It seems that about the worst possible label a sports fan can be tagged with in 21st Century America is the dreaded “homer” label.

On the web, it usually appears more like this: “OMGHOMER!!!!1!!!1″

Playing the homer card is the convenient, all-purpose cop-out that opposing fans (as well as perpetually-miserable assholes who like to call themselves “realists”) use to pigeonhole any and all positive projections regarding a given player or team, without having to actually go to the trouble of forming a coherent counterpoint. It’s sort of a sports version of Godwin’s Law, except without the best part of Godwin’s Law: the person who has to resort to it LOSES.

Apparently, homers are worse than Hitler. Shit! So, in an effort to avoid being called one of those, I’m gonna go ahead and predict a 15-1 record for the Saints this fall, as opposed to the 16-0 which is what I really believe. That way I can be called a “realist” instead of a “homer.” Bitchin’. I hear “realists” throw all the best parties.

I’m going to avoid pointing out that [tag]Drew Brees[/tag] is a god among men (which actually applies to just about anyone who knows Alfonso Ribeiro.)

I’ll refrain from talking about how [tag]Reggie Bush[/tag] seems poised to absolutely set it right the fuck off and produce something like 10,000 total yards and 47 touchdowns.

Instead, let’s look at this “realistically” like the cool kids who are smarter than us homers do.

Here’s what the [tag]Saints[/tag]‘ offense looked like going into last season:

• QB: Bum shoulder, first year on the team/in the system, “was only good for a couple years after Rivers came in to push him”, “won’t have TE god Antonio Gates and RB God Ladainian Tomlinson”
• RB #1: Coming off knee injury, possibly on downside of career
• RB #2: Rookie, possibly “too small”, “glorified scat back”, etc.
• WR #1: Old, production had fallen by half the previous year, injured a lot
• WR #2: 7th round rookie so “slow” he was projected as an NFL TE
• WR #3: Generally regarded as a disappointment at best, inconsistent hands, hasn’t produced
• WR #4: Terrance who? Some dude from Dallas’ scrap heap
• LT: First year at the position, looks shaky
• LG: Journeyman on 3rd team, first year starting for us
• C: First year with the team, injury case
• RG: Day 2 rookie from a school nobody’s ever heard of
• RT: Generally regarded as a disappointment, first year breaking into the starting lineup (finally) and even that might have been just by default

That offense could have been, and maybe even should have been a complete nightmare. An absolute train wreck. It’s difficult to even fathom that at this point, but it’s true. It was at least even odds that they would have totally sucked last year.

But where did they end up?

• 391.5 yards per game
• 6264 total yards
• 25.8 points per game
• 413 total points

The crazy part is that, even given those results, there were some things that any Saints fan will tell you actually held last year’s offense back. 

• At times [tag]Payton[/tag] got too pass-happy for some people
• Turnovers
• Offensive line that could do a better job of run blocking
• Hollywood missing half the season
• Jack Hunt supposedly “can’t catch” 
• It was a while before Drew’s arm was really 100% “back”
• 3 rookies
• The whole “gelling” process had to happen, since it was the first year of pretty much everything

Fast-forward to this year, and let’s take a look at those question marks again:

• [tag]Dulymus[/tag]‘ knee is fine, and he’s still a damned effective back
• Late last season, Reggie was looking like he had it all figured out
• [tag]Colston[/tag] is a beast, [tag]Devery[/tag] can produce
• Brown is a Pro Bowl LT whom the pundits are putting right on the same level as Walter Jones, [tag]Jeff Faine[/tag] seems reliable, [tag]Jahri Evans[/tag] is a monster, the o-line as a whole seems fine, fully-gelled and dependable. And there’s the possibility of further upgrades pending [tag]Andy Alleman[/tag], [tag]Jermon Bushrod[/tag] and [tag]Zach Strief[/tag]

[tag]Coach Payton[/tag] likes to talk about “starting over” and that’s a fine attitude to have. But the reality is that the offense is not starting over, they’re starting from a far, FAR better position than they were starting from last year. There will always be question marks, but overall I think Coach Payton’s confidence in what he can do offensively has to be through the roof. I think that there will be far less “feeling out” for Coach Payton to do this year. Far less need to “be careful.” Far more freedom to let loose and attack.

And that’s not even considering the addition of a brand new first rounder to the wideout corps, yet another running back and an experienced, well-rounded tight end who had 825 receiving yards two years ago.

This offense is going to be absolutely unfair this year. Defensive coordinators around the league are already curled up in a fetal position on the floor in a pool of their own urine just thinking about it.

Defensively, there are still plenty of question marks.

The Saints added [tag]Kendrick Clancy[/tag] to the mix at defensive tackle, but I still won’t believe that the Saints can stop the run consistently until I actually see it. The Saints gave up 4.9 yards per carry on the ground last year, which was pretty crappy.

[tag]Scott Fujita[/tag] and [tag]Scott Shanle[/tag] were pleasant surprises last year at OLB, but then again, who wasn’t a pleasant surprise last year? And pleasant though it might have been, both of them could very well have been flukes. In [tag]Shanle[/tag]‘s case, it goes beyond that. He not only has to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke, he needs to improve on his performance from last year vs. the run.

The Saints added [tag]Brian Simmons[/tag] at MLB, and you have to figure he’ll start, given the unmistakeable cone of incompetence surrounding [tag]Mark Simoneau[/tag]. But Simmons ain’t exactly a spring chicken. Fortunately, he’s just holding the spot for Ass-Kicking James Fuckin’ [tag]Laurinaitis[/tag] anyway. But in the meantime, the Saints need Simmons not to suck.

The defensive backfield was vastly underrated last year by reactionary Saints fans, but that’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of room for improvement there. 26 opposing TDs through the air is Tampa-bad. Fortunately, [tag]Roman Harper[/tag] is healthy, and in a ridiculously small sample size, looked like an absolute stud last year as a rookie. The Saints also added ball-hawking [tag]Kevin Kaesviharn[/tag] and teeny-tiny [tag]Jason David[/tag], both of whom are on-paper improvements.

So you tell me, where have the Saints gotten worse? Name one concrete indication that the Saints will backslide this year. Because I’ve got about 100 indications that the team should continue to improve.

Oh sure, some of the pundits will tell you that the Saints will no longer have last year’s post-Katrina EMOTION(!!!!!) factor working for them. They’ll tell you that now the Saints have the bull’s-eye on their chests, and that means that all of a sudden they’ll be getting the opponents’ best effort, as if opponents aren’t as motivated to beat you when they aren’t fully aware that you’re better than they are.

Fortunately for us Saints fans, that kind of thing is complete bullshit. It’s meaningless nothingspeak. What’s really telling is that so many pundits are resorting to that kind of thing. Because most of the people who indulge in that kind of “analysis” only do so when they can’t come up with anything more concrete.

But hey, what do I know? I’m just a shameless HOMER!!!!

Prediction: 15-1, 1st in the NFC South, season-long boners for Saints fans near and far, one big long 6-month fuckin’ party.

Oh, and one of these:

Put it on the board. Houshamezolie. Championship.