Drew Brees still is smarting from a down season in 2012 that saw his New Orleans Saints fall to 7-9 and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Brooks: Divisional-round preview
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Poor timing, considering the Super Bowl will be played in his city mere weeks from now.
"Obviously, I wish we were playing at home, in our home stadium, in front of our crowd," Brees told KAAY-AM on Monday, via SportsRadioInterviews.com, "I think that was the expectation. So we're still fresh off the end of the season, so it's still not a good feeling."
The Saints once talked of a fairy-tale season; instead, they got a hammer to the mouth.
New Orleans will soon be invaded by a pair of Super Bowl teams not named the Saints. That isn't the result they were hoping for, but the Saints have next season to work out a prettier narrative.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.