BillyCarpenter1

http://www.houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs..../1033/SPORTS02



RYAN CHATELAIN
Leadership project in progress




The usually sure-handed Joe Horn had let yet another pass go in and out of his hands. And he knew darn well it was a ball he should have caught. After all, he gets paid nearly $3 million a year to catch those pointy brown things with laces.

As he turned back to look at his team and say in that NFL version of sign language, "My bad," his quarterback, Aaron Brooks, had a hand gesture of his own that told Horn, "It’s OK. We’re OK."

Next time you’re in the Superdome, bring your binoculars. Watch Brooks, the $36 million man, closely. He’s quietly making those strides toward becoming a leader -- doing those little things that his critics said he was too apathetic to ever do.

Watch him. He’s growing up before your very eyes -- that is if you keep them open long enough to notice.

The dropped pass by Horn during Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons was just one play, one subtlety in Brooks’ long road toward becoming the general people expect him to be.

But just watch him. He’s changed from the Brooks of years past.

Before games, he’s leading a group of his receivers in warm-ups.

Watch him. He’s taking those receivers -- Horn, Stallworth and Conwell, who have had a bad case of the drops this season -- over to the sideline during the game to give their hands extra work.

Watch him. He’s not smiling after interceptions anymore. (In fact, you might be surprised to learn that only three quarterbacks who have thrown more than 100 passes this season -- Steve McNair, Vinny Testaverde and Rich Gannon -- have been intercepted less frequently than Brooks has.)

Even listen to him. The tone of disgust in Brooks’ voice after the Saints were embarrassed by the Colts 55-21 on Sept. 28, was sincere. Instead of offering excuses, he had a message for his teammates: "We’ve got to look deep inside ourselves, all 53 guys. … I believe we have quality players, and I believe we’re going to pull out of this."

Those may all seem relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but they are all actions Brooks has failed to do in the past. They are the actions of a leader -- or at least someone who’s trying to be one.

And, if you think Brooks’ efforts are inconsequential, consider that the epitome of leadership at the quarterback position is Joe Montana. His most famous tale of leadership came in Super Bowl XXIII.


Trailing Cincinnati 16-13 with 3 minutes remaining in the game, Montana calmly entered his huddle and asked his offense, "Is that John Candy" sitting in the stands?

That, too, might have seemed paltry, but it was just enough to calm the nerves of Montana’s teammates.

It was just what the 49ers needed to begin what ended up being the game-winning touchdown drive.

Maybe Brooks has not achieved Joe Montana status as a leader, and perhaps he never will. But he’s slowly but surely evolving into the leader some thought they never would see.

Courier sports writer Ryan Chatelain may be reached at 857-2210 or ryan.chatelain@houmatoday.com.

tweeky

And the Brooks Bashers frantically search for a rebuttal...

seraph33

Billy are you from Houma? You keep pulling up Courier articles.

saintz08

Alright Tweeky I will try .

Saints currently are 3-4 , with a 1000 yard rusher . Who should easily reach that mark this year barring injury .

The defense is currently ranked 12th . Ahead of the offense which currently ranks 13th I might add .

Carolina is known for it defense ???, which currently ranks 23 .

Now comes the interesting part :

Those new and improved leadership wins , have come against .

Falcons - 32nd ranked defense .
Texans - 31st ranked defense .
Bears - 24th ranked defense .

Those may all seem relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but they are all actions Brooks has failed to do in the past. They are the actions of a leader -- or at least someone who’s trying to be one.

Leadership is not measured in the attempt , it is measured in the result .

It was just what the 49ers needed to begin what ended up being the game-winning touchdown drive.

Saints currently are 3-4

Note : The writer is smoking something , anyone that knows the Montana story knows he set the tone and tempo for his leadership role in the come from behind victory over the Saints .

Just in case :

The biggest deficit Montana ever overcame was 28 points. In 1980, his first season as a starter, Montana rallied San Francisco to a 38-35 overtime victory over New Orleans after trailing 35-7 in the third quarter.

[Edited on 23/10/2003 by saintz08]

[Edited on 23/10/2003 by saintz08]

\"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

BillyCarpenter1

08 -- I\'m going to try out the new skills that I learned from WhoDat yesterday to discredit your post --

In my opinion you are using a stat that says the panthers defense is ranked 23rd to say your boy Jake is winning without a good defense when in acuallity they are the 3rd best defense in points allowed.


I think that leadership isn\'t only exibited against the top defenses in the league. In my opinion you are doing nothing by trying to further your agenda against Brooks.


I could be wrong but, leadership is exibited in victory and defeat. So even the greatest leaders of all time have failed to acheive results but their leadership was exibited none the less.


In my opinion, if he was smoking something you sold it to him, because the writer was merely saying that leadership is demonstrated in different ways. He was saying that Montana cracked a joke in the huddle to ease the tension and compared that to Brooks telling Joe Horn that the dropped pass was ok -- that he would come back to him. Which he did the next 3 times -- All for completions.

WhoDat

And the crowd goes wild!! Now THAT wa a good post. All good points too. 08, would you like to enter a rebuttal?

saintfan

08 has an AGENDA people. Ignore anything he has to say regarding Aaron Brooks. He\'s a spin doctor and will NEVER judge Brooks fairly. You heard me...NEVER. Give up on him. He\'s old and his agenda is tired. He will go out of his way to prop up Jake Delhomme. He and Jake might even be related.


I\'ll say it again...IGNORE ANYTHING 08 POSTS REGARDING AARON BROOKS. It\'s biased and slanted.

saintz08

Rebuttal :

Leaders generally lead by example , so I find it rather amusing that a person who does not have the ability to live up to his end of a bet should even post on leadership . Honor is a high quality in leadership value , so maybe the addition library time will do you some good .

In my opinion you are using a stat that says the panthers defense is ranked 23rd to say your boy Jake is winning without a good defense when in acuallity they are the 3rd best defense in points allowed.

Well we know what they say about opinions , now lets look at that defense .

Panther pass defense is ranked 29th
Falcons pass defense is ranked 28th

Brooks could only put up 13 points against a suspect secondary ?? Sounds like you are making excuses .

I think that leadership isn\'t only exibited against the top defenses in the league. In my opinion you are doing nothing by trying to further your agenda against Brooks.

Panther pass defense is ranked 29th
Falcons pass defense is ranked 28th

By the way , Jake does not play defense . So there is not way to Discredit Brooks leadership ability or playmaking ability against the 29th ranked pass defense in the league . 13 points against this secondary pretty much does it for itself .

\"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

BillyCarpenter1

08 --

You need to learn to honor the TRUTH. The truth is looking you dead in your eyes, but you aren\'t willing to acknowledge the TRUTH. Now, I can play the stat game with you, but you lose everytime. We can talk about physical abilities of Jake and Aaron -- Again you lose. We can talk about any comparision you want between the 2 QB\'s and once again you lose.

Now, I understand you love \"JAKE\", but at some point you are gonna have to acknowledge the TRUTH. But I know you probably never will. Just for fun 08 - Tell me what Brooks has to do to win you over?




[Edited on 23/10/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]

saintfan

Jake Delhomme\'s team is one of how many the Saints managed to hold under 20 points 08...in the last how many years? They scored a special teams TD too didn\'t they? How well did Jake do in that game...honestly?

By the way, as a spin Doctor you have NO BUSINESS questioning ANYbody\'s honor...none whatsoever.

Are you also unaware of the fact that the Carlolina pass rush is regarded by everyone as one of the best in the NFL? This helps mask their less that stellar secondary...as if you didn\'t know that already.


...but you DO know that already. Your agenda is showing 08, and it\'s not very attractive. Cover that shi& up already.


Old and Tired...Old and tired...

C'mon Man...