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Bush carries the hopes of a city, but he won't be asked to carry too much of the offensive load. Simon Bruty/SI

2006 Schedule Date Opponent Date Opponent Sept. 10 at Cleveland Nov. 12 at Pittsburgh Sept. 17 at Green Bay Nov. 19 CINCINNATI Sept. 25 ATLANTA (M) Nov. 26 at Atlanta Oct. 1 at Carolina Dec. 3 SAN FRANCISCO Oct. 8 TAMPA BAY Dec. 10 at Dallas Oct. 15 PHILADELPHIA Dec. 17 WASHINGTON Oct. 22 Bye Dec. 24 at N.Y. Giants Oct. 29 BALTIMORE Dec. 31 CAROLINA Nov. 5 at Tampa Bay (M) Monday Breakout Player Will Smith, DEFENSIVE END After Sean Payton took the Saints' coaching job, he was asked to name the players he thought would be his cornerstones on offense and defense. "Deuce McAllister and Will Smith," he answered without hesitation. A first-round pick out of Ohio State in 2004, Smith is the team's only true pass rusher. He accounted for a third of New Orleans's sacks (8.5) in '05 and played the run well too. Once the Saints find a bookend pass rusher who commands enough respect to keep foes from double- and triple-teaming Smith, expect even bigger numbers.

Their return to the Big Easy and the debut of Reggie Bush have fans buzzing; if only there were more to be excited about

THE BELIEF Four reasons the Saints expect to compete for a playoff spot in a tough division: 1) Drew Brees is a major upgrade over Aaron Brooks at quarterback; 2) Reggie Bush is the home run threat the offense has long been missing; 3) the return to New Orleans will give them the biggest home field edge in the NFL; 4) the organization and new offense brought by first-year coach Sean Payton will revitalize the franchise.

THE REALITY Payton struck the right chord in his first speech to his players and coaches this summer. "You've got a unique opportunity in sports history," he said. "No team in America in the last 200 years has the opportunity to heal a city the way you do, simply by playing to the best of your ability."

"Corny," Payton would later say of his message, "but true. This city wants us to do well so badly. We're so important to New Orleans. A guy came up to me at a [Kenny Chesney] concert this summer and said, 'Coach, I don't have a job right now, but I scraped up enough money to buy six season tickets to the Saints.'"

Emotion, however, can carry a team with fourth-place talent only so far. Two of the Saints' best players in the trenches, center LeCharles Bentley and defensive end Darren Howard, left for big free-agent deals in Cleveland and Philadelphia, respectively. And a patchwork offensive line had Brees -- who completed 65% of his passes and threw 29 more touchdowns than interceptions for the Chargers over the last two years -- running for his life in the preseason. "Our line has to prove they can stop the best pass rushers in football. Can they? We'll see," says wideout Joe Horn, sounding unconvinced.

The situation is equally dire on the other side of the ball. Last in the NFC in sacks (25) last year, New Orleans did nothing in free agency to fortify its pass rush. And the projected unit at linebacker -- Scott Fujita, Colby Bockwoldt and Alfred Fincher -- might be the worst in the league.

If Deuce McAllister -- whose 2005 season was cut short by right ACL surgery last October -- stays healthy, Bush will likely get 15 to 22 touches a game as a running back, receiver and punt returner. (The coaches don't want him to wear down, so Bush will not be an every-down back, nor will he return kickoffs.) Payton has been careful to give McAllister sufficient work so that he doesn't get ticked off by the attention lavished on the rising-star rookie. "I talked to Jerome Bettis about what's happening to me here because I figured the same thing happened to him in Pittsburgh," says McAllister, who averaged 1,368 rushing yards a season from 2002 through '04. "He told me, 'You've got to be comfortable with yourself, confident in yourself.' I know I'm one of the best backs in the league, but I also know why the Saints did this."

Bush and Brees, the latest marquee names on an ever-changing roster, have been passionate ambassadors for the new New Orleans. How well they play once the season starts will ultimately determine their p.r. value. And as much as every kid in town is fawning over Bush, it's Brees who will have a bigger say in whether this team makes a quick turnaround. Will he get the new offense on track? Will his surgically repaired right shoulder hold up? "My mind has told my body I'll be better this year than I ever have been," Brees says. "I'm convinced I will be." -- Peter King

Issue date: September 4, 2006