2009 New Orleans Saints: Victory Parade on Bourbon Street

2009 New Orleans Saints: Victory Parade on Bourbon Street

2009 New Orleans Saints: Victory Parade on Bourbon Street

When Sean Payton and Drew Brees arrived in New Orleans for the 2006 season, they inherited a team who suffered through a 3-13 season the year before. The 2005 New Orleans Saints also had to endure the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They played their home games in San Antonio’s Alamodome and LSU’s Tiger Stadium due to the damage to their regular home, the Louisiana Superdome. The arrival of new head coach Sean Payton and free agent quarterback Drew Brees was seen as a new chapter for the team and the city of New Orleans. The new look Saints delivered in 2006. They finished first in the NFC South with a 10-6 record. They won a playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles before falling to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game. The Saints missed playoffs the next two years finishing 7-9 in 2007 and 8-8 in 2008. Improvement was expected from the group in 2009 and the team delivered.

The Saints had a flying start to the 2009 season. Within their first eight games, they matched their win total of 8 from the previous season. They started 13-0 before losing the final three games of the season. Despite losing their last three games, the Saints won the NFC South, clinched a playoff appearance and the top seed in the NFC.

The team’s high-powered offense scored an NFL best 510 points. Drew Brees had a career year in 2009. He completed 70% of his passes for 4388 yards and 34 touchdowns. Marques Colston led the team with 70 receptions and 1074 receiving yards. He was tied with Robert Meachem for the team lead in touchdown receptions with 9. Brees had a number of weapons in the passing game. The Saints had five players who caught 40 or more receptions. The team rushed for over 2000 yards with Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush leading the way.

The defensive unit allowed 341 points which was 20th in the NFL. This wasn’t very impressive but they shined elsewhere. The Saints sacked the quarterback 35 times with defensive end Will Smith leading the way with 13. They also led the league in takeaways with 39. Pro Bowlers Darren Sharper and Roman Harper patrolled the secondary. Sharper had 9 interceptions and Harper was second on the team with 84 tackles.

The Saints rode their top ranked offense and defense full of ballhawks to an impressive 45-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round. They advanced to face the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game. Adrian Peterson rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints forced five turnovers on their way to an overtime victory thanks to a Garrett Hartley field goal.

The Saints’ victory against the Vikings secured the franchise’s first trip to the Super Bowl where they would face the 14-2 Indianapolis Colts led by Peyton Manning. The Saints offense stalled against the Colts and they fell behind 10-6 at halftime. Knowing his team needed a spark, Sean Payton called for an onside kick to start the second half. The bold play call caught the Colts by surprise and the Saints recovered the onside kick. With the momentum in their favour, the Saints scored their first touchdown of the game when Pierre Thomas caught a 16-yard pass from Drew Brees. The Colts regained the lead with a Joseph Addai touchdown.

The Colts held on to the lead going into the 4th quarter until Drew Brees found Jeremy Shockey for a 2-yard touchdown with less than six minutes to play in the game. The score was 24-17 and Peyton Manning was leading a drive down the field when the defense who led the league in takeaways secured the victory. Tracy Porter intercepted a Manning pass and returned it 74 yards for the touchdown. That would be more than enough to deliver the city of New Orleans their first Super Bowl victory.