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METAIRIE, La. -- Sean Payton delivers one message on the back of his black, long-sleeved shirt that he wears with shorts and his trademark visor. It consists of two simple words: "OUR TIME."


The New Orleans Saints coach delivers the other message by putting his team through a long, grueling practice under an unforgiving sun that has pushed temperatures into the high 90s with a heat index of 119 degrees.
"Here's what's scary," said offensive tackle Jonathan Stinchcomb, who is beginning his eighth season with the Saints. "I honestly feel like there have been much hotter days (for practice)."


Perhaps there were, especially from 2006-08 when the Saints held their training camp at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., rather than the current location at the team's training facility. Jackson is about 150 miles north of here, so it tends not to offer the occasional breeze from the Gulf of Mexico that can make this spot slightly cooler ... for five or 10 minutes, at least.
Still, hot is hot and that's where the messages intersect. (Payton is very big on putting messages on shirts; last year's were "Smell Greatness," "Be Special," and "Finish Strong"). "OUR TIME" means that, as far as Payton and the rest of the Saints' hierarchy are concerned, the team isn't stopping with the first Lombardi Trophy it won last February. It means that the Saints intend to take full advantage of the window of opportunity their collection of highly-talented players gives them to stay in strong Super Bowl contention.

"There's a time for teams to have their best chance to win," Payton said. "We try to really look at the teams in our league that have had runs for quite a while. And when you look at New England, there was a period of three or four years when they won Super Bowls. We feel like we've got a good group and we feel like we've got the possibility of having a good run here."

Provided, that is, the Saints are able to maintain proper focus. It hasn't been easy. As everyone in the Saints' organization readily admits, the team and the town have been unabashed in celebrating their victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV and reaping all of the rewards that have followed.

Payton, himself, spent a large portion of the offseason promoting a book he co-wrote. His tour lasted right up until the eve of the Saints' reporting day for camp last week. Quarterback Drew Brees also co-wrote a book that he promoted heavily and has been in high demand on the banquet circuit. Practically every other player on the roster has had the chance to do as many paid appearances and autograph sessions (some reportedly pocketing as much as $30,000 in two hours) throughout the immediate area and region as he wishes. All of which has led to the perception that the Saints are fat and happy and primed to suffer from a severe case of Super Bowl hangover, which has claimed many a victim through the years.

However, Payton utilized Mother Nature's blast furnace Sunday to provide his players with the sort of reminder about what it takes to win a championship -- the sacrifices and hardships they faced and overcame a year ago when they faced the Indianapolis Colts as underdogs.
As Payton pointed out, it would have been easy to move the practice to the indoor facility (where the morning walk-through was held) after checking the weather forecast the day before. Instead, he gave his players a warning about what they would face the next day: "This is going to be a little bit of a gut check. We're going to have to fight through it."
They did just that. The practice tempo was satisfactorily crisp for Payton and the rest of the coaches. There didn't seem to be too many mistakes, and players generally didn't need to be prodded through drills, even in the latter portion of the session.

"I think these guys are smart enough to understand the process and work it takes to have success," Payton said. "We've got good leadership in this locker room. When people talk about the upcoming season, we'll lean heavily on those guys that have been here and understand how hard it was to get to this position. There are some tough days, some tough practices where you're body's sore. Not only physically, but mentally, you're fighting that battle."

Early in the offseason, Stinchcomb looked for signs that the Saints' fight had vanished in the celebratory haze. He wondered if there was a genuine hunger for a second ring. He wondered if there were too many distractions, if the partying had gone on too long in one of the world's foremost party towns.

Stinchcomb knows he wasn't alone in having those concerns. "I think anybody who's worth their salt in that locker room has looked for those signs," he said.
They haven't seen them. Not since the offseason workout program began around the end of March. In fact, a number of players reported two to three weeks earlier than scheduled.
"(People have the notion that) the New Orleans Saints have spent the entire offseason on parade floats and on TV, everybody wrote a book, but that's hardly the case," Stinchcomb said. "Every time we've gotten together -- offseason workouts, OTAs, minicamp -- the focus has been there. The competitive fire is exactly (where it needs to be). I mean, we're getting after it out there."
Said Brees, "I think we have shown enough character on the team that guys can take advantage of the fruits of your labor and enjoy some of the opportunities that we've all had because of our success as a team, and yet still stay very close to that mindset that, 'Hey, we're only as good as our next performance.'"

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Rugby Saint II

Sean Payton is focused. You can bet the bank on that.

Euphoria

The future just looks bright with 2 Hall of Fame QB's (in the NFC) who can single handedly win games are out of the way.

Its like a lot of teams are taking a step back on from what I am seeing the Saints just keep improving.

the-commish

As some teams go backward (Vikings if Favre does not come back, Cardinals without Warner and Boldin); but others improve (Packers, 49ers, Falcons, and Lions---but the Lions are not good enough to do much yet).

The Saints will be improved defensively. Better stastical defense, a good team attitude, and good luck on the injury front, are all it takes for this team to really be in position to Two Dat.

diamond12

There IS no other team more hungrier than the Saints! One taste of last year is not enough. All you got to do is look into the eyes of Drew Breeze and you'll see it. The rest of team are just as determine,,,,,,it dont get no better than this for us fans. We are witnessing something special here.

QBREES9

No Super Bowl Hang over here. Coach won't allow it.