He played good... i was glad that they won they needed it.

I can't believe no one is mentioning his smile even when it was getting hairy... geez its amazing what one win will do to yall, lol.

It's probably more amazing how the biggest natural disaster in US history causes you to overlook a lot of the small stuff, but however you see it.

I couldn't help but chuckle when Tim Ryan made the comment that "the Saints are running the ball more because you don't want the ball in Aaron Brooks' hands during crunch time, because of his history of stupid turnovers".

Sure enough, the ball wound up in Aaron's hands. In crunch time. And the Saints won.

Great game!

P.S. Carney still can bang the rock. I think he's actually gotten better over the last few years.

favre pulled out one of those AB moves too...

but its ok b/c he was "distracted"

Ya know...with the smiling thing. I see where it is annoying because nobody likes to see their QB smile when they are screaming at the TV. I have never given him a pass, but the smiles can be interpretted alot of different ways.

I think one of the reasons AB is pretty good at leading winning drives IS the smile. His kindof aloof nature makes it easier for him to operate late in games. I mentioned it earlier....his body language on that last drive just looked like he was in the sandlot, which is when he's at his best.

Andruw Jones gets alot of crap for his smiling and he says when he screws up, he smiles like he's laughing at himself for his mistakes. Smiles are hard to read.

Let me also say this...now that I'm sober. (I drank damn near 18 budweisers while i was pacing the room yesterday.)

This team has always performed best when questioned and when they are up against it. I told my buddies (non saint fans) that this whole disaster could really do something to this team that they have needed done. Bring them together and give them that extra motivation on the bad days. If they apply yesterday's logic to the season (win for the people, lift spirits), we could be in for a great ride.

There will be mental and physical fatigue. It would be silly not to recognize it. But....this team has always been good enough, they just need a common vision. They were flat out fired up yesterday and they beat a damn fine football team. Let's go to NYC and repay the Giants for what they did to us after 9/11. Maybe we can get all the calls this time. Put this great win behind us and expect more from these guys. Let's start writing this made for TV script.

Funny how the motto really applies even more after the flood. keep the faith baby.

Not a fumble
 

Brooks did play perfect in my estimation. I do not feel that he fumbled the ball. The ball came out forward. It is physically impossible for your arm to be going backward and the ball come out forward. That was an imcomplete pass and no one even questioned it during the telecast. Look it up in the physics books. It's like saying you can make a basket in basketball with you arm going backwards.

RE: Not a fumble
 

It was recorded as a fumble, regardless, the ball never hit the ground, so Manning would have had an interception had it been a forward pass, since he picked it out of the air.

RE: Not a fumble
 

I'm pretty sure the ball did hit the ground. I need to check the TIVO however.

RE: Not a fumble
 

Check the tivo. I might be wrong, because I was a bit foggy, but they reviewed the play, and saw that he had caught the ball before it hit the ground, so it became a non-issue whether or not it was a fumble or pass- it was still a turnover. Unless I'm getting my plays confused, but I don't think I am.

Re: RE: Not a fumble
 

You are getting your plays confused. You are thinking of when Will Smith crunched Delhomme, and howard picked it out the air. Noone reviewed Brooks' fumble, cause it clearly was one. In the red zone, if it wasn't a fumble, you would think a coach would challenge that so his team can still get points. It was more like Brooks lost the ball while his arm was going back, then he hit it with forward motion but it was already out. Not even close to a forward pass. Whatever the case, outside of that he played well. Sheppard was wise to retool the offense to keep it out of Brooks' hands as much as possible. He did great in his first stint at simply being a game manager, then winning it at the end with sandlot ball.

RE: Not a fumble
 

The fact is Brooks fumbled the ball and pushed it forward with the momentum of his arm. The ball was clearly came out before his arm began to move forward. When his arm did go forward, it simply pushed the ball with enough momentum to move it so far forward. I wanted it to be an incomplete pass, too, but an honest look at it will bring you to the conclusion that it was a fumble.

RE: Re: RE: Not a fumble
 

Did your starfish pucker everytime he audibled at the line? Made me nervous, but he really had a great game, and was in charge of the offense. I was pleased.
Could have sworn it was the AB fumble, but like I said, I was foggy, so I could very well be mixing up my plays.

Man, this board has been needing a starfish reference for a while now.

RE: Re: RE: Not a fumble
 

As far as the tuck-rule thing with Jake is concerned, let me first say that I find that rule detestable. If the ball comes loose it should either be an incompletion or a fumble. Also, it should only be an incompletion if the QB was attempting to pass. Having a rule that nullifies a fumble when a QB is trying to tuck the ball away is stupid.

An easier way to rule this would be to say that if a QB's arm is hit while going forward, it is a pass unless the ball does not go past the line of scrimmage. That way you have two definable points by which to guage whether it was a pass or a fumble. If it doesn't reach the line of scrimmage, it's a fumble. If it does, it's a pass. It'd be a rare occurence that the ball would just fall on the line, but even then it could be reviewed with some accuracy.

The bottomline for Jake's play was that it was caught in the air and thus it didn't matter whether it was a fumble or not. Under my rule AB's would have been considered a pass because it went beyond the line of scrimmage and incomplete because it hit the ground.

I think that's a more logical way to rule on those types of plays.

RE: Re: RE: Not a fumble
 

You boys could not actually be talking about the infamous Brooks air ball could you ???

Brooks has thrown air and had the ball slip out more then any other qb in N.F.L. history .

Jelly fingers had a good game , but it is his M.O. , one up and one down . The model of inconsistency .

We really need to name that pass attempt , how about the whoosh pass ???

RE: Re: RE: Not a fumble
 

Ok, Whoosh it is. In this case, he whooshed it about 10 yards forward. It was ruled a fumble.

Hey Deucerulez! I saw that too! I started laughing my arss off! I guess it CAN really happen to other quarterbacks!

You gotta give AB props though. The guy was a general out there. He was good. Hope he keeps it up. Especially the running. You rarely saw AB break loose for a good run last year. He's got the speed and size to make a dent. One of those scrambles went for 22 yards. Nice job AB!

I tell you what, if AB will keep running when it's there, all it will do is open up the passing game later in the year when AB starts scrambling. It seemed like every year under McCarthy AB limited his running more and more. I hope this is a sign of things to come.

Re: RE: Re: RE: Not a fumble
 

It hits the ground and bounces forward .

Jelly fingers just looses control of the grip during the pass and the ball falls out of his hand . Brooks does it about 5 - 10 times a year .

Re: RE: Re: RE: Not a fumble
 

And mainly in the red zone. If he would lose that hiccup, damn we would be looking at something special. The fact that he can have a great game and still have that happens has to still leave you with a little worry. Pull that part together AB, and you may have a new fan, for more than a week at a time.

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Not a fumble
 

Did I seriously just read almost five pages on Brooks and everyone was both civil and classy!?

Nice work guys.

I agree that the fumble is cause for some worry, but it is nice to see Brooks looking like a leader out there (if you think that matters).

I couldn't agree more about the smiling thing. I really think it just requires an appropriate interpretation; I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I played with a "smiler" and he was one of the best QBs I ever played for. We had a guy who was non-stop serious too; he wasn't so good - he took it way too seriously, and he couldn't keep guys loose and focused late in a close game (he was too distracting with his intensity that the rest of us couldn't "play our game", we had to play his). Just my two cents, I suppose.

In the end, it is nice to see credit given where it is due.

It was a big win.

I've noticed that we're getting along way too well. Let's start flinging a little carp in here.

http://www.punkskateboarders.com/pho...Big%20Fish.jpg

Best I could do at such short notice, BMG.

Even Farve will admit... "its a game", You play to have fun... if you're not having fun whats the point. I don't care he is smiles are scratches his butt... have fun, give us something to enjoy and do your damnest to win.

Let's keep this in perspective now .....

Week 1 and Brooks has his issues with playing the Panthers , it seems to step his game up having that chip on his shoulder . Brooks should go back to classic Brooks form by about week 3 .

Wasn't there a write up earlier this year that pointed the chip out ????

Found it .....

anything that helps. i am just worried that we come out flat next week and do our usual. god i don't want to see that

i think b/c of the game buildup, national tv and all,
they will still be pumped...

Agreed deuce. This team is not going to lighten up...at least this week. Way, way too much build up on this game. Plus, they are still going to be the under dogs.

Hopefully they can come out and score on their first drive like they did against Carolina. That set the tone for the entire team.

I do not see the Giants as a stumbling block for the Saints . I think the Saints are 2-0 after that game .