New Orleans Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks flew mostly below the radar in the fabled QB class of '99.

Well, it would have been nice to have a recovered Williams, who broke his right ankle on Nov. 12. Williams actually practiced last Friday, but the work was light. He has experienced pain this week, so tendinitis will sideline him for Sunday's season finale against the St. Louis Rams.

"We're not counting on him [for the playoffs] either," said Haslett, matter-of-factly.

Saints. Playoffs. NFC West champs. Maybe even more. Dare we say "Super Bowl?"

"Why not us?" asked Haslett. "When I look at the rest of the NFC, I think we're as good as anybody going in. The main thing was to get to the playoffs."

Haslett knows there is more riding on the line as we enter into this splendid last weekend of the regular season. Currently, New Orleans is the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs behind the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings. But -- and this is a very interesting but -- the Giants play a dangerous Jacksonville Jaguars team and the slumping Vikings travel to take on a desperate Indianapolis Colts team.

See, this can happen. The Saints could wind up the weekend as the NFC's top seed with a first-round bye and home-field advantage. Not that this necessarily creates a lopsided advantage for the Saints -- four of their five losses have come in the Louisiana Superdome. Those four defeats all have been against playoff teams -- Detroit (we're assuming), Philadelphia, Oakland and Denver.

In fact, the Saints' only victory over a winning team this year came when they beat the Rams in St. Louis.

On those terms, why should we even embrace the Saints as a real Super Bowl contender? It's a gut feeling, that's all. I also like recent history. Not only did the Rams come from nowhere to win the Super Bowl last year, but the Atlanta Falcons made the same trip the year before.

One theory I had about this phenomenon of the weak NFC West raising Super Bowl teams is that it is not a very physical division. Teams don't get beat up. The Rams and Falcons enjoyed virtual injury-free seasons.

That doesn't apply to the Saints, who have a long list of key injured players; most notably, they lost Williams on Nov. 12 and the very next week they lost quarterback Jeff Blake in the first quarter against Oakland.

Williams' injury never fazed Haslett, who so loves his offensive line that he'll say, "I could run for 100 yards [per game] behind these guys." Indeed, using a combination of Chad Morton, Jerald Moore and Terry Allen at running back, the Saints are averaging 122 yards rushing per game since Williams was hurt. It's a drop (they were at 138 yards with Williams), but it's not devastation.

Quite frankly, Blake's injury seemed to be the killer. The veteran free agent signed by first-year general manager Randy Mueller in the offseason was just taking off in this offense. He provided the plays and veteran leadership. When Haslett was informed on the sidelines of the Oakland game that Blake's injury was season-ending, he was not necessarily comforted by the idea that Aaron Brooks would be the quarterback.

"I think we were winning like 38-to-something, it was about 10 minutes to go in the game and I said, 'Aaron, why don't you warm up, you're going in.' He goes, 'Right now?" So he went in ... first one, he ran the ball, lost a yard. He threw an incomplete pass. He kinda schlepped around. The second time he plays [Nov. 5], we're beating San Francisco. I think we had three three-and-outs. So when he became our starter, you know -- I mean we had confidence in him, but we really weren't sure he was going to react to being the starter."

Let's put it another way: Haslett and Co. had no way of knowing that perhaps they were even getting more juice out of their quarterback play with Brooks. The second-year quarterback has increased the Saints' passing yards per game (252.6 vs. 187 under Blake). His QB rating is slightly higher (86.6 to 82.7) and he has run for more yards (243 to 163).

In fact, most anybody who has seen Brooks play is scratching their heads. He brings a wow factor to the game. Like, wow, where did this guy come from?

To bring you up to snuff, Brooks was a member of the class of '99, only he was the eighth quarterback chosen, in the fourth round, by the Green Bay Packers. Packers GM Ron Wolf gave Brooks a second-round grade but would not consider drafting the Virginia QB until the third round, at earliest, because he already had Brett Favre and Matt Hasselbeck.

When Brooks was still there on the fourth round, Wolf jumped at the opportunity. The GM always prided himself in having three quality QBs and never worried that the backups were young guys (remember when he had Favre, Mark Brunell and Ty Detmer?).

"This kid [Brooks] is a talent," said Wolf. "I mean, there's really nothing he can't do."

He means it. Brooks has the height at 6-4½. He has a "whip for an arm," according to Saints offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy. His athleticism is "amazing," according to Saints right tackle Kyle Turley.

So what was it that made Brooks so unattractive to NFL suitors? Off-field problems? None whatsoever. Intelligence? His Wonderlick score (17) was in the acceptable range for a quarterback.

Three reasons for Brooks' slide to the fourth round: 1) His collegiate career at Virginia was solid, but not spectacular; 2) He was lost in the class of '99 as teams spent most of their time studying the likes of Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith, Cade McNown, Daunte Culpepper and Shaun King; 3) He had a dreadful interview for the NFL at the Indianapolis Scouting Combine.

In fact, Brooks apparently was so unassuming and shy during his videotaped interview that some teams connected his personality to his brain. They didn't see a quarterback or a leader.

"I don't know, I was just being myself," said Brooks. "I was very friendly, I carried myself with a lot of respect. Obviously, they were looking for some type of motivational guy, some fiery guy. I'm pretty laid-back. Whether you can determine how intelligent I am from that, or how much I know the game from that conversation, you must be a genius."

The interview must have paralyzed NFL teams. Brooks was not asked to participate even when Virginia had its NFL workout day at Virginia. Only after the workout was finished did the Pittsburgh Steelers ask him to throw 15-to-20 balls.

McCarthy was the Packers' quarterback coach under Ray Rhodes. He had already broken down film between two QBs the Packers figured they could get after the first round, Brooks and King. He loved what he saw from Brooks on film. He was at Virginia that day. He wanted to spend some time with Brooks, but he got even more time when his flight back to Green Bay was canceled because of weather.

"We ended up visiting for about three or four hours because I was in no hurry," said McCarthy. "I just got to sit down and really talk to the kid. I think a lot of kids his age, you have a little barrier, but once you broke down the barrier, he got up on the board and he drew the whole offense on the board. We watched three or four games together and right after that I started communication with Ron Wolf that 'this kid does not have a learning problem.' And I know Ron already had liked the way the guy played, and thought he could be even better [in the NFL]."

Brooks tells a more amazing part to the story -- nobody else visited him before the draft to find out what he was about.

Ironically, Mueller was winding up his last draft with the Seahawks as Mike Holmgren left Green Bay to run the show in Seattle. He actually sought out Haslett, his friend in Pittsburgh who was the Steelers defensive coordinator, to study Brooks.

"Randy asked me to do him a favor and look at this quarterback from Virginia," said Haslett. "So I looked at about four or five films on him and I called Randy back and said, 'I like the kid.' Randy asked me where I would rate him with the other guys -- the Akilis, the McNabbs -- and I said I'd put him right up in there.'"

Now, move your clocks ahead one year. Everybody, including GM Bill Kuharich and coach Mike Ditka, is fired in New Orleans. Saints owner Tom Benson hires Mueller as his GM. Mueller hires Haslett as coach. The Packers fire Ray Rhodes and staff. Haslett hires McCarthy as his quarterback coach, and then promotes him to offensive coordinator because Steelers president Dan Rooney asked him not to raid the Steelers' staff for tight ends coach Mike Mularkey.

The Saints almost drafted Lousiville QB Chris Redman, but they were so short on draft picks (because of the Ricky Williams trade) and talent that they passed. Come training camp, they wanted another young QB to develop with Jake Delhomme (who they really like, too).

Haslett and McCarthy discussed the Green Bay backups, Hasselbeck and Brooks. McCarthy told Haslett and Mueller that he thought Brooks was "something special," but that Wolf was too enamored with him. Hasselbeck was the target. They got Brooks for a third-round pick in 2001.

Even Wolf knew he had parted with something special.

"I had some people tell me what a great deal I made with New Orleans, getting a third," said Wolf. "I knew the Saints had made a great deal."

Unless Brooks just disintegrates, this is going to be very embarrassing to the rest of the NFL. When we have this debate about the class of '99 quarterbacks, we will argue about Culpepper and McNabb, and maybe Couch, but I bet that Brooks will be right in the mix. In fact, his arm is very comparable to Culpepper's, and he might be a better athlete than McNabb. All he needs is experience, not to mention a few more pounds (he weighs just 205) and muscle.

"He said, 'Hey, get your popcorn, get your Coke and relax, because it's on today,'" said Horn.

Brooks went out and beat the Rams. If he does it again Sunday, there is no doubt that he will be one of the more intriguing stories of the postseason. And Blake may become Wally Pipp.

"I think Jeff Blake should be worried about his job here," said Turley. "I mean, nothing against Jeff Blake -- we went six straight games without a loss with Jeff Blake -- but when a kid like Aaron Brooks comes in, as young and talented as he is, you put everything else aside and say, 'What is best for your football team?'"

Even Haslett concedes that it will be difficult for Blake to reclaim his job.

"I'm not one of these coaches who says you can't lose your position to injury," said Haslett. "Let's see how the kid finishes up."

Honest, did you think Chris Chandler would ever play in a Super Bowl? Or even some guy named Kurt Warner? Nah, it can't happen, could it? Aaron Brooks and the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl?

As Haslett likes to say, "Why not?" Or do you really have this league figured out?