At long last, Haslett sees the obvious
 

At long last, Haslett sees the obvious


BILOXI, Miss. - Satellite radio may be the wave of the future, but good ol' AM radio sure came in handy Wednesday night.

You can get New Orleans' WWL Radio as far away as Cincinnati, so the signal was loud and clear when I inched through the rush-hour traffic in the cold rain of Elvis' hometown.

The New Orleans Saints have finally benched Aaron Brooks.

The timing is interesting, of course, because the Saints are facing the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at LSU's Tiger Stadium. Jake Delhomme is the Panthers' quarterback, their inspirational leader who took Carolina to the Super Bowl a couple years ago.

Delhomme was once Brooks' backup, and he had no guarantees of starting for the Panthers when he signed a free-agent contract with Carolina in 2003.

Delhomme doesn't have Brooks' physical gifts, but he does know how to play the game. He brings intangibles to a game rife with them. He's tough, he's smart and he exudes confidence in those around him.

Brooks never did that, with the notable exception of his first year with the Saints, when he replaced an injured Jeff Blake at midseason and guided the club to the first postseason victory in franchise history.

That breakthrough came a little more than four years ago, although it seems like ancient history.

Saints coach Jim Haslett told reporters in San Antonio on Wednesday that Todd Bouman, a career backup who played college ball at a football factory known as St. Cloud (Minn.) State, would step in for Brooks when the Saints face the Panthers on Sunday.

(As the immortal Mick Jagger would tell us, "Hey, hey, you, you, get off of my cloud.")

Haslett is finally admitting the obvious.

The Saints had given Aaron Brooks every chance to prove himself, every opportunity to establish his legacy in a town that lives and breathes football, even in the aftermath of a deadly hurricane.

That time has passed.

Hurricane Katrina has taken an emotional toll on New Orleans and the Gulf South, and it has clearly discombobulated the Saints, too.

They played a pretty good first half in Monday night's game against the Atlanta Falcons, and then totally fell apart.

Brooks should not be held as the scapegoat for the Saints' dismal 3-10 season, but it's just as evident that they have to move in another direction.

Haslett's move to bench Brooks shows the club is finally ready to cut its losses.

But Bouman obviously isn't the answer. He has a weak arm and a tendency to force the ball, even in warm-ups. He's an interception waiting to happen.

Before the end of the season, Haslett will probably take a look at Adrian McPherson, the onetime Florida State whiz kid who ran afoul of the law and later resurfaced in Arena Football. The Saints took a flier on McPherson in the 2005 NFL Draft, and you're only going to get so much out of meaningless exhibition games and running the scout team in practice.

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