good) decisions. He's also a good guy off the field and the unquestioned leader of the team. Mark Brunell was brought in as Brees' backup while project Tyler Palko continues to develop, and while you don't want to see the old lefty play at all, his arm looks good enough in camp to sustain for a couple of weeks if need be. Anything more than that, though, and the Saints are in trouble. Heat Index: 9

Running Back: Running back committees are a bitch for fantasy owners, but none have encountered a mess like this, where four backs are going to get a fair share of touches. Exactly how the carries shake out depends on Deuce McAllister's health; ditto for the productivity of the group. All four backs -- McAllister, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas, and Aaron Stecker -- are talented, but Deuce is the only pounder that can keep the running game glued together. If he's in the lineup, expect Bush to flourish, with Thomas making a solid impact as well. If he's not, Thomas takes on a larger role and, though he rolled up Chicago for over 200 yards from scrimmage in Week 17 last year, it remains to be seen whether he can be a full-time NFL back. Luckily, Deuce has looked healthy so far. Heat Index: 7

In noting that the Saints are dangling Jammal Brown, MDS asks if it makes sense to trade a 27-year-old All-Pro left tackle for a rookie who will get massive guaranteed money right away. Usually, that question is a no-brainer. In this instance, I'm not so sure.

What many don't know about Brown is that he's got a degenerative knee condition dating back to his college days that teams were aware of. The word on the injury was that it wouldn't damper his play, but would most likely shorten his career significantly. I think that injury is in the Saints' minds right now, tempting them to deal Brown before he commands a huge contract he might not live up to.

The team is also deep at tackle, and love young backups Zach Strief and Jermon Bushrod. If Brown were to be dealt it would be Strief's job, which also fits into logic. Since Sean Payton arrived, the team has slowly converted their offensive line into a nasty, physical bunch. New-ish starters Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin, and potential starter Andy Alleman all have that quality, and Strief does too. Brown's a finesse tackle.

So to me, at least, it makes sense to deal Brown while the Saints can turn his value into a potentially All-Pro defensive tackle, the missing piece that has resulted in such a consistently bad defense. But it might not be the Rams Brown is headed to -- perhaps he and the 10th pick go to the Chiefs, which should land the Saints Sedrick Ellis. In return the Chiefs get a great tackle and can replace Jared Allen with Derrick Harvey. Things that make you go "hmmmmm."

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls has an interesting tidbit on former head coach Billy Cowher and his sometimes hit-or-miss draft strategies.

Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola made an interesting point on the radio last evening: Remember Willie Reid? Yeah, another draft-day reach, in April 2006, and another of Cowher's pet projects. Labriola said that there were strong opinions in the Steelers' draft room about taking one particular wide receiver over another.

Labriola brought this up because the "other" wide receiver in that discussion will be playing for Baltimore on Monday night. That would be Demetrious Williams, whom the Ravens drafted in the fourth round (111 overall) of the same 2006 draft that saw the Steelers take Reid in the third round (95th overall).

JPPB goes on to point out that Williams has been a nice little find for the Ravens, a team that has long struggled to cultivate any offensive weapons outside of Jamal Lewis. Through seven games, Williams has 19 catches for 285 yards -- a 15.0 yards-per-catch average, while Reid has three grabs for 48 yards.

You know those people. They're the casualest of football fans. Their insight typically extends as far as "Hey, that Peyton Manning is a pretty good quarterback." And yet, they're not satisfied letting you wallow in your team's 0-3 start. No, they've got to tell you what your favorite team is doing wrong. They're everywhere, and they all want to explain to me that the reason the Saints are losing is because of their defense.

And yeah, the Saints' defense has been just two or three steps below bad, but they're really no worse than they were last year. So what's the difference between 2006 and 2007?

Our own Michael David Smith knows, and he explains over at Football Outsiders.

The biggest problem facing the Saints is the offensive line, and until that problem gets straightened out, the best story of the last NFL season is going to continue to be the biggest disappointment of this NFL season.

I generally dislike the mentality of treating an offensive line as one unit, rather than treating each of the five players on the line as individuals. But the fact is, left tackle Jammal Brown, left guard Jamar Nesbit, center Jeff Faine, right guard Jahri Evans and right tackle Jon Stinchcomb all had bad games Monday night.

And the game before that. And the game before that. The problem isn't that Drew Brees is suddenly a bad quarterback, or that Reggie Bush is a bust, it's that the line hardly cares to block. MDS correctly notes that the team used a lot of tricks to mask their shortcomings last year (they also lost starting tight end Mark Campbell, a good blocker), and I wouldn't be surprised to see the unit blown up at some point this year, with youngsters Andy Alleman and Zach Strief replacing Nesbit and Stinchcomb, respectively. Something's gotta be done to fix this disaster.

That's the question a lot of pundits are asking today in trying to figure out how the Saints, preseason NFC favorites, are 0-2. But the magic they're referring to is that annoying, mythical "Katrina magic" that people invented last year. That's not what I'm referring to. Last year was based on a lot of really good personnel decisions, good coaching, and inspired play. We know that good coaching and inspired play have so far been nowhere to be found. But what of the personnel decisions?

Last year, the Saints had a magic touch shaping their roster. They got four starters in the draft (Roman Harper, Jahri Evans, Marques Colston, and Reggie Bush), six if you include draft-day trades for Jeff Faine and Hollis Thomas. They also made smart moves in free agency; besides Drew Brees, the team also got outsized contributions from Scott Shanle, Terrance Copper, and Scott Fujita. Almost every move they made turned to gold.

This year? Meh. Only four picks (Usama Young, Jermon Bushrod, Andy Alleman, and Robert Meachem) have made the team, all but Young have been deactivated for both games, and he only plays sparingly. Their dabble in free agency has been worse. Eric Johnson has been average at tight end, but at least he's doing something; it goes downhill from there. Kendrick Clancy won a starting job at defensive tackle but has been blah. Jason David's exploits are well documented. Kevin Kaesviharn has looked lost at nickel safety. And linebacker Brian Simmons can't beat out Mark Simoneau, who couldn't shed a block by Holly Mangold.

There's a lot of problems that need to be fixed with this team, and it's unfair to attack the new guys when so many of the holdovers have been so, so awful. Still, the Saints added a lot of players in the offseason, and counted on those players to improve the team. They haven't.

To get you ready for the season, FanHouse is previewing all 32 NFL teams. Here's New Orleans' outlook.

2006 record: 10-6

2006 Offense: The #1 offense in the league. Drew Brees. Reggie Bush. Deuce McAllister. Marques Colston. Devery Henderson. All led by Sean Payton, who has proved to be one of the most innovative offensive coaches in the NFL after but one year. Yeah, it was pretty good.

2006 Defense: The Saints ran an unusual defense last year -- the break but don't bend variety (yes, you read that correctly). Their job primarily was just to get the ball back to the offense, either by forcing an early three-and-out or by quickly giving up the big score. And they succeeded one way or the other. They still finished with the 11th overall defense, but causing turnovers was a major problem.

2006 Special Teams: Between Lance Moore, Michael Lewis, and Bush, the team did well enough returning the ball. Kickoffs were a problem though, so much so that the team had to waste a roster spot on Billy Cundiff, a kickoff specialist who still couldn't boom touchbacks into the endzone. John Carney retained his accuracy, but lost even more distance on his field goals. From the blocked punt that sparked the Superdome reopening, to Bush's first NFL touchdown (a game-winning punt return against Tampa), this unit produced some of the most memorable plays of the season.