For all the folks wielding shovels and about to start officially burying the New Orleans Saints, after a chaotic offseason, these cautionary words of advice: Don't start throwing dirt on this team just yet.

True, the Saints at times reacted more like Sinners this offseason. General manager Randy Mueller was fired. Coach Jim Haslett allegedly agreed to contract extension but the deal was never completed. New Orleans lost two long-time starters on the offensive line (Willie Roaf and Chris Naeole) and its most consistent veteran (Joe Johnson) on the defensive front. Only a couple years after he led the league in sacks, defensive tackle La'Roi Glover is gone, a free agent departure.

Oh, yeah, the Saints also traded away tailback Ricky Williams, arguably one of the top 10 runners in the NFL but also a guy whose weirdness and inability to connect with coaches and teammates became too much to handle. Add it all up and the city should be renamed The Big Uneasy.

So why is there quiet optimism among Saints staffers? Because they realize that, even with all the defections, there is still enough remnant talent to make a playoff run. That is, assuming that a team that lost its last four games in 2001 and surrendered an average of 40 points in doing so, regains the chip-on-the-shoulder mindset Haslett brought to the team. The easy explanation for the collapse last December was that the players tuned out Haslett, but most veterans contend that was not the case, and pledge their allegiance to the fiery young coach.

There is also this reality: New Orleans made some modest but meaningful acquisitions in the free agent market and had one of the best draft classes in the league.

	CAMP AT A GLANCE
	Aaron Brooks had an up-and-down season, throwing 26 TDs and 22 INTs.
	Location: Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, La. Rookies report: July 26 Veterans report: July 26 Preseason schedule:    Aug. 10: Houston    Aug. 15: at Miami    Aug. 24: at Cincinnati    Aug. 30: Indianapolis

Where will this bring the Saints?

Even though the Bucs have yet to disprove insinuations that they are an underachieving bunch of whiners, it would be a stretch to choose the Saints as division favorites over Tampa Bay. But no one should be shocked if the Saints vie for the crown, although we peg them more as a wildcard team. And speaking of such, the wildcard in New Orleans, the player who must produce for any of this to make sense, is second-year tailback Deuce McAllister. There is not a great body of work, just 16 carries in his 2001 rookie season, to suggest confidence McAllister is the real deal.

But offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy will use McAllister different than he deployed Williams, and he will spread the field more often to create big-play run opportunities. Quarterback Aaron Brooks, entering his third season as the starter, must bounce back from the inconsistent stretches that haunted him in 2001, but he is a physically blessed athlete and can beat you with his arm or his feet.

The defense will have to replace half its starting front four and the secondary still needs tightening. Toward the latter end, Mueller gambled before his departure that cornerback Dale Carter, who recently served an 18-month substance abuse policy suspension, can regain his old form. The gamble didn't pay off as Carter was recently suspended indefinitely. Michael Hawthorne will replace him in the starting lineup.

Man in the spotlight
Often injured in college, only infrequently utilized as a rookie, McAllister has been handed the starting tailback job. He'd better not fumble it because there is no proven back behind him on the depth chart. Williams was more a plugger and Haslett wants to put the big play back into his running game. Thus the switch to McAllister, who will be flanked out into the slot at times, and allegedly provided opportunities to create plays in space.

Saints officials are fond of pointing out that Williams, in his three seasons with the club, never had a touchdown run of longer than 26 yards. They are equally fond of noting that McAllister posted a 54-yard scoring jaunt in 2001. True enough. But you don't win in the NFL on long runs. This isn't American League baseball, where managers sit back and wait for the three-run homer. McAllister is going to have to prove that he can carry the heavy loads, too, when the Saints need four- and five-yard efforts to run out the clock in the fourth quarter.

Key position battle
With the departure of Joe Johnson, third-year veteran Darren Howard moves from his left end position to the weakside end spot. That leaves fourth-year pro Willie Whitehead and first-round choice Charles Grant to fight it out over the starting left end job. Whithead has always been more a situational performer and, while he had a good spring, the coaches went wild at times over Grant's performance. The former Georgia star didn't back down from wildman offensive tackle Kyle Turley (himself in the spotlight this year, as he goes to the left side to replace Roaf) in a recent minicamp and even got in a few solid shots before the two were pulled apart. Look for Grant to eventually take the position.

Injury update
Wide receiver Jerome Pathon, acquired from Indianapolis as a free agent, seems to be making good progress from offseason foot surgery. He is on track to be a nice complement to Joe Horn. Left guard Wally Williams, who restructured his contract but might still be vulnerable with the influx of veteran (and modestly priced) linemen, is over shoulder and neck woes.

Rookie report
Few teams enjoyed the kind of draft bounty the Saints collected in April. Top pick Donte Stallworth, the wide receiver from Tennessee, has been sizzling in workouts and no one can cover the guy. He could bump Pathon from the starting lineup. Grant, the club's other first-round choice, will play a lot. Second-rounder LeCharles Bentley of Ohio State lacks the size most teams want, but the guy has an undeniable mean streak, and will push to start at either center or right guard.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.