saintswhodi

http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs...605040322/1006

LKelley67

I'm posting the whole thing cuz it is pretty short and so very terrible-

BENSON: Bush an improvement, but no savior for Saints

Saints fans still are celebrating the team's selection of Reggie Bush in the NFL draft.
For good reason.

Bush, the Heisman Trophy winner and tailback from Southern Cal, has Hall of Fame potential.

Yes, he is that good.
Yes, he will make the Saints more exciting. Much more exciting.

Yes, he will -- in fact he already has -- sell a lot of tickets. Merchandise, too, once the NFL decides whether he will be granted a waiver from league rules and be allowed to wear No. 5, his number at Southern Cal.

In the long run, however, none of that is as important as this simple question: How much better will Bush make the Saints?

Perhaps not enough.

Bush will be the most talented player to wear a Saints uniform since quarterback Archie Manning.

Think about that for a moment.

Manning, drafted in 1971 with the second pick in the first round from Ole Miss, was supposed to be the savior.

Manning had a wonderful career. He is beloved in Louisiana to this day.

But Manning's crowning achievement with the Saints was winning the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1978. The team's record that season? 7-7.

Manning was an amazing quarterback. If he had been drafted by a team like the Cowboys or Redskins he probably would be in the Hall of Fame today.

But he's not.

And around the league, the most enduring memory of Manning is of a quarterback running for his life.

He did that a lot.

Got sacked a lot, too. And beat up, a lot.

As good as Manning was -- and he was spectacular -- he could not turn the Saints around.

Neither can Reggie Bush.

Overall, the Saints did not have a great draft. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper gave the Saints a C for the draft. Having an average draft is not a way to make a 3-14 team become a playoff team.

When you are 3-14, you obviously have a lot of places where improvement is needed.

Running back, featuring Duece McAllister, was considered one of the Saints' stronger positions going into the draft. McAllister, after all, ran for 1,074 yards last season.

Teaming Bush and McAllister will give the Saints all kinds of potential in the running game. New quarterback Drew Brees is a solid pro and a fierce competitor. He will do well in New Orleans, assuming he remains healthy.

Which brings us to the offensive line.

In the second round, the Saints traded picks with the Cleveland Browns, moving down nine spots in exchange for center Jeff Faine, a three-year veteran from Notre Dame.

Although Faine got little attention -- Saints fans were too busy celebrating the section of Bush -- this move might be just as important.

Saints fans had better hope Faine can provide leadership and solidify an offensive line in desperate need of improvment.

If the line doesn't block, the Saints won't be a good team, no matter who is in the backfield.

Archie Manning proved that a long time ago.

Randy Benson is sports editor of The Town Talk.

--------------------------
Wow, I guess I missed that playoff loss number 14. Who was that against again? Titans?

And I guess we should have considered how strong Deuce is running for over 1000 yds in just 5 games.

This cat might be a disgruntled outcast Benson relative. He apparently also has enough stroke to have two losses from the 1979 season removed from the record book (7-9 not 7-7).

Worst thing, he isn't just a writer, he is the friggin' sports editor. Wow, wow.

And I thought the Cowboys love/Saints ignoring didn't kick into full gear until Shreveport. LOL
Granted, there is some legitimacy of what he trying to say. But you can find a number of voices right here that say it much more accurately with no pretense of professionalism or collecting a paycheck for it.

He deserves a few emails and voicemails-
rbenson@thetowntalk.com
1-800-523-8391

Maybe something to his boss too-
sjackson@thetowntalk.com

The link to this mess: http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs...605040322/1006

saintswhodi

Recycler. I posted this already. :P

"Bush the new Archie?" thread.

pakowitz

topics merged

BoudinSandwich

Well, here goes:

Archie's team was not nearly as talented as this one. Also, don't let last season's record confuse you. We were a mediocre team. After the hurricane, the Saints played a helacious schedule. Plus, you have to consider that they probably threw a game-or-two for a better draft pick. (I honestly remember seeing players just 'going through the motions' during games last season.) Maybe as a team, they didn't throw the games away. I know, for a fact, some individuals did, though.

Tobias-Reiper

.. that sample of yet another incompetent "writer" notwithstanding, the man who indeed as the potential to be the next Archie Manning is Drew Brees.

LKelley67

thanks pak, missed it.

I wrote in this-

Dear Ms. Jackson:

I am writing in regard to today's article written by Randy Benson entitled 'Bush an improvement, but no savior for Saints'. It is simply a rant that seems more like internet chatroom material than professional journalism.

There actually could be some substance in the point Mr. Benson is trying to communicate. The writing is so laced with errors that his effort is completely made naught. For instance, "...in 1978. The team's record that season? 7-7." It takes little insight to know how many games are in a NFL season. 1979 was 7-9. He furthers this error by referring twice to last season being 3-14. 3-13 was the record. He refers to the yardage of McAllister from the 2004 season as last year's. Any casual Saints observer would know this would be impossible since he was injured and only played in the first five games of the season.

There are many who believe there is much more allegiance to the Dallas franchise than to the Saints in north Louisiana. Most probably would not expect an editorial reflection of such negative Saints bias as far south as Alexandria though. Thoughtful constructive criticism is always valid. To be so negative with such ignorance is an offense towards fans of a ravaged area that desperately need any positive hope possible. I would have directed my writing to the Sports Editor but somehow this writer has ascended to the Sports Editor position. It certainly is also a terrible mark against your publication.

BoudinSandwich

Boy, you'd think if you were to post stats in your story, that you'd make sure they were even remotely accurate.