Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert marvels at the way the roster of the Saints' Super Bowl team has been put together.

"Remember how that Christmas show, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, had the Island of Misfit Toys?" Hebert said last week. "It's the Island of Misfit Players coming together to achieve greatness."

The Saints have defied the conventional wisdom of NFL team-building, which says the draft is of overwhelming importance.

The Saints' 53-man roster includes 29 players and 12 starters who began their careers with another organization. By contrast, Super Bowl opponent Indianapolis has just nine players and only three starters who began with another club.

"Coach [Sean] Payton, [General Manager] Mickey Loomis and the scouting department should be commended," Saints safety Pierson Prioleau said. "They made a puzzle that's hard to make in the NFL. It's hard to get guys that come from different cultures in other organizations to come together and buy into one thing. We've been able to do that."

The rebuilding of the Saints has mirrored the rebuilding of the city of New Orleans. The Saints' organization was reeling after the 2005 season. It finished 3-13 and had to play the entire schedule away from home after the city was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

How did the Saints turn it around?

It was a combination of luck and shrewd acquisitions of modestly priced veterans.

The Saints got very lucky in acquiring quarterback Drew Brees and a little lucky in signing coach Sean Payton.

Brees was a rarity in 2006 in that he was an established quarterback who hit Free Agency. The catch, of course, was he had just suffered a severe dislocation of his right shoulder in the 2005 season finale with San Diego.

Brees had suffered a rare, 360-degree tear of the labrum, the ring of cartilage around the joint of the shoulder. He also had a partial rotator cuff tear. Arthroscopic surgery was performed by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, who repaired the labrum with 11 surgical anchors. (Three or four is common.)

When Brees hit free agency two months later, his first visit was to the Miami Dolphins, who were under the direction of new coach Nick Saban. Saban loved Brees. But Miami doctors said it was a long shot that Brees would fully recover from the surgery.

"I was told that I had a 25 percent chance of coming back and ever playing," Brees said last week. "Only two teams were interested in me in free agency to be the starting quarterback."

The Dolphins passed on Brees, and he took his only other option -- the Saints.

Just two months earlier, the Saints benefited from another decision by a rival NFL team. Green Bay had interviewed both Payton and Mike McCarthy to be head coach. Payton very much would have liked the Packers' job. But the Pack picked McCarthy (who has had plenty of success the past four years).

Payton landed in New Orleans.

With those two building blocks in place, the Saints went about filling in the complementary pieces to the puzzle.

On defense, linebackers Scott Shanle and Jonathan Vilma were acquired via trade. Safety Darren Sharper, linebacker Scott Fujita and defensive end Bobby McCray were low-cost free-agent signings. Sharper signed a one-year deal for $1.7 million and tied for the NFL interceptions lead with nine. The one high-cost free agent was former Bills cornerback Jabari Greer, who signed for $5.75 million a year.

The rest of the offense is more home-grown. Four starters are first- or second-round draft picks (including injured tackle Jamaal Brown, who will not play today). The Saints struck gold with receiver Marques Colston, a seventh-round pick, and guard Jahri Evans, a fifth-round pick.

Loomis says Payton has played to the players' individual strengths.

"We've got a coaching staff that has a mentality that we're going to bring them guys they can work with and they do a great job of coaching them up and getting the most out of what they have," Loomis said. "Sean has a particular talent of being able to look at someone and say, this guy's got this strength, and I can use that."

Playing in New Orleans has given the Saints' cast of "misfits" an extra bond that they might otherwise not have had. The Saints' players have been heavily involved in community programs as the city has struggled to rebound from the natural disaster.

"I think we're viewed as more than just football players down in New Orleans," Vilma said. "I think a lot of fans have seen us on the human side, just helping out. You don't see that as much with a lot of the teams. It did take a disaster for that to happen."

The Saints say they recognize the lift they have given to the city's spirits.

"Our view on that is we feel like we're playing for more than just ourselves," Vilma said. "We're playing for more than just a victory. It's really about bringing joy and happiness to the city of New Orleans. We feel like they're a part of us win, lose or draw."

e-mail: mgaughan@buffnews.com