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“I think that team is doing extremely well,� said Johnson of the Saints. “They have a purpose to play, and that purpose is to give some of those fans something to be proud about while they’re going through what they’re going through.�

But there is more to football than the emotion of playing for a city and a region devastated by Hurricane Katrina. That emotion can’t last an entire season, as the Saints found out last year. There has to be something more sustaining than that.

“There’s a lot of new energy there,� said Johnson. “They’re off to a fresh start with a new coaching staff. They have some veteran players over there who can play the game. (Wide receiver) Joe Horn can play. (Running back) Deuce McAllister can play. When you have leadership like that on your football team, all you need is someone like (Saints head coach) Sean Peyton to come in and give you that energy. That’s kind of what happened when we won the Super Bowl in Tampa.�

Another thing that happened when Johnson won the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay was that the Buccaneers took care of business at home. The Bucs lost twice at Raymond James that season, and won their remaining six games by an average of 15.1 points.

“You want to try to dominate at home as much as you can,� said Johnson. “If we can get this one at home, that will get us off to a good start (for the rest of the season).�

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