For Saints, this season was one to remember
It will be difficult for followers of the New Orleans Saints to muster much interest in the NFL conference championship games Sunday, especially that NFC game in San Francisco.
If the Saints could have stopped the 49ers in the final minute and a half last Saturday, the New York Giants would be headed to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and not Candlestick Park. New Orleans would undoubtedly be favored to go to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Sound familiar?
It was another difficult Saints loss to the 49ers, back in 1987, that prompted then-New Orleans coach Jim Mora to utter that famous phrase.
But the context was much different.
When Mora said, “coulda, woulda shoulda,” he was bemoaning the fact that the Saints had not yet arrived at San Francisco’s level.
Now, other teams — including the 49ers — are aspiring to reach New Orleans’ level.
In the last three seasons, the Saints have won a Super Bowl, been to the playoffs three times, won four of six playoff games, won two division titles, and compiled a 36-12 regular-season record.
As disappointing as the end to the Saints’ season was to its followers, the entire season and this entire three-year run reaffirmed the fact that no NFL team is annually a stronger Super Bowl contender than New Orleans.
As long as Sean Payton and Drew Brees are around — and there’s little doubt Brees will sign a new contract without much difficulty — the Saints figure to be as well positioned as they have been for the last three seasons.
The abrupt end to the Saints season didn’t allow time for the epic nature of Brees’ season to sink in.
Three years ago, Brees narrowly missed breaking Dan Marino’s record for passing yards when his final pass of an 8-8 season skipped short of Lance Moore.
After the game Brees was philosophical, saying a record of that stature probably didn’t deserve to be broken under such insignificant circumstances.
So this year Brees broke the record in the second-to-last game as the Saints were putting the finishing touches on a rout of a good Atlanta team to wrap up the NFC South title, circumstances befitting the breaking of the record.
Brees authored one of the most remarkable seasons in NFL history as New Orleans cemented its place among the most elite franchises in the NFL.
“It’s hard not to think about what could have been,” Brees said this week. “You have to believe there are better things to come because of the experience that you gained now. Sometimes you don’t always get what you want. You position yourself for greater things in the future.”
This Saints season might be remembered for what could have been.
Instead, though, it should be remembered for what it was and what Brees made it — one for the ages.