While walking into class recently, I was stopped by one of my 12 loyal readers and asked why I only wrote about the New Orleans Saints.

I answered, “Because it’s football season.”

But even though I promised that reader I’d write about the Hornets, New Orleans’ other pro sports franchise this week, something else kind of came up… the division-leading Saints.

After a 31-13 victory last Sunday over the Atlanta Falcons that caused quarterback Michael Vick to show fans his “dirty birds” the Saints secured sole possession of first place in the NFC South, a game ahead of the Carolina Panthers.

To see the Saints perform this well with so much going on right now is amazing. As people are rebuilding their homes and lives, the Saints are providing a guiding light for them all.

Say what you will about a football team meaning little to a devastated city, but the Saints are proving that they are woven into New Orleans’ fabric.

Even with potential Rookie of the Year and seventh round draft pick Marques Colston out Sunday, the Saints still exploited the Falcons secondary to the tune of 349 yards. It was Drew Brees’ fifth straight game passing for 300 plus yards, setting an NFL record by throwing for the most yards ever in a five-game span.

This Saints team is like no other we’ve seen before. They’re resilient and can overcome adversity. Coming off two tough losses, in which turnovers essentially gave the game away, Brees came back and went long to Devery Henderson for 76 yards and the early lead on the game’s third play.

The Saints even had divine intervention working in their favor. At the end of the first half, Brees threw up a “Hail Mary” pass from the 48-yard line that miraculously landed in the arms of Terrance Copper in the end zone. All the more remarkable since “Dropper’s” drops and fumbles were big reasons why the Saints lost the previous two weeks.

DeAngelo Hall, the Falcons star cornerback who before the season some called the best corner in the league, went for the interception instead of knocking the ball down, allowing the pass to fall right where the Saints needed it.

I mean-and Saints fans will agree with me-we don’t get these types of breaks. Our quarterback doesn’t set NFL records (except for most backwards passes in a game) or is ever mentioned as a possible MVP candidate. Experts aren’t picking us as the class of the NFC.

If the playoffs started today, the Saints would own the tiebreakers necessary to hold the #2 seed in the NFC and have a first round bye-something never done before in franchise history.

Then again, we only have one playoff victory anyway. But fortunes are changing in the Big Easy, led by the Saintly Drew, the Saints will be marching back to the playoffs in no time.

And I just wrote a whole Saints column without mentioning another rookie who should be considered for Rookie of the Year – that’s right: Jahri Evans, baby.