Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

It wasnt directed at Danno. If it came across that way my apologies. That was directed at the statement...anyone who watched that game can see that this team as a whole is not performing well.

I'm sure that there are a million things that players disagree with but as a professional, when they hit the field its supposed to be us against the world. I dont see any players deliberately not doing what they are supposed to do to spite Brees or any other player.

All the things that went wrong in that game and he says that they ruined his Mojo? That's just lazy and him doing what he does best. Stirring the pot with a dumb statement.

Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

Boy... This is going out of your way to miss the point.

Those two players gas-lighted a situation that otherwise civilized human beings should have been able to handle like a simple disagreement, talk behind closed doors, and get over it. They made a very public scene of hatred towards Brees which ignited the whole team against him. THEN they had their closed door meeting, where one can only assume, based on the bullying tactics they verbally used on twitter, that Brees was instructed that he would either see things their way or they would not play beside him. This gas-lighting led to death threats from others. No one said Jenkins or Thomas, themselves.

For Brees' part, he should have stood his ground, regardless of what the "discussion" was. But, he gave in to the pressure and put a game before his principles. And aside from the obvious distraction all of this would cause any team, I believe there is something that happens inside a man's mind when he forfeits his integrity in order to appease a few ignorant people. He's going around wearing a criminal's name on his helmet, and he doesn't even know who it is. He's just doing what he's told. That's a man who's lost his gonads. No one is following him, anymore. He's being dragged along. And that is crippling to a team's chemistry.

But, I don't feel sorry for any of them. They had their "priorities" and made their choices. Some people call it "karma". I simply say you reap what you sow.

Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

I disagree with you, and I think you've missed what the article states. He didn't say they killed just Brees' mojo. He said they killed the team's mojo.

It's also not about players intentionally not doing things to spite Brees. It's about the fractured state of the locker room, that he believes, and I would tend to concur, have probably affected that team. Brees gave in to their demands to get by, but after the nasty things that were said to him, it's hard to believe they could ever be a cohesive unit again.

I believe you said something earlier about other teams being undefeated as an example why the Saints shouldn't be affected. I fail to see how that has anything to do with the Saints. Can you name another team who had any player, much less the starting QB, get verbally assaulted by his teammates? All the other players around the league just fell right in line, because they didn't want the backlash, one would assume. But Brees spoke his mind, got attacked, and gave in. The so-called "leader" of the team has now been neutered. Unless you can point to another example of that happening, I don't think any of your arguments hold water, my friend.

Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

You’re assuming a lot in this post, by your own admissions. And Drew Brees did what he felt was the right thing to do, regardless of what you or I think. I happen to agree with you, on a lot of things, but guess what? Neither you, nor I are Drew Brees, neither of us know the conversations that happened, nor the manner in which they were held. It’s nothing more than assuming, And there is a common colloquialism associated with that habit. I won’t allow Brees, or for that manner you or anybody else, to tell me what I “should do” or shouldn’t. I give that same respect to everybody I meet, including you and everybody else. I have no right to tell you what you “should do” in any situation you face. I’m just not understanding of folks saying: “I woulda done this, instead of that”. It seems nonsensical bc, it wasn’t that person!

As far as the threats, it’s extremely simple. Absent direct interaction, not perceived or assumed interaction, from Thomas or Jenkins, they are in no way responsible for nut jobs and the threats they make. And I read absolutely no death threat encouragement from anyone at that time.

Bottom line..., his business ain’t my business. He handled it the way he felt was most appropriate. What “I would have done” is unimportant, unequivocally..., bc I ain’t him.

Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

My "assumptions" were not about whether or not he received death threats. That much is a fact. No one is saying Thomas or Jenkins threatened or encouraged violence against Brees. That is the second time you've made that straw man. The fact is that they incited a toxic situation, and the least they could have done is handle their business privately, from the start. They did not.

My assumptions are otherwise known as logical conclusions. I wasn't present when OJ Simpson killed two people, and the jury said he was innocent. There was evidence that he was abusive toward his wife/ex wife, which would lead one to believe, along with all of the other evidence, that he was the culprit. But since no one "was there", the jury decided it must have been anyone other than OJ.

Are you following my analogy? Does anyone in their right mind believe OJ was innocent? Brees has held a certain stance for a long time. That means we have an established understanding of his character. His teammates verbally raped him on twitter like a bunch of high school bullies. Drew is now the enemy on his own team. So He had a clear choice to make. Retire, knowing the team wasn't behind him, and retain his integrity, or sell his integrity and dignity down the road to play another season or two. He chose number two.

I don't have to wonder if there was a courteous conversation behind closed doors, wherein Drew suddenly changed his entire opinion on a stance he previously held steadfast to. Why? Drew had an established point of view, and his teammates had already established that they weren't capable of handling a disagreement like grown men. Because if they WERE, they would never have publicly attacked him, in the first place.

Therefore, I can logically conclude (or assume, if you prefer) that Drew was shouted down until he relented. That was the behavior already demonstrated by his teammates, and nobody changes their opinion in less than 24 hours. You are taking a leap of blind faith to conclude otherwise, IMO.

Now, as for not "having the right" to say what someone should do: I only agree to an extent. You can't tell someone WHAT to do. SHOULD do, is a different animal. Do you believe no one has the right to say you shouldn't steal, or lie, or commit a violent act? Do you believe that no one has the right to say you shouldn't sell your soul to play a game? We learn right from wrong, by our parents telling us what we SHOULD or SHOULD NOT do.

BLM is a Marxist organization. The players are supporting criminals as they whine about police brutality. Drew has chosen willful ignorance in order to maintain his place on a football team. I have every right to say he should not have done that. Just like anyone would have the right to say it about me, if I did the same.

Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

...3) The Saints killed their mojo this offseason when Malcolm Jenkins and Michael Thomas executed a Black Lives Matter-inspired assassination of Drew Brees’ character.

Brees has never been the most talented NFL QB. His intangibles, particularly his leadership, are what made him great. The guy’s reputation was impeccable.

He was the guy New Orleans and the Saints rallied around. Jenkins and Thomas ruined that when they publicly criticized Brees because Brees had the audacity to defend standing for the national anthem.

Brees is no longer the leader of the Saints, who fell to 1-2 Sunday night. He’s a player on the team. It’s a tragedy what Jenkins and Thomas did to Brees, the NFL’s modern-day Walter Payton.

If the Saints miss the playoffs, blame Jenkins, Thomas and the media race hustlers...

https://blackandgold.com/u/5271-albu...picture651.jpg

Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

Based on that statement which was directed at two players and pertains to three that were mentioned, this was about Brees. Two players called Brees out. You are assuming that the entire team was torn on this matter when based on what we know, but everyone only mentions Brees as the one who was slighted or damaged by this situation. So if Brees is the only one who everyone says is the victim, why is the team as a whole not playing well?

My point is people need to stop making this an excuse. They supposedly resolved this during the summer. If this fractured this team then they weren’t that strong to start with. I don’t have to be your friend to accomplish a team goal.

For a group of professionals that is not acceptable and for a player of Brees statue, along with other veterans and captains on this team. I think/hope that they/he could overcome this. If it was that much of an issue, as I said Brees should have stood on what he said and if they didn’t like it, retire. Why put yourself through all this. If as you said he let another man “neuter him” then he should have manned up. As I said before, Brees could have simply stood on his belief or walked away.

Brees doesn’t play defense and he isn’t having issues with timing. He is however not able to push the ball down the field and has been inaccurate on some of his throws when he is trying to put some velocity on the ball.

If this team was 3-0 or even 2-1 this wouldn’t even be a conversation. Now the reason we are losing is because of mojo....

Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

Drew lost respect when he allowed himself to be bullied and manipulated, but this incident is not the only reason for the suckage up to this point.

We have lost the ability to say we are going to have to agree to disagree, and walk away. People can push their agenda all day long, but at the end of the day, bullying or lawmaking can't force people to genuinely think or feel the way you want them to. Freewill is what sets us apart.

A team is not one person, Drew shouldn't have caved and those painting the scarlet letter on Drew should have said we don't agree with your view, but respect you and let's move forward.

Winston is not the answer at this point. We lost the leagues best receiver, the D lacks leadership to pull the team together on the field. Sloppy play, penalty shots to the foot, there are so many things going on here.

I do feel we will still win out as the team starts to sync.

Re: M Jenkins and Michael Thomas killed the Saints
 

There were more than just those two who called Brees out. Those two initiated it and made the biggest stink about it. Lots of players on the Saints, and on other teams, were on twitter either having a tirade, or talking about how disappointed they were in him, and how they couldn't believe he said that. No one stood up for him. So even if others on the team agreed with Drew, they said nothing, because nobody else got called out. Just Drew.

I'm not sure why you're asking me a question that I had already answered before you asked it, pertaining to why the team is fractured if only Drew got called out. The answer is that he's supposed to be the leader. He no longer is. Nobody is rallying behind anyone, and a team without leadership is just a collection of individuals playing for themselves. Payton is every bit as spineless as Drew turned out to be. Couple that with the fact that these guys were probably more emotionally invested in their virtue signaling tour than they were with football all off season, and this is what you get.

I'm not making excuses. I'm not sure if you've been following the forum much, but I'm one of several who no longer care about the Saints, and have not watched a second of the NFL this year. So I'm not in here trying to rationalize the losses in a way to make myself feel better. I have no dog in the race; just giving my opinion, as this was exactly what I expected after all the drama went down with Brees. I didn't see any way the team would recover from their own stupidity and ignorance.

You say it's unprofessional for them to not be able to overcome that. I say they're unprofessional for letting it get to that point, and so it should come as no surprise to anyone that they aren't strong or mature enough to overcome it.

And we are in agreement that Brees should have just stood by what he said. That's just what I've been saying. If it were me, I'd have said "if that's how you really feel about me, then I don't need this team. I'm not changing my principles for your feelings". But he got caught up in the PC cancel culture and by all appearances panicked at the idea of being black balled and vilified. He wouldn't have been vilified by people with a conscience. More people respected Brees before he backed down than those who respect him now. He made a short sighted decision, in my opinion, to save face.

For the record, though I don't know how anyone on the team is playing, I'm sure there are other reasons, aside from what we've discussed, as to why the team is losing. But the expectations coming into the year were sky high before all the mess, and I personally believe the distractions are mostly to blame for the team not coming together better than what their record would indicate.