Mickey Loomis hedges his bet on the New Orleans Saints repeating
 

With the opening game of the 2010 NFL season just more than a week away and fan expectations at a fever pitch, New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis gave the New Orleans Touchdown Club several reasons Monday why the team won't repeat as Super Bowl champions.

Ted Jackson/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said the team can win the Super Bowl again. And, well, he said there are reasons they can't as well.
And then delivered several reasons why they might.

To top it off, Loomis even answered the question on the lips of several Touchdown Club members who gathered at the Embassy Suites hotel in the Warehouse District to hear Loomis and representatives of several other local gridiron programs -- including Tulane Coach Bob Toledo and Southeastern Louisiana Coach Mike Lucas -- speak. The query came quickly from the back of the room: Who is the Saints' backup quarterback?
"Chase Ramsey," Loomis quipped immediately, blending the names of Chase Daniel and Patrick Ramsey, two signal callers who have both performed well in the preseason.
But while that question is pressing now, it does not top the one overarching the 2010 campaign.
"It's all we're getting asked, 'Can you repeat?'" Loomis began. "And (Coach) Sean (Payton) and I have had several discussions about this, and there are a number of reasons why we won't win the Super Bowl this year."
Loomis broke them down as follows:
History and odds. The NFL has had only seven teams repeat, although the Steelers did so twice. "The odds are against us," Loomis said.
It's New Orleans' first trip to the summit. "Can we handle success or will we get fat and lazy?" Loomis asked.
Selfishness -- what Loomis labeled, "the disease of 'me,'" -- could infect the team.
There's no crisis at the moment, and thus no way of knowing how this squad might deal with one.
The Saints are marked men. "We can't play as well as we did last year, we have to play better," Loomis said.
Offseason distractions. In this group, Loomis lumped the potential disaster that ensues when everyone starts believing their glowing press reports and close friends and loved ones, "telling us how great we are."
The injury bug. How hard will it bite the Saints in 2010?
"And, finally, maybe we're not good enough," Loomis said.

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