It’s September 25th, 2006.
We’re at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
The Atlanta Falcons are getting ready to punt to the Saints early in the first quarter and
no one knows the history that they’re about to witness.
You probably do.
You probably also remember just a little bit about what led up to this.
But right here, it’s been such a long road just to get to this.
These players,
these fans filling the stadium, they know tonight is so much more than just a football
game.
It’s worth reliving how we got to a moment that will signify the rebirth of an entire
city.
For that, let’s rewind.
Let’s start with the home team.
These Saints look just a little different than they did a year ago.
In 2005, New Orleans went an uninspiring 3-and-13, which gave them an excuse to move on from
a few pieces.
After just one playoff appearance in six years, head coach Jim Haslett was let go.
The quarterback who started for the majority of Haslett’s tenure also moved on,
but Aaron Brooks had become expendable after a Saints’ offseason gamble.
New Orleans landed Drew Brees after Miami opted to trade for Daunte Culpepper.
The Dolphins were reportedly scared away from Brees due to the major shoulder injury he
suffered at the very end of the regular season.
At this point, the jury’s still out on whether or not that decision was short-sighted by
Miami, but for the Saints - if this hits, they’ve secured a franchise
player who still hasn’t reached his potential.
Brees is coming off a career year in yardage, doing so in an offense where LaDainian Tomlinson
stole the show.
New Orleans was optimistic, in part because of the new coach paired with the new quarterback.
Replacing Haslett was first-year head coach Sean Payton.
Payton had spent the last three seasons in Dallas, helping run the offense while serving
as Bill Parcells’ assistant head coach.
While the Payton-Brees combo was a good start towards fixing an offense that forgot how
to score a season ago, there were more moves to be made.
And it helped to have the second overall pick, which let them get Reggie Bush.
Coming off a Heisman Trophy-winning season at USC, the Saints' new toy would serve as
an immediate big-play threat.
He’d also help take some of the load off Deuce McAllister who after three straight
thousand-yard seasons had his 2005 shortened by an ACL injury.
In that same draft, they also bolstered the offensive line with Jahri Evans, got some
defensive help via Roman Harper, then took a 7th round flyer on some wide receiver
out of Hofstra.
And jumping ahead a little bit, once real football began, everything clicked.
In a week one victory, McAllister rumbled for 90 yards on the ground, Bush went over
100-yards from scrimmage, and Brees connected with Marques Colston for
a touchdown.
Week two, the result didn’t change.
Bush again was a threat catching balls out of the backfield,
Colston notched another touchdown, and the Saints were undefeated heading into week three
-
their home opener.
And “home opener” rarely has as much meaning as it does tonight.
The fact they’re in New Orleans, the fact they’re actually in the Superdome, it’s
a welcome sight to the crowd and anyone watching barely a year after Hurricane Katrina.
The last time football was played inside this building
was the 2005 pre-season.
On August 29th, 2005, Katrina made landfall off the coast of Louisiana.
We all remember the images of destruction or stories of heroism that came out of the
aftermath of the Hurricane.
You don’t need me to tell you about the devastation or the government’s failures
in response.
But even before Katrina hit, the Saints’ future in New Orleans was in doubt.
In April 2005, owner Tom Benson put off talks with the state of Louisiana about stadium
negotiations.
With a lease running out, he wanted to wait until after the season to discuss the future.
This led to theories that he could be ready to move the team - possibly to the other L.A.,
maybe Albequerque, but the destination that seemed to make the
most sense was San Antonio.
Benson’s attorney made the case pretty plainly, saying “Tom has a house in San Antonio,
a ranch in San Antonio and business interests in San Antonio.
He likes San Antonio very much."
The catastrophic effects of Katrina only ramped up this sort of talk.
As the wind tore holes in the Superdome’s roof - further damage to a building Benson
already was hoping to replace or at least get the state to pay for renovations to -
it seemed like a guarantee this would give the owner an out.
The damage was bad enough it looked like they would need to demolish the stadium, a move
that would only make it easier to void the contract and allow another city to step in.
That last part would at least be the case for 2005, as the Saints had to play their
home games in New York, Baton Rouge, and San Antonio -
giving fans a look at their potential future.
But as Benson continued to claim he was open to anything,
...commissioner Paul Tagliabue stepped in to make sure New Orleans would keep their
team.
He met with Benson, who by that time was receiving offers to buy
the Saints from people wanting to stop the move, one being Terry Bradshaw.
But the commissioner was able to sway Benson, at least for now.
He agreed to extend the opt-out clause until January 2007, ensuring the Saints will remain
for this season.
After the damage was assessed and reconstruction began, the league announced in February that
the Saints would return to the Superdome for their home games,
with the grand re-opening happening September 25th -
so, tonight.
While the city is still recovering, it’s already been a night of rebirth - a return
to something familiar.
A chance to cheer on their team in what is a pretty big matchup despite it only being
week 3.
That’s because their opponent, although punting right here, is a threat to take the
division in what could
otherwise be a storybook season for the Saints.
The Atlanta Falcons are also unde feated, coming into the game with an offense
still working out some kinks but are a threat to run up the score regardless.
That’s primarily thanks to Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn.
Vick’s still trying to be the total package on the field that he is in Madden,
but that didn’t keep him from being the league’s 8th-leading rusher through the
first two weeks.
Dunn has been even better, going over one-hundred thirty yards in both games.
Their incredible ground attack is paired with a defense some believe to be even more talented
than the unit that led them to the NFC Championship just two seasons ago.
And while their wins to open the 2006 season came against two teams who didn’t look to
be offensive powerhouses, holding a pair of divisional opponents to
a combined nine points is no small feat.
The second win was without their star offseason addition - John Abraham.
Atlanta traded for the longtime Jet who provided an immediate return in week one
with a pair of sacks and forced fumbles.
But during that impressive Falcon debut he also pulled his groin, which meant now for
the second week in a row, the defense will have to step up without him.
And already tonight, it’s looking like they’ll need to do their share.
Atlanta got the ball to start the game, but failed to do much with it.
A six-yard rush by Dunn was followed by an incompletion,
then facing a third and four the Falcons punting unit almost wasn’t needed.
Vick rolled out to his left, but one of the other brand new Saints, Scott Fujita, came
crashing down on the quarterback.
Before he could even wrap up Vick, Fujita knocked the ball from his hands and sent it
bouncing towards the sideline.
Bryan Scott came sprinting up and tried to scoop the ball on the run for an easy six,
but it took a hop through his hands and went out of bounds.
And with that, we find ourselves here.
Atlanta set to punt.
The Saints having just missed a chance to emphatically show the city that they’re
back.
And a cast of characters you might not be too familiar with.
While there is plenty of star power here tonight, from the players to
Green Day and U2 who performed together in pre-game for some reason,
this play has some lesser-known guys involved.
Let’s start with the punter.
Michael Koenen hasn’t been doing this too long, but he’s shown to have a decent leg.
The Falcons signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and he did enough to beat out
the nine-year veteran Toby Gowin ahead of the season.
They also called on him to handle kickoffs, which resulted in more touchbacks than any
kicker not named Neil Rackers.
On top of all that, he even attempted a 58-yard field goal, which he missed
but was bailed out when the Patriots called a timeout.
When he got a second try, he drilled it.
So heading into the 2006 season, he was slated to handle Atlanta’s punting, kickoffs, and
placekicking.
But, even though the Falcons won their first two games, he made just two of eight field
goal attempts, so they brought back Morten Andersen and let
the punter focus on punting.
For the Saints, there’s a couple of guys worth pointing out.
First off, meet Curtis Deloatch.
He has been a Saint for all of three weeks after New Orleans claimed him off waivers
from the Giants.
He appeared in their first two games of the season without making an impact on the stat
sheet, and here on this punt that should’ve also
been the case - he honestly shouldn’t be on the field.
As the return unit went on, Saints special teams coach John Bonamego realized he only
had 10 guys.
Deloatch was standing next to him, so he was the easy choice to take the assignment.
One guy who knows what he’s doing out there though is safety turned special teams ace
Steve Gleason.
He played in college at Washington State and although the NFL didn’t draft him,
he did hear his name called in October for the XFL.
But he never got to suit up for Birmingham as the Saints signed him to their practice
squad, and by the spring had designated him to play in NFL Europe.
But once called up to the active roster, Gleason found a bit of a niche.
He managed to block a punt in 2002, 2003, and 2004.
While the streak ended in 2005, he did notch his first career start at strong safety in
week 7 against the Rams.
And now, lined up over the left guard, Gleason’s playing on behalf of the entire city.
This whole Saints team is.
Tonight’s more than just a Monday Night Football game or a divisional matchup.
It’s a chance to remind New Orleans that the Saints are back,
and as the recovery and healing continue, they’ll be doing it together.
And while just a play ago they had a chance to celebrate slip through their fingers,
there’s still plenty of time for memories to be made.
As New Orleans begins its rebirth, welcome to a moment in history.