Saints should use NFC champion Eagles as model in retooling

The New Orleans Saints have some rebuilding to do on their roster. Fortunately, there's an NFC team the Saint can look at for, shall we say, "inspiration."

The NFL is a copycat league, and has been for about a century. Teams find what other teams do that work, and take some of that and add their own wrinkles, to hopefully find their own success. That said, the key spoke in football's wheel of success has been the same as it ever was. The New Orleans Saints should take note of this, as it will bring back a golden-era of Saints football.

Simply put, football is won and lost in the trenches. Plain and simple. One can look no further than the upcoming Super Bowl LVIl matchup for proof. Sure, having a super-human quarterback like Patrick Mahomes helps, but in the case of the Philadelphia Eagles, their big people on the offensive and defensive lines are better than everyone else's and that's what they are where they are. Say what you will about Jalen Hurts, but both he and the trenches have contributed to the Eagles' domination over the NFC thus far.

We don't know what Super Bowl LVIl has in store, but we've seen time and time again that defenses often rise to the occasion when facing high-powered offenses in the big game, particularly up front. This is where the Saints should turn.

Obviously, quarterback is at the top of the Saints' to-do list, as it should be. However, nothing is a sure thing, and it's been proven that more often than not if you drop a new quarterback in a bad situation, it can collapse their confidence if nobody around them gives them a chance to get better, no matter how skilled they may be (hello Archie Manning).

Fortunately, the Saints have a solid roster, with talent in the trenches, but that talent isn't getting any younger. The Saints should take a page out of the Eagles' playbook, and get as young and deep on the offensive and defensive lines as possible and build their foundation that way, then drop the quarterback in. This way, they won't need to be Patrick Mahomes in order for the Saints to succeed.

The New Orleans Saints have talent in the skill positions and in the trenches. However, there's always room to improve. They should use what the Philadelphia Eagles have built as a model, and in this depleted NFC (and NFC South) the wins should follow. If their game against the NFC champions, albeit with Gardner Minshew at the helm, is any indication, perhaps the team is already farther along than nationally perceived.