ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

By David Marks


Recently Saints head coach, Jim Haslett was interviewed by the
Times-Picayune. He seemed to dance around the "hot" questions and answered the rest with responses that just don't add up. So I have just one question for Haslett, "Does he really expect us to buy this?" Does he really think Saints fans are that moronic? Believe me, after 35 years of watching the Saints, their fans are probably the most knowledgeable of any. After all, if any fan in the NFL that knows what NOT to do as a team, it's Saints fans.

Here's a little excerpt of that interview with coach Haslett. However, I
decided to answer him with my own responses since no one seems to have the
nerve to tell him what Saints fans really think.

Haslett: (On if this season was more disappointing then last season) "Every
game in this league is hard. It's not like you're a Division I-A team
playing a I-AA team."

Saints fan: Uh yeah Haz. Do you really expect us to believe that's why you
lost to the Lions and Bengals? No one else seemed to have any problems with
the Bengals. As a matter of fact didn't the lowly Panthers put up 50+ points
on them? The only team the Bengals competed with was the expansion Texans.
So I guess that puts the Saints, Texans, and Bengals all in the same boat
then huh?

Haslett: (On the 2nd half collapse two years in a row) "I think both
finishes were two totally different situations. I don't they are related at
all. They're two totally different situations."

Saints Fan: Yeah, you're right Haz. Last year we collapsed against decent
teams. This year we collapsed against the bottom feeders of the NFL.

Haslett: (On if he had any regrets) "Personally, I don't have any regrets."

Saints Fan: No regrets?!? I can think of plenty that you should have
regretted. Here, why don't I just give you a list of my regrets? I regret
wasting money on Saints merchandise, I regret wasting money on Tickets, I
regret wasting my Sundays watching this team when I could've just watched
the films from last season, and lastly I regret thinking that the Saints
were actually going to not only win their division but make it to the
playoffs.

Haslett: "I think our coaches did a great job."

Saints Fan: Apparently you didn't watch your defense at all last season. Nor
your offense - starting with about week ten.

Haslett: (On if you could have any one play back from the season) "Probably
the two-point play against Minnesota. If you could rewind it and give me 15
minutes to stop and figure out how to stop that quarterback draw."

Saints Fan: Or you could've just used one of your remaining timeouts to
prepare for that quarterback draw. But maybe you thought you'd need them
during that last 10 seconds? Apparently you and Venturi were the only ones
who didn't know that draw was coming.

Haslett: (On how Mike McCarthy did) "Mike did an outstanding job. He calls a
good game. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of, not just the opponent
we're playing, but of our offense.

Saints Fan: Knows the strengths and weaknesses of opposing defenses?!?!? Is
that why when facing a Minnesota defense that ranked 30th against the pass,
he chose to run for his first 6 plays? Matter of fact he didn't even attempt
a run (With the leading rusher in the NFC, mind you) until the 2nd quarter.
Or how about when you faced a Bengals defense that was ranked 30th against
the run? Oh I'll give you credit, you tried at first but that "Stellar"
Bengals defense shut Deuce down didn't they? No problem, you'll just open it
up with the pass right? Uh..no. You attempted to run a total of 5 times in
the whole 2nd half. I can understand this if you are down by a lot of points
but you were actually up 13-7. Yeah, he really "attacked" the weaknesses of
opposing defenses didn't he coach?

Haslett: (On how Venturi did) "I think Rick does a great job. His defense
set the tone in the first two games. The numbers -- No. 27 in the league --
weren't where you want to be."

Saints Fan: If you think Rick did a great job then you probably would've
loved Carl Smith. Yes Venturi's defense did set the tone those first two
games. Unfortunately there were 14 more games left. And no, you don't want
to be 27th in the league - especially when there are only 32 teams in the
whole league.

Haslett: "I understand what everybody has gone through here since '67. But I
hope they understand that we're trying to win games, that we're trying to
win a championship. We're the only staff that has won a playoff game here.

Saints Fan: Trying to win games? Oh is that what you were doing? It was
really hard to tell the past 7 games just what in the hell you were trying
to do. Actually I'll give you the Bucs game - you did look like you were
trying to win that one. And I really can't believe that you just played the
"We're-the-only-staff-that-has-won-a-playoff-game-here" card. Yes we are so
grateful for that one win (at least we got that monkey off our backs) but
since then it has been downhill. So don't try to play on our "fear" of never
making the playoffs - we're used to that.

The truth is that Haslett has no clue what Saints fans have been through
since 1967. He doesn't understand that we've watched the same choking act
regardless of who is the head coach, GM, or players for this team. How could
he know? He's been here a total of three years. Do me a favor Haz, watch
about 32 more seasons of what you just put on the field last season and then
you might start to understand what it's like to be a Saints fan.

Oh and Haslett, if you think you got no support from Saints fans this year,
just wait until next season.


[Edited on 1/6/2003 by Halo]

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Nice - his comments are mind boggling

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

I will admit I do not post as much as others, but usually I try to refrain from arguing over opinions. Anyways, I\'ll throw in some of my two cents here. I was as mad as everyone else was after the last 3 games in that we essentially blew the playoffs three straight times. It happened, end of story. I think one thing we\'re overlooking is that this team did a lot better than anyone really expected them to. They started off strong, true, but then again, a lot of their wins were lucky, last minute plays. This is still a young team with a wealth of potential. Unfortunately, as fans, we\'ve endure these types of teams for awhile, so it\'s understandable why people would get so upset about it. I think given the proper off-season moves, we\'ll see a big turn-around next season. As for the QB situation, I\'m still backing Brooks. He still passed for 3500+ yards and was tied for the NFC lead for TD passes. Granted, he did fall out of sync towards the end, but I\'m guessing the huge outcry from the fans didn\'t help his self-esteem. I know if I was the QB and had to listen to the fans boo me while I was playing, I probably wouldn\'t play all that well either. Who knows if there would have been a difference had Jake been in there. But it\'s no use wondering what could have happened, the season is over. If Jake does get a better offer with another team, I wouldn\'t blame him for going and I\'d wish him all the luck in the world. I think it\'s really important right now, though, for us to stay behind this team and the head coach. I think we\'ll see a lot of good changes this offseason and I think we can pick up some top quality rookies in the draft. Don\'t lose faith in this team!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Gatorman,
The article was written by David Marks a regular on this board. Just an FYI. Thanks David- let this reply give you a BUMP.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Good Post PSno - nice to see someone with a level head about all this. It hurts me as much as anyone, but all these people calling for AB\'s head and Haz\'s job, in my humble opinion, are going too far. I\'m upset with Venturi, but I also realize he didn\'t have much to work with. I\'m upset with McCarthy, but I realize all the play callin in the world isn\'t gonna do much good when blockers don\'t block. I\'m even upset with Haz to some degree, but I also realize the Saints are a young team across the board (with a couple of exceptions) and I expect them to mature and learn how to win games...even when the team is collectively having a bad day.

I\'m disapointed about not being in the playoffs, but I\'m excited about the upcoming draft and the fact that the Saints will have plenty of cap room to play with (especially if they send Clemons packing as I feel they should). So, here\'s to what I hope will be a fruitful offseason!

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Where do you expect to get those answers gatorman? No one here is turning the other way with regards to the collapse. Some of us see it for what it was. Others are quick to want to place blame. Surely, there\'s plenty of that to go around. The team crumbled down the stretch, but I don\'t think it\'s a stretch to say this year and last year aren\'t related...no matter how much you and the so-called \"experts\" want to have Jim\'s head for it. Those so called \"experts\" are the same ones who said after the Giants/49\'s game that New York should have spiked the ball after the missed snap...Illegal! No one know\'s it all...not you, not me. You\'re looking from the outside in calling it like you see it...nothing wrong with that...you know what they say about opinions. I\'m thinking, tho, that the view from the inside might just be a little different. This team DID have enought to be in the playoffs, but with the defense it wouldn\'t have gone very far. Give Haz another year to build the team. Lets get a defense. And honestly, this past year was HARDLY the \"worst season in Saints history\". Please...

If you aren\'t gonna be positive about the team\'s future, then what are you gonna be? Are you gonna call for the removal of AB until you\'re blue in the face? Do you really think that\'s gonna happen? Now, after another season, if the results are the same, I\'ll be ready for a coaching change too, but you all seem to be screaming the same scream with no real solution. Who is available that you\'d rather have as the Head Coach? Let\'s hear you name some names...lets hear you suggest how the team should go about removing the Head Coach after it\'s most successful offensive performance EVER! Another collapse and maybe I\'m more in tune with you, but there\'s too much to look forward to right now. Yes, this team should have been in the playoffs, and if they had even half a defense they would be.

Do you really think Haz is gonna tell the media McCarthy stank it up as a play caller? Do you think he\'s gonna call the most loyal man in Saints history (Venturi) a loser so the press can quote him? Maybe Jim will take us to the Superbowl...maybe he won\'t, but I\'m not about to critize the man that coached the Saints to their ONLY playoff win...not yet...not without giving him every oppurtunity. Now, maybe we disagree, but I dont think he started here with much, and to this point I happen to think he\'s done a pretty good job.

Level Heads? Yes, sir, Level Heads. Thank God for \'em, cause some of you, in my humble opinion, are far too eager to dismantle and pretty darn good football team.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

I gotta get my two cents in on this one. Expectations were not high at the beginning of the season, true. However, that is only because THEY TANKED IN 2001! They were a \"legitimate\" Super Bowl contender according to every analyst up until the Tampa Bay game of 2001. Then all of a sudden maybe it was too early. What?!

This year they beat every division winner they played. They lost to every last place team. They were only the fifth team in NFL history to go 6-1 and not make the playoffs. You\'re damn right expectations went up in week 6 when every team they had beaten was, at the time, considered to be a playoff team and they were tied for first place by record in the league.

To not make the playoffs against one of the weakest schedules in the second half of the season IS INEXCUSABLE. Period. Jim Fossil took over play calling for the Giants, and they made the playoffs because of it. They won their last four in a row I think. Our coach didn\'t even have the balls to bench his precious quarterback, who was injured, and over the last three weeks of the season may have been one of the five worst QBs in football. To make it worse, you have a back up QB (by the way the last three Super Bowl Champions were quarterbacked by back up QBs) who Haslett said could start on most other teams in the league. WHAT? Then play him!

I\'m not saying that optimism for next year isn\'t a good thing, but how can any of you believe anything will change? This will be the same team next year. Exactly. The talent level is likely to go up on defense, yes, but I guarantee that Brooks will still lose games thanks to his stupidity and Venturi\'s system will continue to be gashed by every team in the league. Haslett\'s job should be on the line. Brooks should be re-evaluated. And next year, when this team is 6-1 I don\'t want to hear it from you optimists. Wait until week 15.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Write down the names of the defensive players on the roster right now. Come back when training camp starts and tell me how many of those names are the same. Then attempt to convince me that it\'s the same team.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

No, no - I said that the defense will have more talent. The system is probably more important for one, and for two, one or two free agents and a bunch of rookies isn\'t enough. My point is that I, for one, don\'t expect to see much difference in the results (WINS AND LOSSES) next year.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

I do expect to see a difference in the Wins and Looses next year, but then I\'m eternally optomistic...I\'m a Saints Fan! I just don\'t think that with a young team like this we should be ready to thow in the towel on the Coach and the QB. It takes time. I know we\'re all tired of waiting, but we\'ve finally got some people that have a clue. Everyone is down on \'em now because of the last three games, but would ya\'ll rather have Ditka back? Who do you people propose should be brought in as the new Head Coach? Everyone wants to listen to the \"experts\" as long as the\"experts\" are saying what they agree with.

Joe Theisman said, after the Cowboys drafted Troy Aikman, that Troy would never be a quality QB in the NFL...said he didn\'t have the smarts. People in Dallas didn\'t think Jimmy had the brains to be an NFL Head Coach. Well, it took \'em a few years and a few drafts and the rest is Superbowl history.

My point is you\'re all ready to scrap the whole damn thing in favor of a new QB and Head Coach. Why? We all agree this season\'s collapse bit the big one, and yes, Haz ultimately has to answer for it. It\'s just amazing to me how people can lose faith so easily. This team\'s problem(s) rest squarely on the defensive side of the ball. It has taken a couple years and some good drafting along with some slick trades to clean up the offensive side. Give the man a chance to work on the defense now.

Everyone is ready to bench or trade or otherwise be through with AB. I think he lost the Cleveland game...simple enough, but there were so many times during those last three games he received the snap only to look up and find himself on the run. No one in here has said word one about the lack of blocking...our offensive line crumbled. Where are all the comments about that? The offensive had the Vikings game one, only to see the defense give it back. How is AB at fault? He was hurt at the end of the year, yet he and the coaches insisted he could still play. I\'m as puzzled by this as anyone, but you don\'t bench a guy with his talent and skill so easily unless he\'s losing game after game on his own...I.E Kordell Stewart...and he simply hasn\'t done that no matter what some people in here want to believe.

This season was as frustrating a season as I can remember, but the \"quick\" fix isn\'t always the best fix. Cleaning house after Ditka left was something that had to be done, but the only house cleaning we need right now is on defense, and we all know that\'s about to happen. Keep the faith man. All of you act as if the Saints would rather lose than win...surely you know better. We all want it so bad...and we deserve it...and it\'ll come. Hang in there!

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

I agree that we\'ll just have to disagree, but I\'m not insane, and I don\'t expect the problems to just \"fix themselves\". I\'m tired of reading all this stuff in here where it\'s as if you people think the Saints will just sit back and let the chips fall where they may. There can be no doubt that Haz sees the problems you and I and everyone else sees. It\'s as if you people think he encouraged the team to tank it...that he purposfully sabotaged the season for the sake of AB or in spite of Jake. That\'s just rediculous thinking is all. Changes will come, and level heads will prevail, but the majority of those changes will be on defense. In spite of the AB bashers and Haz haters, that\'s exactly where they should be.

To be perfectly honest, I was concerned when Haz became the coach. At that time I was hoping we\'d hire someone with a proven track record; however, my opinion of Jim is that he\'s done a good job so far, and so was most everyone else\'s after the first 7 games of the season in spite of what happened last year. Buddy D was singing his praises too, and then he turned on him just like the rest of you have. Thats typical Sports radio if you ask me. Controversy sells baby. I\'m just not as eager to turn on him as some of you are simply because I want someone to blame. A coach must coach, and as the Head Coach he is ultimately responsible, but he is the mother to no player, and he can\'t bench the entire offensive line or otherwise suit up and start blocking himslef because they can\'t pass protect. At some point players must be motivated from within. Do you think Sapp needs Gruden to \"coach him up\" on game day? How about Brian Cox? On a winning team, the players police themselves. We need more people like that...and especially on defense. I expect we might sign one or two of those this offseason.

Ultimately, until any of us are in that locker room, anything typed here is purely speculation. Speculate all you want...thats what this forum is for, but understand that there are a few of us out here that will remain loyal to AB until he really starts stinkin it up...and he\'ll have to do that when he\'s healthy too. I LOVE Jake Delhome, and I thought he should have been given the change to start the year they signed Jeff Blake. I was upset at the time. I thought they did Jake wrong, but I\'m not gonna join the leagues of you that wanna yank AB just because you like Jake. Jake can\'t run like AB, doesn\'t have nearly the arm, and hadn\'t convinced the coaches he was ready...even before AB came to town. There has yet to be someone type something in here that comes remotely close to explaining that...as they call for AB\'s benching. No one...not yet...I\'m still waiting.

By the same token, I\'m not gonna start screaming for Haz\'s job because what might just have been a somewhat overrated team lost the last 3 games. The Vikings were playing MUCH better ball at the end of the year. They\'re a tough team...regardless of their record. It\'s not Jim\'s fault that we didn\'t have the defense to stop \'em. The Saints and Carolina have been playing close games for years. Did any of you think that game was gonna be a walk? I didn\'t. I think we should have won, but I don\'t think we lost because of the game plan or coaching. I think we lost because we coudn\'t pass block and because receivers dropped passes that hit \'em in the hands. That\'s not to say AB didn\'t have a bad game because he did, but ultimately he played well enough to win. These guys are pro\'s, and Haz shouldn\'t have to \"motivate\" or coach \'em up for a game like that. The players simply blew it.

Let me say that I\'m glad those of you that are \"demanding\" answers aren\'t running the team. If you were, heaven only know\'s who\'d be coaching. If you were, heaven only know\'s what you\'d sacrifice in the Draft just to get Home Boy Eli Manning. If you were, heaven only knows the cap trouble this team would likely find itself in. If you were, it seems to me you\'d all be far too interested in fixing an offense that really doesn\'t need it instead of focusing your attention of the defense where it belongs. So many negative posts about an offense that scored in the neighborhood of 30 points per game this year yet so few negative posts about a defense that held a team to under 20 just once.

DEMAND all the answers you want. Fire the coach, trade the QB. Heck, lets just move the team to Mississippi while we\'re at it. Doncha think Eli would be happier there anyway? I say Yes, Definately, we should just \"agree to disagree\".

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Saintfan, I find some of your opinions on Brooks and Haslett to be ridiculous. No offense, I just don\'t understand how you can think that the best player always plays regardless of politics, economics, and/or old fashion favortism.

Here are a few quarterbacks that I know of who were either traded or released by a team b/c they didn\'t think they had the talent and/or never would have gotten a chance at being a starter or had anyone take a real good look at them if the starting quarterback on their team hadn\'t gotten hurt. Warner, Young, Favre, Gannon, Garcia, Pennington, Brady, Dilfer, Holcomb, Maddox, Collins, and oh yeah, Brooks.

Fact is, if Blake hadn\'t ever gotten hurt most of us probably wouldn\'t have any real idea of who Aaron Brooks is. But now, because Brooks is the starter and puts up some good numbers he\'s infallable? Blake put up good numbers. Brooks put up better numbers. Who is to say Delhomme\'s numbers can\'t be even better?

Do I think Haslett is trying to lose games? Of course not. Is he doing the best he can. I would say so. The problem is that I, for one, don\'t care about his best. I care about results. His team overachieved in 200, true. But they\'ve grossly underachieved for the last two years.

Next year is water shed year for me. Haslett\'s team better put up big time or he absolutely has to go. Four years is more than enough time in the NFL to make a real contender out of any team. Go ask Parcels... or better yet, go ask your buddy Jimmy Johnson.

As for Brooks, you\'re right he is a better athlete and he does have a stronger arm than Jake. He is also not as smart, not the leader, doesn\'t have the touch, and apparently doesn\'t have the heart that Jake does.

Seriously, if you want to talk about Brooks, let\'s do that. What are his strengths? The ones that I know of are that he is strong armed and athletic. The knocks on him are that he has no touch, can\'t throw the deep ball, isn\'t real smart, and isn\'t a great leader. so let\'s break it down:

He\'s athletic. That would be great if he used it, but he doesn\'t. He rarely runs and only uses his athleticism to escape the rush. 60% of the time he escapes the rush he throws the ball away. 10% of the time he throws complete 10% of the time (or more) he throws a dangerous pass, and the other 20% he gets sacked anyway and/or fumbles. Great, so much for athleticism.

How about a strong arm? It\'s the west coast offense! Any QB in the NFL can throw real hard for 10 yards. But can he use the speed of guys like Stallworth to stretch the field? No, b/c he can\'t throw the deep ball. He has to throw it short and hope our receivers can break away.

Can he throw the touch pass to the tight end in the middle of the field, getting the ball just over the receivers but under the safties? No, he has to gun it as hard as he can through a gap that may or may not be there.

Can he throw the timing pattern on a deep out 15 yards down the field? No. He has to wait until the receiver starts his break and then throw as hard as he can.

Can he step up to the line, read a defense, find the hot route and get the ball out in 2 seconds? No he makes his line block for 5 seconds every play as he wanders around lost or staring at the ONE and ONLY ONE receiver who the play is designed for.

Can he get in the huddle and motivate his teammates? Not that I\'ve ever heard of. So you tell me Saintfan, why is Brooks THE GUY for the Saints? Why will he be the quarterback to lead us to the Super Bowl?

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Brooks was brought in the Green Bay to take over for Blake eventually. I can\'t think the Saints would have picked him up if they thought Jake had all the intangibles you give him credit for having. Where did you learn all this about Jake anyway? Are you at practice everyday? Are you of this opinion because he beat a bad Dallas team a few years ago? This man goes 7 for 8 during one strecth and makes one 5 yard throw on a slant to Joe Horn (you or I and maybe even Saintz08 could have made that little toss) and all of a sudden he\'s the next Montana? He\'s the \"leader\"? What gives? Do you guys eat at the same McDonalds or what?

I support Brooks because of his obvious talent. I realize that giving up on a QB to early can be costly. Why was Garcia in the CFL? Why was Farve traded? There are a hundred other QB\'s I could mention, but I know you\'re smart enough to get the idea. NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY lines up and lights it up every time. It\'s as if you guys expect Brooks to win the superbowl on his own. Talk to me about blitzers coming in untouched. Talk to me about dropped passes.

The out pass you say Brooks can\'t throw. I seem to Recall Stallworth scoring on at least one of those this year. Was is the Chicago game? How many 20 yard passes did the Saints complete this year? What was the NFL average? I\'ll let you do the research and you can get back to me. For that matter, how many points did the Saints average this year? Do you think we would have averaged more if Jake was the Starter? Good question ain\'t it?

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Yes, I am saying we could have averaged more with Jake. We wouldn\'t have scored, what, 13 points in our last two games. You make it out as if stats like touchdown passes are the only thing that matters on the field. I\'d bet my life savings that Delhomme doesn\'t make the same number of mistakes Brooks made this year if he starts.

You have to wonder why blitzers started coming around the corner untouched. Apparently, your opinion is that the entire offense tanked. You\'re partially correct. The problem is that teams study film, you see. Those teams learned that Brooks was a fast ball pitcher who couldn\'t make the kind of touch and timing passes that you need to be successful in the west coast offense. So they crowded the middle and sent the house. Brooks isn\'t going to beat you deep. He holds the ball too long. Take away Horn and send the house. If you do that enough Brooks will fumble and/or throw at least one interception.

And you\'re right saintfan - the guys in the league know a whole lot more than you or I do. So if I know that, imagine how easy it is for them to identify the ways to break down Aaron Brooks.

Again, you\'re right about Delhomme. We didn\'t see enough of him in game situations to know how good he really is or could be. But he was 7-8 in the baltimore game for 100 and something yards. Those are the stats of a west coast quarterback. Short quick passes. Timing routes. Touch passes over linebackers. Three steps and get rid of it. Not five steps, dance, dance, look around lost, scramble, back pedal, throw off your back foor towards Horn into double coverage.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Oh, and one other thing Saintfan - in my post above I broke down a number of things that Brooks does NOT do well. You haven\'t given me one thing that yo ucan say Brooks does well on a consistent basis. So tell me, in what way is Brooks better than most of the other quaterbacks in the league?

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

You tell me WhoDat. Show me some stats...some full season stats and tell me how bad Brooks really is. Include \'em all now and lets judge \'em. Let\'s get off my opinion and your opinion ok? TD\'s, INT\'s, etc, etc. Lets see where he ranked as a 2nd year starter while we\'re at it. Also, see if you can find out how many balls were dropped, or how many times teams blew right past our line and came straight for Brooks without \"sending the house\". The Blitz that ended our season this year, as I recall, came from between left tackle and left guard. Nobody picked it up. Maybe Brooks should block the blitzer before he attempts to pass. While he\'s at it, maybe he should jog down the field and catch his own pass too.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

No problem Saints fan:

Amongst the 30 QBs with the most passing yards in the leage:
TDs - 2nd (tie)
Yards - 9th
Attempts - 9th
Completions - 16th
Completion Percentage - 27th
INTs - 10th most (tie)
Long - 19th (tie)
Passer Rating - 20th


So let\'s see, he excels at throwing touchdown passes. He had the ninth most attempts, so for me, it goes to reason that he should have the ninth most yards and the ninth most completions... oops, 16th most completions, and thus 27th in completion percentage. 20th in passer rating. Oh, and remember how I said he can\'t throw the long ball... well his long on the season isn\'t as long as 18 other QBs. Are those stats good enough for you or would you like more?

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

PS - you\'re still talking about everyone else but Brooks.

SAINTFAN, CAN YOU TELL ME ONE THING THAT YOU FEEL AARON BROOKS EXCELS AT AS A QUARTERBACK? I\'m only asking for one man. Just one.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Saintsfan

Thats not fair to Brooks to bring up the blitzes .

Everyone especially the Browns , know Brooks cannot read defenses . If he could read defenses , don\'t you think he would audible out at the line of scrimmage ??

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Ok, so 4 top 10 marks in your 8 particular categories right? Not bad in my opinion, especially for a 2nd year starter. Now, lets see if we can find some stats on the receivers in question...dropped balls etc, etc. Let\'s looks at the number of sacks, hurries, knock-downs, etc. Lets look at it all man, because, like I keep trying to make you people understand, no one man accounts for the teams results. And for that matter, you can\'t tell me Jake would do any better. You couldn\'t possibly know that because the man never plays.

Lets see...numbers on Jake:
CAREER 50 86 634 58.1 7.37 54 3 5 6 68.7 15 70 4.7 27 2

Thats CMP< ATT< YDS< CMP%< YPA< LNG< TD< INT< SACK< RAT< ATT< YDS< AVG< LNG< TD...the last 5 are rushing stats.

Numbers on Brooks:
708 1280 8918 55.3 6.97 64 62 43 102 79.4 182 784 4.3 29 5

Lets check Brooks\' numbers after his first 5 starts:
113 194 58.2 1514 7.80 53 9 6 15 94 85.7 41 170 4.1 29 2

I just don\'t see Jake blowin him out of the water yet, do you? Even so, if you base your entire opinion on the stats then you\'re foolish. Those numbers reflect a running game, the quality of reciever(s)...of which Brooks had ONE for a year and a half. Don\'t forget Blocking, play calling, etc, etc, etc.

If you don\'t see the man\'s talent then you never will. If you insist on having Jake as the starter just because you don\'t like Brooks then enjoy your disapointment. Now, if Jake were to do what he has yet to do which is beat Brooks in camp and become the Starter, then I\'m behind him 100%. It\'s not about me not likeing Jake, it\'s about you (and others) preteding to be GM\'s and Head Coaches. Could it be that you\'re as deep into Jake as you claim Haz is into Brooks? Sure sounds like it to me.

How about Brett\'s numbers in his first 13 starts:

302 471 64.1 3227 6.85 76 18 13 34 208 85.3 47 198 4.2 19 1

Now I don\'t see Brooks as that far off the mark. Do you? You have no idea what Jake may or may not do, because you have nothing to base it on. You\'re just guessing.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Alright Saintsfan here are your dropped balls and incompletion stats .

So here are the drops for the entire league and the other number on the end is the percentage of the incomplete passes the drops account for in the total number of incompletion that team had.

Arizona Cardinals
Pass Dropped 41 16.0
Atlanta Falcon
Pass Dropped 30 14.2
Baltimore Ravens
Pass Dropped 26 12.0
Buffalo Bills
Pass Dropped 27 11.5
Carolina Panthers
Pass Dropped 34 16.3
Chicago Bears
Pass Dropped 26 11.2
Cincinnati Bengals
Pass Dropped 37 15.4
Cleveland Browns
Pass Dropped 26 12.1
Dallas Cowboys
Pass Dropped 28 12.8
Denver Broncos
Pass Dropped 33 16.9
Detroit Lions
Pass Dropped 32 10.7
Green Bay Packers
Pass Dropped 40 18.3
Houston Texans
Pass Dropped 34 16.0
Indianapolis Colts
Pass Dropped 37 18.6
Jacksonville Jaguars
Pass Dropped 30 15.5
Kansas City Chiefs
Pass Dropped 24 13.0
Miami Dolphins
Pass Dropped 18 9.8
Minnesota Vikings
Pass Dropped 22 10.0
New England Patriots
Pass Dropped 28 12.1
New Orleans Saints
Pass Dropped 37 15.0
New York Giants
Pass Dropped 29 13.7
New York Jets
Pass Dropped 13 8.3
Oakland Raiders
Pass Dropped 44 21.9
Philadelphia Eagles
Pass Dropped 33 14.3
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pass Dropped 30 14.9
San Diego Chargers
Pass Dropped 20 9.3
San Francisco 49ers
Pass Dropped 31 14.3
Seattle Seahawks
Pass Dropped 43 19.0
St. Louis Rams
Pass Dropped 39 17.2
Tampa Buccaneers
Pass Dropped 25 11.4
Tennessee Titans
Pass Dropped 28 14.4
Washington Redskins
Pass Dropped 21 8.1


Not to bad when you compare to the league .

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Didn\'t Haslett say the dropped balls were the reason they were not winning ??

I know he made a stink about them somehow .

Like it affected the Raiders ????

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Saintfan, I\'m still waiting for an answer to my question. Hell, I started an entire new thread about it. It\'s called \"What does AB have?\" I\'d love to hear your response to that. You see, you want to throw around stats and try to make him out to be something he\'s not. I said it before and I\'ll say it again. It\'s the intangibles that Brooks doesn\'t have. Instincts, smarts, leadership, dedication... there are no stats for that.

How can you compare the stats from Delhomme at this point to the stats for Brooks. What are those, preseason stats vs. regualr season stats? If you think that Jake has ever had the chance to go as a starter, with the first team, in a real game environment, with the coaches behind him, you\'re crazy. He hasn\'t had the opportunity to show his stuff. But again it\'s not about Jake as much as it is about Brooks being the wrong guy... and again I degress.

Saintfan - NAME ONE THING BROOKS DOES WELL? WHAT DOES BROOKS HAVE THAT ANY OTHER AVERAGE QB IN THE LEAGUE DOESN\'T HAVE? WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE HE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS LEAGUE?

I can\'t be any more forward than that, and you\'re yet to give me a straight answer. Just say, \"WhoDat, Aaron Brooks has [blank], and that, if nothing else, will allow him to be a good qb in the NFL.\" Can you do that?

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Alright Saintsfan

Here is Brooks passing breakdown for you .

PASSES ATTEMPTED COMPLETE TOTAL INCOMPLETE
528 283 245

PCT OF
PCT OF OVERALL
TYPE NUMBER INCOMP ATTEMPTS
Pass Dropped 36 14.7 6.8
Poor Throw 75 30.6 14.2
Pass Defensed 59 24.1 11.2
Pass Hit at Line 9 3.7 1.7
Other 48 19.6 9.1
Intercepted 15 6.1 2.8

Brooks throws twice as many bad passes as he has ball dropped .

Coffees Brewin ;)

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Ok Saintz08, I see you\'re a true statistical guy. Now tell me what you think about how those stats might have affected AB. Look up the sacks, hurries, get all the good stuff that could adversly affect a QB\'s performance and interpret them for me...but be careful. You might find yourself defending Brooks.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

OH MY GOD. Saintfan, can you name one thing Brooks does well?

I\'ll give you an example:

WhoDat: Can you name one thing that Brooks did well in 2000?
Saintfan: Scramble.

WhoDat: You\'re absolutely right Saintfan. I stand corrected. You\'re a genius.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

OK, we are going to try for real now. Is everybody ready?

Saintfan, or anyone else for that matter, can you please name one thing that Aaron Brooks does well as a quarterback?

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Are we talking 2000, 2001, or 2002 there buddy? Don\'t let your emotions get the best of you. Face the fact that Brooks is the best QB this team has had since Manning...period, and he\'s the best QB on the roster today. Deal with the fact that Jake failed to crack the starting lineup and has been failing to do so for 5 years. That\'s 5 freakin years man. Blame that on Haz if you feel like you should, but your ignorance is showing.

If you\'re lookin for somethin Brooks does well here\'s an answer you\'ll hate:

The Man know\'s how to toss the \'ol pigskin, thats for sure.

Brett Farve\'s rating this year was 85.6 right? Brooks\' rating was 80.1. Awefully close for sure...AWEFULLY close to the great BF huh? Brett threw for 3658 yards: Brooks threw for 3572. Now check my math, but isn\'t that a difference of about 86 yards? Real big difference huh? Remeber that TD Donte\' dropped earlier in the season? Remember that TD Boo dropped? Remember that TD Reed dropped in the last game? Add those up and there your 86 yards plus a bag of chips baby. And...um, yeah, he does scramble better than Brett too. Brett threw 27 TD\'s and 16 INT\'s. If you can stand it, Brooks threw for 27 TD\'s and 15 INT\'s...again, check my math, but thats one fewer that the great Brett Farve. Hell man, even Brett says AB\'s better at this point in his career than he was. Don\'t take it from me, take if from someone who really, truly, honestly knows the game. And yeah, that\'s just Brett\'s opinion, but he carries a little more weight than you do.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Name a thing Saintfan. I\'m starting to think you\'ve gone retarded. Seriously. I\'m asking you now for a one word response. ONE WORD. I don\'t want to hear about Favre. I don\'t want to hear about Delhomme. I don\'t want your answer to be about anyone other than Aaron Brooks. And, if possible, make it one word. ONE WORD. OK, are you ready?


Fill in the blank. Aaron Brooks has good [BLANK].

That word should preferably relate to his ability as a quarterback, but at this point I\'ll take anything from you that is direct, concise, and about Aaron Brooks.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

So Brooks is better than Kerry Collins ??

Where are you coming up with that ??? What stats are we using there ???

Are we allowed to use Play off appearances ???

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

don\'t distract him 08, I\'m trying to get a one word answer here... that\'s been next to impossible so far.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

I\'ll entertain you WhoDat.

Aaron Brooks has good game. He know\'s how to win. Thats what he\'s done. The man has a cannon. Surely you\'ve seen it on display.

FYI, if you can use other QB\'s to drag Brooks in the dirt, I can surely use them to pull him back up. Turnabout is fair play my boy, and didn\'t they teach you that in grade school?

...and why not respond to the response to your rediculous post wherein you indicate that you think Michael Vick is among the elite? Reap what you sew, or did you skip that class too?

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

In the honor of good sportsmanship, I\'ll answer your question Saintfan... the first time you asked it.

Michael Vick was selected to the Pro Bowl this year. One of four quarterbacks in the league (excluding alternates). I\'d say that makes him elite. He also lead all quarterbacks in rushing BY FAR. He won three games that I can think of by himslef in a final drive in which he scored by himself. Oh, and he quarterbacked his team to the playoffs, and won. Is that enough or do you need more Saintfan?


Now, let\'s look at your answer. You said that Aaron Brooks has good \"game\". And by that you said he knows how to win. So he wins when it counts? Like in the last month of a season? Oh, he plays well when he\'s in a game that matters, like Carolina or Cincinnati? Oh, he plays well in the final minutes of a game, like 0-11 in his last 11 against the BENGALS? Well, he\'s 16-16 as a starter over the last two years... so wait, he doesn\'t know how to win any more than he knows how to lose... ah, but he\'s led us to the playoffs in the two seasons he\'s been a starter... nope again.

To say that Aaron Brooks wins when it matters is ignorant, stupid, or insane. Montana, Elway, Marino - those guys knew how to win when it counted. Hell, I\'d take Vick in the fourth quarter before I\'d take Brooks. Garcia is better in the fourth quarter. Frankly, so is Favre, despite this year\'s playoff game. Give me something else, b/c this he\'s got game argument is a load of crap.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

Alright Saintsfan here are your offensive lineman stats .

Now what it cannot tell you is how many times Brooks took too long in the pocket , how many times he should have audibled out of the formation at the front line and did not , how many times he backed into a defensive player and got sacked ( Kyle Turleys favorite ) , how many times he took a coverage sack with a wide open receiver or how many times he could not make the throw sack .

I wish someone would find me a stat on how many times the ball fell out of Brooks hand as he was going to throw it .

SORTABLE TEAM OFFENSIVE LINE STATS - Season Total
Rank Team Rush Yds Avg Left LYd LAv Middle MYd MAv Right RYd RAv Sck
1. Houston Texans 424 1347 3.2 66 220 3.3 139 410 2.9 68 211 3.1 76
2. Buffalo Bills 388 1596 4.1 92 377 4.1 109 417 3.8 44 186 4.2 54
Dallas Cowboys 423 1754 4.1 87 347 4.0 114 297 2.6 103 515 5.0 54
4. Minnesota Vikings 473 2507 5.3 70 421 6.0 172 758 4.4 69 473 6.9 49
5. Denver Broncos 457 2266 5.0 105 541 5.2 131 595 4.5 52 321 6.2 46
St. Louis Rams 343 1405 4.1 65 295 4.5 101 330 3.3 65 286 4.4 46
7. Carolina Panthers 452 1586 3.5 109 574 5.3 155 419 2.7 46 142 3.1 44
Chicago Bears 382 1344 3.5 101 360 3.6 96 280 2.9 44 163 3.7 44
9. Jacksonville Jaguars 455 2089 4.6 76 297 3.9 209 1017 4.9 55 297 5.4 42
10. Arizona Cardinals 414 1823 4.4 116 648 5.6 108 372 3.4 49 175 3.6 41
Baltimore Ravens 427 1792 4.2 96 290 3.0 160 560 3.5 62 503 8.1 41
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 414 1557 3.8 57 194 3.4 138 414 3.0 69 337 4.9 41
13. New Orleans Saints 425 1767 4.2 98 341 3.5 94 250 2.7 50 254 5.1 38
Washington Redskins 442 1889 4.3 93 369 4.0 135 398 2.9 87 487 5.6 38
15. Cincinnati Bengals 426 1730 4.1 101 499 4.9 117 385 3.3 41 149 3.6 37
16. Atlanta Falcons 523 2368 4.5 112 541 4.8 150 545 3.6 73 410 5.6 36
Philadelphia Eagles 489 2220 4.5 64 231 3.6 173 819 4.7 51 393 7.7 36
Oakland Raiders 414 1762 4.3 61 286 4.7 153 554 3.6 62 296 4.8 36
19. Cleveland Browns 406 1615 4.0 98 374 3.8 112 340 3.0 48 204 4.3 35
20. Pittsburgh Steelers 512 2120 4.1 100 385 3.9 152 580 3.8 83 512 6.2 34
21. Seattle Seahawks 430 1740 4.0 88 364 4.1 135 542 4.0 70 318 4.5 33
22. New York Jets 400 1618 4.0 97 349 3.6 108 444 4.1 47 220 4.7 32
23. New England Patriots 395 1508 3.8 81 294 3.6 154 567 3.7 62 279 4.5 31
24. Green Bay Packers 451 1933 4.3 94 367 3.9 105 358 3.4 69 318 4.6 27
25. Kansas City Chiefs 462 2378 5.1 56 379 6.8 179 861 4.8 85 538 6.3 26
26. Miami Dolphins 530 2502 4.7 112 410 3.7 182 696 3.8 53 409 7.7 25
27. New York Giants 486 1875 3.9 94 341 3.6 145 299 2.1 86 532 6.2 24
San Diego Chargers 466 2137 4.6 77 296 3.8 151 652 4.3 79 418 5.3 24
29. Indianapolis Colts 434 1561 3.6 66 246 3.7 161 581 3.6 59 193 3.3 23
30. San Francisco 49ers 489 2244 4.6 67 245 3.7 194 737 3.8 59 376 6.4 22
31. Tennessee Titans 511 1952 3.8 99 352 3.6 185 697 3.8 45 226 5.0 21
32. Detroit Lions 358 1477 4.1 54 206 3.8 109 380 3.5 60 376 6.3 20


I see it this way , the Raiders and the Eagles have given up 36 sacks and will probably end up in the Superbowl .

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

You know 08, I would love to see those stats also. I bet they would be daunting.

ARTICLE: Haz in his Own World
 

PFW Reports :

Jan. 13, 2003


Although he hasn’t been getting much attention on a national level, insiders say the heat on Saints head coach Jim Haslett continues to be turned up as fans in the New Orleans area talk about the team’s collapse at the end of the season and criticize Haslett’s handling of QB Aaron Brooks’ shoulder injury.

Saints fans finally get some good press ;)