FanHouse MarkCampbell

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.

Saints fans were finally going to get their first glimpse of Jeremy Shockey in black-and-gold game action. Sean Payton even went as far as to say everyone would like what they saw of Shockey. What we wound up seeing was more of the usual -- Shockey on the sidelines in street clothes -- as Payton decided to keep him out after all.

But the coach insists that Shockey hasn't suffered any setbacks, simply that it was a last-minute decision change and simply a precautionary measure. And he insists that Shockey will get some time in the team's final preseason game on Thursday. If Shockey misses Thursday, or clearly looks rusty, it wouldn't surprise me to have Payton give the season-opening spot to Mark Campbell, and work Shockey in over the first couple of games.

What was a welcome sight on the field, however, was the reemergence of the defense, which rebounded after a disaster against the Texans. Even though the Bengals were missing Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Saints did a great job of shutting down the Bengals' attack. Most pleasing is that Mike McKenzie, making his first appearance of the preseason, played great and dissuaded worries about his recovery from a torn ACL.

If the team is to seriously push for a playoff spot this year, they'll need Shockey to eventually show up, and the defense to keep it up.

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.