Saints bond around ‘BlacKkKlansman’ and the chance to chase another Super Bowl

Like all NFL teams in mid-August, the New Orleans Saints are fighting through the dog days of training camp and Tuesday’s off day was welcome relief for body, mind and soul.

Any down time is greatly appreciated.

Just as Sunday afternoon turned out to be therapeutic heaven for 90 players when Saints coach Sean Payton decided to cancel a scheduled walk-through, charter VIP buses and rent out a movie theater in downtown New Orleans.

The team chose from three current selections at The Theaters at Canal Place:

▪ Mission Impossible — Fallout: Ethan Hunt and the IMF team join forces with CIA assassin August Walker to prevent a disaster of epic proportions.

▪ The Equalizer 2: Out for revenge, the mysterious and elusive Robert McCall takes on a crew of highly trained assassins who’ll stop at nothing to destroy him.

▪ BlacKkKlansman: An African-American detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department sets out on a dangerous undercover mission to infiltrate, expose and take down the extremist hate group in the early 1970s.

The team settled on BlacKkKlansman, complete with open tab at the concession stand! Imagine the damage 90 NFL players with man-size appetites can do in 2 1/2 hours of leisure time — popcorn, ice cream, candy, pizza, hot dogs, nachos, Frito chili pie, chicken tenders, milkshakes, smoothies, soft drinks, etc.

They were back on the practice field in shells and helmets Monday morning, partly in preparation for Game 2 of the preseason at 7 p.m. Friday against the Arizona Cardinals at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome but mostly to identify the best 53 players to compete against a challenging 16-game schedule.

Training camp ends after Sunday morning’s practice in name only. The thinning of the herd continues all the way up until 3 p.m. Sept. 1 when teams must be down to 53 players, including the Saints who project to have one of their best rosters since the 2011 campaign.

Don’t take my word for it. Former Saints Bobby Hebert, Deuce McAllister and newly-minted radio play-by-play man Zach Strief all predict double-digit wins, a second consecutive NFC South title and say the season would be a huge disappointment if the team doesn’t play deep into the postseason.

“Absolutely,’‘ Strief said. “This team reminds me of our Super Bowl team (in 2009), except we had more veterans and fought a hell of a lot more on the practice field. But this team has a great blend of good, young talent and proven veterans and Drew Brees is stil going strong.’‘

No one understands this team’s potential better than Payton who knows full well that the NFL season is not a sprint but a marathon.

There is time to work, and work hard.

Equally important, there is time to team bond, kick back and watch a movie every now and then.

By the way, most Saints players gave BlacKkKlansman a 2 thumbs up!

Brian Allie-Walsh, a longtime Saints reporter based in New Orleans, can be reached at sports@sunherald.com.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Saints bond around ‘BlacKkKlansman’ and the chance to chase another Super Bowl."