'Prove 'em right': Saints embrace high expectations

METAIRIE, La. -- There is no tried-and-true method for dealing with the "burden" of high expectations.

In many ways it's easier for a coach to walk into a meeting room on the first day of training camp and proclaim, "Nobody believes in us." But motivational speeches aren't quite as simple when people are widely anointing your team as a Super Bowl contender and seven of your players just made the Pro Bowl.

In the past, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton has mostly preferred to instruct his players to "tune out the noise." He famously filled the locker room with mousetraps one year and proclaimed "Don't eat the cheese" as a way to remind his team not to fall into the trap of outside praise.

Thi…