FanHouse Sean Payton

NEW ORLEANS -- Go ahead, because this is the right thing to do: You should spend the rest of the NFL season hugging whatever team you traditionally love, but you should kiss the New Orleans Saints in the shadows.

If you prefer to do so in the sunshine, that's fine, too.

The Saints have replaced the folks with stars on their helmets as America's Team. In case you weren't paying attention, Hurricane Katrina blew this franchise into the hearts of all those who had them. That unofficially happened on Sept. 25, 2006, the team's first home game back in New Orleans -- a Monday night when, just like this Monday night, the roof of the Superdome threatened to explode because of the noise generated by inside, as opposed to the wind outside it.

A game that was also against the Falcons. And that, too, was a victory for the Saints, along the way to their first and only NFC championship game.

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NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

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NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

As Round 1 of our single-elimination fight tournament involving NFL coaches nears its end, let us recap the action we've seen so far. To view the entire bracket or learn what we're talking about, kindly click on the links below.

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NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

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NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

Consider this hypothetical: what if two coaches met in a dark alley and threw down in a no-holds-barred brawl? Who would emerge victorious?

First, some background: back when I was in high school, when my friends and I were pretty creative in finding ways to avoid actually paying attention in class, we'd create brackets (think NCAA Tournament) where we'd pit our teachers against each other**. Whoever we thought would win in a fight advanced to the next round. It always ended with our offensive line coach against our wrestling coach in the finals and a huge argument as to who would come out on top.

Anyway, last week, the Back Porch staff somehow ended up discussing whether Rex Ryan or Tom Cable would win in a old school playground scrap. I passed along the above information, and shortly after that, an idea was born -- NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament.

The offensive love-fest currently saturating the National Football League is exhausting defensive coordinators.

Offenses are more complex, quicker and explosive. Not everyone's struggling to adapt, though. Here are the top five defensive coordinators who are finding early answers: 1. Gregg Williams (Saints), 2. Mike Nolan (Broncos), 3. Mike Zimmer (Bengals), 4. Larry Coyer (Colts), 5. Bill Sheridan (Giants).

Nolan has overhauled a shoddy Denver bunch, turning it into the league's best in scoring defense (5.3 points allowed per game). Zimmer has excelled at getting the Bengals defense to adjust on the fly. Coyer brings 45 years of coaching experience to a veteran group, and has tweaked it just enough to make the Colts No. 3 in scoring defense (15 points allowed per game). And Sheridan is filling the loss of Steve Spagnuolo (now the St. Louis Rams head coach) by being analytical, detailed, low-profile and flexible.

But I am most impressed with what Williams is doing in New Orleans -- the mandate, the fit, the style and the complement to the Saints' high-tech, league-leading offense.

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Though 2006 was arguably the best season in New Orleans Saints history, the campaign was only the beginning of this streak of NFL competitive relevance in the Crescent City. Despite steps backwards in 2007 and 2008, the team has quietly been adding front-end talent and admirable depth since that NFC Championship appearance against the Bears. Now, as Drew Brees put it, "...we're at this stage in our careers where this is kind of our prime. ... So this is our window of opportunity. This is our chance to walk together forever, to go down in history together." After over 40 years and just two playoff wins, is this the year the Saints finally break through?

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HOUSTON -- On February 17, the Saints made the decision to release running back Deuce McAllister.

With McAllister -- a longtime Saints fan favorite -- out of the picture, the door was open for a new way of doing things in the New Orleans backfield. Coach Sean Payton decided that he wanted to utilize three running backs instead of trying to rely on one. So he placed the onus on Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell to improve a rushing attack that finished 28th in the league in 2008.

The Saints will never be primarily run-oriented team, especially after leading the NFL in total offense (410.7 per game) and pass attempts (636) last season.

Payton has challenged his running backs: If you want more carries, then you have to produce.

Friday's NFL preseason schedule is all about the quarterbacks. Three teams with serious uncertainty at the position will take the field, while a well-known star makes his official return from an injury that ruined his and his team's 2008 season.

Not only that, but another team debuts a new starting quarterback Friday night.

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METAIRIE, La. -- There's one thing you immediately notice about how the Saints conduct practice here: It's fast. Running backs dash all over the place. Wide receivers scoot past people.

Then you notice the defense.

Let Reggie Bush get within inches of a hole in the line of scrimmage, and five defenders will try and strip him of the ball. Let Pierre Thomas turn the corner, and when he's stopped for a two-yard gain, the entire defense charges in and pushes him back.

It's part of a change in attitude led by new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.