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Though it hangs on every New Orleanian's lips, let no one say the word -- "repeat."

Ted Jackson/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees both say the team has put last season's accomplishments in the past, and they are approaching this season as a new challenge to be met.
"I have not heard the word used," New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "I haven't heard it in the locker room; it hasn't come up."

The same is true among those on the other side of the ball for the Saints.
"Our goal last year was to win the championship, and we won it, and our goal this year is to win the championship. It's already understood," defensive end Will Smith said. "I don't think we have to stand up and map it out, or someone has to stand up and tell everybody."
The comments at first glance seem almost too pat, the sort of psychological sleight-of-hand athletes perform to avoid distraction. But Brees is one of those rare players who does not parrot the company line, he helps script it. Smith is an acknowledged leader of the defense.
Consequently, it stands to reason that although everyone inside and outside the Saints' organization is aware its chance of repeating as NFL champions floats over the 2010 season, it's not a topic of conversation brought up in the locker room.
The reasons behind such reticence aren't solely rooted in athletic superstition. Although the Saints, by virtue of their triumph in Super Bowl XLIV, are the only team in the NFL with a shot at repeating as champions, conversations with several players and coaches show their thoughts are centered on repeating only in the sense their thoughts are about winning.
The Saints are actually like every other team in the NFL at this point: The goal is to get to the Super Bowl, and it makes no difference who won it in 2009.

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