The Saints landed in New Orleans about an hour ago, and a few minutes ago from the hotel Saints Pro Bowl linebacker Jon Vilma forwarded me these photos, which I promptly watermarked with our logo because I'm good with computers and stuff. Good for me.
The Pro Bowl Saints players dressed up as bellmen to greet their teammates who arrived today. The Pro Bowlers arrived a few days earlier because Roger Goodell is a meanie.
Coach Payton is doing this to keep the guys loose, and while creative, it's something he took from the legendary Bill Walsh, who during the first San Francisco Super Bowl appearance (Super Bowl XVI) surprised his guys by dressing up as a bellman. Coach Walsh started helping guys with their bags, and none of his players recognized him, you know, because they weren't expecting their head coach to be schlepping bags for two-dollar tips. Walsh grabbed backup QB Guy Benjamin's bag and a skirmish ensued, at which point the guys finally recognized their coach. Maybe that's the reason Guy never got any playing time. Or maybe it's because the other guy atop the QB depth chart wasn't too shabby.
(I'm sitting here in the media room with my buddy who used to work with Bill Walsh and Joe Montana. It's not like I've otherwise got Guy Benjamin stories burning a hole in my back pocket. For what it's worth, the Niners won that Super Bowl by 5 points. So I guess I'm gonna predict Saints by five. Yeah, Saints by five. Five touchdowns.)
- Dewey (@D3WEY & @PlaymakerMobile)
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