National Football League

Brees studies how past champions have faltered

Published May. 28, 2010 4:17 a.m. ET

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Winning a championship gave the ever-studious Drew Brees an excuse for another research project.

The reigning Super Bowl MVP looked back at defending NFL champions over the past decade-plus and saw that five of the previous 11 failed to make the playoffs in the season following their titles.

Denver missed the postseason in 1999, as did New England in 2002, Tampa Bay in 2003, and Pittsburgh in both 2006 and 2009.

Saints coach Sean Payton also charted the recent history of NFL defending champs and made a point of sharing it with the entire team, a move Brees endorsed.

``You have to,'' Brees said Thursday as the Saints wrapped up a three-day set of offseason practices. ``You've got to scare guys.''

While Brees conceded that the Saints should be among the favorites to win it all in 2010, he also stressed that his team would fail if they didn't approach this season with the attitude that winning would only get harder.

``As much as we want to sit here and say, 'We're just going to build on what we did last year and take it where we left off and continue to go up from there,' the fact of the matter is that every year is a new year and every team is a new team,'' Brees said. ``The philosophy is still that we have not arrived by any means. Yes, we accomplished the pinnacle of success in our business, but it was just one year.

``I do feel like we have a great window of opportunity because we do have a lot of the pieces of the puzzle in place that we've built here over the last four years, and there's an expectation level and a bar that we've set for ourselves, (but) by no means can we relax or think that we're entitled to anything because if anything, everyone is gunning for us and it's going to be harder.''

Only the New England Patriots of 2003-04 have repeated as champions in the past decade.

So while Payton adjusted the offseason schedule to give players time to celebrate and recharge, he also wasted no time offering an NFL history lesson when they returned to work.

``Really, that topic was the first topic we brought up in the offseason program - history as it pertains to winning a championship, what are the challenges and trying to identify them,'' Payton said. ``That's the thing that gets your blood going a little bit and gets you excited about the upcoming year, is knowing that it's been difficult. I think we have a smart enough locker room to understand the challenges.

``You're coming in the next year and nobody in your division or anybody outside your division is going to take you lightly,'' Payton continued. ``Equally as challenging are those internal battles when you have success. I think that's something you have to look at - always.''

New Orleans has all but two starters - defensive end Charles Grant and linebacker Scott Fujita - returning from last season's squad. There are also several new players, such as former Chicago defensive end Alex Brown, former Tampa Bay defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson and former Jacksonville linebacker Clint Ingram.

New Orleans also has more depth in the secondary after using its first-round draft choice on Florida State cornerback Patrick Robinson, a move that gave the Saints flexibility to have second-year defensive back Malcolm Jenkins work at cornerback and free safety.

Meanwhile, new shirts are hanging in the Saints' lockers bearing the slogan, ``Our time,'' which players see as a reminder not to squander the work they've put in to build a championship-caliber squad.

``Being defending world champions, and we have the majority of guys coming back ... there's a window of opportunity for us to win a lot of games and try to do this thing again,'' linebacker Scott Shanle said. ``Ten, 20, 30 years from now, we want people to look back - we want to look back - and say, 'You know what? That was the New Orleans Saints' time. That was their piece of history.' ... We want to take advantage of the talent that's been assembled here.''

NOTES: Tight end Jeremy Shockey was hospitalized after having what was later diagnosed as a seizure in the Saints' weight room. He then posted a message on his Twitter page Thursday night that he'd be fine. .. Running back Pierre Thomas and left tackle Jammal Brown - both unsigned restricted free agents - skipped this week's training sessions. Thomas, the Saints' leading rusher last season, is hoping for a better deal than the one-year, $1.68 million tender the Saints have offered. Brown is unhappy with his one-year, $3.62 tender offer and the fact that he might have to compete with Jermon Bushrod to regain his starting job. Payton declined to discuss whether the club was entertaining trade offers for Brown, a two-time Pro Bowl selection who missed last season because of a hip injury. ... Right tackle Jon Stinchcomb was limited this week while rehabilitating from sports hernia surgery.

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