GumboBC

What an interesting time of year. I'm talking about preseason football. It's our first chance to look at this years team. Well, in some live action, anyway. We've all sat back and had all off-season to analyze and dissect every morsel of information available. And there's always a ton of information to digest between last year and the first preseason game.

Every organization releases news about every player who is released and every player who is signed during the off-season. They'll also talk about where the problems were and how they've corrected those problems.

But these are well thought out press releases. GM's and coaches don't just release statements off the cuff. It's their job to make everything sound as positive as possible without losing credibility. Hey, even they understand there can be too much spin.

Fans should be very careful when putting too much stock in what the coaches or GM's say about their particular teams. After all, they are salesmen for their teams. If they can sell you, they will !! When's the last time you heard a coach say:

"Well, you can pretty much write us off this year."

But the off-season information doesn't stop there. Nope !! You've got the so-called experts. Most of them usually go for the safe bet. What I mean is they follow success from the previous year. How many picked the Panthers as their super bowl favorite last year?

Where ever the high profile free-agents land, so do their power rankings. A lot of 'em had the Redskins winning the last 3 super bowls. Most have jumped off the Redskins wagon now, though. They don't want to get burned but so many times. And who can blame them?

There's lots of information out there. But, BUYER BEWARE !!

If your team had problems last year, don't buy into something just because some coach had high praise for the new guy. The coach is the one that brought that player here in the first place. What do you expect him to say?

In this "fantasy" football world we live in, there's a lot of misinformation out there. And some of it is just plain ol' wishful thinking !! Not that there's anything wrong with that. Hey, parity has made anything POSSIBLE !! I bet there's some poor Chargers' fan out there, right now, with a "lightening bolt" on top of his head, watching a tape of the first preseason game !! Don't tell the poor fool any different.

There's no sure way to know how a team is going to do this year. But there are better ways of looking at things than others, IMHO.

For instance:

1. What's the track record for draft picks and free-agent pickups?

2. Has your coach been able to get the most out of his players?

3. Does your team always seem to be the unluckiest team in the league? (this might not be bad luck, they might just be bad.)

My advice is don't believe ANY of what your hear and about HALF of what you see in the preseason !!

I put $100.00 on the Saints to win it all. Tell me I'm not opimistic!!!!!!!

[Edited on 18/8/2004 by GumboBC]

GumboBC

Gatorman -

I do believe in luck. And bad luck. But at SOME point, it becomes reality. And even if it is bad luck that keeps happening over and over and over, it\'s time to cut bait and start fishing with something different.

How did I come up with it. Well......it just popped in my head as I was typing. That\'s one even the moonshiners can appreciate?

GumboBC

Well, Gator ...

Like you said, somethings happen that are not in the control of the coach.

But, I agree with what you said.

You prepare for the worst and hope for the best. IMO, Haslett has prepared for the best case scerino and hoped to avoid the worst.

I do believe, for the most part, that you make your own luck.

If Haslett has some more \"bad\" luck this year, then I KNOW how to fix our problems.

How you ask? Simple..... just go out and find us a lucky coach. Problem solved :exclam:

I\'m taking a wait and see attitude with Haslett. He gets the benefit of the doubt from me right now. I\'ll even defend him when I feel he\'s getting criticised unjustly.

But as soon as that ball is snapped in the 1st regular season game... the honeymoon is over. It\'s show and tell time.

We shall see if that black cloud is still hangin\' over Haslett\'s head this year.