saintswhodi

I think our O-line has the \"who else you gonan put in\" mentality. They all feel they are set and the only one who really should be is LeCharles(who by the way should never have been moved from being a pro bowl guard, but I digress.) Riley is a waste. He was often times an underachiever before the falst starts, not he is just a hindrance and a nuisance. And Gandy doesn\'t want him to take all the balme so he helps out with getting some procedural calls against himself every now and then.

Now I know you don\'t wanna be in 2nd and 20 or 3rd and 16 a lot, but in other offenses I watch I still think these down and distance situations can be overcome. Like McNabb this year, Culpepper, Leftwich, Manning, Favre, Brady. When they get in this down and distance don\'t you feel like they can still pick up the yardage? I don\'t get that from our offense and neither does opposing defenses. We have enough weapons that we should be able to strike fear in defenses at any down and distance, though agreed you don\'t wanna make a habit of having to go this far. But one 5 yard false start should not be a consistent problem for this offense and it seems to be drive killers.

ScottyRo

Riley may be sucking, it\'s true, but Gandy is a plain free agent bust as a player. It\'s not that his play has been horrible, but he is getting big time money and not putting in big time performances. He holds more than any LT we\'ve had there in 10 years. It is time now to put in Stinchcomb at RT and get him some live reps. If he\'s ever to move to LT he\'s got to get some experience and we need a LT badly.

Saint.tastic

It all comes down to the coaching. All of the other young QB\'s have a coach to help them and in alot of cases they have a Veteran QB on the sidelines to help them get better and to become more of a leader in the huddle. The Saints coaching staff is horrable anyway you look at it. AB has no one to pull him aside and tell him what he did wrong on that play and what to look out for next time. Without the any young QB will struggle.

That\'s just my opinon.

saintswhodi

Nice opinion Saint.tastic, but who did Leftwich have? Brunell was practically run out of town. Who did McNabb have? They had noone and started him from day one. So I don\'t think having a vet there is the answer, but coaching change definitely may be. Although I will nto go so far as to say a veteran presence would not have helped AB. Lord knows someone at some point needed to push him for his job and make him imrpove.

Saint.tastic

True, but the one thing that Leftwich and McNabb have that AB never had was a good D to help backup his misstakes. Leftwich has 3 more INT\'s then AB and McNabb has the same amount 3 has AB. So the D gives them good field position and more chances to score. And the main difference between AB and the other QB\'s are dropped balls by the WR\'s.

Just my opinon

saintswhodi

You are right, a good defense definitely would help AB. Both of these qbs probably get more chances to make things happen by their D stopping people or causing turnovers. But then what of Culpepper? Minny has never had a good D. Sure they have Moss, but we have Joe and Deuce. And Culpepper is now winning without Moss and with a 4th string rb(although I am glad a Tulane player is shining). Culpepper has uncanny accuracy now on all throws, something AB has not matured into.

johnnythesaint

We just traded away O\'sullivean, the statistical odds of finding a collegiate quarterback that can come in and make a difference is, without doubt, unlikely. It is easy to find the gems that shine, heck they are in the media all the time. What, in my opinion, really wins games is an overall coaching philosphy that embraces the talent you do have. Sure we can crucify Brooks for what he hasn\'t done, but look at Dilfer, Johnson, or even Brady. What they have had going for them is a team mentality that plays to their strengths. Right now, our organization seems content to put the offence and defence on seperate islands, with seemingly seperate aspirations. If our game plans made some attempt to synthesize the two units, make them rely on each other then young Quarterbacks would remain a chance not worth taking, we have what we need in terms of talent, we just need a strong approach that bring people together, we have shown what happens when teams fall apart.

Flying in from Canada to see the Dolphins game

Will it be a Carnival or a Circus?

Saint.tastic

With Culpepper there are a couple of reasons why he blow up and became the QB that he is today. 1: When he was a rookie he had Randel Cunningham to take him under his wing. 2: He had Cris Carter to help him out from a WR stand point. 3: he has the best WR in the game that always draw double teams and everyone else is in single coverage. 4: And I think the most important thing is that they built that offence around him, they gave him an O system that he can produce in. He plays his best when he is in Shotgun so %70 of the passing plays are out of the Shotgun formation which makes and big difference.

Just my opinon

saintswhodi

The thing I like most in what you said Sainttastic is number 4, they built the offense around him. Culpepper had a fumbling problem like Brooks, until they changed the O and put him in the shotgun more. I think that directly represents our problem. Our offensive coordinator does not know whether he should center the offense around AB or Deuce, when it is clear it should be Deuce. He should get a buttload more touches than he has been. Or he relies too heavily on one or the other in games, teams figure that out and we don\'t adjust. Or just as bad, one or the other works and we go away from it so nobody\'s feelings get hurt. This inconsistency and chnages to the philosophy year after year has hurt Brooks\' development also.