GoldandBlack.com: Brees wants Playoffs

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (GoldandBlack.com) - New Orleans' failure to make the playoffs last season provided Drew Brees the opportunity to be fully involved in the birth of his son in mid-January.

Now, the Saints' quarterback hopes he can celebrate Baylen's first birthday with a playoff victory, which would be the first for New Orleans since its magical run to the NFC Championship in 2006. As Brees and Co. set for training camp to begin next month, getting back to the post-season has become priority No. 1.

"I feel like we've learned a lot over these last two years," said Brees, who made his annual trek to West Lafayette earlier this week. "Going from 2006 when you make it to the NFC Championship game, you're one game away from the Super Bowl, to going into the next two years where you kind of failure a little bit and fall just short of the playoffs, it kind of develops that chip on your shoulder."

The Saints have made several key off-season acquisitions since their 8-8 season in 2008. Perhaps the biggest of which is the hiring of new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who will try to improve upon the Saints' 23rd ranked defense. The former coordinator at Jacksonville and Washington, who helped turn around defensive units there, will have some new personnel at his disposal this season, with the Saints acquiring cornerback Jabari Greer, and safeties Pierson Prioleau and Darren Sharper via free agency and drafting corner Malcolm Jenkins and safety Chip Vaughn.

"Over the years, I've found that we've really assembled the right type of people in our locker room," Brees said. "And I can say that even more so this year, we've continued to go out and get veteran players who are really going to go out and help us win."

As has been the case recently, however, New Orleans' success this season will depend largely on the offense, which ranked No. 1 in yardage in 2009. That was thanks in great part to Brees, who's coming off a season in which he nearly broke Dan Marino's single-season passing mark.

Brees threw for 5,069 yards in '08, with 34 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, and he might have even more weapons offensively this season. No. 1 receiving target Marques Colston should be healthy after battling injuries last season. He'll combine with fellow running back Reggie Bush and tight end Jeremy Shockey to give Brees' plenty of targets.

"Al teams feel the same way right now, and that is 'Hey, this is going to be our year,'" said Brees, who was named the FedEx Air Player of the Year. "Everybody has that renewed hope in the off-season that this is our year. Truly, when you look at it, you never know when it's going to be your year, but you have to be prepared for it to happen. And we're preparing for it to be our year."

Brees is looking forward to being the underdog again, much like he was during his playing days at Purdue. Not many will pick the Saints as NFC South favorites, especially with Atlanta on the upswing and Carolina still a perennial contender.

"I've always thought it's much harder to meet expectations when they are set very high," Brees said, "as opposed to flying under the radar and appearing out of nowhere.

"We definitely did that in '06. We weren't picked to do anything and we almost made it to the Super Bowl. Then, the next two years we were picked to be in the Super Bowl, so there are definitely expectations to be met."