Same ol', same ol' for Saints
 

NEW ORLEANS


Same ol', same ol' for Saints


We heard it all summer. The New Orleans Saints had an improved defense. Everybody knew about their offensive playmakers. As Tom Benson would say, they were "workin' to win" in New Orleans.

You gotta have faith.

You gotta be kidding me.

This NFL team is still trotting out empty slogans, empty performances, and, in their exhibition opener Friday night, another half-empty Louisiana Superdome.

No, check that. The Saints played host to the Seattle Seahawks, and a Tulane game broke out.

About 25,000 people actually turned out for this sorry spectacle, which obviously means next to nothing once they tee it up for real in September.

It certainly meant next to nothing to Benson's Boys in Black and Gold, the perpetual 8-8 team that is pacing itself for another run at mediocrity.

Seattle 34, New Orleans 15, Tom Benson 0.

Deuce McAllister fumbled on the game's third play from scrimmage, the Seahawks scored two plays later and the fans who obviously had nothing better to do sensed they had seen this movie before.

They had.

Seneca Wallace, the Seahawks' backup quarterback, scrambled for a 24-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, putting the Saints in a 14-3 hole.

Todd Bouman, the Saints' backup quarterback, made sure they stayed there.

Bouman served up an interception, and former Saints wideout Jerome Pathon burned Jason Craft for a 28-yard touchdown reception, making it 21-3 and leaving everybody in this town north of the Audubon Zoo wishing they were actually there.

In the alligator pit.

Benson wants Saints fans to take a leap of faith, to drop their hard-earned money on season tickets for a team that may be up for franchise free agency. The Los Angeles Lost Boys or the San Antonio Sidewinders or, according to one Benson confidant a few months back, the Albuquerque Armadillos.

Trouble is, these same fans seem to be accepting this fate, if their reaction to Friday night's fiasco was any indication.

There were scattered boos, sure. The empty seats began to multiply once Pathon got in the end zone with 5:06 left in the first half. But mostly, it was indifference. Have a beer, boo first-round bust Johnathan Sullivan. Praise Deuce for electing to re-sign with the Saints, giving the club a touch of class, and grumble about Benson, who, well, touches plenty of things and is best known for turning gold into fertilizer.

The Saints have sold about 33,000 season tickets for Jim Haslett's sixth season, which marks 21 years under the Benson administration. One playoff victory. Lots of 7-9 and 8-8 seasons. The Ditka Disaster.

Same team, different slogan.

Sock It To 'Em Saints. Faith, Hope and Bum. No Mora Excuses. Cha-ching! (Not that their ticket office is gonna be singing that tune.) Men of Iron.

You Gotta Have Faith.

They're talking to you, L.A.

A leap of faith? More like a leap into the aforementioned alligator pit.



http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/12373379.htm

I wouldn't worry about the first pre-season game. We're really not that bad. Benson's just working on a ploy for L.A. to pay him to keep the Saints in New Orleans. :wink:


8)

i think the biggest reason everyone feels upset is because of all the hype that has surrounded the saints finally "turning the corner"... i admit, i fell for it too, but i haven't written off the season b/c they came out a little lackluster the first preseason game... it just means they have to go back to the drawing board and fight a little harder to get where they need to be, winning REGULAR season games... honestly, i'd settle for 0-4 preseason, if it means they learned some things, be better prepared, and it translated to 10-6, 11-5, etc. in the regular season.

Spoken like a true fan..
I agree 1000%..chRxis...
WE WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR!

I'm still not sold. The 1st team defense looked better. But Watson was burned pretty badly on that first TD. I'm not understanding why a LB was having to cover a WR on a crossing route anyway.

I was at the game. It was fun. I stuck around to the bitter end because I wanted to see AMac. The guy in a bundle of very raw talent.

I saw some good things. Except for Deuce's fumble, the 1st team on both sides of the ball looked pretty good. I'm still not convinced we need to keep Bouman. We have a big talent gap after the 1st string. Sullivan was hustling. That's a good thing.

But at the end of the day my concern remains coaching and scheme on both sides of the ball. It's clear that Sheppard is committed to running the ball. However the team still doesn't have a consistent offensive identify yet. Time will tell if that develops. Defensively I'm still unsure where they are going. I do know that WR vs. LBs are a bad matchup though.

SFIAH

I wasn't impressed, either.



8)

GET REAL ITS PRESEASON >>!!!!!! OMG DOES ANY 1 UNDER STAND THAT !!!!!!! IM TIRED OF HEARIN THIS U PPL EXPECTED TOO MUCH AND KNOW ARE SAYIN SAINTS WILL NOT NEVER DO ANYTHING AND ITS ONLY PRESEAON I MEAN PLEASE . . .

Yeah I was 'ok' with the first quater or so... I was more watching players to stand up... Like Jimmy Williams, and Levar Fisher, whom both caught my eye.

Williams was solid and seemed to be a coach favorite..(time on field)...
special teams and depth at corner....I'll take him....

Take him over Craft 4 sure. . .

AS far I have seen Craft is Garbage......
I'D Take Toi Cook over this dude.....

i thought our first team d played well. i thought our pass blockingh left some to be desired but that there were some pretty good holes for deuce. i am not that concerned over that game. yeah craft got beaten up. i thought we looked alright. better then last year. our o was out of synch. that is a concern. but i thought our starting d was much better then last years performance in the opening preseason game

There was goo coverate on one play with craft but didn't know the ball was coming... the other I think there was suppose to be support for the deep route and the Saftey took off on covering someone else so craft pursued. Wasn't his best performance but he is looking good in camp. Jimmy Williams did great and obviously wants to make the team. You can't go by the whole game but you have to look at individual performance. Saints were not really opening up the game to keep it close or stay in the game either... they were working on reps ect.

Wow. Sounds like the same thing I heard last year, and the year before, and the year before that, and the year before that...

I love the people who completely shrug off poor performances in preseason simply b/c the final score is meaningless, and then are shocked four weeks into the season when the team is 1-3. Couldn't see that coming could you?

Preseason or not - signs that this team is as inconsistent and poorly coached as in previous years is reason for concern. Period.

.. on the other hand, I've never met anyone who spoke esperanto....

You should read the other threads WD about it would be okay if we were to go 0-4 in preseason as long as we "learned something." I'm tired of learning how to be inconsistent... let's learn something new.

It's funny how some of you are calling for Craft's head yet you are saying it's only preseason. Shouldn't you find something wrong with that?

Craft was a solid nickel/dime back for us last season as he will be for us this season.

Your point is well made, papz, but I don't exactly agree with your assessment of Craft. I wasn't happy with his performance last preseason and it turned out that he was injured part of the regular season and didn't really play al that great when he was in. Maybe towards the end of the year he got better. He seems to have a habit of getting burned that I don't care for.

Yea he played pretty well at the end of last season... he even had some highlights on SC. His play at the end of last year netted him a nice little contract and interest from various teams during the offseason... hopefully his strong play from the end of last year (not what everyone saw against Seattle) will carry into this year. But we'll just have to wait and see...

Craft was a starter in Jacksonville (I think only for one season). Thereafter, Jacksonville signed and drafted 3 new CBs and Craft was cut. Not exactly a rave review. Thereafter, he signed with the Saints and despite the hype that he would start and being a serious contributor, he found himself on the depth chart behind Fred Thomas, Ashley Ambrose, and Fahkir Brown. Again, his preseason play couldn't have been that great. Jason Craft seems to me to be a talented athlete who has very little ability to play corner in the NFL. I don't like it when he is on the field, but I hope the guy proves me wrong.

Well, if he doesn't step up his play from what we saw in the Seattle game, he's going to find himself behind Jimmy Williams on the depth chart.

Pathon used him in that game. It was not pretty.