saintz08

Evidence doesn't support claim of honest effort


The thing that stands out in hindsight, after the debris from the last of four Saints games in Tiger Stadium has been swept into a dustpan and deposited in a trash bin on the way out of Baton Rouge?

The insistence from Coach Jim Haslett and his players that the team played as hard as it could, never gave up, executed half decently Sunday in a 27-10 loss to Carolina.


If that's truly the case, if the Saints didn't give a halfhearted effort, then the gap between them and the playoff-bound Panthers is much larger than one time zone. The Saints look to be at least a few seasons and several players away from catching up, having lost 11 of 13 games since winning the season opener in Charlotte against Carolina, which has won 10 of 13 since the hiccup.

Some of this debacle of a season, obviously, can be linked to hurricane aftermath.

Just about every team that had its schedule and/or season tossed into turmoil because of Katrina or Rita has had a rough go of it. Generally, each of them started strong off emotion, then weakened and bottomed out when emotional fatigue set in. And there's no better example of that than the Saints, who won on the road against a team that is a Super Bowl contender, but folded like an Ab Lounger against Minnesota (when it was horrid) and Green Bay (which remains horrid).

But, mostly, it seems we simply are talking about a team that stinks.

One that has more holes than we could have imagined, one that collectively has a fragile psyche, one that doesn't know how to win and can't seem to learn how. All it knows is how to stay close, say it didn't quit, claim its wounds are self-inflicted, insist it's one or two plays from winning every game or keeping them from getting out of hand, and swear it has as much or more talent than any team in the NFL.

Diddly-pooh.

If they aren't mailing it in (their contention, while most everyone else swears to seeing a postal worker or two roaming the sideline), then they simply are inept. And, for sure, there's plenty of evidence to back that up.

Does any team miss more open-field tackles? Drop more passes? Commit more false starts and illegal procedures when it should know the snap count? Commit more turnovers that have nothing to do with pressure and everything to do with making a bad decision?

Has any team done all that for five consecutive seasons -- the first four of which weren't hurricane-impacted -- employing many of the same coaches and players?

And now, that product is going to have to be packaged and peddled.

The Saints will have to be resold to fans in a state, Louisiana, that team owner Tom Benson doesn't want to return to, but is apparently being shoved toward by his boss, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Or, if Benson is granted his wish and the Saints are allowed to stay in San Antonio, the franchise will have to hope the interest hasn't waned among fans that might not care as much about results as they do about having a team to call their own.

And if the height of the offseason overhaul is going to top out at obtaining a new starting quarterback, rather than climbing higher on the food chain into coaching and the front office, then the team again is going to have to barter on the theory that it's really closer to the Colts than to the Lions, despite the fact it looks like the opposite is true.

Compared with that, convincing people the team still is playing hard will be a breeze.

http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index...6254564110.xml

\"Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn\'t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.\" - George S. Patton
On another note, I\'ll take a bite of that crow 08. - Saintfan
Brooks is a moron!! - Halo