mutineer10

Ahh, yes ... and then Aaron Brooks came along...

Tobias-Reiper

.. The saints are my team.. I will always root for them no matter what.. if they make it to the playoffs this year, great... I\'ll cheer for them until their season is over.. then I\'ll come back next year and do the same...

...that said...

..what is really getting to me this year, is that the only reason the Saints even have a chance to make the playoffs this year is because the conference as a whole blows. Not only that, the Saints don\'t have an excuse for an 8-8 season in a division that\'s so bad! How bad is this conference? The Cardinals have a shot at winning their division at 7-9!!

.. I am not going to use this thread to blame anyone for anything... but I am tired of mediocrity... how many more 8-8 7-9 seasons can we take? This year it just happens that 8-8 gets you in, if not 7-9, but more often than not that gets you what we have gotten the past 3 seasons...


... that said, I\'m sucked in

'Cause the simple man pays the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill

GumboBC

Ever read a post on here that just gets your blood boiling?

There\'s a couple of post in this thread that has steam coming out of my ears.

But, getting mad never solved anything. So, let me try this:

It seems some fans have a desire for the Saints to lose so certain changes will take place.

My response?

Hmm... As mad as itmakes me to read stuff like that, I can respect that. However, I strongly disagree with it. In this NFL, where ANYTHING can happen (and usually does) how can anyone in their right mind hope we don\'t make the playoffs?

I, for one, am not interested in what changes some fans want to make when it involves LOSING to get it done. I think it\'s human nature to hope. I mean, come on, this is the Saints we\'re talking about here. Haven\'t you guys seen enough losing in your lifetime? I know I have.

NO SIR !! I\'ve seen too many teams that had seemingly no business making it to the super bowl. Why not us? There is no reason it shouldn\'t be us.

I really don\'t care who some folks think the coach or the starting QB should be. I\'m not even saying you guys are wrong.

But.... What I am saying is that wishing us to lose will make the majority of Saints fans mad as hell.

Puddinhead

Actually, it\'d be more accurate to say that they\'ve been so disheartened by years of defeat that they EMBRACE mediocrity, and preferably worse...they CRAVE it as their reassurance that \"all is right with the world, things are as they\'ve always been\". A hefty portion of \"Saints Nation\" (sorry...I\'m a life-long Red Sox fan, and I\'m still a little giddy) are actually more comfortable with a loser to be the butt of their jokes than they are investing the same amount of hope into their team that fans of other teams seem to. They WANT their team to lose...their whole relationship with sports is based on their constant b!tching over, complaining about, and ridiculing of their \"favorite\" team. How else do you think a semi-literate with a mouthful of marbles like Buddy DiLiberto can be established as \"The Big Daddy of Sports\" as far as the Saints are concerned ON THE SAINTS FLAGSHIP STATION??? These \"fans\" we\'re speaking of LOVE the fact that you can hear the utter joy in his voice (even if you can\'t make out the actual words) when a season is going sour.

The prevailing opinion has always seemed to be that, because of how long New Orleans had waited for an ultimate winner, and because of the large percentage of that time in which the city was treated to really bad football, that should the Saints ever actually win an NFL Championship you would see the party to end all parties...the biggest, baddest, most raucous celebration you\'ve ever seen. I disagree. I think a much larger percentage of New Orleanians than you might think would be more disturbed than joyous...because in their minds, whoever the coach, quarterback, offensive coordinator, what have you, happens to be at that particular time, there will still be a fair sized group who think at least one of them is a bum, and that the championship means nothing more than a few more years of someone they can\'t stand. Celebration day for malcontents is never after a accomplishment of ultimate success--it\'s after admission of ultimate defeat.

yasoon

The bottom line is, I can\'t root against the Saints, whether it is a means to an end or not. You can be objective/negative and still root hard for the team. This year has been littered with bad football, but I have watched all of it. If we finish 8-8 and make the playoffs in a watered down NFC, that doesn\'t mean we\'re any batter than the 9-7 team that missed the playoffs....it\'s a different year.

A playoff berth will not change the fact that both coordinators simply have to go. I can stomach one more year of Haslett/Loomis if Benson wants to save his 6 mil. Good coordinators will make a coach look better every time. Belichick has been surrounded by top notch assistants for a few years now. He\'s a good coach, but his assistants really help him run the show. Haz may be able to do a little better with some help. Gruden had lots of good things to say about Jim this weekend and he may be looking for a job. I\'d take him as an assistant. Mike Singletary as a DC? I would love to see that. His stock is on the rise and he may be a possibility.

Hey, the NFC is bad, but what if we won all 4 December games...We go into the playoffs against teams that aren\'t playing good football right as we are starting to play real defense. It could be fun to watch. We\'ve underachived all year.....maybe we can\'t turn it on. I\'m not saying I won\'t be in shock if I sit in front of my TV for a Saints playoff game, but I\'ll root like crazy for the next 2 weeks.

saintswhodi

Once again it appears some may be mis-reading. Just to make it clear, I have given up hoping for the Saints to lose precisely because of the last two wins. There is no reason for me to continue to hope for them to lose when the two things I wanted, a new coach and a high draft pick, are both fluttering away in the breeze. What I will not do though is allow myself to be sucker punched by this team again. Some of you may love your older cousin who is cool to hang out with but punches you out of nowhere and bloodies your nose every now and then, but I tend to avoid this guy. Now if he overgoes a major overhaul and gets some help, I am willing to give him a shot. But if he is the same guy I have always known, I am gonna be waiting for that succer punch and not believe he has changed his stripes. That\'s our Saints.

Gumbo, just as it may make your blood boil to see some not jump back on the bandwagon, it baffles me how a team that was the joke of the league for the majority of the season with the VAST majority of the fans calling for the coaches and some players heads is now being showered with love for beating two sub-par teams the likes of which they should have been whipping on all year. And they have two teams better than them on the schedule to beat to make it to the playoffs. I will repeat my question, when has this team EVER won an important game, a game that matters? Ever? Definitely not under Haslett\'s watch. THIS IS THE SAME TEAM WITH THE SAME COACHES AND SAME QB. We didn\'t suddenly import a winning attitude and some heart. As I have repeatedly said, I am glad for you guys who have found some joy in these last two wins, your resolve is much stronger than mine. Until the playoffs are sealed, this year is no different than the last 4 mediocre disappointing seasons. But anything can happen in the playoffs as was said, we just have to wait and see if we are the team anything can happen for. We still have to make it.

[Edited on 21/12/2004 by saintswhodi]

GumboBC

saintswhodi --

I respect your opinion. Really, I do.

But, as things happen during the course of the year, I try and keep an open mind.

You seem to have given up on this current administration? Well, what if we do make the playoffs? What if we make it to the NFC championship game? Don\'t laugh!! Did you pick the Panthers to make it last year? I doubt it.....

Now, if we miss out on the playoffs, then there\'s a very strong case for Haslett to go.

The point is this .. I\'m not worried about last year, or the year before, or even any of the games this year. Haslett\'s job is to get this team to the playoffs. It\'s really simple. Bill Parcells ain\'t going this year and I bet he\'d be happy to be sitting with Haslett\'s record right now.

Let\'s see what happens and ONLY then can we judge.

Puddinhead

Dude....no disrespect intended, but 382 posts? You \"tend to avoid this guy\"??? LOL

saintswhodi

Puddin, maybe I should say I tend to avoid letting this guy sucking me in to believing he has changed, but I sure as hell don\'t mind talking about him. lol

Gumbo, respect all around. As I have been saying, I am envious of all who can so easily forget that this is the same team we have had for 4 years letting us down. They have not changed. Haslett has done a great job of leading us to the playoffs the last 4 years. We needed a win at Jax last year, what happened? We nned to beat 1 of 3 losing teams the year before, what happened? I strongly believe that even if we beat Atlanta, Carolina has more heart and toughness than our team cause this is the same team. Same as Carolina, Same team minus a few injuries that had the heart and toughness to make it last year. After a certain point last year, you knew Carolina had a chance. We have never gotten to a point where anyone has said anything good about us until now, and national sportswriters still won\'t touch us cause they are waiting for the letdown as well. If we make the playoffs like I said, I will be doing a jig along with you guys, but as logn as there is doubt that we will make it this team usually finds a way to screw it up.

GumboBC

saintswhodi -

Let\'s assume that this team is a bad as you think. At least let\'s give Haslett credit for giving us a very good shot at making the playoffs. We basically control our own destiny. You can\'t ask for much more than that.

Believe me, there are a bunch of very good coaches that wish they were in that position. I wouldn\'t get caught up in that doom and gloom stuff. It\'ll be plenty of time to be depressed if we don\'t make the playoffs. But, for right now, we have hope.

We\'re not doomed to repeat the past.

Don\'t worry be happy, man....