I'd say most Saints fans still think he will be great. There are clips on the forums of him changing up his off season routine, saying the right things, saying he had difficult last half because he had knee instability. For a shifty back, it is more of a problem to have a PCL injury.
However, I think most Saints fans realize the imporance of Deuce or immergance of P. Thomas as a complmentary RB to pair up with him.
Good question TheFinatic.Resident Saints homer here!
ATC1, for the most part you are incorrect, please read on....
As a true die hard Saints fan with season tickets, I can tell you that the majority of Saints fans are very well-grounded when it comes to expectations from Reggie. When Reggie was given the starting job last year, and didn't excel, most fans saw the writing on the wall and now realize that Reggie just isn't an every-down-back in the NFL. There are some forums where there is much more homerism going on, but I personally hang at
WhoDatZone and the fans there mostly agree that Reggie will only be effective is used properly, and that doesn't involve running between the tackles.
Personally, I think Reggie should be utilized like he was in college, as a change of pace back, slot receiver, and kick returner. He has had two years to learn how to pick up yards as a RB in the NFL and frankly his big play ability has regressed and his vision seems to have only improved very little, if at all. I am one of the most skeptical in regards to Reggie, but then again I don't believe anything about any NFL player until I see it with my own eyes, and to date Reggie has only delivered in spurts. The poor kid will never live up to the hype that surrounded him coming out of college, but to date he hasn't even lived up to half of his billing.
To Reggie's credit, he has changed his habits this off-season and worked out with the team locally instead of by himself in SoCal. Also, by listening to him you can tell that he is humbled by his sophomore slump and has a new sense of urgency; word out of camp is that he really, really looks good. That doesn't change my opinion of him, but at least it is encouraging news.
Sure there are some Saints fans out there who are holding out hope that the light will turn on and Reggie will prove all of the critics wrong, but if you want to see honest assessments of Reggie from true Saints fans, check out the following thread from my regular hang out:
Is Reggie Who We Thought He Was
That should give you a good sample of how die-hard fans really feel. Several of the guys on this forum were dreading the Bush pick when it went down (to screams and jeers of course), but they seem to have been right. FYI, the majority of informed Saints fans are hoping that Pierre Thomas gets a legit chance at starting.