SaintFanInATLHELL

In his nola.com article here:

http://www.nola.com/saints/t-p/index...9978177570.xml

John DeShazier makes some obvious points about Brooks that I feel should be echoed.


And yet to this day there is still talk that there is some other QB that's better for the job. It's really quite laughable.

Brooks now has all of his weapons available. Boo is on the field, as is Stallworth (with M. Lewis and/or Henderson to back him up if his hammies balk again). Duece will be in open space, and Horn is still the #1 receiver of this extermely talented bunch. The interior pocket will be stronger with Bentley and Holland starting.

I predict that Brooks will have his aboslute best season yet, and the best season for a QB in the history of the franchise.

Mark my words, he will hit these numbers:

4000 yards

30+ TDs

15 or less total turnovers (INTs + lost fumbles). BTW even with all the lost fumbles last year his TT was only 18.

90+ passer rating

SFIAH

BrooksMustGo

Hope springs eternal.

Given the way Bouman played against the Jets, it seems pretty evident that his signing was a wash.

CheramieIII

I agree with ya SFIAH, but I don\'t think Brook\'s will have 15 total turnovers this season. Last season he showed he can control interceptions, but this season he shows us he can hold onto the ball, and I would say 9 INT\'s and 3 fumbles lost.

GumboBC

Growing up watching football as a kid, I remember seeing QB\'s like Staubach, Stabler, Bradshaw, etc,.. These guys where all \"white\" and usually of the \"blue collar\" variety. The football fans that I knew could all relate to these QB\'s. In a lot of ways they were just like the fans themselves. Hard working average Joes.

They didn\'t run a lot and were usually \"pocket\" passers. They all had their ups and downs but the fans still pulled for them because they could relate to them. Don\'t get me wrong, they received their fair share of criticism, but most fans didn\'t take the criticism to the level they do today. And QB\'s weren\'t yanked by the coaches they way they are today. I often wonder how many of those great QB\'s from yester-year would have gotten the opportunity in todays game. My gut feeling is some of them wouldn\'t have gone on to do the things they did because of the fans impatience which places a lot of pressure on the coach to make a change. Afterall, coaches don\'t have as much time to turn things around like they used to.

The game starting changing somewhere in the late 80\'s or early 90\'s. Randall Cunningham and Warren Moon were two of the 1st \"black\" starting QB\'s that I remember. I can still remember what a lot of \"white\" fans said about them back then.

They aren\'t smart enough to play the position. They take off running too quick. Lots of things were said. Most of it untrue !! A lot of fans simply couldn\'t relate to Moon or Cunningham. They weren\'t the typical \"blue collar\" guys they were used to. They were a round peg in a square hole!! And of course, they weren\'t white.

Racial prejudice wan\'t unique to football, though. It was wide spread back then and it still is today. Although not as bad.

I really don\'t think \"race\" plays a big role in how a QB is viewed today. Not to the degree it was 15 or 20 years ago. I just think a lot of fans grew up watching a certain kind of QB and that\'s what they grew up loving. And that\'s what they want today.

The game has changed and we have more \"black\" QB\'s than ever. For better or worse, \"black\" QB\'s have changed the game. They\'ve changed the way defenses play. They\'ve changed how offenses play.

Aaron Brooks is not the kind of QB a lot of us grew up pulling for. He\'s not the \"blue collar\" guy you watched with your dad. He doesn\'t scream and yell when things go wrong. He\'s more laid back than some of the ol\' greats. He\'s cocky and just smiles when things aren\'t going the way he wants them to.

Hard to relate to that isn\'t it? Not your kind of guy? Brooks isn\'t the best QB in the NFL. But he is the best the Saints have ever had.

And he\'s good enough to get this team to the playoffs. After that, anything can happen.

[Edited on 21/8/2004 by GumboBC]

CheramieIII

Dont\' care what color, ethnic origin, religion or what his name is for that matter, as long as they can lead us to the promise land and I believe AB will make believers out of all Saint\'s fans this year.

I said promise land, believers and Saint\'s in that paragraph. God is trying to send me a message, it\'s time to go to church Cher.