If there's a hotter place in America to have training camp than Jackson, Mississippi, then let the Saints know.

The team held two practices Tuesday, the second began at 4:20 p.m., when the temperature was 95-degrees, with a heat index of 102. Oh yeah, the offense was wearing all black.

And you know what? It's about to get hotter.....in football terms, that is.

"We know that this year we're the hunted, everybody's gonna be coming after us," said Deuce McAllister.

What a difference a year makes.

This time last August, the Saints were coming off a 3-13 season, had a first time head coach in Sean Payton and expectations that... well, there weren't any.

But after advancing all the way to the NFC Championship Game last season they come into 2007 as the team to beat in the conference in the eyes of many.

Payton said, "I told the team, we want those expectations on us, that's what we all are in this for."

Yet at the same time, at the recommendation of assistant head coach Joe Vitt, Payton began the camp focus last month by having a New Orleans style funeral to bury all of the success of last season. He wants the guys to understand that this is a brand new year.

"Expectations are great and all that," McAllister told me, "but now it's up to us to go out and prove it. We found out last year that expectations don't mean a thing."

Payton thinks that his team really does understand that the past is the past, in large part because in his eyes he has the "right kind of guys."

The proof came in what happened after practice in the Mississippi heat. Reggie Bush and Duece McAllister were among the last players to leave the practice field. Drew Brees was the last player to walk off. You certainly don't get any sense that this team is complacent.

"It's up to us veterans to lead the young guys," McAllister said. "The young guys have to either follow, or move on. I have been close before in the playoffs to having some success, and I don't want to slide back to 3-13 (after tasting success this time).

What is also evident is that the Saints are not only a more talented team than they were this time last year, they're a more talented team than the one that lost the title game in Chicago.

Even though they return 21 of the 22 starters from the NFC Championship game, Payton and GM Mickey Loomis have brought in a good mix of veterans and youngsters to create more depth, and more competition.

As if the returnees, aren't scary enough on offense, they expect to be even better. Last season both McAllister and Brees were coming off major surgery while also playing in a new offense. Bush, despite all his flash, was still just a rookie. So was WR Marques Colston. Now all are more comfortable in the system, and look it.

During the portion of practice where it's 11-on-11, Brees began by going 6-for-6, hitting 6-different receivers. The only thing that ended the streak was when he hit receiver Devery Henderson for what would have been a completion, but cornerback Fred Thomas stripped the ball before Henderson got "two feet down, and made a football move", as the officials would say.

"Brees has been spectacular" Payton told me. "The ball never hits the ground. Last year at this time, he was just trying to get his timing back"

Not that that held him back since Brees went on to lead the NFC in passing yards and passer rating, while helping New Orleans to the No. 1 overall offensive ranking in the NFL.

And now they've added a pass receiving tight end in former 49er Eric Johnson, along with first-round wideout Robert Meachem, who seemed to show no ill effects of his off-season knee surgery.

The bottom line is this offense can be frightening. The hope is that the defense doesn't cause Payton nightmares.

It wasn't exactly through smoke and mirrors that the Saints got it done in '06. Defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs did a fine job. Yet, that squad didn't make Saints fans forget the days of the "Dome Patrol" when Pat Swilling, Rickey Jackson, and Sam Mills ruled. That said, they finished 11th in total defense.

Even if they don't beat out incumbent starters, pickups like cornerback Jason David (Colts),  free safety Kevin Kaesviharn (Bengals), and rookie corner Usama Young (third-round pick) add depth to the secondary. Same for new linebackers Brian Simmons (Bengals) and Dhani Jones (Eagles).

The Saints have a stud pass rusher at one end in Will Smith, and Charles Grant is solid at the other. They know that with the exception of Smith, they don't have a STAR on defense, but they're fine with that. Just like they're good with being "the hunted."

Don't look now folks, but this Saints team is for real. Real good. Expectations are great along the Bayou, and with good reason. I will be surprised if they don't go far again this season.

Next Stop: Chicago Bears.