duece4pres

Gumbo BC, I\'m guilty as charged! This is the first year that I bought season tickets, and driving an hour and a half 8 Sundays to see the garbage that I saw kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I was venting, just as every other Saints fan has for years. I\'m still die hard and I will buy tickets for next year. To each his own.

P.S. Regarding Brooks, did you see who won second place in ESPN\'s top 20 worst plays of 2004? I think Brooks was robbed!

FrenzyFan

Coming up short.... that seems to describe the Haslet era, IMO. The title of this post is: \"I just don\'t understand\". That\'s a great title, especially for this era of Saints football.

I just don\'t understand why there is any \"maybe\" in Haslet being replaced. It should be an absolute certainty. We\'re still sitting at .500 after all these years. I want better than .500 from my football club and I don\'t think that\'s an unreasonable expectation considering our players.

I just don\'t understand how some of the fans of the Saints think one good play makes up for a mediocre season. Last year, everyone crowed about the \"River City Relay\" as if that one play made the Saints 8-8 season something special. This year - we beat four losing teams down the stretch (including Atlanta\'s backups - I would call them a \"losing team\" if they played the rest of the league this year) after going 4-8. Why doesn\'t it occur to them that even with that streak, we JUST made it to .500 on the season?

I just don\'t understand why a \"Leon\" (from the Bud commercials) player who is the laughinstock among pro QBs in many profesional sportswriters\' stories and reports is still defended to the death - even when he makes regular bone-headed, rookie mistakes in his FOURTH year as full-time starter. This is doubly puzzling considering there has been NO QB controversy at the coaching staff\'s direction. At the very least, reality should assert itself and the obvious admitted. Is it so hard to accept that some other members of this board were right all along? How many PROFESSIONAL sport writers/commentators/former Superbowl QBs/etc have to call our QB out?

I just don\'t understand. That\'s a great title.

\"The AB brand of TP will hurt your O-ring.\" - BlackandBlue

http://www.darrylbercegeay.com/wsmith1.jpg

WhoDat

Maybe we all misunderstood. Hey Billy, which fans were you talking about again?

Here\'s a list of THOSE fans so far in this thread alone.
Tobias-Reiper
whodatsaintsfan26
BlackandBlue
gatorman
4saintspirit
Saint_LB
BagHead
duece4pres
FrenzyFan

and, of course, me. In one of your other rants you said, as a cut at \"those\" fans - \"some people just never learn.\" I can think of only one or two people on this board who I now believe that statement accurately applies to.

saintswhodi

WhoDat, I can\'t even get an honorable mention as one of \"those\" fans? Not cool. :weepy:

GumboBC

We can sit here and blame EVERYTHING on coachnig and justify it. Afterall, it\'s the coach who put the players on the field ... it\'s the coach who hired the coordinators, and it\'s the coach who calls the plays. So... let\'s blame the coach for EVERYTHING.

Look guys, the coach deserves plenty of blame.

My point is that there\'s plenty of blame to go around. But there\'s a few select folks on here who talk only about the QB and the coach.

That\'s ignorant if ya ask me.

The refusal by some to hold the offensive line accountable and blame everything on Brooks is ignorant. Brooks deserves his fair share of blame. But not nearly to the extent that some want to pin on him. I just don\'t get some of you guys.

I really don\'t believe some of you want to talk about what the real problems are.

The refusal to talk about the terrible O-line and make excuses for them is clearly an attempt to place the blame on the QB.

Why not hold EVERYONE accountable?

Deuce played poorly for several games. Fumbled the ball away and played hurt.

The O-line led the league in false starts and couldn\'t block.

The defense was horrible for most of the season.

And Brooks played poorly in some games.

I don\'t blame Deuce entirely for his poor games and I don\'t blame Brooks entirely for his poor games.

Football, more than any other sport, is a TEAM game.

I can\'t say Haslett shouldn\'t be fired. You guys aren\'t wrong for wanting him fired. There\'s enough that\'s happen to justify his firing.

I just like what I saw the last 4 games and I want him back.

That doesn\'t make me wrong. It just puts me in the minority here.

JKool

Billy,

I agree with you that ALL the blame should not fall on the coach and QB. However, I don\'t agree that the \"blame\" should be distributed evenly across the team - in fact, it appears no one here, yourself included, agrees with that.

There have been many good discussions on the board in the few weeks leading up to our last game regarding what the problem areas are.

So, instead of making these odd all or nothing claims, I\'m sure it would be better to assign blame in degrees. Here\'s my sample list, off the top of my head, but I\'m sure we can hash it out over the next few months:

1. O-Coordinator (Play calling and discipline) - 15%
2. D-Coordinator (Play calling) - 13%
3. Run stopping - 12%
4. Pass blocking - 11%
5. Run blocking - 10%
6. Head Coach (Discipline and Motivation) - 9%
7. Intermedate pass defense - 8%
8. Short passing game - 7%
9. Line backers - 6%
10. Offensive Line - 5%
11. Defensive Tackles - 4%
12. Front Office - 4%
13. Corners (until we got MM) - 3%
14. TEs - 2%
15. QB - 1%
16. Everyone else - 1%

I\'m sure this list needs some work, but it puts at least one point in perspective: when someone says that x or y is the biggest problem, they\'re not really making that big a claim. E.g. if my list is anywhere near close to correct, for the O-Coordinator (and his related duties) to be the biggest problem, he only needs to be 15% of the problem. If Haz is 10% of the problem, that is a BIG problem.

My current view on Haz is this: he seems to have shown that he is best suited to being a \"come from behind\" coach. We want to have a team (and perhaps do have a team) that is not an under-dog team - that, Haz, is not suited for yet. The last four games give us reason to understand HOW we won, given my thesis on Haz, but NO reason to be optimistic about his performance next year.

I think I agree with Gator\'s suggestion that we need a \"new face\" I believe is right. I do think Haz should step down. I don\'t think that the QB is a big problem at all - he is just the focus of peoples\' frustration, but on the whole is a serviceable QB for our team IMO.

Just so I can get this in there: all you guys who for the last two or three years who were saying that it is a FACT that Haz can\'t win in December need to rethink those kind of claims.

[Edited on 7/1/2005 by JKool]

"... I was beating them with my eyes the whole game..." - Aaron Brooks

RDOX

Put me at the head of the line. I am not shy about my disdain for Brooks, his inability to lead, to inspire, or to execute this team\'s game plan on any Sunday. He is inconsistent, sloppy, and generally lazy in getting it done. He had to \"get mad\" to be able to play at Charlotte. That is like dealing with a tired two-year old. This guy is supposed to be a Professional, for Gos sake. Coulda fooled me. All this crap about the O-line, the Coordinator, the this, the that, doesn\'t excuse Brooks from the fact that he appears to care for only one thing, himself. He, Randy Moss, Michael Vick (I\'m not really surprized that they are related), Rickey Williams, and others of that ilk are all about one thing: THEMSELVES!!! Yet, when anything like this is brought up on these forums you know that you will be jumped because of stupidity like: He\'s got great \"STATS.\"

I am vocal in wanting a number of changes made. First, get rid of Loomis, Mueller, McCarthy, Sheppard and Brooks. Second move Venturi to LB coach and hire either Singletary or Mills to D-Coordinator. Hire someone with an idea of randomness for an O-Coordinator, and get a QB who may be less talented, but more interested in what the TEAM does than how much he\'s going to make.

WhoDat

Whoodi - No offense man, I know where you stand, I was just referring to the people who had responded to this thread.


Gator - Another great post from you - right on target again.


And on to Billy - I\'m going to ask you some simple questions based on your last post.

First of all, I wouldn\'t go calling people ignorant. More importantly, name one person who is doing this right now. Even I, the guy you have openly claimed is the biggest and most biased Brooks basher on this board listed the tackle positions as one of our biggest areas of need. The tackles are bad, and it\'s no surprise to some of us. Go read what was posted about Wayne Gandy after last season, and tell me wo posted it. Aaron Brooks DOES make it harder for a line to protect him. That\'s not to say that the line isn\'t bad, but Brooks DOES complicate things by holding the ball too long, rolling into blitzes, failing to read blitzes and find the hot route, etc. But NO ONE is blaming solely AB. Maybe the problem isn\'t the people who blame Brooks for his poor play - maybe the problem is the people who refuse to blame him for anything.

Again, who are these people? I\'ve been ranting about the GM, Scouting, Coach, DC, LBs, DT situation, safeties, O-line, TEs, and QB for weeks. What are the \"real\" problems Billy? Please tell us all, we\'re all interested in hearing how the expert thinks we should fix things again.

That\'s EXACTLY what you\'ve implied, suggested, insinuated, and flat out said numerous times. Shall I dig up quotes from the last WEEK?


Gator is absolutely right. You start these things by making bold statements and back-handed comments about others based on little more than a skewed opinion of what you think other people might be thinking. Then, when you\'re called out, you only argue your position more fiercely. If people agree with you, you polarize things. When no one agrees, you crawfish... just like you did in this thread. Think before you post.

\"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.\"

JOESAM2002

Chill out boys!

GumboBC

You know, I\'m not really interested in what the majority of fans think. Listening to fans when it comes to making football decisions isn\'t always the smartest thing to do.

Fans let their emotions get in the way of their better judgement a lot of times.

First -- fans think they know more about the inner-workings of a football team than what they do. As opposed to the coaches and players who ACTUALLY KNOW what\'s really going on. I\'ll take my cues from the folks who actually play and coach.

Second -- Some of you guys have your own personal timetable for certain things to happen and when they\'re not met... it\'s hey, lets fire eveyone and start over. And you could be right. On the other hand, that might not be in the best interest of the team right now.

It\'s always BLAME THE COACH with some of you guys. You guys give all the credit to the coach when a team has a good season.

But when that same coach has a bad season. IT\'S NEVER THE COACHES FAULT!!!

Mike Holmgren led the Packers to TWO SUPERBOWLS. According to you guys, that makes Holmgren a GREAT coach.

Yet, in Seattle Holmgren can\'t win ONE SINGLE playoff game.

Why is that?

Is it....???

A. He forgot how to coach?
B. He doesn\'t want to win?
C. Just bad luck?

Or just maybe it\'s not his fault!!!

You guys are nuts if you think Holmgren is a bad coach. Or expalin to me how he got to the Superbowl TWICE!!??!!

Or explain how Shannahan has done very poorly after WINNING a superbowl!!??!!

I suppose Shannahan sucks too?

Or maybe it justs takes a while to get all the \"pieces\" in place.

Listen up folks -- Holmgren and Shannahan are both very good coaches. And guess what? They will both be back with their teams next season. And it\'s not because their owners are stupid.

It\'s because their owners are smarter than a lot of KNOW IT ALL FANSs who THINK they know the best way to run a football team!

Haslett is not alone in taking longer than what some fans want.

And you know what? That doesn\'t mean he\'s a bad coach.

I don\'t know what\'s going to happen next year, but it might just be the year. I can\'t guarantee anything.

But then again, neither can any of you.


Obviously Benson agrees with me. And that\'s all that really matters. NO?????