Like their hurricane-rav aged home region, the New Orleans Saints arrive in Cleveland for the NFL season-opener on Sunday in massive rebuilding mode.

They have a new coach in Sean Payton, a new quarterback in Drew Brees and a new offensive playmaker in Reggie Bush. That's just the start of it.

The Saints turned over more than half their roster -- 29 new players -- from a year ago.

Brees came aboard in free agency at the Saints-record price of $60 million over six years. But he gives up the spotlight to Bush, the Heisman Trophy winner from USC who dropped to the Saints in the draft after Houston passed on him with the first pick.

Even before appearing in training camp, Bush injected a jolt of excitement in Saints football. His No. 25 was the top-selling NFL jersey through July.

Bush has been an activist in the New Orleans community since he arrived in April. He needs to be more than that in the Saints' offense for the team to overcome its many deficiencies.