GumboBC

............. There's way too much optimisim on this board. Let me try to play WhoDat for a moment. ;)

Everyone seems to be buying into the "HYPE" this year. But there are some very troublesome areas on this team.

Especially at linebacker.

We've got Courtney Watson and Cie Grant. Both of which are complete unknowns. How can you feel comfortable with that? I'm hoping but that's all I got is hope!! I don't have a whole lot of faith in Orlando Ruff either.

Then we've got Sedrick Hodge and James Allen. They haven't proven they can get the job done yet.

Derrick Rodgers did an adequete job last year. Still not a difference maker though. Lots of names.. Lots of questions at linebacker.

And lets not forget the D-line. We've got Sullivan who is an engima. We've got Howard Green who is a risky proposition. And then Brian Young who has been "hyped" out of this world, but nobody was extremely high on this guy when we first signed him. Now he's the second coming.

HYPE - HYPE - HYPE ---- HAVE YOU HAD YOURS TODAY??

Let's not forget our secondary. Ambrose anyone? Tebucky? Jason Craft? Fakir Brown? Think Bellamy will duplicate last year? Mel Mitchell?

There's more mystery than a Stephen King novel!!!

Going once? Going twice? Sold to the guy with the Saints goggles on!!! ;)

This message was brought to you by me from arguing with WhoDat so much that I know exactly what he'd say if he were here. :P

CheramieIII

Hey Gumbo, won\'t argue with you there are a few questions to answer, but please give all Saint\'s fans a break, cause in the past sometimes all we had was the hype before we got beat down in the regular season. Since we have been at least an average team for a few years now it\'s hard for all of us to get out of the habit. Saint\'s fans are naturally optimistic and skeptical at the same time, but we keep the skeptisim quiet most of the time because of the vodoo and all other types of ill sh@@! lol

Thanks for keeping us in the real world.

Golf and sex are about the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.
Jimmy Demaret

GumboBC

CheramieIII -

You don\'t have to worry about me. I was just playing around. Well, what I said is basically true, but I\'m still very optimistic.

It\'s WhoDat you\'ve got to worry about. I\'m just getting ya\'ll prepared for his return. I kind of miss his posts myself. Used to drive me crazy but we need guys like that to keep us from getting carried away and it\'s kinda hard to argue with a lot of what he says.

I\'m telling you, I never thought I\'d say this, but theres a little too much optimism on this board without enough FACT.

Gator hasn\'t been around. 08 has been absent forever. Now WhoDat is M.I.A..

Those guys brought a lot to this place even though I didn\'t always agree with them. I like that a lot of us are optimistic, but I learn more from everyone not agreeing with me.

Boy, I miss those guys!! :P

Friday is the 1st preseason game. They should be around by then.

Until that time, maybe I\'ll just have to feel in for them?!

Somebody has got to do it. :exclam:

saintz08

Forever is an awful long time .....

GumboBC

Well, well, well. He is alive. With all the talk of JoeSam\'s demise, you just never know about anyone these days. Good to see you are still alive.

Now don\'t disappoint.........Go post something negative... :P It\'s not only your job...It\'s your duty.. Good to have ya back 08 :exclam:

saintz08

I read somewhere Brooks tore something .

Think we can milk it all season ????

Not just a job, it\'s an adventure ....

saintfan

Well well well...I\'ll admit I was beginning to think 08 moved to Carolina and in with Jake! LOL...I can\'t very well be a Super Hero if the Bad Guy leaves town. Nice to have you back 08. What\'s the latest conspiracy theory? :P

JOESAM2002

Good to have you back 08. Now get yo azz over and register for Fantasy Football. LOL.

WhoDat

MIA? On a covert mission deep in the jungle... LOL

Billy, not a bad job, but not your best performance either my friend. I won\'t start to really feel one way or the other until I see a few preseason games. Unlike last year, when sweeping changes were NEEDED, this offseason the team had only a few KEY positions to fill.

Now, that said, yes there are still a ton of questions. And yes, the hype is growing. I\'m not sure who contributes more, the Saints propoganda machine or the fans.

Let\'s consider, position by poistion, starting up front:

- Grant played inconsistently last season, though overall I\'d have to say pretty well considering his linemates. He SHOULD get better this season.

- Sullivan is worrisome. The guy is young, blah, blah, blah, but his play last season was uninspiring and he reported to camp fat. Sounds a lot like every other DT we\'ve had since La\'Roi. Seriously, I don\'t expect much out of this kid this season. He will probably be the weak link on the line and will share playing time. If his numbers are decent it will probably only be because he is surrounded by better players.

- Young... hhhmmm. I like the addition. I think he is a good player that will get better, but I don\'t think he\'s a star. His job is to be disruptive and he will do that pretty well. Of course, I saw Grady being pretty disruptive the second half of last season too, and Young will be a liability if he is ever in the game in short yardage. Still, I like him and think he was a moderate upgrade.

- Howard SHOULD be a monster this season. I hope that he will be. He just needs to stay healthy. I think that happens this year.

- Will Smith will impress and depress. I thin koverall the kid will have a good year, but he will make rookie mistakes that hurt every now and then.

- Leisle is a nice surprise. I think he\'s nothing fantastic yet, but he will fight Sullivan for time... if Green doesn\'t. Isn\'t that his name? Green?

Overall, the Dline should be good, and has the ability to be great. They wil make the defense better.

Linebacker:

- The Hodge/Allen saga is getting REALLY old. Neither of those guys have stepped it up yet and one of them HAS to this year. Overall, I see the same shaky play from those two.

- Ruff / Watson / Grant - cause for concern. Ruff, IMO, is poo, was poo when the Saints signed him, and will never be anything but poo in NO. Grant and Watson will both be good players, hopefully while both are in NO. The unfortunate thing is that neither will be great this season. Both will have their moments (good and bad), but I just think they\'re too young to make a true impact. I see the defense improving, but not as much as they could if the Saints had an established stud in the middle. These guys may be studs, but they aren\'t yet, and probably won\'t be this season.

- Rodgers I like a lot. The most proven LB on our team, I just hope this guy stays healthy and hasn\'t lost a step. If he delivers again like he did last year we\'ll be fine on his side, and that\'s about what I expect.

Corner:
I don\'t care what you say this was a position of NEED this offseason that was not ADEQUATELY addressed. I like Thomas. I think Craft may be turn out to be a good player. Brown is coming up. Ambrose is over the hill. Bottom line to me here - any time you\'re talking about a situation in which Jason Craft and Fahkir Brown are competing for starting spots on your defense, there\'s a problem. Downplay the importance of CBs all you want, but this group WILL hurt us sometime this season. If Thomas gets hurt, which he has been prone too and that will only get worse as he turns 47 this season, we could be F---ed.

Safety:
Another area where I see little reason for optimism. Too many Ifs. IF Mitchel is back to 100% and IF he really is as good as the Saints HYPED him to be before he ever really saw action as a starter then we MIGHT be OK on his side. IF Bellamy can have another career year, then we\'ll be OK. IF Jones really has learned how to tackle, and IF he finally has learned to playu up to potential, something a coach better at getting the most out of his players than Haslett couldn\'t get hiim to do, then we\'ll be OK.



Overall, the defense SHOULD improve. An improved offense will compound their success. On O, we know the key - Deuce. He stays healthy, we\'ll be OK. Brooks plays consistent mistake free ball, we\'ll be good. The receivers and TEs live up to their potential and we\'ll be unstoppable.

I honestly feel like this COULD be the year for the Saints. They COULD be a very good team this year - true contenders. Everything is seemingly in place for that. Of course, they COULD be 8-8 again too and I wouldn\'t be shocked. Wait a few weeks, let me see a few preseason games, and then I\'ll tell you their record again this year just like I did last year Billy.

\"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.\"

GumboBC

Congradulations on getting married, Gator. Maybe Ms. Gator can make a respectable man out of you.

It seems even the most \"doubtful\" of fans are optimistic about the Saints chances this year. I\'m VERY optimistic too. I think we\'re at least a 10-6 team. But, like WhoDat said, I think we could also finish 8-8. I don\'t think that\'s likely though, unless we have a lot of KEY injuries.

That being said, I think there\'s a lot of stuff being posted that\'s not based on a lot of facts and based on more \"hope\" than anything. Which is fine... It might be true. I\'m hoping it is true.

There\'s a lot of agreement on the board right now. After tomorrow that could change drastically. Either way, I look foward to seeing what eveyone has to say about the game.

Hope to see you around a little more now that the honeymoon is over.

Haslett\'s honeymoon is over too!!! :P