Saints Bashing Nationwide
 

One PFW columnist writes :

I couldn’t be more pleased that the Saints missed the playoffs. There isn’t a team around that was less deserving of a spot in the postseason than New Orleans, and they really got what they deserved. Losing to the Vikings two weeks ago was bad enough, but losing last week to the Bengals was outright embarrassing. Then, needing a win just to stay alive for a playoff spot, the Saints came out flatter than Gwyneth Paltrow vs. the Panthers.

This is the second straight season the Saints have gone into the toilet in December, although this year’s bunch didn’t have the soap opera drama of the 2001 version. At some point, you can’t just blame the players anymore. Head coach Jim Haslett has to take some of the heat, because he just didn’t have his boys ready to play the last three weeks. Haslett has been bad-mouthing Saints fans recently because of all their negativity. He said that people need to spread the blame around more than just dumping it on QB Aaron Brooks.

Well, Jim, what do they have to cheer about? And how about shouldering some of the blame yourself?

Haslett should be embarrassed with the way his team finished the season. He’s a former linebacker, and he should know that defense wins championships. But the Saints never got their act together when it counted this season, and Haslett has to take some of the heat. Maybe it’s time to find someone else who can motivate the players. Maybe it’s time for Haslett to realize that he allowed his team to peak at the wrong time of the season — namely the first half of the season.

The Saints are sending five players to the Pro Bowl, but no one to the playoffs. That kind of individual talent has to be molded into a team, but Haslett didn’t know how or simply couldn’t turn the trick. And now it might be time for New Orleans to look elsewhere for a coach.

Saints Bashing Nationwide
 

Sporting News :

Coaching: Jim Haslett stubbornly stuck with Brooks despite his second consecutive poor performance. For the good of the team and its playoff hopes, it wouldn\'t have hurt to give backup Jake Delhomme a chance to spark the offense. Delhomme might not have done any better but Brooks wasn\'t getting it done. Grade: D

Quarterbacks: Aaron Brooks suffered through a miserable performance and was booed mercilessly by the home fans throughout the game. He appears to have lost his confidence and was aiming the ball into coverage. Panthers defenders said he is not the same quarterback that they faced in early November and no one will argue with them. Grade: F

Running backs: Deuce McAllister was one of the few bright spots. He claimed the NFC rushing title with a workmanlike 117-yard effort. It was the first 100-yard rushing game against the Panthers\' stingy run defense this season. Grade: A

Saints Bashing Nationwide
 

Pass the Jelly at ESPN writes :

3. Hear that rattling sound of the background? Don\'t worry, it\'s not a prowler at the front door. Instead it\'s just the annual death gurgle emanating from New Orleans, where on Sunday the Saints couldn\'t even get the ball in the end zone against Carolina with a playoff berth on the line. Having awarded coach Jim Haslett, general manager Mickey Loomis and quarterback Aaron Brooks with lucrative new contracts, owner Tom Benson can\'t be a happy man. Over the final three games of the season, three of which were losses to Minnesota, Cincinnati and Carolina, the quarterback showed all the vision of, well, Mr. Magoo. He completed 45 percent of his passes, could not have dented the wall at Pat O\'Brien\'s if he\'d been standing on Bourbon Street, and looked very much like a guy playing with a bum shoulder, which the Saints brain trust vowed he was not. OK, guys, we believe you. Sure we do. Funny how, suddenly last week, Haslett started referring to the \"two-year plan\" the Saints had when they conducted their addition-by-subtraction roster turnover during the offseason. Maybe the coach had a premonition his team was going south on him once again. At any rate, the only two-year plan many Saints players seemed to have was playing like dogs, rolling over and playing dead, in each of the last two Decembers. In 2001-02, New Orleans posted a 4-7 record in games played after November 30. Last year, the Saints allowed an average of 40 points in their final four contests. This year, well, Sunday was the first time all season that New Orleans didn\'t allow at least 20 points in a game. And it still didn\'t matter, since the offense couldn\'t get into the end zone. Nice of crazy man wide receiver Joe Horn to try to incite his guys with a pre-game skirmish with Carolina safety Deon Grant. Too bad that Horn\'s IQ doesn\'t match his receptions total. Too bad, too, the Saints keep making Haslett look like Little Boy Lost when the calendar turns over to December. This team was 6-1 at one point, and pundits were talking as if it was the best club in the league. But with the Saints, first impressions aren\'t lasting ones, as they proved again with Sunday\'s latest flop.

Saints Bashing Nationwide
 

Here in Dallas they are firing a Campo today and the word is Parcells is the new man. BUT wait, as bad as the Cowboys are the BIG JOKE on the sports radio shows is the self destruction of the saints.

How much does a Billboard near the saints office cost? Maybe we could all post the quotes from around the country on it if Haslett does not believe his own fans.