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Think we are going on year 2 here with Venturi at the defensive controls here .

How long does he get ???

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I\'ve tried to defend Venturi, but only because he has been defensive coordinater for 1 year and that\'s not enough time. If the defense doesn\'t finish 15th or better, then I say goodbye.

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Here is the Bio we should be reading about the Saints defensive coordinator .

When Ray Rhodes joined the Seahawks as defensive coordinator February 5, 2003, he knew the task that lay ahead. His job--continue a trend he’s enjoyed throughout his career of taking defenses that rank toward the bottom before his arrival and turning them around and fashion a top-10 squad. Rhodes wasted no time working to achieve that goal spending hours upon hours watching film and evaluating the 2002 Seattle defense the very day he was hired.
It was Rhodes’ defensive vision and motivation that helped retain key free agents LB Anthony Simmons and DE Antonio Cochran, and lure FS Damien Robinson and LB Randall Godfrey into the defensive fold.
Rhodes has 22 years of NFL experience as a coach, including 11 as either defensive coordinator or head coach. As a coordinator, only one of his defensive units has finished outside of the top 10.

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08 - thanks for the great information on Venturi. I had no idea that he had basically NEVER been on a team with a winning tradition or record during his tenure. That speaks volumes to me.

I say Venturi has to go NOW NOW NOW, even if that makes this whole season a scratch. He\'s that bad. Haslett is a \"young defensive minded\" coach who has watched this defense go from respectable, if not better than average (they did lead the league in sacks for a few years running) to outright silly. And I don\'t know about you, but I see Haslett still being more interested in the performance of the offense than the defense.

He can say whatever he wants, but the fact of the matter is that I don\'t see him calling plays for the defense (like a lot of people on this board thought he would). I don\'t see him standing next to Venturi or even talking to the guy during the game.

Bottom line is that our new look defense looked no better than last year\'s. Without a big improvement in that area in the next three weeks (how ridiculous does that sound?), it is going to be a LONG season.

And for all you crazies that are about to jump in and talk about how one preseason game causes doom and gloom... I\'ve been saying just this since January, so it has nothing to do with our first game and everything to do with HOW BAD OUR DEFENSE AND VENTURI STILL ARE.

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There\'s only one thing wrong with your theory. There have been no games played since January. So, the only thing you have to base your statement on since January is the one preseason game. You really have nothing to base it off of. Do you??

Venturi might need to go, but I think he at least deserves this year without everyone calling for his head before we play the first game.

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Ever thought that Haslett might be distancing himself from Venturi so that when it comes nut-cutting time he can lay the blame on the defense? And thus buying himself more time with the Saints by firing Venturi and hiring a different defensive coordinator? Just a thought..

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Yes. I have thought the same thing.

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Yes. I think we discussed this back in December or January when Venturi wasn\'t fired after last season. The problem is that without Vanturi no nut-cutting is necessary (at least the chances are better), so such a strategy wouldn\'t make much sense.
Just ask Grady Jackson if he thinks Haslett may blame someone else for the team\'s failure. ;)

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does anyone have wade phillips cell phone # off hand?

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No but you can look it up in Atlanta. Or just call the Falcons, i\'m sure he\'s at work. LOL