The Saints’ organization was rated the second best in the entire league, according to Fox Sports, entering the 2011 season. Each team was rated on a 10 point scale based on their owner, quarterback, coach, front office, coaching staff, and intangibles.
A couple interesting notes about how the Saints fared in each category:
Owner: Tom Benson received a 9, which I found shocking. Only 5 owners in the entire league were rated better. Personally, I think that’s ridiculous. With success sometimes comes being overrated, and I think some of the recent decisions Benson has made have been incredibly lucky. He was fortunate to make a couple good hires who then made good hires and the domino effect worked out. Still, I don’t think there’s any way you can argue Benson is a top 6 owner in the NFL. No chance.
Quarterback:
Drew Brees received a 9.5, which is better than all but 3 quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning all received 10. Not sure I get how Brees can be below Manning at this point, and I think Brees has a better history than Rodgers, but whatever. Close enough I guess.
Coach: Sean Payton received an 8.5. Only Andy Reid and Bill Belicheck rated higher. Fair enough.
Front Office: Mickey Loomis and co. were rated at 9.5 which was tied with a few teams for second best in the league. Only the Colts rated higher. I think that might be a little generous for the Saints, but you can’t argue with the solid talent evaluation they’ve done by large in the last 5 years.
Coaching Staff: The Saints were tied for the league best rating with a 9. When Gregg Williams AND Sean Payton are both on your staff, you’re going to have a leg up on almost any team when it comes to X’s and O’s.
Intangibles: The Saints got a 10 here, again tied for the best. I have no idea how to even A. rate that or B. determine how the Saints compare to other franchises in that department. Sounds like fabrication to me.
Still, all in all, it’s nice to see the Saints getting the recognition as a top flight franchise at the moment. Certainly when you win a Super Bowl you start to get a lot of respect. The Saints really have built a stable and powerful franchise. We all need to enjoy it!
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