GumboBC

This is for: Gatorman, WhoDat, ScottyRo, and whoever else has come on this board and suggested the Saints/Jets game was a good indication of what we can expect in the regular season.

Well, I want to hear ya'lls opinion BEFORE we play the Packers tonight.

1. If the Saints defense shuts down the running game tonight. What will that mean?

2. If the Saints defense doesn't shut the running game down. What will that mean?

3. If Brooks doesn't fumble and tears the Packers defense apart. What will that mean?

4. If Brooks doesn't play well. What will that mean?

I can't wait to hear those answers. ;)


[Edited on 21/8/2004 by GumboBC]

CheramieIII

C\'mon, can I answer too Gumbo? Well I\'m gonna:

1. If you mean holding them to under 100 yards, 3.5 per rush and our 1st playing against their 1st string, I think it only means we have improved from the last preseason game. Need to shut down those outside runs and force them into the middle to see what Sully, Leslie, Young and the rest can do.

2. It all depends on where we get beat in the running game, if we get beat on the outside again that will mean to me we did not make necessary adjustments from the last game and now the coaching staff is to blame, unless it because of poor tackling or vision on the players part. If we get beat up the middle it raises a question for me, what the hell happened from the last game? Because the Jet\'s could\'nt run up the middle on us.

3. That either the Packers suck or AB is going to be good this year. I\'ll take the later.

4. That either AB is going to suck this year or the Packers are going to the Superbowl.

Remember, all of these are only opinions and are subject to change at a moments notice. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.

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

SaintFanInATLHELL

That the defensive scheme is making progress both in its deployment and in the players understanding of it. Pease is putting in a precision gap control defense on the defensive line. It\'ll take some time for it to gel.

The second thing it\'ll mean is that defensive folks are tackling. I saw a few missed tackles in the first game.

More work to do. Sit down and identify why there were breakdowns. Was is the failure of the DLine to maintain gap control? Or missed tackles and/or out of position LBs? Find it. Fix it.

Status quo. Statistically Brooks is the best QB in the history of the franchise over 3 full seasons. Why should we expect anything less than what we\'ve seen since late 2000?

Nothing at all. It\'s still three weeks until the season opener. Brooks hasn\'t played at full speed at all this season. This is his first action.

Now in all fairness I think I must add the dreaded question:

5. What if Brooks is unavailable until Oct 15th. Then what do you do?

It made my fingers hurt to even type that. Ouch.

SFIAH

Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO

Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.

GumboBC

gator --

Man, you never fail to amaze me. That was a very good analysis. And that\'s pretty much the way I see it.

Gator, I can never quite figure you out. You frustrate me at times, but when you\'re not here, something is just missing. Anyway gator, I enjoy your posts and I\'m looking foward to battling you this season.

Maybe this preseaon is more important for the Saints than I think. I\'ve just seen it look one way in preseason and been totally different the the real games.

One thing I am doing is keeping an open mind abou this team. If they stink in preseason, I\'ll lean towards believeing they willl do that in the regular season. But, I won\'t be convinced.

P.S. -- I\'ve never played fantasy football. Don\'t know much about it. I thought about playing. Maybe next year.

ScottyRo

I\'m skipping reading the other posts until I\'ve answered so I wont be swayed by another\'s opinion.

1. It would be an indication that things are coming together in the scheme and the understanding by the players. It\'d be nice to see them give up yards begrudgingly rather that getting gashed numerous times.

2. It would mean that all the hard work hasn\'t made a noticable difference yet.

3 & 4. Same ol\' Brooks. Able to be both great and mediocre from one game to the next.

WhoDat

See Billy - once again you demonstrate that you don\'t really hear (read) well.

\"the Saints/Jets game was a good indication of what we can expect in the regular season.\"

No - the Saints/Jets game was a good indication of what we MAY expect in the regular season.

1. If the Saints defense shuts down the running game tonight. What will that mean?
It will mean they stopped one of the league\'s best runningbacks and a good team. It would show improvement and that the outlook may not be as bleak as it SEEMED to be after the Jets game.

2. If the Saints defense doesn\'t shut the running game down. What will that mean?
It will mean that a good running offense ran well on them. That will be two games in which they performed poorly against the run and will give cause for even more concern. It will lead me to feel more strongly that the run defense is not LIKELY to improve in the regular season without big changes in scheme, player performance, coaching, or all of the above.

3. If Brooks doesn\'t fumble and tears the Packers defense apart. What will that mean?
It will mean that injury concerns aren\'t a big deal and that he is truly poised to have the breakout season that I think he SHOULD have. It will certainly make me happy.

4. If Brooks doesn\'t play well. What will that mean?
I will hope it is rust, a lingering injury, a bad night, all of the above... but it will create SOME cause for concern about how he MAY perform in the regular season.

Do you get it yet? Or does my choice of words and careful language still fail to permiate the force field around your world?

\"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.\"