Same... Old... Saints...
 

Billy - you have faith in a defense that has been bad for 4 years b/c of 4 games? That\'s like saying I have faith that the Saints offense is the best in the league b/c they averaged 30+ points a games in the first 8 of 2002 when they went 6-2. That\'s twice as many games as your 4, and they played twice as well on offense.

The defense played better against very average offenses. More importantly, last year you said that at 18th, the defense needs to play a little better and AB needs to eliminate the fumbles and other mistakes for the Saints to go to the playoffs. Neither happened. In fact, both got worse (at least AB\'s numbers this year were worse in nearly every category). Now, surprise, surprise, you\'ve managed to find a reason that everyone deserves to stay.

How much you wanna bet that if the Saints start next season flat, if the defense plays poorly, you\'ll admit you were wrong, but by year end have a new and exciting reason why this year is different? Again...

Same... Old... Saints...
 

The Saints fan\'s motto \"There\'s always next year.\"

Same... Old... Saints...
 

If Haz & Co. haven\'t already, they should be sending a thank-you note to Mora and the Falclowns for mailing it in. By doing so, they allowed the Saints to put together a little mini-run down the stretch, thus allowing everyone a shot at keeping their job. I would have been more impressed by the 4-game winning streak if it did not include a victory over a resting Atlanta club who was trying to prevent injuries to any of their main players. The bottom-line is that we didn\'t make it anyway, due to poor performances earlier in the year against lesser opponents. These losses are the ones Haz should be held accountable for. He should also be held accountable for two season-ending melt-downs prior to this year. And, yes, I do believe that his reluctance, or refusal I should say, to make a change at the QB position has caused this team to underachieve and stay at the mediocre level over and over and over and over again.

Same... Old... Saints...
 

I disagree. Thats simply an excuse for winning.
We were one 1st down from beating them in Atlanta with a healthy Vick and Crumpler. So we beat them in New Orleans without Vick. So What? Pehaps with Vick and Crumpler in we turn it up another notch and blow them out.
I\'m tired of the double standard.
When we lose, no excuses, we just suck.
When we win, we get excuses for the other team.
We would have beaten them with Vick in anyway. Mora probably didn\'t want his A-team to get their asss whipped right before the play-offs so he kept Vick out as a handy little excuse.

Same... Old... Saints...
 

Danno, let me put it another way. To me, the win was too little, too late, against a team who obviously was not playing with all their weapons. Had we have won a few games earlier against teams we should have been able to win against, then possibly the Atlanta game would have had more meaning, not only for us, but for Atlanta, also. This would have forced them to play their regulars, because the division title would have still been in question. By wasting winning opportunities earlier in the year, we allowed them to coast down the stretch. Again, this is what the coaching staff should be held accountable for.

Same... Old... Saints...
 

Regardless of what happened this year, you have to look at the big picture. I mean, imagine this scenario:

You\'re Tom Benson. You just fired your head coach and you\'re looking for a new head coach. In your first interview, WhoDat comes strolling through the door. Dat says:

\"As head coach of the Saints I plan on amassing the most talent this team has ever had.\"

Good so far.

\"However, I do plan on strategically neglecting a few key positions year in and year out.\"

Uhh....

\"The true strength of this team right now, as I take the reigns, is it\'s offense. In 5 years, they\'ll be dead last in the NFL.\"

What?

\"I plan to mark my era with inconsistency, false promises, and underachievement. Five years from now this team will be 8-8 and won\'t have improved much at all!!\"

What the hell are you talking about?

\"We won\'t win more than one playoff game, but I will make sure that the team and its players show just enough flashes of greatness to keep the fans hoping and make them forget about all of the totally boneheaded underacheiving that we\'ll normally put out on the field.\"

So, do I get the job?

Now imagine that I promise far more and acheive what I just said. Do I get to keep my job? Does it really matter what I do in my last 4 games?

Same... Old... Saints...
 

WhoDat, that\'s just what I imagine when I see someone pitching for a head coaching job and getting the results we have gotten from Haslett. I think, what if Haslett said THIS was how it was gonna be for 5 years. One best year ever for the Saints, and then fall into mediocrity so deep fans not only ACCEPT it, but some WELCOME it for fear of getting worse. Egads.

Same... Old... Saints...
 

Think about it - what\'s the worst that could happen. The Saints could be a bad team and look foolish out there every Sunday. Uh... so where\'s the scary part? B/c I saw that THIS YEAR.

Same... Old... Saints...
 

Actually, the question I have is:

Are the Saints actually getting better under Haslett?

Given the defense was on pace to be one of the historically worst in history this year, I\'m not sure that we\'re moving in the right direction. Key players are getting old or overpaid and I don\'t see us any closer to even making the playoffs, much less going past the wild card round.

Without some major moves in free agency, I\'m not holding out much hope for this team next year.