From the Sidelines

Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 6, 2001

One year ago yesterday, general manager Bill Kuharich and head coach Mike Ditka and his coaching staff were fired by Saints owner Tom Benson.

If on Jan. 5, 2000, you would have said the Saints would be playing Minnesota for the right to play in the NFC Championship Game, the reply might have been, “Yeah, right, and Oklahoma will win the national championship.”

Suddenly the local boys in black and gold are the talk of the NFL. Jim Haslett has gone from being a defensive coordinator to a lock as coach of the year. Aaron Brooks has gone from a “Who dat?” to “Da Man” in the Superdome.

A year ago, the St. Louis Rams were making an improbable run to the Super Bowl. A year later, the Rams have become a chapter in this fairy tale story of the Saints, the team they beat for the first ever postseason victory in team history.

Actually, last weeks wild card game could have been the book on the 33-year history of the franchise. After the Saints took an astounding 31-7 lead in the fourth quarter, here comes the Rams with a 21-point comeback.

How often had Saints fans seen this in the past? Remember “Big Ben?” Or the loss to San Francisco in 1980 after holding a 35-7 lead. Or the playoff loss to Philadelphia in 1992 after the Saints led 20-7 going into the fourth quarter?

When Toby Gowin punted to Az-Zahir Hakim in the final two minutes, it was almost inevitable the Rams would drive down the field to at least tie the game.

But this is a new era for the New Orleans Saints, one epitomized by fullbacks Brian Milnes hustle on that punt. That hustle, exemplified by the entire team this season, allowed him to be there when Hakim muffed the fair catch, sealing the win.

Another player who epitomized the new brand of the Saints was Willie Jackson. Jackson stepped in when leading receiver Joe Horn went down in the first quarter and had a career day, catching six passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns. How many times this season have we seen a player do that, whether it be Keith Mitchell filling in for Charlie Cleamons, Brooks for Jeff Blake or Alex Molden for Fred Weary?

The Saints have had better talent in the past. The clubs of the late 1970s had better offensive talent and those of the late 1980s and early 90s were probably better defensively. But there has been no better Saints team in the 30-plus years of the franchise.

The Saints travel today to take on another team that has improved on last year in Minnesota. Like the Saints, the Vikings were picked to finish in the lower half of their division but defied those predictions to win the division title. Few expected the kind of season Daunte Culpepper would have in his first year as the starting quarterback. Combine Culpepper with receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss and running back Robert Smith, you have one of the most prolific offenses in the league, one very comparable to the Rams last week.

Todays game has the makings of another nailbiter. But even if the Saints do fall short in the Metrodome today, the 2000-01 season will still have a happy ending. The team has made going to games and watching them on television fun again. It has given the franchise respect. Those were things that were in short supply a year ago.