dam1953

1) Sean Payton, and head coaches in general, are much more important to the team than many people thought. Yes, coaches don’t tackle, catch passes or block, but team performance obviously suffers without a good coach. NO and SF are perfect examples.

2) Brees is a good QB but Sean Payton makes him great. Payton’s absence has brought Bree’s down to what looks like an average QB. He should be glad that he closed the deal on his contract before the season started. Payton’s absence will cost Brees. His contract may be fixed but his endorsements aren’t. Expect to see less of Brees.

3) Watching the Saint’s these last three weeks has been painful, considering the team that has been on the field the last several years. Yes, the D had been marginal for years but the O was unstoppable. Now, our offense can’t keep the defense off the field and our defense can't stop an average offense.

4) Seeing the impact of the bounty-gate penalties levied by the NFL, it is hard for me to believe the Saint’s were as innocent as the players claim. If there was no proof Benson and other owners would not have stood by as Goodell issued what now looks to be a death penalty. I am beginning to believe that the evidence is not only there but that it is so damaging to the team and NFL that it cannot be made public. This is not to say that Goodell isn’t an egomaniacal SOB, but things just don’t add up.

5) Lastly, the sub-refs are a total joke and are making a mockery of the game. Their calls, lack of calls, ball placement and clock management have likely cost the Saints one if not two games and we are not alone. Not saying we deserved to win with the way we have played, but we, the fans, definitely deserved good refs. I have made up my mind to do two things for the remainder of this season:
5.1) To continue to cheer for the Saint’s no matter how bad things get.
5.2) To not watch another non-Saints game or NFL related programing until owners put a product worth watching on the field. These amateur refs are beginning to make 1987 scab-ball look good. I am not a fan of union labor extorting money and benefits from struggling companies. I was not a fan of the recent player lockout which was no more that a battle of billionaires against millionaires. The issue of owners vs. refs appears to be different. I am getting sick of these billionaires extorting new stadium deals from struggling cities, suing small business owners over questionable copyright claims, all the while receiving special antitrust privileges. Now they are arm twisting the refs. Enough already. There isn’t much an average citizen and fan can do about these issues but I for one will choose to spend my time and money elsewhere. I was about to hit the “Buy" button for tickets to the Saints – Denver game but since I don’t like being taken for granted or spending time and money on cheap products, I think I’ll go watch one of the MLB playoff games. They still seem to have some respect for the game and the fans.