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.

saintz08

Who Dat :

The Panthers secondary has been a little suspect . The Panthers have applied good front pressure til now and not relied on the secondary too much .

Let Horn tell you for himself :

CHARLOTTE — Less than three weeks ago, the New Orleans Saints lost 19-13 to the Carolina Panthers. But that didn’t stop Saints wide receiver Joe Horn from taking a few verbal jabs at one of his all-time favorite targets — the Panthers’ secondary.

After the game Horn told reporters that Carolina’s secondary was “vulnerable� and would be exposed at some point during the season.

“Every year it’s something with him,� Panthers cornerback Terry Cousin said shaking his head in disbelief. “No matter what we do it will always be something. He feels one way about us and he’s never going to change. So we’ll take care of that on Sunday.�

The Panthers weren’t about to get caught up in a war of words with Horn.

“We aren’t going to worry about Joe Horn,� cornerback Reggie Howard said. “We’ll take care of him when we go down to New Orleans. That is all I have to say about it.�

Said strong safety Minter: “I’ll just say this: He’s got us (in the secondary) fired up.�

Cousin said he was “shocked� by Horn’s comments, and suggested that they probably came out of frustration after the loss.

But that doesn’t mean he’s going to let the three-time Pro Bowl receiver off the hook.

“You never forget things like that, so we’re going to see what happens on Sunday,� Cousin said. “He has to go out there and stand behind his word. I’m pretty sure us four in the back will hold him accountable.�


Now wether the Panther secondary steps up to counter Horns comments Sunday is another thought .

But Brooks should have been able to exploit this secondary , in fact if memory serves me well in another post , I picked Brooks to be able to win that game .

\"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

saintfan

08 is easy to read once the Kool-Aid hangover wears off huh Whodat?

:P

tweeky

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

seraph33

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

WhoDat

08 - I\'ve been on your side in this debate more often than not. However, I\'m a little confused by your post.

\"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.\"

Are you insinuating that Brooks is not a leader b/c he played poorly in the Panthers game? I\'m not judging, just trying to clarify. Also, are you seriously trying to convince us that Carolina\'s defense is as bad as Atlanta\'s? Really?

Again man, I\'m just confused by that last one, b/c normally you make really good points - but if you\'re trying to say that Brooks is not a leader b/c he didn\'t play well against Atlanta an/or attempt to convice us that Carolina\'s D is as bad as Atlanta\'s, well, I can\'t side with you on this one.

\"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.\"

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.