Brooks
 

Two underhanded "passes" to no one. You know, I don't think our line is playing great by any means, but I think the pressure is AB's fault as much if not more than the line's. On the second series of the game the Broncos blitzed on an overload left (the o-line's right). Deuce and Conwell saw it and we picked it up - four hats on four hats. AB sees it and does what? Rolls directly into the blitz.... then has to dance, backpedal and throw it away. Simply sliding away from the blitz into open space and open throwing lanes would have been fine. He created his own pressure.

On the next series I saw him take a three step drop and look - the route must not have been there b/c he tensed and then looked away. Now, it's a 3 step drop. You know you have to get the ball out. AB back pedals, pumps, pumps, gets sacked and throws some risky and just bad pass in the dirt while being hit. That's HIS fault. Not the line's. I feel confident that AB makes the line look worse than it is by making poor decisions.

Brooks
 

we suck all around n i dont think that we can blame brooks or anyone else we just suck

Brooks
 

Now, now...that\'s no way to talk about a \"top 5 quarterback\" whose ability went to hell the minute he signed a fat \"top 5\" contract.


We keep going down the same road with Brooks. He simply can\'t read a defense. When he came off the bench and started he surprised a lot of people. After that playoff year was over, he surprised no one. Defenses only respect his ability to throw the long ball. So they change up their schemes to fool him and it works. The Saints give him no real audibles to call because frankly he\'s too dense to know when to call which play. The defense stacks up the line, Brooks calls an A gap run...good for no gain. He can read coverages before the play starts (who can\'t?) but unfortunately he can\'t read them after the play has begun. He just can\'t think on his feet. And let\'s face it, kids, a quarterback who is only successful when he\'s got six or seven seconds to throw the ball isn\'t really gonna cut it in the NFL. At least not for very long.


Defenses don\'t even respect him as a run threat anymore. We don\'t hear talk about Brooks\' scrambling ability. He scares no one. This guy <strike>has</strike> had all the ability in the world and no brain to go with it. That\'s why no other team wanted him. That why the Packers let him go for a no-name tight end. McCarthy knew him in Green Bay and wanted him anyway. That says a lot about McCarthy. But what good is a quarterback that can\'t figure out square pegs don\'t go into round holes. The Packers weren\'t crying in their beers when they sent Brooks packing. The Green Bay newspapers weren\'t questioning the move. It wasn\'t even a blip on their Richter scale. To the Packers and the Packer community, losing Brooks was no great loss.


And that, of course, is the bigger problem with this organization. They keep going after too many players no other teams want. Tebucky Jones, Aaron Brooks, Johnathan Sullivan, Orlando Ruff, Victor Riley, Ashley Ambrose, Wayne Gandy, etc. Sure there was the diamond in the rough with Joe Horn but all in all this bunch doesn\'t know football personnel and, frankly, never will.


Mark my words...when Brooks becomes available, no other team will sign him to be its\' starting QB. He has no football saavy, can\'t read defenses, has little or no leadership skills, no pocket presence and isn\'t very intelligent-other than that, how was the play, Mr. Lincoln? What he does have is a strong arm with a very slow delivery who announced to the world he wanted to be known as a pocket passer, not a scrambling quarterback. We\'ve seen how far the strong arm with the slow delivery has gotten us, haven\'t we? And the \"pocket passer\" statement should have been our first clue this guy was a dunce. Now we\'re stuck with passes to nobody, passes behind and passes to offensive linemen. Other than that, we\'re doin\' great.


Time to rebuild once again...

Brooks
 

I\'m not suggesting that AB is the reason we stink. I\'m just making an observation. I forgot to mention - almost all of his passes are two feet over the head of his WRs and usually a foot behind them too. ;)

I like Blake\'s post. I think he\'s on to something here. :)

Brooks
 

It is very clear, Our defense ,,hmmm i can\'t think of a adjective that will be close to say what i think about it :realmad:

[Edited on 11/22/2004 by Halo]

Brooks
 

hehehe, AB started to play a bit better when they had Bouman put his helmet on and warmed up.... maybe we should scare brooks the rest of the year...

Brooks
 

I seriously think Brooks is blind in one eye or deaf in one ear, or both. But I think Brooks is worth keeping around. Brooks is gonna fumble. He\'s gonna throw an interception. But if our defense was at least average, we could over come that. The guy puts up numbers, even in a loss, even in a loss he\'s (at least partly) responsible for. I mean, look around fellas (and ladies). Who are we jelous of? Feely? Ramsey? Green? Krenzel? Collins?

Brooks
 

When was the last time the Saints had a quarterback?

Bobby Hebert, game as he was, couldn\'t throw a quick out or heave it long, and was only in games because of a tenacious defense that gave him decent field position. Plus, he had good coaching.

Please don\'t tell me Archie, because we won\'t ever know how good he could have been given all the problems.

So, given that the franchise has gone 0 for 37 in years without a quarterback, I\'d trade Sullivan, Jones, Brooks and a draft pick for the rights to any of the potentially available proven candidates with at least 2 brain cells to rub together.

By the way, who are these so-called \"available candidates?\"

Brooks
 

Sorry bayouking, it looks like I edited your post but I didn\'t, I accidentally hit edit instead of Quote...

Our defense is last in the NFL and it does have talent on the line and some in the secondary. I think in my opinion that\'s enough for at least one coordinator to lose his job, don\'t you think?

Brooks
 

Stats don\'t win games. Brooks has always had good stats...unfortunately they come when it\'s meaningless. He can\'t throw an out, he can\'t throw a screen, he can\'t throw any touch passes. Oh, and he never seems to get the importance of not making mistakes. The team should immediately look for a replacement.

Brooks
 

yeah search for coaching staff, GM, Offensive line and Defensive line as well... Hell lets get new water boys while we are at it.

[Edited on 22/11/2004 by Euphoria]

Brooks
 

If ANYONE watched the game yesterday and still doesnt think AB is at least half the problem then they don\'t know football. Its just the fact that he has no pocket presence, can\'t read Defense, doesn\'t know when to throw it away, throws it away when he shouldn\'t, never runs when he should, can\'t run a hurry up offense... and on and on... Brooks just isnt the QB we need. He has a hell of a lot of talent, but talent isnt everything if you cant use it when you play. If you can throw the ball 70 yards good for you, but if you throw the ball 70 yards into coverage it doesnt matter. Brooks throws too many balls into coverage... throws to many high over the middle... throws to many straight to the other team... He has happy feet...

The ppl sitting behind me at the game were Denver fans. They asked me what our record was. I said 4-5. They were like ohh so yall have a pretty good team. I said I wouldnt said we are good, but we have talent... He said well doesnt Brooks usually put up good numbers? I said yes he puts up good numbers but with all the talent we have its hard not to. He gets alot of stats in garbage time. I said he can play good sumtymes, but he just doesnt have it between the ears... He didnt seem to believe me... Then half way through the first half he looked at me and said ... Ohh ok I see what you are saying... and we had a little laugh... It was after the underhand pass to that LB.. I mean in half a game their fans can see that our QB doesnt know what he is doing...

Just now on ESPN they were talking about Brooks and said he just doesnt get it and he might not be starting next year... Its a thing we should watch... if not Broosk then who?

Brooks
 

Its fourth and 2 early in the fourth quarter. We are inside Denver\'s 10 yard line, down by 21. The ball is snapped. Brooks rolls right. Mike Karney is open for a short dump pass that would have gotten the first down. Brooks insteads chooses to throw to a double-covered receiver in the endzone, resulting in an interception and the end of all hopes of making a comeback. The Offensive Line didn\'t cause this...the coaches didn\'t cause this. Brooks caused this.

Brooks
 

Yes Brooks makes many stupid mistakes -- yes he has no real ability to read defenses or the ability to change the play on the line of scrimmage. That said -- we have many more holes to fill before the QB becomes a top priority. GM and coaches first -- linebackers second -- defensive backs third. Then we can start thinking about the QB.

Brooks
 

Brooks has the same problems on our team as many other players, the staff has no idea how to develop talent. NONE!! If a player doesn\'t develop on his own(Joe Horn and Charles Grant), he will not. Brooks had all the tools to build on when he started for Blake, and these coaches figured he didn\'t need to get any better. How come you don\'t hear about AB at passing camps like MAnning and Delhomme? How come you don\'t hear about Brooks throwing i the offseason with his receivers like McNabb and Manning? Cause the coaches have told him he was good enough and let it be.

Other examples. How can Will Smith be the best pass rusher in the draft, lin eup on the other side from grant, and not have more sacks? Anyone see what Suggs or Peppers or Kearse did their first years? And Howard has been hurt so he has played. How come Devery can go deep for national champ LSU and not for the Saints? Are they waiting for him to figure it out himself, or are they giving him the help he needs? How come McKenzie looks so-so since he became a Saint? Coaches are killing this team, but if AB has to go with them, so be it. Give me Brees cause at least he has the heart to make himself better.

Brooks
 

Whodi - I\'ve got back news for you - and for many of the other LSU fans on this board (I\'m one too btw) - Devery Henderson is NOT a 2nd round WR. He probably deserved to be a 5th rounder. He benefitted from playing across from the best WR in the nation, having a solid college QB, great runningbacks, and the best defense in college football... and the TEAM winning the national championship. He is fast as hell, so in college, he can simply burn people. In the pros, he\'d get lit up. I bet he won\'t be much more than a number 3 guy in the NFL, and it may take him 3 years to get to that point. Given the choice bewteen Stallworth or Pathon at number 3, I take both over Devery. I probably take Lewis and Gardner before him also.

Brooks
 

I think it is mostly the defense as to why the Saints are having problems. I see also alot of times the center is snapping the ball to Brooks to high. No excuse for his fumbles though. I mean when you can\'t keep a team to under 20 points a game and cannot stop the run of course your going to lose. I must say though Brooks does make mistakes at crucial times in the game. I must say also we having not had much of a rushing game this season. This is probably due too a poor offensive line. You rush for 100 yards in a game and have a decent defense your going to win most of your games. The key is having a rushing game to keep the defense off the feild.

[Edited on 22/11/2004 by blackwidows]

Brooks
 

I know this is going to be a stretch..but...do you think Haslett lets Brooks through a 100 of those short 5-10 yard passes to pad his stats? Think about it, we were down by 20 points, and was in 3rd and long alot, and he threw short dump-off passes as his #1 option more than I want to remember. I mean after a while it was almost humorous to watch him pass Jim Everett in pass attempts and then it was insane as he passed Archie for completions. And the sad thing is, most of them were totally useless passes. It was sad, really.

Brooks
 

I think the bottom line is that, while brooks is no A qb or even a B qb, his stats put him as one of the brighter spots on the team. and while stats don\'t win games, teams that win consistently, consistently put up good statistics. You can\'t \"find a way to win\" every week. I agree with all you who said that brooks isn\'t our weakest point; he\'s just the easiest to pick out because he\'s the q.
My biggest problem is with a coach who won\'t pull a player who has obviously lost his composure in a game. Saban knew when to pull randall and bring in jemarcus, and the team was better for it (of course this is assuming a coach has a team that wants to win, as a team).

Brooks
 

I am still with Whodat on the Devery thing. He hasn\'t scratched the roster because Haz doesn\'t want to win, or he hasn\'t scratched the roster because our other WR are better? Hmmmm... let me think... Oh, my bad, it is Haz\' conspiracy to lose that is keep him from the roster.

Also, McKenzie\'s being so-so has nothing to do with our coaching. You should have heard how greatful many of the GB fans in my parts were to see him go. They\'re certain that it wasn\'t much of a loss (and look at their current CBs, yikes).

Aparently, I don\'t know anything about football either, since I am convinced that Brooks is NOT HALF (come on) of our team\'s problem. Sure, he had a shiznity game, with that it would be almost impossible (though I\'m sure I know someone who could) to defend that performance. On the other hand, he is NOT losing these games on his own - OUR DEFENSE IS GIVING UP 500 YARDS A GAME PEOPLE! The defense stinks. The offense is put in a position where they have to make plays and not simply control the ball - this will lead to mistakes.

[Edited on 23/11/2004 by JKool]

Brooks
 

J - I agree, there are other problems. No doubt. The defense is absolutely terrible and the MAJOR concern. This teams has more holes than... well, you get the point.

However, I have a problem with the argument that b/c AB isn\'t the biggest problem, he therefore isn\'t a problem even worth discussing. Gang violence, armed robbery, rape - those are big problems that a police force should address. The guy cooking and selling a million dollars a year worth of crank out of his kitchen shouldn\'t get a free pass though b/c homicide is worse than selling drugs. :)

Brooks
 

I see JKool\'s point.

I tend to agree with WhoDat a little more.

It\'s like saying our defense is stabbing us 80 times and we\'re quickly bleeding to death. Very true and an obvious, critical need.

Brooks is more like a massive brain aneurysm. You don\'t know exactly when it\'s going to rupture, but you can be sure we\'ll be just as dead.

Brooks
 

BMG and Who,

Of course Brooks is a problem. I didn\'t deny that. I was just having one of my little rants about the over the top amphibilous comments some people make here.

Living in Cheese Head country, I see plenty of \"The Legend, Brett Favre.\" This guy IS a good QB, a hall of fame QB, and every week I see him make bonehead throws that remind me ever so much of our boy, AB. Now, Favre throws passes with more touch and he\'s got more wins, but I don\'t see that \'game to game\' he\'s (these last couple years) any more consistent or even better than AB. Of course, Favre is a leader, blah blah blah. However, it is my belief, in straight up comparison of playing style with Farve these last few years, we CAN win with AB. Sure, he\'ll never be in the same class as Favre and he may never be a top 5 QB, but he\'s sure as heck no bottom 10 QB either.

Yeah, he hurt us this week, but he didn\'t the week before. The team is not good enough to support a middle of the pack QB, but that doesn\'t mean that we need to go out and waste time finding a QB when we really need a CB, an OT, a DT, and a bunch of LBs. Make the defense better and our offense will score the 17-24 points needed to win almost every game we play EVEN IF AB IS AT THE HELM.

Brooks
 

Im not saying we should not support AB, but if you were given an option to pick a new QB (lets say Brees)or stick with AB what would you pick? If you would pick to stick it out with Brooks then I must shut my mouth and stop trying to discuss my point.

no but how about 11? QB rating AB is 19th. Only ahead of Old Vinny Testaverde (Benched), Jake Delhomme (No RB and lost top WR to injury), Billy Volek (Back Up), Jeff Garcia, Josh McCown (Benched), Kyle Boeller (2nd Yr), Drew Bledsoe, Matt Hasselback, Kerry Colling(Back Up), Carson Palmer (2nd YR), Jay Fielder(Benched), Steve McNair (injured most of yaer), Mark Brunell (Benched) and AJ Feeley(Back Up). Thats a great pack to be leading... I tell you what Brooks sure looks like a superstar when you start talking about all the mistakes he has made compared to these guys...

To put it in perspective Ben Rothlisberger is 6th in the league in Passer Rating. Marc Bulger a 4th round draft pick we let go when we traded for Brooks 12th. Kurt Warner 14th. Tim Rattay in SAN FRANSISCO 17th. Yet you guys still claim Brooks is not part of the problem. Hmm ok...

Completion % he is 22nd... I know I know his WR drop way to many passes so lets let him slide on that too.. AB never makes bad throws... Its a good thing he pads his stats during garbage time or he wouldnt have numbers this good...

Before you go and blame the OL. AB has only been sacked 20 tymes. Culpepper 27 and he is 2nd in QB rating.
McNabb 21 4th in QB rating.
Trent Green 23 8th in QB rating.
Marc Bulger 31 12th in QB rating.
David Carr 27 13th in QB rating.
Kurt Warner 39 14th in QB rating.
Mike Vick 32 16th in QB rating.
Tim Rattay 25 17th in QB rating
Joey Harrington 24 and 18th in QB rating.

I know his stats (Passing Yards) look good, but the game is not played on paper. So no matter how few INTs he throws or how many less fumbles we have than so and so... Until he proves he can LEAD this team take control of a game and dominate like so many other QBs are doing (and he did his first year with us) then I will not be happy with him.

Favre makes a lot of boneheaded plays, but how often does he go over to the sideline and laugh about it? Alot of Favre\'s mistakes are when its late in the game and he is trying to do anything and everything in his power to make a play to help his team win. Brooks makes stupid plays that help us fall further behind and cost us games. Take away the INT in the second Qtr. Its 20-13. Donte catches that deep ball its tied up. or those last 2 or 3 drives when we moved the ball deep into their territory and didnt make it on 4th down... Lets say we arent down 3 scores and we could have kicked a FG or 2 and got it to one score... then those boneheaded plays look alot worse. San D game wasnt it the first Qtr when he threw it backwards 20 yards? There is a difference between doing sumthing silly when you are trying to make sumthing happen to win the game and when you do sumthing silly that costs you a game.

Brooks
 

Syco - GREAT POST. Good use of the stats - that\'s really tough to argue with.

J - I know all about Favre and boneheaded mistakes, etc. The difference to me is Favre is THE team leader of a team that has overcome the odds time and again. They won te Super Bowl without a ton of talent, they are consistent winners, and just look at what has happened in the last two years. Twice they have rebounded from bad starts to be first in their division. Favre blows games attimes just like AB. But more often than not, he is inspirational, talented and successful, and helps his team overcome the odds.

Brooks creates the odds for the Saints. When the team needs a big play, he fumbles into the endzone at the 1 yard line or throws a backwards pass. He is about as far from a leader on the field as you can be, and his teams are categorized by failure and underachievement. THe Favre comparison just doesn\'t carr much weight for me.

Brooks
 

SycoSurfer, I pick to stick it out with AB until our defense can stop other High School teams at least. I do not ask you to shut your mouth, though, I want to hear more of your views.

Yes, many despise AB and think we have to get rid of him. And maybe they are right to an extent.

BUT...he is not the reason we are 4-6. I feel I can say that with all confidence. HE did not cost us any games this year. He may have not won many for us by himself, but he sure as hell wasn\'t the reason we lost the games we did.

WAIT! Before you send scathing responses, please look at the yards and points our defense gave up this year.

It is very hard for a QB to look great and have a great day when 3 or 4 minutes into the game his team is friggin\' down by 14.

I like the analogy of AB as an anyeurism, BrooksMustGo. And our defense is like getting stabbed 80 times. Well, what do you do first when you get the Sainst to the hospital (off season)? Try and work on the anyeurism first? Or the stabs that will completeley kill the Saints in a few minutes??

BrooksMustGo, what do YOU do in the off season if you\'re hired as coach. Fire AB first? Give up draft picks to get Brees? Will Brees be able to carry our crappy team on his shoulders?? Brooks Must Go. Fine, who takes his place? Who other than Manning or Culpepper can carry this crappy defense to close to 8-8?

Let\'s get our defense straight first. Get 2 or 3 LB\'s (one or 2 through free agency), get a DT that is not happy on the bench, trade Howard and get a CB or LB...

Then maybe get a RT to replace Riley soon. Get a LT that has 1 year to get ready to replace Gandy.

Then get a free safety that will be able to fill in for Bellamy and T.Jones when they get released or retire in the next year or 2.

Then find the replacement for Joe Horn (since no one on our roster seems to be able).

THEN deal with the AB situation. Sure, we can start scouting from now and maybe take a QB in the late rounds (6th or 7th) and see what happens. Sure, we can start seeing his worth in the market, etc. BUT he will win 8-10 games for us if our defense doesn\'t give up 10 miles a game, for the mean time.

I guess what I am trying to say is I don\'t completely disagree with you Brooks must go crew. But we have WAY more crucial problems that HAVE to be fixed yesterday.

Brooks
 

Another argument I don\'t understand - if the defene plays better, the Saints win. OK, I agree, but the those fumbles and backwards passes, and underhanded INTs DO cost us games.

The defense cost us the Broncos game? If I had told you that the Saints D would hold the Broncos to 20 would that have made you happy? B/c they did. 7 on the kickoff, 7 on AB\'s INT. That makes it 20-13 and a game. The defense is terrible and needs to be fixed. No argument there - but saying that doesn\'t magically make AB goo or his play acceptible.

Brooks
 

WhoDat, I guess it comes down to different philosophies. You (like may others on this board) seem to feel having THE QB, that one guy, will make the difference in this team. Or atleast enough to where everthing else fits into place.

Well, you have Brett Favre who helps support this philosphy. Here is a guy who can make his team better than they really are. I agree.

The other philosphy (I\'m sure there are many more), which I espouse, is that you shouldn\'t rely on one player to solve a team\'s problems. Look at Vick. If he goes down, Dirty Birds won\'t be as good as they are now.

You talk about the Defense only gave up 20 points. Yeah, but you seem to neglect that 14 of them came before most fans were settled in for the game. That is a big difference. That changes everything for the offense (strategy, confidence, calmness). I do not think you can wirte that off too easily.

Ok, WhoDat, what do YOU do in the off-season. And I do not ask this sarcastically. I really would want to know. I have learned a lot about the game from you guys (much thanks, by the way to all poster). So tell me what do YOU do?

Brooks
 

No, that\'s not my philosophy at all. If you read the posts above, I think you\'ll see that I\'m not saying that, nor is anyone else.

What we\'re saying is that Brooks is a problem and I, for one, would like to see something done about it. That\'s not to say he is THE problem, the BIGGEST problem, or the ONLY problem. I\'m not suggesting that Favre makes this team a contender... then again it wouldn\'t hurt.

The argument I\'m making is this: When someone like me says, \"AB is a problem\" a whole lot of people come out of the woodwork and say, \"Are you crazy? The defense is terrible. Brooks isn\'t the problem.\" I never said AB is THE problem, but the fact that there are other problems doesn\'t mean he isn\'t one also.

Brooks
 

Syco, no one suggested you should shut up. In fact, it was you who was saying that anyone who didn\'t agree that Brooks was at least half the problem didn\'t know anything about football... AND no one said that Brooks isn\'t PART of the problem.

If Brees becomes available and has no real costs other than financial, then I say think about it. This is by no means a no brainer. We really need two LBs, a CB, a DT, and an OT before we can really run a game. At least some combination of these is necessary to winning games (500 yards of offense allowed per game... what QB can stop that?). A new QB is not necessary to win games. AB has proven he can win games at this level, our defense has not.

As for the stats you cite, I think the point about getting sacked is interesting (i.e. the Culpepper point). I\'ll need to think about that; thank you for pointing that out.

On this point though, I think you\'re in trouble:
You need to make up your mind; do the stats matter or do they not matter? Which is it?

That said, I do think that you can use the stats in some cases an not others, but there needs to be an argument for it. Here is one: passing yards are less critical to evaluating the goodness of a QB than completion percentatage because completion percentage is a greater measure of play by play efficiency, which is more important than big play ability. I don\'t know if I think this, but I thought I\'d help you out on this one. If there are arguments like these for looking at one stat as more important than another, people should make them rather than just say some stats don\'t matter and some do (that sounds arbitrary). (Not a point directed at you Syco. This is just a pet peeve of mine.)

The laughing thing is irrelevant. I just don\'t get that one. I never have. It has been discussed at length here, and I am unconvinced that it makes any difference other than ticking off a few fans (many fans?)... whatever.

Also, 19th? Well, that\'s even better than I thought. He\'s two spots away from being in the top third of NFL STARTING QBs and we\'re screaming to get rid of him? Yikes. While I (conditionally) accept the Brees argument, I will no longer hear the \"draft a guy\" argument. What are the odds of drafting a guy who will be a 19th ranked passer in the NFL before the end of training camp next season? I\'m going to go with... pretty darned low. I\'m sure someone can do the math, but here is my armchair calculation: number of drafted QBs who are ranked above 19 in passer efficiency during that year divided by the number of QBs drafted that year equals small.

Brooks
 

Shrume,

While I somewhat agree with you, I think we differ on the details.

Also, we won\'t be able to trade Howard unless we resign him, which I don\'t think we will.

Brooks
 

Oh, and to answer your other question:

1. Fire the coaching staff and Loomis (or at least move him back to business operations).

2. Hire a coordinator from the Patties as HC and true personnel guru at GM - I\'m not sure who would be best here.

3. Sign LBs, DTs, and CBs IN FREE AGENCY, not through the draft.

4. At least examine the idea of a QB competition and bring someone in to compete... at least.

5. Use the draft to bolster other needs - T and O-line geerally, S, depth on D, a possession WR.

That\'s what I do, broadly.

OH - sign Deuce to a LONG term deal, restructure Joe Horn\'s contract, get rid of D howard and Sullivan... or sign/restructure both to small contracts.

Brooks
 

Who,

I know you\'re a big fan of the \"leadership argument\", and I see where you\'re coming from on this. Farve is a leader, there is no question. I do question how really important that is to winning games (and you and I, and others, have discussed this at length). For the sake of this post, I will agree with you that Farve is and Brooks isn\'t.

However, I\'m not sure what that has to do with addressing current needs and winning games next season. I think that we can do it with a repaired defense and Brooks. Do you?

I agree that last game AB cost us. In fact, I\'m willing to assert that there are probably two to four games a year that AB has made very difficult to impossible to win. I\'m willing to bet that our defense will continue to make it impossible to win four to eight games a year.

I just don\'t see how we can be down by 20 and still think we have a chance AND simultaneously think that anyone on the offense is the biggest problem (i.e. over half of the problem, or something to that effect).

Brooks
 

Whats odd to me is,.Next year.., If we obtain new personel...A few GOOD SIGNINGS..and the stadium deal is worked out..4-6 will look pretty darn good

Brooks
 

Who, I thought BnB was my long lost brother...

I couldn\'t agree with you more on your offseason plan.

I think though what gets dealt with in FA versus the draft depends on what is availabe and the asking price (as you do too, I\'m sure). Though, I\'m fairly certain that we agree that the draft is not the place to fill needs as frequently as FA is.

Brooks
 

All this talk about \"if the defense was better, we\'d win\" is driving me nuts. Look, the Saints had the ball just as many times as the Broncos did. Yet the offense was only able to muster up 13 points. If that doesn\'t convince some of you the offense-which starts with the QB-isn\'t problematic, nothing will.


I reiterate what I said before. The only people who think Brooks is worth a damn are some of the Saints fans and the coaching staff. If Brooks were available tomorrow to be signed as a starting QB, no teams would be interested. That\'s reality. The negatives regarding AB outweigh the positives. The rest of the football world understands this.


Let\'s face it...the QB with the pretty long ball and the slow delivery just isn\'t cutting it. People can say \"yeah, but!\" till they\'re blue in the face but the fact that no other team wants your QB is a pretty good indicator that he\'s never gonna get the job done.


Brooks is no Plunkett. He\'s not gonna get any better than he is right now. The sooner the Saints deal with it the sooner they\'ll be on the road to recovery.

Brooks
 

St. Shrume and J Kool. I appreciate the feed back and discussion about this topic. I hate when ppl just come on here and start name calling and being childish...

I see all the points you are bringing across and know what yall think about my arguments where they lack in some areas... Here is the thing. I know the D is horrible. Should we do sumthing to improve it yes. That will help this team greatly, but you guys seem to forget that the last 3 years we have had better Defenses and for some reason we have collapsed at the end of the year. Im not gonna say it was Brooks fault, but he was one person who didnt close the deal. When a team continually fails to live up to expectations you can point fingers and blame lots of guys, but usually it comes down to the leaders. That is usually the Head coach and supposed to be the QB. However, Brooks has never stepped up to try and take control of this team.

I just think that even with a better D this team would still struggle cause AB while he is a decent QB has no mental grasp or leadership for this team. You ever see him trying to fire up the D? You ever see him trying to fire up the O or trying to tell them we need to go get a score to keep this game close? No he just seems to have no heart for this game and a QB that doesnt care pisses me off. I really actually like Brooks. He has a ton of talent. While I know we cannot go out and find someone with the physical skills he has it might not be a bad idea to start looking for at least someone to develop. Brooks has a big contract for the next 4 or 5 years Im not sure. So I expect him to be around. I just hope that he can improve or he will be dealt with. We constantly blast Sullivan for not caring about being benched cause he picks up a pay check and just doesnt care. Since Brooks got his big pay check he has stopped caring and while he still plays solid he just doesnt care and still gets paid.

If I were running this team I would Hope DJ Johnson from Texas is there when we pick in the mid - early part of the first round... If we have to trade up then do it. He is a no brainer and we have a few guys we can move that we wouldnt miss...

As for the QB situation I think we can wait till the 3rd or 4th round cause we all know Brooks will be the starter unless we sign a FA to come in and challenge for the job. I really like Stefan Lefors from Louisville... He is a Louisiana boy with a ton of heart and some great skills. I wouldnt mind seeing us go after him in the mid rounds say 3rd round or so. I think he can be a special guy.

OL is another place we need help. Munoz would be a great pickup. Im not a giant scout and since I usually work lots of nights and weekends I miss alot of the early games on Saturday and just havent seen much college ball this year.

BuckWheat was impressive Sunday and Im excited about that. Watson looked decent early in the year pre injury, and DJ Williams... I would be happy with that line up.

Im not gonna say its to early to give up on Sully, but I think he either comes in to camp and shows us something or he will be gone. I however think we will look to FA to fill this hole again. B. Young has played great despite the lack of help. I think with an upgrade at the 2nd DT spot and our LBs with a little more experience we can be a little better. CBs are a different story. We have all known that we NEED to address this for years and we havent. Blame the scouts or gm or coaches whatever... F. Thomas got a big contract and he doesnt deserve it. SO he MIGHT be gone. Ambrose should have been gone last year. He is a smart fellow, but smarts makes you more useful on the sidelines as a coach or sumthing. Fakhir has played decent for it being his first starts, but he is nothing specail and Mike McKenzie has been less than stellar since we got him. Not to mention he is 28 and wants a big new contract. So I think we will finally go after DBs in the draft. Our safeties arent great, and are both aging. Mel Mitchell is ready to step in and we need to look for someone to be right along side of him.

Maybe we can trade Brooks to Washington for Shaun Taylor... Might be worth a shot if Ramsey doesnt show them anything... maybe even trade him to the Cowboys for Roy Williams. Trade him ONLY if we get a Drew Brees or someone we are confident can take over as a starting QB. I dont want to have a Miami situation.

Any feed back and or discussion is very much appreciated...

Brooks
 

Offenses down by 20 points become pretty one dimensional, wouldn\'t you say?

It is a well known strategy on defense to try and take away one aspect of the other team\'s game and get them back on their heals. I.e. make the other team one dimensional, and defense will become much easier!

In our case, the other team\'s defense doesn\'t need to do that against us, since our defense takes away our running game for them - by allowing us to be down by a large number of points.

I KNOW IN THE LAST GAME SOME OF THE POINTS WERE BROOKS FAULT, BUT THAT DOESN\'T NEGATE WHAT I JUST SAID!

I am no Brooks fan, but I am a Saints fan. I want us to win games, and I think wasting our efforts on a replacement for Brooks who will just ALSO be asked to shoot it out with another team is rather unproductive. Only the VERY BEST QB\'s could thrive under the conditions here, and I promise you there won\'t be any of those available to us in FA or the draft.

Brooks
 

Syco,

Now we\'re talkin\' football. Nice post.

I\'m going to have to leave the leadership question behind for now. Let me say this: most here agree that he isn\'t a leader. I still maintain that how bad this is is an open question, but we can talk about that some other time.

I agree, if we can find a reasonable replacement, then we can consider dealing Brooks. Some time ago I became convinced that he had reached his best under Haz, and I am moderately convinced that he may have missed his development window as a QB. I don\'t think he\'ll be getting much better.

My current position is that if we don\'t focus on fixing the defense, it won\'t matter who our QB is next year. Furthermore, just to tick off Blake6900, I think with an improved defense we can have a winning record and make the playoffs with Brooks.

Brooks
 

Blake6900, you said:

\"If Brooks were available tomorrow to be signed as a starting QB, no teams would be interested. That\'s reality. \"

Do you watch other NFL games, or just Saints games? Bro, watch Miami, watch the Ravens, watch Oakland, the list can go on. I truly don\'t understand how you can say no team will be interested.

I am tired of defending Brooks. Not that I think he is that great, but he gets way too much crap. I guess we all have to have our scapegoat. I would choose Venturi :D

WhoDat thanks for posting what you think we should do, although it was broad, as you said. But see, even you had the QB position lower than #1 on the list of issues.

So let\'s discuss LB\'s, DT\'s and more LB\'s. Let\'s discuss OL, new coaches...

Syco, thanks man. You have us going in the right direction in our discussion, and you make some good points.

I wish we could have Haz fired now, so we can get a new coach to start scouting the team and picking his weapons from now. Use the remainder games to test new guys....


Thanks for the good discussion guys.