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In the National Football League, great teams just don’t meet up at the stadium and decide to play ball each Sunday.

They have to be hand picked by a front office crew that is experienced and knowledgeable, bonded together through a tough and rigorous training camp and perfected by a coach that is stern yet wise.

They don’t just meet at the right place at the right time.

Unfortunately for the New Orleans Saints, I don’t believe they have the first tool listed in order to be a real contender in the NFC South or the NFL as a whole for that matter.

If you have a high-powered offense, but a defense that is weak at positions that allows it to give up at least 21 points per game, then what do you think the first priority in the draft should be?

It’s no surprise that the Saints’ defense needs an upgrade with linebackers and defensive backs.

So why not pick up some in the draft?

The best linebacker in college football, E.J. Henderson, didn’t get taken off of the board until the second round when the Minnesota Vikings took him with the 40th overall selection. Talk about getting more for your buck.

Why not pick up that guy and have a base to build your defense around? The guy is young, he knows the game and even though he may not be a "workout warrior," he will definitely go out there and give you 100 percent every time he sets foot on the turf.

It’s no secret New Orleans will miss Pro Bowl strong safety Sammy Knight. So why didn’t they pick up a hard-hitting safety in the draft? It just doesn’t make any sense to me.

They traded Norman Hand and brought in another defensive tackle, Johnathan Sullivan, who will be an instant starter. Some scouts believe Sullivan won’t give every bit of himself on every snap and the Saints should have taken a cornerback like Washington State’s Marcus Trufant.

When former San Diego Chargers safety Rodney Harrison came to town to check out the football scene in New Orleans, he didn’t believe the Saints had a passion or ambition to win. And I can’t say I blame him.

After old, and possibly senile, Tom Benson fired Randy Mueller as general manager, I sort of knew that all hell would break lose when it came time to pick up on some new talent.

So where do the boys’ in black and gold stand at for next season?

Defensively, I don’t see much improvement. They keep bringing in these older defensive backs, but when are they going to realize that the future of the NFL lies in the NFL draft.

If you don’t bring any new blood in at the positions needed, then you will never be able to completely upgrade your roster. You will never have a truly great team.

For about six or seven seasons, everybody talked about New Orleans’ high-powered defense, but its offense was a lost cause. Now that it has a high-powered offense, its defense has fell by the wayside.

Well, it’s just too bad that they didn’t use the draft in their favor defensively.

Days like these make me wish Randy Mueller was back in town.

Courier sports writer Juan Anthony Nathan may be reached at 857-2210 or juan.nathan@houmatoday.com