Better Than Expected
 

Well, the Saints played a lot better offensively than expected... silly me, I forgot that they always play up or down to their competition. This was actually a good game - if only they had won the last two and come in 4-1 Haslett might have a real shot at saving his job.

All that said, this defense is absolutely positively horrendous. The worst in my life time. In the 80's there were probably stretches where this defense didn't allow 620 yards in THREE games. With this defense, this team simply doesn't have a shot. Really - give me one good reason why Rick Venturi shouldn't be fired right now. I know this is a good offense - a great offense - but come on.

This defense is not allowing an AVERAGE of 415 yards PER GAME. That should rank them dead last in the NFL. Isn't Haslett supposed to be a defensive coach. Come on guys, lemme here it.

ROMEO, ROMEO, ROMEO....

Better Than Expected
 

...MAURICE! MAURICE! MAURICE!

I\'ll take anyone, for that matter, right now. This defense might be the biggest joke going. TeBucky, you sir, are an idiot.

Better Than Expected
 

1. Why stop with just firing one?
2. Looked to me like our D managed to generate 3 turnovers, only one of which our much ballyhooed offense was able to make any points off of. When the Vikings turn over the ball, you simply have to score.
3. There is plenty of blame to go around for this game, it wasn\'t just the defense.

Better Than Expected
 

I agree, WhoDat. The game was a lot closer than expected, but in the end (although
the D did get 3 turnovers) we just couldn\'t stop \'em. And although we didn\'t have
very many penalties in this game, the one from Terbucky really hurt.

Aaron Brooks had an okay game, no thanks to Stallworth for dropping a few key
passes. Brooks overthrew quite a bit, too.

Deuce played okay, but they gave up on the run too soon IMO.

Better Than Expected
 

I pretty much like the aggresive play calling of Venturi this game. I didn\'t like seeing Sullivan lay flat on the ground. It was a BIG mistake starting that loser. They need a run stuffer badly and Sullivan is just not it. I will like them to get something for that loser in a trade( trade him for a second round pick). Sucky, I can\'t take anymore, bench this guy NOW!!!!

Now, Do I believe Venturi should be given a chance? No, replace him with Pease til the end of the season.

Better Than Expected
 

We may have won the turnover contest, and the penalties were pretty evenly matched -- but that\'s only on paper. In essence, we los he penalties battle.

Those refs, they seemed very selective about a number of penalties, especially ones that were not called.

For example, they call Tesucky for the head-to-head on Culpepper (what a STUPID play, please, please release that guy), but they fail to call the slap to Brooks\' facemask just a few plays earlier.

They call a number of illegal contact plays from the defensive side, but they never flag Moss -- even when he outright tackles Bellamy. Can it get more obvious than that? An open field tackle? Moss should\'ve drawn at least two flags for blatant holds. But instead they flag Ambrose. Ambrose? - that was just ridiculous. They could not possibly have been watching the same game I was.

It seems to me the ref\'s in this contest are at the least very inconsistent, or at the most downright imcompetent. Or perhas they\'ve just been instructed to protect the superstars.

Well, at least we got away with that obvious one. I can\'t believe Minnesota didn\'t challenge it. There was no way Aaron got the touchdown on that one, he was -at least- a foot short, and his knee was definitely down. Which further points to the incompetency of the officiating crew.

PS -- have the Saints won ANY challenges in recent memory? I can\'t remember one.

[Edited on 18/10/2004 by LordOfEntropy]

Better Than Expected
 

LOE - I agree the officiating was generally bad, but I wouldn\'t say that it was bad enough to cost us the game. The no-call on the hit to AB really pissed me off. Not only did he get slapped by the D-lineman, but the LB that hit him basically gave him an uppercut to the jaw. He got hit in the face twice and they didn\'t call it. I was cursing up a storm.

Luvboat - I agree about Stallworth, but I also give him credit. Yeah, he dropped a couple catchable balls, but he also sold out on a number of plays and continued to do so after his QB led him into monster hits.


Overall this game was just typical of the Saints. Costly mistakes when it mattered. They played up to their competition, as usual, but this game was really dominated by the Vikes. If Culpepper keeps his wits about him on a couple of plays this one is a blowout.

Like I said before, if we lose this game exactly the way we lost it after starting 4-1, I feel much differently about it. But when you take everything into account, it just feels like the Same Old Saints - how fitting that you get SOS out of that... and don\'t forget, Haslett has not had a season since his first where the Saints did not go 3-5 or worse in one half of the season.

Better Than Expected
 

The reason I pointed out the officiating wasn\'t so much because I felt it cost us the game. That\'s not the case. Overall, the officiating was a wash, or slightly canted in favor of Minnesota. But before the game, I made a prediction stating \"we need to win the turnover and penalties battles to have any chance in the game\".

Had the penalties been -outright- in favor of the Aints, I believe they\'d have had a chance.

But really, please, if I can see Moss tackling a safety in the secondary, why don\'t the zebras call it? If I can see Aaron take an uppercut to the jaw, why don\'t the zebras call it? That was selective penalty calling at best, and it definitely was not canted in -outright- favor of the Saints. Which would have been the only hope, in my opinion.

Better Than Expected
 

Well I am going to have to disagree with a lot of you. The offense could and should have done better, slow start dropped freakin passes. We should have an offense to score at will just like the Vikes with the talent we have. I think our offense is just overrated.

Defence -what a joke. embarrassing but the Vikes are the best offense.

We stink from the front office on down... they are just going though the motions now until the pink slips are passed out. I\'ll help fill out Venturi\'s if Benson wants.