RE A Little QB Controversy (I'm reposting my (now buried) comments to the original post authored by me on 15 Aug. Refer to the original post dated 15 Aug at 1028 pm.) I take you ladies comments in stride…for me, its not about getting emotional but dealing with the facts as they are presented and making a judgement call, however controversial it may be. Emotional outbursts of name calling is for ladies and kids. I’m trying to have sensible dialogue regarding Drew Brees lack of Superbowl potential performance over the last several months. Now back to the issue: There is nothing I’ve said that doesn’t have merit except for the last statement regarding putting my backup in after game 5. That is a judgement call, and I’ve already acknowledged the fact that a football pundit would probably not do that. Preseason football, I realize is much a do about nothing. However, there are aspects of the game that can be extrapolated into regular season play as far as predicting outcomes and making plans are concerned (which is the main reason for the preseason in the first place). The point I’m making here is that: If the philosophy for the team is that EVERYONE is competing for their position – that SHOULD include the QB regardless of his elite status (under a now outdated QB rating system). Drew Brees interception throwing during regular season and his lackluster preseason play (notwithstanding the vanilla play calling) warrants AT THE VERY LEAST – scrutiny (to be fair). I understand the Brees-Meachem connection timing was a bit off. I saw that and did not want to elongate this post by bringing in needless observations to make my point. I also saw on two occasions (if memory serves me) that Drew threw two passes while falling down that could have well been interceptions against the opposing team’s 1st Team defense. If that were Chase Daniel or Sean Canfield, Vince Young, Dante Culpepper or even the great Brett Favre, this would be called into question. Bottom line, Drew is holding the ball waaayyy to long and making some ill-advised decisions on the field as best as I can see it. That’s all I’m saying. GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!! Black and Gold Superbowl!!!!!! TWO DAT!!!

Fellow Saints fan, I'm feeling a little suicidal right now in a non-literal sense so here we go: Brees threw a lot of unnecessary interceptions last year in order to avoid sacks. He costed us some games that we should have otherwise won. Everytime I bring this up, there is always some type of excuse for him. Last year, it was 'because we didn't have running backs so he had to throw more often' (no problem for truly elite QB like P. Manning) or some other lame excuse. What I've noticed is that the mechanics in his qb'ing has changed: his release is much slower and his trajectory was lower, the latter of which was corrected after the 1st quarter of the football season. He comes into preseason looking ALMOST, like he did last year, which to me is scary. I was a bit concerned last year that we had no backup if he got injured. After seeing Daniels play, he looked more like the Superbowl Brees than Brees does presently. I have very little patience for seeing what I'm seeing out of Brees (or the lack thereof) and would probably put my backup in after about game 5 if this man doesn't improve his game. Now I realize that wouldn't get me a high Madden IQ but, there it is.

This is honestly NOT about I told you so, but over the past several weeks with all of the talk about how horrible the defense has played, I have been trying to point out another subtle (for some) fact: this offense hasn't been showing up lately either. I hope somebody is seeing this. The last time I mentioned this, Phillinwood's response was that the Offense is fine, but I strongly disagree with this. I see the weakness in the LT position, but I also see a HUGE inconsistency in the Offense. Sometimes they show up strong (as in the game against the Patriots then at other times they look lethargic (as vs the Falcons and Redskins). When you see the Colts play, you see consistency: Manning comes out putting 14 points on the board in the first 3 seconds (not a typo, a hyperbole). You don't see that with the Saints team. One other disturbing thing is the watered down responses from Sean Payton during press remarks of: "I'm glad we got the win." This is a big change from "...we have a lot to work on..." that I used to hear at the beginning of the season. I'm not discounting the injuries we have, but that's mostly defense. We have enough Offensive weapons on that team to completely destroy folks, but we haven't been doing it. I'm not going to go on about much of the obvious stuff like we played mediocre teams at the beginning of the season and December is a tougher month to play in regardless of who you are playing. The bottom line is that there is a HUGE inconsistency in our offense and starting with the Dolphins, we have exposed our weaknesses and is in grave danger.

Poll

Are you concerned about our past 3 performances against the Skins, Falcons and Cowgirls going into the post season

69%

Yes

27 votes

30%

No

12 votes

39 votes | Poll has closed

Falcons' Babineaux charged with drug possession Associated Press LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux has been arrested and charged with marijuana possession. Gwinnett County Police Cpl. David Schiralli says Babineaux was arrested during a traffic stop on Interstate 85 in suburban Atlanta around 10:45 p.m. Thursday. Schiralli says the 28-year-old Babineaux had nearly 1 1/2 ounces of marijuana and is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Intent to distribute charges can be brought any time someone has more than an ounce. Babineaux also faces charges for having expired registration and driving without a license. He was released from the Gwinnett County jail Friday morning on $8,300 bond. A spokesman for the Falcons did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press Story: http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d814e1a2d&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

What Up Saints Nation

  When you get an opportunity, go to NFL.com and vote for your pro bowl selections.  Being in the pro bowl offers the Saints players a number of opportunities:  1)showcase otherwise hidden talent  2)earn a lil extra cheese for their families and 3)improve their resume among other things.  These guys have worked hard thus far, there is no better way that I can think of to reward them than to take a little time to get them into the pro bowl.  

  After voting, if you remove everything on the website address except www.nfl.com and hit your refresh button, you can give other members of your family an opportunity to vote.  I'm just sayin!

I'm saying this tongue in cheek being a little empathetic to our backups:  it would do this team well to at least consider Michael Vick as a backup QB given the Saints history of misfortunes (i.e injuries).  I understand salary cap issues and other fiscal considerations, but if I were Loomis, to galvanize my team's possibility of success this season, I would at least consider Vick.  He is not a trouble asset like TO and Ocho Cinco.  He brings a myriad of possibilities to an already stellar offense.  What do you think?

Poll

Do you think the Saints should consider Vick as a backup QB?

57%

Yes, I think that would be a steal

62 votes

42%

No, we have what we need

45 votes

107 votes | Poll has closed

I asked my fellow Saints fans some time ago how our backup QBs look as I don't know much about Brunell or Harrington.  FoxSports.com has an article that ranks the QB Corps for this upcoming season.  Interesting to note about the #4 Ranking of the Saints is that the emphasis (as far as the backups are concerned) is not on the QBs themselves, rather on the talent surrounding them.  Anyone of our recievers/TEs are capable of catching garbage passes (especially Lance Moore).  I just pray that with our track record of injuries these past several years, nothing happens to the Brees.  And, just as importantly, I pray he doesn't park in his past successes and end up like Aaron Brooks.  But that's a whole nuther discussion.

Excerpts taken from: 

Positional Power Rankings: QB packages

 

by Adrian Hasenmayer, FoxSports.com

 

4.

SAINTS

Drew Brees Mark Brunell Joey Harrington

Drew Brees is the fuel and engine for the Saints' high-powered offense. Consider that New Orleans led the NFL in scoring in '08 despite injuries to Marcus Colston, Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister. If Brees goes down, the Saints should/could conceivably still sneak into the playoffs if all of their offensive weapons are standing. Mark Brunell's well past his glory days, but in the Saints' system should at least keep them competitive, as should Harrington. While New Orleans doesn't have the perfect package, they're hoping that one of the two veterans can win the job comfortably in training camp.

OK fellas,  I must admit, I posted a pretty obvious poll a couple of weeks ago asking who is the Most Valuable Saint with Deuce gone.  Most of you voted (and I see your point) D Brees, hands down.  Now I'm not even going poll this time, I'm asking a curiosity question that I believe I know the answer to:  What are our prospects of making it to the playoffs if (GOD forbid) Brees gets injured?

Continue reading this post »

  I'm a big Deuce fan and still hopeful that some type of MIRACLE deal could be worked to get him back on the team.   I am a huge fan of Lance Moore and feel that, after Deuce, he has performed stellarly on the team and is perhaps one of the most underrated players in the NFL, hands down.  The guy is an extremely competitive player and has the potential to fire up guys around him which is really what the Saints need on that team.  So here is the question:  Who dat da man on dis yere team chere'?                                                                                                                                                                 

Poll

Who is the most valuable member of the Saints with Deuce gone?

5%

Reggie Bush

8 votes

87%

Drew Brees

124 votes

2%

Lance Moore

3 votes

2%

Marcus Colston

3 votes

0%

Malcolm Jenkins

1 votes

1%

Johnathan Vilma

2 votes

141 votes | Poll has closed

What's the scoop on Deuce?  Is any team looking at him? The last thing I heard about him was that his Toyota Dealership in New Orleans was in financial trouble.  With the cut and no salary,  I'm a little concerned about a player that has done so much for the city and the fans.  You would think the league would reward stand-up players like this with a little loyalty, but the business side of this profession has gotten pretty nasty.  I really think that the outrageous salaries for rookies need to come down significantly and some type of tenure raise (of sorts) should be given to vets that have been upstanding in the league.  Of course, if something like this were implemented there would need to be a cap and a cutoff after so many years.