WhoDat

No, no, I agree with you. You can\'t place all of the blame on the coaches. Benson is a big part of the problem. I won\'t argue that. My point remains the same though. No matter whose head you put it on - this current \"administration\" seems to be stuck on offense. I truly hope things can get better on D and get better fast. I hope that they\'re right about Mitchell being able to take over for Knight. I hope that they\'re right about Ruff, Allen, Hodge, Sullivan, Ambrose, etc. etc. etc. I hope... but that doesn\'t mean that I ignore reality. That reality to me is that the Saints, whomever it may be calling the shots right now, aren\'t good at pooling talented defensive players. That\'s what we really need right now, and I fear it won\'t happen.

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

JOESAM2002

Again I have to agree with you. I think we all do to some degree. One would think that with Haz being a former linebacker and a pretty good one at that, you\'d think our defense would be far better than it is. It just concerns me that Benson has so much control of who we keep and who we let go. I know it\'s his money but if he didn\'t want to spend the money in the first place why did he buy the team? These guys that play for the Saints are our represenatives to the world of football. Anything less than the best SHOULD be unacceptable to everyone including the owner.

Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought an idiot, than to open it and remove all doubt!!!!!

"Every time you think, you weaken the nation!" Moe Howard...The Three Stooges.

JOESAM2002

Ok Gator you got my attention. LOL. First I think I was one who said we were trying to keep the offense together too. We needed help on the offensive line due to loss of players like Turley(like him or not), Miller(retired) and possibly Fontenot(although I hear he will re-sign with us soon). We got the help through the draft. Like some have said in here they don\'t have a problem with the players drafted, just the value of those picks.

As for the collapse the last 2 years being the coaching staffs fault completely. I have to disagree. To me it\'s kinda like being married and getting a divorce( something I knopw a lot about, having been divorced 3 times- LOL) it\'s never one persons fault it takes two to screw things up. It goes to an old adage that I remember, you can lead a horse to water but you can\'t make him drink. I feel this way about the whole thing. It\'s everybody\'s fault. The coachs might be to lax, the players don\'t perform up to expectation. my jock strap is to tight. It could be a million things.
The thing that kills me is everyone talks about team chemistry. How the hell can you keep a team chemistry, when you can\'t or are not allowed to keep your players? This goes directly to the team owner. Believe me I know how car dealers work. If they can save a buck, they will to hell with the customer.
A good post none the less Gator.

Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought an idiot, than to open it and remove all doubt!!!!!

"Every time you think, you weaken the nation!" Moe Howard...The Three Stooges.

rusta

first off, how the hell can you blame haz? what he coached like a champ until we were 6-1 and then he decided he would just quit? no one was questioning his ability when we were 6-1, how about our players just ran out of heart and will, our second game against atlanta we looked like a NFL EUROPE team, wether we were ran out of heart out of shape whatever, you can\'t blame a coach that started the season 6-1, i fully believe the team chemistry problem, we have no leader, no one to get our team \'up\' for the \'easy\' games, no one to get on people late in the second half when heads are down when people are half assing it on the field, it sure isn\'t going to be AB, he gives his all but i wouldn\'t look to a guy who is smiling and giglling on the side line late second half when we are about to lose a close game, if you\'re going to blame someone start with the guys on the field they\'re the one\'s who quit on haz

JOESAM2002

Gator my man. We can agree to disagree. I still respect your opinion. It just doesn\'t happen to be mine. Not to the point you have chosen.

WhoDat

Gator - for the first time in a long time, we completely agree.

A couple of things you guys who think Gator is crazy have to ask yourselves... wait Gator is crazy.. let me rephrase... a few things that you guys who don\'t think Haslett is ultimately responsible have to ask yourselves....

IF the COACH is NOT responsible for WHO PLAYS and WHO SITS, the GAME PLAN, and the TEAM\'S EXECUTION DURING THE GAME AND SEASON, then who is?

I believe that coordinators are FAR more important to any team than the head coach. However, it is the head coach who picks his coordinators (so it all comes back to the coach). Look at it like any other company. When GM has bad earnings for a prolonged period who gets canned? The middle managers or the CEO?

It is the job of the CEO (aka Head Coach) to lead his team. CEOs do little more than provide a vision for a team, and a strategy to get there. It is the assistants, players, and everyone else that actually have to step up and enact that strategy. HOWEVER, if a team fails to buy into a coach\'s vision for his team. If they don\'t buy into his system, if they\'re not motivated, if the right talent just never seems to be put on the field at the right time, if a lightening bolt strikes the field at just the right instant as to cause a collapse again in \'03 - IT WILL BE HASLETT\'S FAULT. Gator, I agree completely with what you\'re saying, and I stand behind my comments of a few months ago. Haslett\'s a$$ is on the line this year. It\'s put up or shut up time. If this team doesn\'t make the playoffs, bye bye Haz.

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

JOESAM2002

Ok guys, I\'ll try to explain myself a little better. The first reason I believe that Haz is the guy is because he did get this team to a 6-1 record before the wheels came off. Year before last same thing,a great first half of the season, then the toilet. I\'m sure most of you have played some type of team sport in your lives, you will all remember the 1 thing every coach in every sport tells every plater in every sport. \" You can\'t coach HEART.\" This is the thing that scares the hell out of me more than anything about this Saints team. You can go back in Saints history as far as you want and they have some very good teams. A bunch of different coachs, a bunch of different players but only 2 owners. John Mecom for those of you that don\'t remember him was a, for lack of a better word \"*****\". To me the one thing worse than that is a car dealer. I worked for many dealers in 30 years and they are all the same. These guys don\'t EVER give anyone complete control of their business. If you noticed, our boy Benson was in the war room this past weekend. Watching everything like a hawk. If Benson says you go, you go, if he says you stay you stay. Anyway, I think this team has a wall they hit about halfway into the year. They lose to teams they should walk over and beat teams you\'d think thay never would. I don\'t know if it\'s a lose of heart or just a mental block they\'re hitting. But Haz could jump up and down, stand on his head or buy them all a Rolls Royce and I don\'t think it would ever make a bit of difference. This team lacks leader ship! By that I mean on the field, there\'s none.When we signed Brian Cox, I was so hopeing he would be the man to give them that and maybe if they keep him maybe he still will. If it\'s a mental block the only way I can see to remove it is by getting rid of the dead weight. So far Haz has worked to do that. As much as I loved Sammy Knight, he was there when this started, Norman Hand ,same thing.
To be completly honest I\'m not sure that this is the answer but I do know if it is theres only one answer. Get rifd of the problem. I think Haz is trying to do just that.

P.S. If you read the part about Benson, Maybe just maybe thats why Randy Meuller isn\'t with us anymore.

Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought an idiot, than to open it and remove all doubt!!!!!

"Every time you think, you weaken the nation!" Moe Howard...The Three Stooges.

FWtex

I logged on so I\'ll speak.

I think this will be Haz\'s year to be the only source of blame if the team falters ... again. I like Haz as a coach but I wonder about his durability as the season goes on. Maybe he himself looses focus and the drives as the season wears on. ???

As for Benson being in the War Room or the draft ... How many owners were not in their War Room? I find it Ironic how some people chastise the succesful people for the ability to be sucessful. Benson did not throw his money to the wrong people in the car business and thus he had enough money to keep his dealerships thriving and also buy a pro football team. I am tired of complaints about rich tight wad sports team owners.

JOESAM2002

FW it\'s apparent to me that you have never worked in the car business or knew anyone who worked for Mr. Benson. I have nothing against a rich person. Hell I hope to be one myself one day. There are quite a few owners that I have the utmost resoect for. Mr. Benson just doesn\'t happen to be one of them. My opinion.

FWtex

Joesam you should not assume. I have worked in the car business and I do know several people who have been working for Benson for over 15 years. There is not a rich guy in the world who is not liked by someone. Benson gets liitle respect for his ownership of the saints but he is a great small market owner ... my opinion.