FanHouse Scott Fujita

It's August, meaning we all think our favorite teams are Super Bowl contenders. Some teams get more championship hype than others, however. In this series, we look at those fawned-over franchises and their potential flaws and advise: Don't Believe the Hype.

Saints fans are no strangers to preseason hype; it seems the only year this decade the team wasn't predicted to be a contender was in 2006, when they of course went 10-6 and made the NFC championship game. This offseason is no different. Jon Gruden thinks they've got a real shot at the big game. And he's not alone.

The team significantly improved its defense via personnel and the hiring of coordinator Gregg Williams, and the offense remains intact (and might actually be improved if Robert Meachem makes the jump to every-down receiver, as has been discussed). If the defense can improve, the team should be dangerous. But alas, there are issues ...

Former Carolina Panther Dan Morgan will stay in the division and join the New Orleans Saints:

When reached last week, Morgan said he'd been working out in Phoenix rehabbing an Achilles tendon injury and that he wanted to make sure he was completely healthy before signing with another team. But sensing an opportunity to start, Morgan apparently felt it was the right time to sign.

"I'm feeling pretty good and I'm getting better with each day," Morgan said last week. "I definitely want to play again and I hope I get that chance."

Morgan ... who was a middle linebacker for the Panthers ... will play the weakside LB spot for the Saints. Newly acquired Jonathan Vilma will man the middle while Scott Fujita will play the strong side.

The question is Morgan's health. He has played in just four games over the past two seasons and has never played a full NFL slate. He's also had quite a few concussions and he's rehabbing the Achilles injury which led to his release last month.

Saints linebacker Scott Fujita has already missed one preseason game and will miss at least one more because of a foot injury suffered on a slide at a water park. Getting hurt at a water park ranks somewhere below chopping your own leg with an axe in the locker room on the embarrassing injuries scale, but it's still pretty embarrassing.

Fujita wants to explain himself, though, and he did in an interview with Peter King of SI.com:

"When it was time for me to go, I really had a good slide going, and the slide wasn't long enough. I probably went 20 feet further than the end of it and slammed feet first into some 2-by-4s. Luckily, my foot went right through it because I was going so fast. Who knows how bad the injury would have been if the wood didn't break.

"So I go crashing through the fencing, and there's just silence for a few seconds. I was OK, but a few seconds later, my foot was throbbing. It turns out I hurt my plantar fascia in my right heel. And right now, still, I'm having trouble putting my full weight on the heel.''

I would love to know why this water park has its slide set up so that a person who goes too far ends up crashing into some 2-by-4s, rather than, say, landing in a pool. I put a lot more blame on the designer of that slide than I do on Fujita.

Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.

Buffalo Bills:

Out: Tackle Brad Butler (hamstring) and running back Josh Scobey (calf).

Questionable: Guard Aaron Merz (shoulder) and safety Donte Whitner (hip)

Probable: Running back Dwayne Wright (allergies) and cornerback Jason Webster (hamstring).