Where's Saintz08?
 

It\'ll happen 08, and I\'ll be ready to gracefully serve you that plate of crow when it does; however, that\'s not what I meant. I was trying (and apparantly I did a poor job) to point out that comparing Delhome and/or Bouman\'s numbers to Brooks\' numbers is essentially pointless since the playing time for the afore mentioned BACKUPS precludes them from being sized up against a starter. But then you knew that already...stir the pot baby, and lemme know if ya want that crow baked or fried!

...and as far as pinning the collapse on a single individual, I\'d pick Mr. Turley, since he\'s the guy that wiffed on the block that hurt Brooks\' arm to begin with.

:P

Where's Saintz08?
 

One thought on the Mueller/ Benson debate . Timing .

Benson had to make a pitch to the state of Louisianna to help suppport the team in a smaller market . Fielkow was brought in and the points were being tallied , some points against the Saints winning percentages and player name recognition , Saints are trying to market the gulf coast south to prove to the state they are worth spending millions and BOOM , Mueller sends the most recognizable figure in black and gold to the Dolphins .

Marketing nightmare ..........

Did Mueller perform his duties to better the team ???? Not if that single moment jepordized keeping the Saints in New Orleans .

Saintsfan , you one of those individuals who thinks it is easy to come off the bench and throw strikes ??? 3 years and counting on that crow , its gonna be some old bird by the time I get a taste ..........

Where's Saintz08?
 

There appears to be three subjects running in this one post. Here are my opinions.

Brooks - we\'ll find out this year if he is a NFL player or not. Haz can\'t afford to cover his butt this year. He has shown some physical talent but it takes more to succeed over the long haul of an NFL career.

Haz - I think he has leadership problems. Looses the team late in the season and blames everyone else but himself and his coaches. If he tries it this year he\'ll be gone. this is HAZ make or break year. With the talent on this team there will be good coaches begging to come to New Orleans. The potential for a dynasty exist ... it will only take good coaching.

Randy Mueller - I see his continued unemployment as confirmation of Bensons decision. The NFL is a win and make money business and if you think one owner can black list anyone else from getting a job in the NFL your nuts. I think there is something about Randy that for his sake has not been made public.

The ricky trade to miami was a great move. I don\'t think this was a factor in randy being fired. There may have been the fear of the unknown for benson but i don\'t think he was too concerned in regards to the image of the saints with the state or the fans.

Where's Saintz08?
 

On the Benson note , well lets let Benson say it for himself .

Article inregards to the Mueller firing :

\'\'He asked me to resign,\'\' Mueller said. \'\'I refused. I didn\'t want to leave here. I had hoped to make New Orleans my home for the rest of my career. When I refused, he fired me.\'\'

Benson said he heard about too many things too late. One example, he said, was the team\'s trade of running back Ricky Williams to Miami this spring.

\'\'I was told about it after it was done,\'\' Benson said.

Where's Saintz08?
 

There were alot of things occuring that got Mueller fired.The quote by Benson above cuts to the heart of the matter. Mueller wanted total control of the orginization and over stepped his bounds continually. I have an old college friend who was an executive with the Saints untill this year. He described a very contentious work enviroment in which Mueller would come over to there buisness side of the team and have full out screaming matches with both he and his boss(Fielkow), over how he wanted things done. Cameras were placed in all areas of the facility with only Mueller having control of what they saw. Mueller did whatever he felt needed to be done whether it was under his control or not, and was very rough with anyone who objected. Things degraded to significant point before Benson was brought in. Interviewing for another GM spot did not help when it came time to decide how to deal with the growing problem.



[Edited on 8/7/2003 by saint5221]

Where's Saintz08?
 

That\'s some very interesting news about Benson and Mueller. Benson has always been loyal to GM\'s and coaches in the past. I just can\'t see him firing Mueller without good reason.

I completely agree with FWtex on the above statement. Muller, IMO, did a great job while he was with the Saints, and for him to still be unemployed just doesn\'t make any sense, unless the reports are true about Mueller being a contol freak. I don\'t care how good you are at your job, if you go against the owner, you\'ll find out real quick who really has the power.

I was very concerned when I first heard the news about Mueller being fired, but it doesn\'t seem like the Saints missed a beat.

Where's Saintz08?
 

Heh.

If you can call me Jeffrey Dahmer, I get to call you Corky (please don\'t make me explain why). It happens. Not just in football, but every sport. My original statement was \"The only reason I can come up with as to why he hasn\'t already been hired by another team is that the owner\'s that have needed to fill the GM position the past couple of years are \"good ole boys\" with Benson. Hello genious, that doesn\'t mean all 32 teams.
If you think that the Saints would be where they are today without the Mueller brothers (both, not just one) then you should be slapped with the dumbass tag and have your internet privileges taken away. If the synaps\' in your brain are too busy mis-firing to come up with a list of players that the Mueller brother\'s have brought in, please say something, I\'ll be more than happy to post one. And if I was Benson, Mueller could be ****ing my sister on the trinitron in the Super Dome, during half time, and I wouldn\'t care, as long as the Saints were winning.

Please. Like we were going to keep TWO running backs of that caliber on the same roster. The minute, and I remember exactly where I was when I heard it on the radio, that the Saints drafted Deuce, I knew Ricky was gone. You would have been a fool not to. He was the second best running back in the draft (and even that\'s debatable, as many teams thought he was too fragile), and he happened to fall into our laps, and Mueller (rightfully so) jumped at it. He knew we could recoup some of our lost draft picks by trading Ricky, in which he did.
But, I will agree with Saintz08, I think that the timing that everything fell into place could not have gotten much worse for Randy. It was a transition time, and we had NO marketable players after Ricky was traded.

Where's Saintz08?
 

B&B,

I have to tell ya, I really laughed on that one. Did you just get home from happy hour again?

By the way, what does your sister look like? :P

LOL

Where's Saintz08?
 

The problem for Benson was not that the trade was made or weather or not it was the right thing to do as much as Mueller did\'nt let Him in the loop on this decision or any others.

[Edited on 8/7/2003 by saint5221]

Where's Saintz08?
 

Lets not forget this one as far as Mueller went ,

There is no cut-and-dry answer. However, many close to the Saints feel that one of the main reasons Mueller was let go is because of the manner in which he dealt with defensive end Joe Johnson\'s contract negotiations.

Johnson said he was extremely close to signing a multi-year deal with the Saints, but then Mueller put a stop to negotiations. A few days later, the Pro Bowl end signed a $33 million deal with the Packers. Many in New Orleans feel that this shocked owner Tom Benson and that his decision to fire Mueller was a result of Johnson\'s departure.

The thought that Benson has somehow black balled Mueller seems a little off to me , Mueller was in line for the dirty bird job and Blank thought differently after the meeting . Mueller helped the Saints and hindered by taking chances , Albert Connel comes too mind . In the end I have trouble believing that if Mueller had proven himself that some multi million dollar team owner would not make up his own mind and sign him . Casserly had been kicked around alot coming out of Washington and has a job in the N.F.L......