Time for QB change in N.O.
Good thing that blustery blast of winter weather in the Northeast kept commissioner Paul Tagliabue from making the trip to Baton Rouge, La., to meet with the New Orleans Saints players there in their latest "home" game. As publicly diplomatic as the commissioner is known to be, even Tagliabue might have been screaming about the play of quarterback Aaron Brooks and urging coach Jim Haslett to yank him.

No matter where owner Tom Benson sets up shop next season -- we don't care if it's in Timbuktu -- no Saints fan should be forced to watch Brooks again. Especially after Sunday's debacle. Brooks is arguably the most overrated, and thus overpaid, quarterback in the league. We've long held, and have expressed these sentiments, that Brooks is just good enough to get you beat. On Sunday, he took it one step beyond, playing just badly enough to have the Saints lose a 10-3 decision to the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Not only could Brooks not muster anything more than a John Carney field goal, but he tossed four interceptions. Three of the pickoffs came on snaps that originated from the Tampa Bay 25-, 25- and 30-yard lines. New Orleans officials have always been quick to defend their quarterback. On Sunday, Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber, still one of the NFL's most underappreciated cornerbacks, was quick to defense Brooks, coming up with three interceptions.

We've always preached, as a rule of thumb, that no franchise should dump a starting quarterback until it's certain it has someone better to assume the job. Well, that rule of thumb is getting the thumb, at least as it applies to Brooks. Surely there has to be someone out there, or will be by next spring, better than the Saints' starter. Brooks is owed $13.5 million in base salaries over the next two seasons. The Saints would be crazy to pay it