Reality for 2004
 

1. Haslett will still be the coach. It is well known throughout the league that Benson is a tightwad and unless Haz goes to Buffalo (which would be VERY foolish or blind to consider him), he will be here for the rest of his contract.

2. In today's NFL, a team needs at least a 10-6 record to make the playoffs and at least 13-3 to get a home field for playoffs.

3. See #2, the Saints will not get that in the forseeable future. Tampa will upgrade. Falcons have Vick back. Carolina will be defending division champs.

4. Just like the Saints to probably finish in 2nd place in the division which doesn't mean much this year but means that they will play a tough schedule next year. They have also not shown the ability in the past three years to win a big road game.

5. IF the Saints get a new head coach, typically those coaches don't get into the playoffs much less win the big cheese in the first year. It would be another 3-5 year rebuilding process.

6. At least we don't have to worry about the Saints for another 9 months. And at least it seems that a decent team will win this year's Super Bowl. I wouldn't count on any fluky team like Carolina getting to it.

Thoughts?

Reality for 2004
 

Fluky team like Carolina? I don\'t understand. They\'ve been beating teams the same way every week.

Reality for 2004
 

I said it earlier in another thread - the Saints will go to the playoffs next year. They very well may win the division. They\'ve just got too much talent. The Panthers remind me of the Giants froma few years back - they\'ll fade next season. Take away their 5-0 start and they\'re 5-5 or something like that against average teams at best. They\'ll fade. Atlanta will come on strong. I don\'t expect to see much different out of the Bucs. But you\'re right about a few things - most importantly, Haslett is likely to be the head coach again and as a result, this team will continue to achieve less than it is capable of.

Honestly, the worst part of all of this to me will be next season when we go 10-6 or 11-5 and people on this board and around the league start talking about Haslett as a good coach. He\'s not, and he won;t be then. If the Saints are 13-3 next year, I\'ll rescind that comment, but until then, Haslett is an underachiever blessed with an incredibly talented team. Ask yourself this - what would his record be right now if he were in Cleveland, Cincy, Jacksonville, Arizona, Carolina, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, etc. etc. etc. He is only close to .500 every season here b/c we are SO talented personnel-wise.

Reality for 2004
 

WhoDat,

I couldn\'t agree with you more.

However, (there\'s always a however, isn\'t there?) if Haz had a great, perhaps even stunning (as unlikely as this might be), would you think people would still have to say he is a bad/not so good/mediocre coach? Surely, you think people can improve, or perhaps even realize their potential? This is, as some might readily point out, a purely philosophical question, but I was just interested in what you\'d have to say.

Reality for 2004
 

Hell, J, I\'d say Haslett is a good coach if he can simply put a team on the field that plays to potential. Next year if the Saints are better than 11-5 then I\'ll give the man credit. But right now, even this year, I think we have the talent to be 10-6. Last year I thought we could have been 12-4. So, when the team plays up to potential, when I se coaching winning us games instead of losing them, when I hear straight talk instead of excuses, etc. etc. etc., then I\'ll give the man all the credit he is due.

Reality for 2004
 

Ok. That sounds quite fair.

It just sounded to me like you were suggesting that if we did do well next year and people suggested at that point that Haz was a good coach, that they\'d just be wrong. Which is now, obviously, not what you were saying. My bad.

Reality for 2004
 

Any chance we could chip in and send Has to leadership school this offseason?