Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

The free-agency period gets started today. Some teams don't need a whole lot ... like the Eagles. But, for others, it's an opportunity to really improve their team(s)!

But, what about the New Orleans Saints? Hmmm....

Well, according to Mickey Loomis, the Saints don't need a whole lot and plan to only "target" a few selected veteran players!

Surprising?

Well, it is surprising when we've been told the exact samething for the past 3-years! And when you look at the Saints' record over that period, nothing has changed.

The "master" plan for Loomis in free-agency appears to be signing a right tackle and a safety. And maybe pick up a so-so defensive tackle.

Picking up a RT to replace Victor Riley is a good move and I applaud this team for addressing that problem. And an upgrade for Tebucky Jones is certainly needed. And getting a DT isn't a bad idea.

But these are all moves to fix past mistakes made by THIS organization. Tebucky Jones, Jonathan Sullivan and Victor Riley were all hand picked by Mickey Loomis and Jim Haslett.

Okay, fine ... We all make mistakes! And they appear to be correcting these mistakes this year.


But, even if they do fix these past mistakes .... what then?

Are we anywhere close to being a CHAMPIONSHIP team?

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't that the goal, to be a CHAMPIONSHIP team? Look, this is Haslett's 5th year as head coach of the New Orleans Saints. We should be talking CHAMPIONSHIP team. Not potential playoff team.

Yet, with Mickey Loomis making these kind of statements, it appears he's only willing to fix part of the problem.

Has Loomis forgotten the defense finished 32nd in total defense? How much is a safety and an aging DT gonna improve that ranking?

Is he that comfortable with our linebackers?

I said I was going to judge the Saints 2005 season by what they did in free-agency. So far I don't like the sound of it.

Is it a smoke screen? Probably.....


..... But the smoke screen appears to be designed to get over on the fans....

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

Come on Billy. He\'s looking at those last 4 games. After all those are all that matters! :rollinglaugh:

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

Hey Billy - you ever consider starting your own line of beach footwear?

2/28/05
So far, I like the direction this team is headed. I like the plan. We\'ll see..........

http://www.blackandgold.net/site/mod...hread&tid=8228



3/2/05
I said I was going to judge the Saints 2005 season by what they did in free-agency. So far I don\'t like the sound of it.

http://www.blackandgold.net/site/mod...hread&tid=8278


There you have it folks. It took 9 hours into the start of FA for billy to \"flip\" his opinion. How long before he begins to argue that the Saints ARE making the right moves? (\"flop\")

Billy Brand Flip Flops - for all your beachware needs.

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

LOL.

Flipflop? Hardly.

I give my approval or disapproval based on the reports that come out.

I liked a lot of the things the Saints have done in the offseason. Like simplifying the offense. And getting rid of Victor Riley. And probably replacing Tebucky.

But, I don\'t like the direction we\'re headed in free-agency.

I call \'em like I see \'em.

You, on the other hand ... Well, let\'s just say not much positive ever comes from you.

You\'re Satan\'s little helper ... LMAO!!

[Edited on 2/3/2005 by GumboBC]

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

Well makes sense what he has said. They isn\'t a whole lot of cap money for one. Two aside from 3-4 wholes on the team that are HUGE granted there isn\'t much they can do. Howard will be traded, Pathon will be cut. Aside from spending every dime they have in order to make a run at the superbowl this year. We are so screwed next year! Horn and Deuce up for contracts, I see us losing Horn and signing Deuce. We could see the last season Deuce and Horn are in Saints uniforms this coming year if they trade them off next year and start rebuilding.

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

SIG UPDATE, K?

THNX ><

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

OK, I\'ll admit ... that\'s pretty funny... :P

I saw one I was thinking about using.

Said something to the effect of \"You\'re talking about writing hot checks and homosexuals and I\'m the one who needs to be cut\" :o LMAO!!

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

I must also admit, that was a pretty funny thread.

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

I still believe this team has the talent to win it all. BUT not with this staff. This staff will require we be MUCH better talent wise than most other teams. When I look at GLARING weaknesses I don\'t see many. I see most of our players as average to above average, with just a few below average.
But with Haz and Venturi that translates to 8-8. With a quality coaching staff that translate to 10 plus wins and serious playoff contenders.
Here are players that must be upgraded to be able to win consistently
DT-There\'s no one next to Young that can play the 2-gap.
RT-Riley was a bust in 2004.
OLB-Bockwoldt and Allen both looked OK at times, but are easily the weak links. Replacing one of them with a better palyer is crucial.

So I think thats only three GLARING weaknesses with this team\'s starters. By GLARING I mean below average, deficient, not up to par, exploitable.

While upgrading at other positions (SS/FS/LT/TE) would help, I feel the palyers we have there are servicable. But DT/RT/and an OLB (or MLB if we move Watson outside Billy!) are obviously lacking.

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

It\'s the S.O.S. all over again. We don\'t have many glaring weaknessess. However, this regime is like the homeless hobo at the trash dump, sifting through all of the crap no one else wants and hoping to find some treasure. It will work once in every blue moon(Joe Horn), but most of the time you just end up with smelly genuine trash.

Come to think of it Joe Horn was a Mueller pick, wasn\'t he...

I guess their track record is officially horrible on FAs.

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

True and accurate observation. One of the MAJOR weaknesses that the Saints have is NOT on the field, but in the front office. LOOMBOOM is, has been, and will be a joke and will continue to make the same stupid, senseless mistakes that have been going on for the past 3 years that he has been at the helm as GM.

What I fail to understand is how we had \"tons of cap room\" last year and now we face a problem. What has changed? What is going to happen is that LoomBoom is going to futz around and aggrevate Deuce, and placate Leon. We need to address BOTH tackle positions on both sides of the ball. Trade, cut, or discard Sullivan, Riley, and Gandy for people who want to play. Draft some decent LB at any position and strap it on.

But, as long as we have LoomBoom running the show, we will continue to strive for those 8-8 seasons that we all love so much, with a 4 game winning streak at the end, only to be shut out by someone with a 9-7 record, and we\'ll start the *****ing and moaning all over again. Baloney!!!1 :casstet:

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

Not in the slightest .

The Copy Cat Coach Hasbeen is determined to follow the path of those who have held the Lombardi .This despite the fact he does not have the players , the system or the assistant coaches the Pats have .

Until the Pats fall and a new champion is crowned for Hasbeen to copy , were stuck here going around in circles ....

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

BnB - I can only try to live up to one of the true champs in sarcasm and flaming... you.
:notworthy:

Danno - couldn\'t said it better myself... though I have tried. :)

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

So, WhoDat, you think this team has enough talent to win it all, do ya?

You want to talk about flip-flopping?

You\'ve done nothing but criticize Haslett for getting bums on this team. But, now, suddenly, you think we have enough talent to \"win it all\'.

Let\'s see ...

Jonathan Sullivan, Tebucky Jones, Jay Bellamy, Fakir Brown, Colby Bockwoldt, Countney Watson, James Allen ... Yeah, any coach can win the super bowl with those guys.

Don\'t ever call me a flip-flopper again ... :P

What exactly is your stance?

1. We\'ve got enough talent?
2. We don\'t have enough talent?

Just checkin\'... I\'m sure you\'ll come up with SOMETHING.

What kinda flip-flops you got on? :P :P :P

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

My stance is the same now that it was after the 2001 season. There is enough talent on this team for it to make the playoffs every season. There is enough young talent that, if we had a coach that could aid in player development, we could be a contender. Even without young players developing, the talent exists on the team for this team to go to the Super Bowl, ASSUMING that the team upgrade at a few key positions. In the past, I said DT, LB, CB, S. (4 players). This year it\'s more like LB, OT, LB, S, DT. (5 players).

So again, this team has the talent to get to the playoffs and has had it for 4 years. It is a few key players AND NEW COACHING STAFF away from being a true contender.Our coaching staff does a fairly poor job of developing talent, allows players to underachieve and play undisciplined and inconsistent ball like I\'ve never seen, and the FO goes after the wrong FAs EVERY offseason and can\'t bring in true talent despite huge amounts of free cap space every year. Is that clear enough or should I spell it out more?

Don\'t even try Bill - I don\'t hold a candle to you in the beachware industry.

[Edited on 2/3/2005 by WhoDat]

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

First of all .... Which is it?

First you say this team has enough talent to make it to the playoffs every year. **flip**

Then you say we have enough talent to WIN IT ALL! **flop**

Another thing, in numerous threads, which I don\'t care to pull up, you have \"consistently\" talked about the lack of talent on this team and how Haslett has brought in \"bums\" like Tebucky Jones, James Allen, Orlando Ruff, Victor Riley, Ashley Ambrose, etc., ect... ***flip***

Seems like you\'re \"double-dipping\" in the bashing departement, WhoDat. ***flop***

In one breath, you criticize Haslett to no end about the players he has signed.*flip*

Then in the next breath you say we have enough talent to win it all!! *flop*

Then you \"crawfish\" your way out of that statement and say we have enough talent to \"only\" make it to the playoffs.

And when you add it all up it = \"flip-flop*

You might look good in a 3-peice suit, but those flip-flops are ruining it for you..... LMAO! HA! LOL

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

Nice try again Bill.

I said I believe that this team has the talent to go to the playoffs and is a few key players away from being a super bowl contender. I agreed in general with a post of Danno\'s that was mostly focused at the coaching staff\'s inability to convert our talent into real contention, and the fact that we only have a few glaring needs. So you quote DANNO (out of context) and then quote me to suggest that at one point I said this team had enough talent to go to the playoffs, and at another time I agreed with a conditional statement of SOMEONE ELSE that suggests we have enough talent to go to the Super Bowl. Playoffs vs. Super Bowl.... yikes, I\'m really on both sides of the fence there! Whew... that\'s nothing like you saying on Monday, \"I like the way this team is headed in the offseason,\" and then coming back Wednesday and saying essentially, \"I DON\'T like the way this team is headed in FA.\"


Yes Billy, I know it\'s hard for you to understand, but it\'s really a fairly simple concept. I am criticizing Haslett and the FO for failing to ADEQUATELY ADDRESS the NEEDS at THE SAME FOUR OR FIVE positions EVERY year since they\'ve been here. Is that statement straight forward enough, or do I need to draw you a picture.

But I understand what this is. It\'s the usual, Bill say A, Billy comes back and says he objects to A, someone calls Billy on it, Billy tries to \"flip\" the script and show that the person who pointed out Billy\'s flip flop is really a peddler of beachware himself.

You got me Billy. In one breath I say that this team has talent and in the next I agree with someone else who says this team has a lot of talent. Oh no, my credibility is shot! Good thing you exposed me. Now people will listen to you when you say, I like where this team is going, I don\'t like where this team is going... and soon to come I\'m sure... WhoDat, I told you this offseason I liked where this team was going... until the collapse when you\'ll say, \"I said in March that this team was headed in the wrong direction!\" You take twice as many positions as I do and still end up right less of the time. Riddle me how that happens Chach. ;)

Fool me once, fool me twice. Not this time.
 

WhoDat -- I don\'t know .....

The picture you\'re painting is getting kinda blurry!!

On one hand ... You say we need another quarterback, right tackle, left tackle, wide receiver, tightend, weakside linebacker, strongside linebacker, middle linebacker, cornerback, free safety and strong saftey.

Then on the other hand ... You say we have the talent to be a playoff team and even agreed with Danno that we had enough talent to win a super bowl.

On one hand ... You say Haslett needs to be agressive in free-agency and there are \"numerous\" holes on this team that needs to be filled.

On the other hand ... You say this is a playoff team and there\'s only a \"couple\" of holes that need to be filled.

I see all kind of holes that need to be filled, WhoDat. I see a defense with 3 linebackers that probably have no business starting. I see Tebucky Jones, who proabably has no business starting. I see a big need for a defensive tackle. I see a big need to replace an aging Jay Bellamy. That\'s almost the entire defense. How many of these players would be starting for the Pats? The Ravens? Buffalo?

Beachwear by WhoDat .... coming to a location near you soon... LMAO!






[Edited on 2/3/2005 by GumboBC]

[Edited on 2/3/2005 by GumboBC]