History has a habit of repeating itself. Especially in New Orleans.

When Archie Manning was taken with the second pick in the 1971 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, many in the Crescent City thought that the expansion franchise’s days of misery were past it.

They felt that Manning would lead the Saints to the promised land.

But it was not to be. Despite having a respectable career, the front office could never surround its franchise icon with the talent for him to be successful.

The Saints are in a similar position again with quarterback Drew Brees. While they didn’t draft Brees, he has become the team’s unquestioned leader and is easily one of the top five quarterbacks in the game.

But do they have the team to go with him?

That’s a good question. Many thought that Reggie Bush was a slam dunk when the Saints tabbed him second overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. But the oft-injured Bush is flirting with the bust label, as he isn’t the every-down back the Saints need.

Offensively, the Saints have drafted well otherwise, grabbing Marques Colston with a strategic seventh-round pick and building a formidable offensive line through the draft and free agency.

But they missed out on a replacement for Deuce McAllister in the draft and are pinning their hopes on Denver Broncos’ castoff Mike Bell, who has run like a man eluding his demons in the preseason, to pick up the slack.

Brees owns a ton of Saints records and if he stays healthy, will own the rest of them. While Bobby “Cajun Cannon” Hebert was a strong quarterback during the glory years of the “Who Dat” era, he was not the talent that is Brees. But the difference is that Hebert’s surrounding cast, especially the defense, was much stronger, thanks to the work of the late, great general manager Jim Finks.

If only Finks would have been running the Saints in Manning’s prime. Alabama coach Paul Bryant said that Manning was the best college quarterback he ever saw play and he would likely be in the Pro Hall of Fame if he would have had a team around him.

Finks’ primary genius was building a defense, an area where the Saints have struggled in recent years. Since the “Dome Patrol” of  the late Sam Mills, Rickey Jackson, Vaughn Johnson and Pat Swilling roamed the Astroturf in the Superdome, only one Saints linebacker, Mark Fields, has been to the Pro Bowl. While Scott Fujita has enjoyed a strong career with the Saints, the rest of the Saints’ linebacking corps until the addition of Jonathan Vilma has been pretty weak.

The line is stout these days, but with both Pro Bowl-quality ends Charles Grant and Will Smith suspended for the first four games of the season because of a banned diuretic, the Saints will have a lot of trouble mounting a pass rush.

And the secondary, well, that’s been a sore point with Saints fans over the years. There was Fred “Toast” Thomas, whose weaknesses in man-on-man coverage yielded many long touchdowns by opposing wide receivers. Jason David was signed as a free agent to fill the gap, but he got toasted too by big-time wideouts on a regular basis. Safety hasn’t exactly been a strong point either, with Roman Harper being only the mainstay at strong safety and free safety becoming a revolving door.

Can the Saints make it back to the NFC Championship Game like they did in 2006? Last year’s Arizona Cardinals didn’t exactly have a stellar defense or a true featured running back, but had a veteran quarterback and two of the best wideouts in the game and gave heavy favorites the Pittsburgh Steelers all the they could handle in Super Bowl XLIII.

But the clock is ticking on Brees. Hopefully the Saints’ front office has surrounded him with enough talent to get the job done because quarterbacks like him and Manning don’t exactly grow on trees.

Steve Wilson is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. Write to him at Box 821668, Vicksburg, MS 39182, or e-mail swilson@vicksburgpost.com..