FrenzyFan

It was 1987, twenty years after the creation of our franchise, when we saw our first winning season. For a time, we had a semi-dynasty though we lost every playoff game we managed to appear in. Still for seven seasons we struggled through ups and downs and our worst season was .500. That was 1993.

For the next six seasons we watched our team get progressively worse. We saw the end of Mora's time and the short (and awful) Ditka years. And then Jim Haslett steps onto the scene.

That first season, there was a lot of shake-up on our team. It was remarked that Haslett was "cleaning house." We signed some veterans to lead the team, most notably Jeff Blake. I remember the games of that year. Though we struggled in many of the games, it was the first time I ever was able to watch my team and truly believe we could win every game we played in.

Blake gets hurt and onto the field steps Aaron Brooks. The defenses that play against us call their game thinking that if they blitz the novice he will make mistakes. Instead he runs on them, and runs well. He seems to be the most slippery QB since Fran Tarkenton. We win our first playoff game and no one can stop talking about how much potential Brooks has. NO ONE talked about how good he was, rather how good he could be.

In the off-season, AB solidified his position as our starter. If we are honest with ourselves, we can also say that we depended on him to evolve as a player into the superstar everyone beleived he could be. In each successive year, the Saints fans have been teased by the promise of matching that first season - perhaps even surpassing it. Each year we have been disappointed.

After three complete years as starter, Brooks has not developed into the superstar. He has improved in some areas and seems stagnant in others. Is it fair for Saints fans to hang all our frustration on Brooks? Absolutely NOT. It was never a guarantee that he would develop into a superstar. It was our expectation that he would that causes us to react so negatively to his satisfactory, but not stellar, performance.

Aaron Brooks is a good QB. He is not a great QB. He will win us some games. He will lose us some games. Can he QB for us into the next level? I think so, but I think our coaching and our fans need to stop depending on him and him alone to get us there. He is not the type of player who can lift a team up. He is the kind of player who can work within a good team.

Unfortunately, our coaching/management staff seems to be unable to build the good "team" so we sit waiting for Brooks to become the superstar we need to lift a mediocre team to greatness. We unfairly blame Brooks when he doesn't become the superstar. Very few professional atheletes can do that. That's why there is only one Michael Jordon.

For my part, I have been very critical of Brooks. I plan to stop that now. I have accepted that he is a good QB, but will probably never be the superstar I hoped he would become. I am tired of the excuses for this team and especially the excuse that Brooks needs to "lead" the team, to build them into a "one" rather than a buncha guys. He can't, it is not in him. Further, that is the coaches' job.

In some rare cases, when the coaching staff is unable to create a "team", some players naturally manifest the type of leadership and can compensate and they mold their teams into units my sheer force of personality and will. That is something that you are born with, a gift. I plan to stop blaming Brooks because he doesn't have that gift.

This team has plenty of talent on offense. Management has to know they have problems in their LBs and DBs, and can only expect we will acquire some talented players to fill these holes. It is not Brooks' job to mold all this talent into a team and further he cannot. It is Haslett's job, and I am tired of blaming Brooks for Haslett's shortcomings.

BrooksMustGo

I agree with large sections of this post.

However, the greatest value that Brooks has to this organization is trade bait. If Haslett can be blinded by potential, then there are plenty of other coaches who can too. Brooks could be our Herschel Walker who helps us make key moves that help us get to the next level. San Diego could provide us the keys to get there.