BillyC

Since "free agency" started there have been a lot of unexpected things that have happened in the NFL, but I don't think there has been a stranger season than this year. Remember what all the "experts" were saying before the season. Bucs poised to repeat. Bengals might win 3 games. Falcons super bowl bound. The list goes on and on and on and on and on, but the Saints season has been just as unpredictable (regardless of WhoDat's claim that he had it all figured out.)

Last year the Saints were poised to make the playoffs when December rolled around. This year they have a shot, but they need a stellar finish in December to pull it off. Kinda ironic, if you ask me.

This could be a defining moment in Haslett's career. One that could elevate Haslett up to the stature of a very good coach, or lower him to the rungs of an inferior coach. Regardless of how the Saints finish, there is a fine line between winning a losing in the NFL. If recent history is any indicator, most of the teams that make the playoffs this year will not make them next year.

I beleive now, more than ever, that coaching plays a critical role in the sucess of a football team. But, the arguement could be made that luck plays just a critical of a role. If it were mostly coaching then I would think we wouldn't have all the new teams in the playoffs every year. I would think that Jon Gruden would at least have the Bucs in the playoffs this year, But, lady luck (or lack of) played her hand and now the Bucs will be watching at home.

Why am I writing all of this you ask? Because logic doesn't apply in the NFL anymore. You might as well throw darts and pick the playoff teams.

Betting against the Saints are ya? Hmmmm. They have to win in December and if they do, this will surprise you? Hmmm.. Seems pretty damn normal in this crazy NFL to me..

WhoDat

Gator - your thoughts please sir.... hehehe

saintz08

Last year the Saints were poised to make the playoffs when December rolled around. This year they have a shot, but they need a stellar finish in December to pull it off. Kinda ironic, if you ask me.

Is the irony in the fact the Saints get worse each year under the Haslett tenure ???

subguy

Billy what was that all about? Flipping of a coin or luck, or reading tea leves or throwing darts has nothing to do with it. Yes there ae surprises each year...Chiefs.....but it is not fate. The players and coaches have a bit of control over outcome. I see no irony in f\'ing up in December and not making the playoffs. Coaching and effort is what it will take. However, they are not silk screening the t-shirts by any means. The Saints have not played like a team who deserves a playoff birth. WhoDat certainly doesn\'t need my support, but we tend to agree on 99.9% of the same things. We are not a good team.....Defense is as porous as SpongeBob, Offense is like Married with Children(dysfunctional). Poor playcalling, Brooks doesn\'t have the mind(he must have ridden the short bus in school), Duece is the only guy worthy of a playoff. But he has to have a team around him. If we make the playoffs it is because our divsion is weak and nothing more. Atlanta sucks, Carolina somehow wins, the Bucs are struggling with year after the big game syndrome. Jim Mora said it best, if I remember correctly, he said it many times in a 30 second span. We suck.....however I said 9-7 record at the beginning, hmmm what do you think? Billy give the sport more credit than Lady Luck.

Don't want em to get your goat don't show em where it's hid.

BillyC

Subguy -- I wasn\'t trying to say that it is ALL luck, but I do think luck plays a big part. The teams are so close in talent that a bouce this way or that way has decided many games this year, and the Panthers are the poster child for \"LUCK\" this year.

My pont was that the NFL is more unpredictable now than at any point in history. 10 years ago just about anyone could have predicted who was going to the playoffs and luck didn\'t play nearly a big of a role. Now, there are really no dominate team and there is a very fine line between winning and losing.

There are still some upper teams in the league, but even they are gettig beat by some weird circumstances this year. I think luck plays a very big role, but that\'s just my opinion.

saintz08

Luck ??

Not seeing too much of it ......

Seeing how leadership and motivation can strengthen a team . Seeing how pieces of a puzzle have been found out .

Parity has taken it\'s toll on deep pockets , but leadership and motivation have proven they can make a team excel .

BillyC

I\'ve heard Saints fans bashing this team to no end this year. So much criticism in fact, that if I didin\'t know better I would think that the Saints had lost 10-games this year. But the truth of the matter is they have only lost 2 more games than :

Dallas 8 4 0 .667
Seattle 8 4 0 .667
Carolina 8 4 0 .667

The funny thing is we still have 4-games left and have a very easy schedule. Would you rather be one of these teams right now? How confident would you be at making the playoffs if you were? I like our chances better than Minn and Green Bay.

Minnesota 7 5 0 .583
Green Bay 6 6 0 .500

How confident would you be of going to the playoffs if you were a Cowboys fan? That confident huh? Let\'s see the Cowboys record is 8-4. Now here\'s their remaning schedule. If the Cowboys lose against the eagles then suddenly they are only one game ahead of the Saints and they have to face us the last game. Not to mention they could very easily get knocked out by another teaam

@ Philadelphia Eagles -
@ Washington Redskins -
NEW YORK GIANTS -
@ New Orleans Saints -

Truth of the matter is that winning isn\'t the most important thing to a lot of fans. It\'s about how they win. Teams have to win pretty or at least the Saints do. The Panthers have won most of their games by pure old luck and all I hear is how damn good they are. Jake Delhomme has commited more turnovers than Aaron Brooks and and hasn\'t done much to help his team win, but he\'s a GREAT QB and Brooks is a bum. Somehow because Delhomme has 2 more wins than Brooks, Delhomme is somehow better.

I hear some fans that talk as if the Saints ain\'t worth spitting on and they probably would spit on \'em if given the chance. But, we\'re talkiing about a team that is still alive in this playoff race. But, we got the doomsayers that want to say this is the same old Saints and they\'re gonna collapse in Dec. again like the last 2-years. I say maybe not, but they tell me they ain\'t seen no reason to be optimistic this year. I tell \'em we\'re 6-6, but they don\'t care. They want changes and some members(WhoDat) have even went on record and said he wants \'em to lose so the coaches will get fired. ( I can dig the post up if ya like WhoDat)

What\'s it going to take for some of you to be optimistic? WhoDat said he is disappopointed with EVERY player on the Saints execpt Deuce. I\'d call WhoDat on that statement but he\'d just swear he never said it.

I just have a hard time understanding Saints fans I guess. Maybe all the losing years the Saints have had has given some of the fans a \"loser mentality\" Maybe they go through life feeling like a loser or maybe they just feel that way about the Saints. It\'s hard for me to tell......

What the Saints have done in the past is the past. Lose that \"loser outlook\" on life. Put down the WhoTang. You actually have a choice to be optimistic or pessimiistc. Rigth now we are 6-6 and we can\'t possibly be as bad as some of you are saying. It\'s all about the wins and losses, right? Oh, yeah. We got to win pretty.................

JKool

I\'m sure everyone has heard the old addage that \"you have to be good to be lucky.\" Where do you stand on that BillyC? I\'m sort of convinced that there is something good to that; a fumble or interception are not just bad luck, coming up short on 3rd is not just bad luck, and especially dropped balls are not just bad luck.

I would agree that due to free agency and increased parity in the league things like coaching, GMing (if that is a word), and simple chemistry (weather or not the boys feel confident in each other and compatibility of playing styles) play a MAJOR role in victory. But, this doesn\'t say anything about luck to me.

I\'ve probably just misunderstood you, but do you mean \"anything can happen from here on, because on any given Sunday (especially in today\'s NFL) any team can come out on top?\"

Our team has been good enough to be 6-6 and still alive in the playoff hunt. That\'s pretty good, I\'d say - especially after this year\'s start. However, we don\'t need luck (or even to believe in luck) to make the playoffs. We need our boys to work hard, week in and week out... LIKE THEY HAVE BEEN FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS. Keep it up boys!

I\'m with BillyC on this one: a win is a win is a win. Sure I\'d like to see some more decisive victories, but that would only be for my own peace of mind.

"... I was beating them with my eyes the whole game..." - Aaron Brooks

BillyC

What I\'m saying JKool is that as bad as the Saints have played this year, they are about as good as the rest of the playoff contenders. Dallas, Carolina, Minnesta, Green Bay, and Seattle all have serious weaknesses. Even Philly and St. Louis appear vulnerable.

So many games are coming down to the last drive that I believe anything can and does happen. You can call it luck or whatever you will, but most of the playoff contenders could have a record anywhere from 4-8 tp 9-3 right now if not for some last minute losses.

Ok, so it\'s not really luck, because I believe teams make their own luck. But, the term \"Any Given Sunday\" seems to be more true than ever these days. I know these are the Saints we\'re talking about, but they have a very good chance at making the playofss. And we all know what CAN happen once a team makes the playoffs.

Folks wanna talk about odds of the Saints making the playoffs. I don\'t know what the odds are but I wouldn\'t put money on Dallas, , Minnesta, Green Bay. I think the Saints have just as good of odds as those teams..... With a little luck of course ----

[Edited on 5/12/2003 by BillyC]

BillyC

Gator,

I\'m not saying the Saints have the record they have because of bad luck. Although they did have some bad luck against the Panthers. If not for the bad calls we would have beaten them the second game and be 7-6 right now. What I\'m saying is that all teams are very beatable in the NFC and the Saints have about a good a shot of making the playoffs as anyone.

Gator, call it like you see it. That\'s fine, but don\'t say you aren\'t a pessimist. Was it not you who was going around preaching that it was over after the 6th game? You are a pessimist in every way, shape, and form. Unless you want to admit you were wrong and the Saints still have a chance.

Hmmm. I call it like I see it too gator. And the fact of the matter is there are a lot of Saints fans that have that \"loser\'s mentality\" Of course being negitive is what most of the memebers here are all about.

You\'re F\'ing kidding me !! WhoDat went into this big spill about how that would probably be the best thing that could happen because the coaches would be fired. And WhoDat wasn\'t the only one.

Gator, do you understand that when folks critcise a team that fans have been watching for all their life that some fans might just get a little upset when fans constantly bash the team they love? The fact of the matter is that members on here bash this team too much and a lot of it is unjustified. If you can\'t see that then you are either blind or one of \'em.

Tell the whole truth here Gator. One thing I like about you is that you will speak your mind no matter what anyone says. We all got our opinions.

[Edited on 5/12/2003 by BillyC]