BillyC

Over the past few years I believed Jim Haslett was going to be a very good coach. This past year I sort of changed my mind. I believe Haslett is a good coach when it comes to game planning, but I do not believe he is a good \"game time\" coach. He doesn\'t seem to adjust well and make the neccessary changes during the game, in order to give his team the best chance to win.

However, I do not believe Haslett puts individual players ahead of the team. The Brooks critics like to point to Haslett playing an injuried Brooks over a healty Delhomme. But, I never hear of any other player on the Saints that Haslett plays favorites with.

I\'ve seen Haslett play an injuried Le Charles Bentley, Deuce McAllister, and several other players. Yet, I hear no one criticize Haslett for this. The only time I hear any fan call Haslett out is when it involves Aaron Brooks. It\'s no secret that some folks don\'t like Brooks, and it isn\'t surprising that these are the only folks that are complaining about it.

It\'s no secret that Brooks isn\'t perfect. It\'s also no secret that Brooks teammates are not perfect. I wish it was as simple as replacing Brooks and all the problems would be solved. But, it isn\'t Brooks that is holding the Saints back. It\'s the Saints that are holding Brooks back.

Until we get a better defense and better playing calling, Joe Montana isn\'t going to take us where we need to go, much less Jake Delhomme.

FrenzyFan

I respectfully disagree with that whole argument. In the case of LeCharles Bentley and Deuce McAllister, both of them have been routinely replaces and spelled when injured to the point where their game was affected. It happened with Bentley. It happened with Deuce. It did NOT happen with Brooks though the playoffs were on the line in three successive games.

This is not to support any theories about Haslett playing favorites, merely to refute the argument that he plays players hurt. We all watched the few times Jake got to play last year. In every case, he looked good to me. In particular, I remember him coming in for a third and long (think it was 8 or 9) and while still being completely cold (it was the first snap) nail a perfect pass to make the first down. Though he may have been a lesser talent than AB, he was still a serviceable backup (a la Montrae Holland, Ki Jana Carter for the two mentioned above).

If Haslett can play the backups for Bentley (the best lineman we have) and Deuce (the best RB in the NFL) when it is necessary and their game is not tops because of injury; why could be not do it with Brooks?

\"The AB brand of TP will hurt your O-ring.\" - BlackandBlue

http://www.darrylbercegeay.com/wsmith1.jpg

BillyC

FrenzyFan -- My point is that Haslett is accused of playing favorites. But, the ONLY name I hear is Aaron Brooks when it comes to playing favorites. It\'s a fact that Haslett played Brooks when he was hurt and refused to play Delhomme. The REAL question is why.

You either believe:

a.) Haslett has a love fest with Brooks and puts him ahead of the team.
b.) He had more cofidence in Brooks than Delhomme.

Now, there are some fans that believe Haslett played Brooks because he plays favorites. But, those fans that are saying that are also the ones that don\'t like Brooks and will say anything to create controversy.

The Saints fan base has become one that has drawn a line in the sand and they are either pro-Brooks or anit-Brooks. The anit-Brooks crowd dominates Saints message boards and creates conspiracy after conspiracy and will bring up ANYTHING to make Aaron Brooks look bad. Which makes fans that want to see Brooks do well defend him over and over and over. Don\'t believe me? Just look at how many threads have been started that are pro-Brooks vs. anti-Brooks threads. It\'s overwhelmingly anti-Brooks.

I realize that mistakes have been made by everyone on the Saints. I also realize when the anti-Brooks crowd is trying to further their agenda. And if anyone says there is no agenda, then they ain\'t reading this board.

SFinAustin

Maybe, he didn\'t think Brooks was hurt. Maybe, Brooks said that he wasn\'t hurt. Maybe, if the guy who got you there says that he\'s okay, you stick with him because he got you there. Just maybe.

FrenzyFan

Valid points all. For the first, I am not so sure that the anti-Brooks sentiment is confined to message boards. He has been booed pretty roundly at most of the home games. In fact he was also booed when he attended a Hornets game recently. I suspect (of course no proof) that the anti-Brooks sentiment is pretty widespread. Haslett has even mentioned it in press conferences about how he can\'t \"understand the boo\'s\". I do understand the feeling of wanting to support your guy no matter what and it driving one to respond when your guy is bashed. Loyalty is a good trait. However, it is also one that IMHO Haslett has too much of.

For the second, it is also a good idea to \"dance with the one who brung ya\" as it were, except when it hurts the team. There were several games that seriously showed that AB was hurt at the end of last year. If Haslett could have slammed on the breaks and at least tried something different in the face of the terrible throws AB was making, I suspect AB would be a more popular guy in NO and on the boards. Many people want to hang the self-destruction of last season on Brooks but Haslett is the one who made the decision to stick with it until the bitter (and it was oh so bitter) end.

By contrast, Andy Reid watched Donovan McNabb\'s performance degrade terribly after the injury to his ribs in the NFC Championship game. Though McNabb was obviously the better player and he could have continued (while performing terribly), Reid makes the decision to go with Detmer - the whole season on the line. This was the correct decision IMO though they lost, and Reid earns praise for coaching and making the tough call (at least from this viewer).

Haslett earns a rasberry and a great deal of suspicion at least on my part that he is either:

A) A sorry coach,
B) Has no \"eye\" for his players\' performance, attributing success and failure to \"luck\", or
C) Plays favorites

\"The AB brand of TP will hurt your O-ring.\" - BlackandBlue

http://www.darrylbercegeay.com/wsmith1.jpg

BillyC

FrenzyFan --

Good points as well. I\'ve never had any problems with those that blame Haslett for not putting Delhomme in when Brooks was hurt. I do not understand why someone would be mad at Brooks though. We all know the great players believe they can play and win when they are injuried and to suggest that Brooks was being selfish is unfounded and unfair. Another thing, it wasn\'t Brooks play that cost the Saints a chance at going to the playoffs. Even though he was hurt, he played WELL enough for us to win.

I don\'t know what the ratio of Brooks bashers to Brooks supporters is, but I know what it is on this board. I also know there are a lot of Saints fans that would love to see Brooks fail. They won\'t admit it, but it\'s true never-the-less. All you have to do is see how much of a genuine dislike some have for Brooks. Maybe it\'s because they don\'t like black QB\'s. Maybe it\'s because they have a love for Delhomme. Maybe it\'s because of several reasons. Who Knows?

One thing I do know is that Aaron Brooks deserves more from the fans of the Saints. This guy goes out on the field every Sunday and tries to win for the Saints and our great fans boo him. They are a real class act.

No offense to the great fans of the Saints!!





[Edited on 28/1/2004 by BillyC]