Questions to ESPN'S Chris Mortenson.....
 

Questions to ESPN's Mort in his latest Q&A session.

ELTON Union City: Hey Mort, my question is how in the world are the Saints getting so little repect this offseason, most publication have them last in the Div, this is the team with arguably the best offense in the NFL and only needs to find a defense to keep the late-season dive away.

Chris Mortensen: I wouldn't pick the Saints last. We forget that they handled the Bucs twice last year. The NFC South has suddenly become a very competitive division. The Bucs and Falcons (who may be a lot better) both have Super Bowl aspirations.
The Saints do, too. The Panthers will be improved. I think the Saints have made a lot of defensive improvements. I think Aaron Brooks needs to now mature into a full-blown big-time QB for the Saints to take the next step.

Derrick (New Orleans): Do you think the Saints are moving to L.A. Most people really don't think so because they have a new practice faculty, a new arena team (Tom Benson owns)and they have an outstanding season ticket sales right now (48,000). Soon, they will eventually get a new stadium, but do you see the Saints moving to L.A?

Chris Mortensen: I don't think the Saints will be the team to move to L.A., although I'm not ttotally ruling them out. Benson could get tired at some point and sell to an L.A. group. I do know that Benson ignored at least one group that wanted to make a generous offer to buy and move the team.

Questions to ESPN'S Chris Mortenson.....
 

We are in a tough division without a doubt, but I\'ll match-up our offense and special tems against anyone\'s in the league.

Defense is a different story. We have a lot of question marks on defense but we have the makings to go from very bad to very good. Somthing that is common place in the NFL today.

Questions to ESPN'S Chris Mortenson.....
 

This team will not get, nor does it deserve respect until it wins games in December... period. Unless we\'re 12-0 going into the last month of the season, I don\'t respect us either...

Questions to ESPN'S Chris Mortenson.....
 

Respect is relative to the situation.

If Haslett took over a team that was a contender and they didn\'t show improvement then he deserves no respect.

But that\'s not the case. He took a team from nothing and has made vast improvements. So, I can respect that.

Do they deserve the respect of haveing won it all? OF COURSE NOT !!!

Questions to ESPN'S Chris Mortenson.....
 

So if they\'re 11-1 they deserve no respect??????????

Questions to ESPN'S Chris Mortenson.....
 

Jesus you two... I\'m making a point... and it\'s a real simple one. NO ONE is going to respect this team as a legitimate contender until they prove that they are!!! After the \'00 season we were always in the top 5 of the \"if the Super Bowl happened right now who should be in it\" list until about week 13 of the \'01 season. Last year you had analysts talking about us being THE team to beat in the NFC at week 7, week 9... BUT NOT IN WEEK 17 WHEN IT MATTERED...

So, my point is, unless the Saints have statistically clinched a playoff birth by week 12, don\'t expect them to get a lot of respect until they prove they can play in December and January...

Questions to ESPN'S Chris Mortenson.....
 

Now that I can agree with.