WhoDat

Say what you will Danno, but all of your optimism and focus on the positives has done little more than raise expectations in the last few years. Let me ask you a question - has play on the field changed? We\'re 24-24 over the last 3 seasons. With this much talent that is underachieving any way you slice it.

There are three types of posters on this board. Realists, Optimists, and Super-Optimists. You call me pessimistic b/c I don\'t support every move this team makes. I do support some. I support the players, but not the head coach or defensive coordinator. Hell, I even defended Brooks early last season when criticism was unwarranted. Nothing is good enough for you guys unless a person is talking about how this team is going to the Super Bowl this season. I hope they do, but have serious doubts about their ability.

If that makes me a pessimist in your eyes, than I\'m happy to be one. I\'ll happily continue to make the right calls while you guys pat yourselves on the back for inflating the value of every move this team and its coach make.

\"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.\"

Chuck

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

thats great stuff. Danno is ..... so.... convincing..... he\'s pulling me..... away

Danno

Darth Who-dat and the 08 Emperialists often try to pass off their pessimism as realism.
But we all know this team was much better than the 8-8 record they displayed last year.
This team is up and coming.
BTW: Whodat actually predicted 9-7 last year, I predicted 10-6 with the Seattle game as my main game to worry about for a playoff spot. So its not like I was blowing 13-3 smoke up everyone\'s skirt.
I\'ll try to dig up my \"10 reasons to be Optimistic\" post for you.
Its like sunlight to a vampire.
I\'m disappointed I haven\'t seen the \"10 reasons we\'ll suck\" post yet.

Danno

Ahhh, here it is. Judge for yourself if I\'m smoking something...

Top 10 reasons to look forward to next year…
OFFENSE-
1. RB- We have a top 5 talent in McAllister and a good FB. Add a dependable back-up and this unit is as good as it gets. A multi-dimensional fullback would be a nice addition.
2. QB- I see Brooks as a top 10 guy. Solid back-up in Bouman. A developing 3rd QB in fiesty emotional O\'Sullivan who reminds me of a young Jake. Definitely not the weak link on this team.
3. Good O-line with young interior. Bentley, Holland, Jacox (at center) gives us a solid interior that should be a better run-blocking unit next year. Riley and Gandy played well enough at tackle to hold their own. An upper middle-of-the-pack unit that should improve next year. Not great, but not bad either.
4. Best TE group here in a while. Boo will only get better, Conwell was solid after a shakey start. The youngster Hilton may develop into a weapon either in 2004 or 2005.
5. WR- Horn still has a few solid years left. Stallworth\'s nagging injury problems should start decreasing as it has with other WR\'s who had similar probs. Pathon is a versatile, dependable WR that can play all 3 positions well. Lewis was much better than I ever thought he would be. Gardner is still a 2-3 year project with HUGE upside. Add a sure handed possession type free-agent and this unit should rebound to be one of the better ones around. They were the weak link this year on Offense and I feel they know it, and better improve.
DEFENSE
6. DL- Howard, Grant, Sullivan will all be better. Add a true nose DT and this unit should dominate for years to come.
7. LB- The weakness of this unit will be addressed this offseason. There WILL be a proven stud added to this unit before the season starts. I can see 2 new starters (maybe all 3) on opening day in 2004. It\'ll be exciting to see what they do. Hodge must improve, I think he will. Grant may be the stud in the middle we need. Although I\'d move him outside. Between Rodgers, Ruff, and Allen one should step up and improve.
8. CB- Its no secret that we have one solid corner, and 3 seviceable nicklebacks. I see a solid vet and a young stud added to this unit. Thomas will start (and he should) but I see a new guy on the other side. Its possible that Thomas may be the only keeper on this unit for 2004.
9. SS- Mel Mitchell should be back to 100%. If he was truly good enough to put Bellamy on the bench then it\'ll be exciting to see what this guy can do.
10. FS- OK. I know he was hammered all year, and it was justified, but he did start to play better as the year went on. I think he will improve quite a bit. His poor tackling technique has at least been admitted to. A copy of Tackling for Dummies and some additional attention should be the recipe for improvement. Whether he finally justifies his salary remains to be seen but I do think he\'ll be much improved.

I eagerly await the obvious \"Top 10 Reasons We\'ll Still Suck\" replays. You know who you are.

WhoDat

For the record, my original prediction was 7-9. It went up to 8-8 OR 9-7. I didn\'t ever settle on one of the two, so Danno get\'s half-credit for that.

Listen Danno, I know that you\'re pretty fair. I generally argee with a lot of what you say. You can be positive if you want. Go ahead. I don\'t know why you label me a pessimist for my opinions. I generally don\'t like Loomis, or Haslett. I am on the fence with AB. I went from loving him in 2000 and early 2001, to being really down on the guy by \'02. Last year he showed me something early, but really regressed by late in the season. That seems to be his MO and it seems to match Haslett\'s.

But let\'s take Haslett and Brooks out of the picture. What else am I so negative about? I\'m not keen on Loomis as much more than a contracts guy. He is great at handling the money, but talent evaluation in FA has been pretty bad the last two years. Or would you disagree?

I think our LBs are generally real bad. Maybe guys like Grant, Hodge, Allen can finally live up to potential, but even if they do will our LBs really be a strength?

Our CBs are either old or of nickelback caliber talent. We need an upgrade. Disagree?

Our WRs should be a lot better than they\'ve played of late. Hopefully they\'ll all contribute this season like they did two years ago.

I mean, really, what am I so unrealistically negative about? Have the Saints performed up to their expectations or capabilities the last three years? 24-24 - is that what you expected after 2000?

I think you take my dislike for Haslett and my questions about Brooks (admittedly it has been dislike as well in the past) and extend that to every single argument that I make. Am I really that pessimistic? Am I predicting 6-10 and fourth in the Division this year? No. I predicted 10-6 and playoffs already. I don\'t get it.

\"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.\"

Chuck

LOL LOL LOL,

You guys are great, i got a feeling that you guys have gone at it in the past.

But you guys got to realize its all about perspective, its like politics, your never going to convince a democrat otherwise.

JimBone

Take away the fumbles and Aaron Brooks is everyone\'s favorite player. I know you cant take them away...just like you cant take away all the dropped balls last year that hurt Aaron\'s stats. If Jim Haslett wouldnt have spoiled us all by winning that playoff game in his first year, we would all love him. 34-30 over 4 years after the Ditka debachle is still pretty impressive to me. Those two guys have been through more bad mouthing than anyone in the history in this franchise and you can make an argument that they are the best we have ever had at what they do. Brooks and Archie, yes Brooks has a ways to go but he has the numbers, he wins more often (yes, he has better players) but you can make the argument. Haslett has a winning record, won our only playoff game in history (with a team of backups by the way) and he is responsible for adding most of the talent that we have assembled now. He cannot control the dropped balls, he cant control the fumbles, he cant control the missed tackles...he has put this franchise in a position to be a winner year in and year out and i think the team has let him down. He hasnt been right on every decision but no one has. I will support Haslett and Brooks as long as they are here and probably after they are gone.

Aaaaaayyyyyy!!
-The Fonz