By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – With the New Orleans Saints beating the San Francisco 49ers in convincing fashion Friday, 24-3, in the team’s first preseason game, thoughts have already begun to turn to the postseason and how far the Saints can make it this year.

After a harrowing off-season that included a 4 1/2 month-long lockout, many Saints players have said they feel very optimistic about their chances this season, but during the short time the first-string offense played Friday, they looked rusty and unimpressive.

Still, hopes for the black and gold remain high, so last week L’Observateur asked visitors to its website how they thought the Saints would do this season.

Poll respondents, for the most part, seemed as optimistic as Saints players with by far the largest portion of them predicting another Super Bowl win for the Saints. More than half of poll respondents chose this option.

The other choices all fared pretty evenly.

Just 14 percent of respondents thought the Saints would not make it to the playoffs at all this year, while fewer than 10 percent thought they would lose in the first or second rounds.

Nearly one quarter of poll respondents thought the Saints would at least make it to the NFC title game, with about half of them predicting a win.

A full breakdown of results follows:

• 14 percent of respondents chose “The Saints will miss making the playoffs this year.”

• 2 percent of respondents chose “The Saints will lose in the first round of the playoffs again this year.”

• 7 percent of respondents chose “The Saints will lose in the second round of playoffs.”

• 12 percent of respondents chose “The Saints will make it to the NFC championship game but miss out on making it to the Super Bowl.”

• 11 percent of respondents chose “The Saints will win the NFC but fall short of another Super Bowl win.”

• 53 percent of respondents chose “The Saints will take home the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in three years.”