St.Shrume

A couple of nights ago, Haslett was on NFL TOTAL ACCESS on NFL TV, and he brought up a good point about the Saints and that is that the Saints don't deal very well with wins. We win 3, 4 games in a row, and you KNOW we're going to lose to the 0-15 team. You see it in the demeanor of the players.

i'm sure some here are salivating to respond how it is all Haslett's or Brook's fault. That is not why I bring this up. It seems that our team is not used to winning a lot. Haz brought up the maturity level of our players. I hope this will change this year. Our guys get drunk on victory too easily. You can't blame 'em in some ways, we're not used to it.

But i think our attitude is a MAJOR thing that has to change with us, the fans, the coaching staff, the owner and of course the players. We quickly start thinking playoffs (and beyond) after going only 3-0, or we quickly give up and think "that's the Saints, they sux, Haz sux, Brooks sux" when we go 0-2. I remember how many times my gut and heart were wrenching in games, thinking to myself "2 minutes left in the game, we're up by ten....watch us lose this one"

Sure there is good reason to think this way (JAX game as an example of how even when we do amazing things, we shoot ourselves in the foot), but we have to get rid of the pessimisism AND the over-confidence. In this day and age in the NFL, we should not be surprised if we make it to the Super Bowl (hopefully our guys can handle the 'high' of victory) or if we end up 6-10. I was very impressed with the way the Panthers handled the pressures of winning and making it to the Super Bowl.

dberce1

Good post, good points. I agree with you. I think it\'s all about being prepared week in and week out, whether you win or lose. I\'m not criticizing at all here, but this begins with the coaching staff. They are the father figures to the team, the ones who must instill a win-at-all-costs mentality, from game2game. Haz & Co. need to not only light the match, but keep that fire under the team\'s ass for 17 weeks!! (then into the playoffs)

St.Shrume

True, the coaches should be the ones to start a fire and keep it going. But you can only do so much. It\'s up to each player (and fan) to make the jump for themselves. From martial arts and chess, i have learned the importance of attitude.

If you come to a game trying to not lose, rather than believing you can beat the other team, you end up losing your cool when turnovers occur or you fall behind. Fans too, we start thinking...Oh Oh. That has an effect on everything.

I tell you, if I was a coach, I would use chess as a teaching skill for football. It is very similar in many ways, at least the strategy, momentum and emotion control.

Man, i would love to work for the Saints playing chess with them....Oh sorry, daydreaming out loud...

WhoDat

The Saints have NEVER been good at winning. In fact, the only time I ever thought they were good at winning was in early 2002. I remember posting here about how cocky they were. They had no business beating some of the teams they beat. It was like they were so overly cocky that it worked to their advantage - they simply refused to believe they could lose... and they didn\'t. Then Atlanta beat us up twice and Deuce got hurt and they were still cocky but not so overly cocky that they didn\'t doubt themselves whatsoever. Lose to the Browns, lose to Minnesota and it\'s all down hill.

I\'d actually love to see them come out this year expecting to go 16-0. The way they fought through every adversity in early \'02 was magical. I loved every minute of 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.\"

WhoDat

The Saints have NEVER been good at winning. In fact, the only time I ever thought they were good at winning was in early 2002. I remember posting here about how cocky they were. They had no business beating some of the teams they beat. It was like they were so overly cocky that it worked to their advantage - they simply refused to believe they could lose... and they didn\'t. Then Atlanta beat us up twice and Deuce got hurt and they were still cocky but not so overly cocky that they didn\'t doubt themselves whatsoever. Lose to the Browns, lose to Minnesota and it\'s all down hill.

I\'d actually love to see them come out this year expecting to go 16-0. The way they fought through every adversity in early \'02 was magical. I loved every minute of 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.\"

St.Shrume

I think there is a subtle, but very important, difference between being confident)(believing in your abilities) and being cocky. Being cocky is what makes this team lose to 0-15 teams after beatin the Super Bowl champs the week before.

If you are cocky, you think you will win just because you are better. So you don\'t prepare as much, you don\'t take the practices as seriously. That is very dangerous in any activity.

I agree though, i hope they come out believing they can go 16-0, and PRACTICE, watch film and do all the things that make teams great.

JimBone

Coaches can say what they want, and you can have all the fiery guys in the locker room you want...But the truth is, these are grown men getting paid very good money to go out there a do a job. They are getting paid to produce and help their team win, and with that comes more oppurtunity. In the end it all comes down to who wants to earn their check and who is there just to collect. These guys should all want to come in and dominate and some do...but too often, some dont. I cant seem to understand that. Just like i have no idea why Germans love David Hasselhoff. Perplexing

Aaaaaayyyyyy!!
-The Fonz