A 13-2 Saints team with 2-13 Saints fans mentality

Enough already with the "same old Saints" mantra from the alleged diehard fans of my beloved Saints!
Yes, Saints fans have suffered a long laundry list of inglorious and humilating losses: the Lansford FG to end the Saints playoff run under Bum, the Vikings massacre in the Dome for the Saints' first-ever playoff game, the multiple "Hail Mary" Falcon daggers, and so many other fumbles and bumbles.
The pain of so many disappointments is etched deeply in the New Orleans sports pyche. You can feel it when hopes are high, and there is still an aura of "Yeah, but..." always present, a lingering sense of doubt, fear and inevitable doom.
Have the supposed-super Saints struggled in the last 4 games and looked more like Clark Kent, aka the Tampa Bucs? Yep, they have.
But how can anyone who truly knows football say a 13-2 team is "same old saints"? (Note to all: the Saints until this year have NEVER won 13 games in a year.) To lump this team into a same old category is NOT realistic nor diehard. Come'on people , this aint your mama's Saints!!!
Old negative habits die very hard though.
I awake this morning to hear results of a WWL-radio poll: 74% say the 13-2 Saints will lose their first playoff game. Nothing like morning cheer.
After the searingly painful loss to the Bucs Sunday, I sat silent, speechless and stunned at Dome. But more stunning was Saints' "fans" incredible negativity, the sense of doom, the sudden screams (though mostly idiotic) of doubt... Geez, I thought we're 13-2, still #1 seed, first-round bye guaranteed, #1 offense, etc.
Winning is a mindset, and unfortunately we as "diehards" are conditioned to react incredibly negatively when adversity hits us.
Every percieved bad playcall, bad tackle, or bad loss.... Go with your first defense, the easy out of pessisism and doubt. Such emotion isn't rational, it is simple knee-jerk, go with the rest of the heard and dont' think about it. Strange, doesn't this sum up so much of the non-sport New Orleans mindset too???
What casual knee-jerk observers miss is the domino effect that injuries such as Shockey, Shanle and Greer have had on this team down the stretch.
With Shockey out, Thomas is forced to be our primary TE which he really isn't. Having to put him into pass patterns, Thomas also is lost as blocker, which was his primary role pre-Shockey injury.
Shanle's loss and limited availability of late has been huge too. Shanle, the team-voted defensive MVP last year, is one of their best coverage linebackers. Evidence- our last 4 opponents have thrown swing passes consistently in flat to running backs.
But Greer's sport hernia injury has been the biggest hidden Achille's heel to the Saints short-term downturn by far though.
Prior to his injury, all observers said Greer might have been the best shut-down coverage back the Saints had ever had.

Williams' blitz schemes require man-to-man coverage, especially by the cornerbacks.
Greer's lockdown coverage allowed the Saints to blitz more and scheme for basically one side of field. When Greer played, you saw more blitzes from Harper, Gay, Jenkins and Sharper.
With him out, the question "Why don't the Saints blitz as much lately" is answered. - you can't blitz as much or as effectively.
Also with Greer (and then Gay out off and on with assorted injuries), the Saints now have been forced to rely on a rookie cornerback and a scrap-heap cornerback.
Jenkins' lack of experience has been exposed over and over. Mackenzie has played admirably, but lacks the ability to completely shut down receivers.
Question now that the Vikes choked up the #1 seed to the Saints is... will all the alleged diehards now jump back on the Superbowl bandwagon??? I'd bet on it judging from their Bucaneeer loss post-game flip-flop.

Landrieu the Sellout

For all to read, here is a copy of an email I just sent to Landrieu's office.
I will bet the house,I'll get some form email from her office, 2 million words long, with gobbly-gook wording about how noble her actions were for the residents of LA. Laugable.
Enjoy:

Mrs. Landrieu,
I'm sure you will send me a nauseating, form email in reply to this one. Tell your minions to save their time and not to!
I am disgusted but not surprised that you sold your vote, or as I would rather say, prostituted your vote to help support the disastorous healthcare reform bill.
Your party, the liberal Democrats, should be ashamed of how you have rammed this bill down the throats of the American people.
More than 60% of American oppose this monstronsity, but you and 59 other sellouts have chosen your will over the will of the people. Disgusting and unconstitutional.
To support the lies and distortions of Obama simply for the sake of saying "We Won" is reprehensible.
Neutral deficit?
No new taxes?
Fact: The bill contains $518 billion of tax increases nationwide.
Only those making over $200k will be taxed? Under this bill, 42.1 million of those earning under $200,000 will pay higher taxes.
Everyone can keep their insurance if they want to?
We’ll pay more for higher insurance premiums because, as the Congressional Budget Office reports, the bill increases health care costs overall.

And the bill doesn’t protect Louisiana small businesses in the middle of this serious recession. Most businesses will have to provide a government-defined health insurance benefit to their employees or pay a new government tax. The National Federation of Small Business says that would cost the nation at least 1.6 million jobs, costing tens of thousands of lost jobs in Louisiana, on top of our current high unemployment.
Businesses can keep their current employee insurance?
This new mandate would also create an incentive for businesses to dump their employees off their health plans, because it would be cheaper to do that and pay the new tax.
And most unforgivable?
And the bill forces pro-life taxpayers to support and subsidize abortion. That’s particularly offensive in Louisiana, one of the most proudly pro-life states in the nation.
Mrs. Landrieu you should be ashamed of your actions.
Rest assured, your name and reputation are now forever tarnished.
And I for one will uphold a previous pledge I made to you in a prior email: I will now speak against you as you move forward in any politcal endeavor.
I, unlike you Mrs. Landrieua, stand on my word and my principles.

Taming of the Tiger

A wise man once said,"If you stick your neck out above the crowd, be ready to be hit with some tomatoes."
Welcome to our daily special, Tiger Woods ala Tomatoes.
Since his fateful rendevoux with a fire hydrant, Tiger has experienced a media and public smackdown of epic proportions.
And never has the world of sports seen such a dramatic and staggering fall from perfect to flawed.
Lurid text messages, multiple women claiming affairs, tabloid stories of impending divorce, this just to name a few of Tiger's mountainous indescretions.
But the Tiger book we have always read was almost comic-book perfect: a chiseled athlete under a Nike hat, an adoring supermodel wife, photo shoots with their two adorable tots and their dog, Solomon-like wealth, all coupled with seemingly superhuman feats on the golf course.
Tiger's armor was impenetrable, built from a dogged determination to keep his private life separate from his public persona. (Why else would he name his private yacht, Privacy!?)
We saw only what Tiger wanted us to see: his golf. Off the course, we knew nothing, squat, nada, which is exactly what Team Tiger wanted us to know.
Tiger's veil of secrecy is now gone forever, ripped to shreds by saved texts and voicemails from women who apparently knew this fall from grace would come.
Many people now scream, including me initially, "it's his personal business, let him be and move on!"
Truth is Tiger owes no one a public apology. Tiger really only owes his family and friends some mea culpa.
But if Tiger wants to regain his spot on the sports world pedestal he once owned, he will have to do what he's never done: show his human side.
No more intimidating, I only answer what I want to answer, interviews.
No more robotic, cliche golf-speak answers to all questions.
No, it's now time to take off the cape, the Nike hat, push aside the agents and advisors, and start a new Nike campaign:
Just Be Real.
No more scripted statements on his site.
No more Team Tiger responses.
No more Tiger, the golfer.
It's time for Eldrick Woods, the person, to just look us in the eye like a man, and with sincere emotion, tell us he's human after all, that he really messed up, and most of all, tell us he's sorry and ask for forgiveness.

Athletes never listen to mama

A sports guy, or was it mama, once said about athletes and their late night antics: nothing good happens after midnight.
Since hearing this statement, when any athlete gets in any trouble, the first thing I do is quickly dig into the article and find out what time the trouble occurred.
And every time, the incident is after the witching hour.
Once again this week, this admonition rings eerily true.
Nov. 27 @ 2:25 a.m. - Tiger Woods, arguably the best golfer in the history of mankind, rams into a tree and fire hydrant. His super-model wife, Elin, has to smash back window out of their Cadillac Escalade to excavate her husband.
Dec. 1 @ 3:25 a.m. - Carlos Dunlap, NFL first-round lock and Florida Gator superstar defensive end, was found asleep behind the wheel of his running car at a traffic light.
On one end of the spectrum is Woods, the epitome of media savvy and astute public relations moves. In fact, Woods' purposeful choice to be totally secluded from the spotlight both infuriates sports fans and adds allure to his Superman mystique.
But now the media, public and allegedly the authorities are pulling on Superman's cape to discover what was the Kryptonite that caused this mysterious early a.m. meltdown.
The public cry is : What in the world is Tiger pulling out of his driveway at 2:25 a.m.? Couldn't he tell the Nanny to go get the diapers at WalMart or go get another gallon of low-fat milk?
The actual incident and subsequent fallout is even more glaring and astonishing considering how secretive Woods' private life has been.
And on the other end of the sports spectrum is Dunlap's front-seat green-light nap.
Compared to Woods' ultra polished media experience, Dunlap is an immature, big-man on campus - 6'6",290 lbs lieral big - who probably actually thinks he is Superman, Batman and Spiderman all rolled into one.
And why not think he's unbreakable: last year's BCS Defensive MVP, SEC Championship game this weekend, NFL riches about to be laid at his feet, so who's to blame Dunlap for being punch-drunk with it all.
Unfortunately, Dunlap decided to (allegedly)get drunk on some adult punch and was charged with DUI, after failing a field sobriety test and refusing a breath test.
Now days before the biggest game of his young life, Dunlap will sit home with his suspension.
Like many before him, the cloud of bad character will hang over him, and likely cost him millions of draft-day dollars.
On the other hand, Woods uses cash as garden compost, so any collateral monetary damage from this incident doesn't matter a lick.
The only damage, and it may be substantial, is to Woods' aura of robot-like perfection.
Why Woods hasn't stepped up and simply explained the circumstances of this incident is mysterious.
Yes, Woods now has been cleared of any wrongdoing, and will pay one-billionth of his annual income, or a $164 fine.
Yes, this was on private property and thus, Woods correctly asserts it can remain a private matter. And if you could read the cartoon bubble above Woods' head, it would be peppered with his famous sailor's language, "It aint none of your f*$%* business."
All this is true, but reality is in today's cyber world, every 10-year-old now blogs, takes digital pictures and tweets. The result? Every public figure's business is everyone's business.
So, Superhero and College BigMan, take some simple mama's advice: Just stay home and don't go out after midnight, 'cause nothing good happens after midnight.

64 Seconds of Infamy

Now that my wide-eyed, mouth-open-in-total-disbelief expression has faded, I can now rationally discuss what was the worst 64 seconds of time and game management in the history of college football, the ending of the LSU-Ole Miss debacle.
As a youth coach, I try to impart foundational lessons to my players. One of the most basic being, when you're in the game and on the field, you must think one-step ahead, and be prepared for your responsibility. "Before the pitch, if the ball is hit to you, where will you go with it?" I ask.
Great players and great coaches aren't robots, they are game managers ready for all circumstances using their God-given physical talents and their disciplined preparation.
First of all, for 58:44 of the game, LSU was outhit, out-hustled, out-schemed (aka out coached) and overall, just simply out-played.
But as the Fat Lady was stepping onto the stage, LSU got lucky and inexplicably Ole Miss, especially McClusker, seemed to purposely avoid recovering LSU's onside kick.
Then one very good wide-reciever bubble screen and 26 yards later, the horrific unraveling of a miracle comeback began.
LSU fans were salivating: 64 seconds remaining to victory, at the Ole Miss 32 yard line.. without a single-yard more gained we line up for a game-winning 49-yard FG by Jasper, who's already nailed a 50-yarder at this same endzone.
Hand the ball off, run two up-the-gut plays, kick winning FG, go home and prepare for Razorback game next week, right?
Wrong, here's where the Mad Hatter Miles went mad.
1st down: Jefferson drops back to pass (WHAT!!!).. incomplete.
Freeze time.
(Every coach on the planet tells their QB right now: "Son, whatever you do don't take a sack! Step back, do your read, not open, throw it away!")
2nd down: Jefferson take 3-step drop to pass again (ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!!!), slides back 2 steps too much right into outside rushers path.. SACK!
3rd down: Jefferson throws off-target bubble screen to Ridley, drawing him backward, tackled immediately... (CALL TIMEOUT!!!CALL TIMEOUT!!!)
26 seconds...Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.... Timeout LSU with 9 seconds remaining.
17 painful seconds run off for absolutely no reason. 17 seconds.
Okay, sanity will come back to Miles' planet right? He'll tell Jefferson we're going to throw a Hail Mary, if it's caught outside endzone, we'll :
1) have a quick snap play called to throw it again to endzone or
2) we'll rush Field Goal unit onto field and kick game-winning FG.
Sorry, fans, Miles went with option #3: none of the above, and no plan at all.
Toliver miraculously catches jump-ball with 1 second.
“There was a lot of confusion on the sideline, and we didn’t know what to do,” Jefferson said. "When Terrance caught it, I thought the field-goal unit was going to come out and kick the field goal and we were going to win the game.”
"Confusion on the sideline".. ya think?!
In the bedlam, Jefferson goes deer-in-the-headlights and then beyond comprehension, "clocks it," or in plain-speak takes the snap and grounds the ball, effectively ending the game.
With some justification, Jefferson is getting thrown under the bus for this brain-dead decision. Hundreds of games have to teach you to know not to do this!
But to his credit, Miles fell on the sword today at his post-mortem, completely taking the blame for this 64 second debacle.
Manning up today though doesn't erase the complete gameday incompetence Miles exhibited this past Saturday.

Excuse me Mr. Wizard, do you have a minute???

As a Hornets fan, at this point early in the 2009-2010 season, I want to close my eyes, click my Nike tennis heels together and go back two years.
An all-too familiar thing happened again last night against the Phoenix Suns; in total frustration, I turned off the game at halftime.
The 20-point defecit, the smiling faces of Suns' players as they rollicked unimpeded throught the lane... sleep was a much better option.
West - missed layups and zero effort to block anyone out.
Devin Brown - true colors... awful all-around. Wild drives to hoop that make you want to scream.
Peja - 0 points? Are you serious? And on one wide-open three-pointer, he shot an air-ball.
Posey - it's like he's aged 10 years in one off-season. The once "defensive stopper" and hussle player now has cement in his shoes because he is getting smoked on defense.
When 2 of your "stars" - Peja and Posey - literally give you NOTHING after 9 games, you have to re-consider playing time.
biggest shocker is the Hornets total lack of commitment on defensive end.
For a team to shoot 70% in a half, you have to almost intentionally NOT play defense.
The Suns are good yeah, but come on, they were shooting friggin' layups!!!
Defense takes intensity and heart, and it appears right now, the Hornets need a visit to the wizard for both.

Do they give a "it"????

At the Hornets' last home game, Chris Paul played the Toronto Raptors.
Okay, multiple other alleged Hornet players were on the court with Paul, but Paul was the only player anyone would testify under oath that actually gave any real effort.
Byron Scott said about his team's second-half effort, "For the life of me, I can't understand why we came out with that type of energy."
In cliche'sport-speak, energy is synonomous with motivation and effort.
Everyday fans will scream that Scott needs to or didn't motivate his team.
For all you non-athletes and Byron Scott haters, last night's pathetic second-half performance wasn't about coaching.
Agin, for the hard of reading: repeat, last night's loss was NOT about coaching.
What it WAS about was effort or, as Scott said, energy. Really about the lack of effort and energy.
Ask any knowledgable person (unfortunately this excludes more than 90% of anyone reading this post) and they will tell you that coaches should not have to motivate professional athletes.
Motivation/energy/effort comes from within, from the individual.
Paul is the poster child for intensity/motivation/effort/energy. Ditto Brees.
Do you think Scott or Payton has to "motivate" these two?
Motivation is part of the "it" you hear scouts and coaches mention so often.
Armstrong, JuJu, MoPete, Peja --- all either thru age or lack of basketball IQ do not have "it."
Scott could strap to each of their heads a tape recorder, turn the volume dial clockwise to the max, and blare into their ears, with screaming, yelling, motivational speeches, etc... and you wouldn't see one more lick of motivation. Why? Because these guys dont' have "it."
Yes, ultimately Bower and the Hornets management must take blame for assembling this group, but the bottom line is each Hornet player must look in the mirror, evaluate their commitment to winning and giving this organization their money's worth of "it."

Lessons from a 3-year-old son

Again and again, God always implores us to slow down, to rest in His peace.
His Spirit constantly taps me on the shoulder and says, "Join me for a little visit," or "Why don't you to put your thoughts down in a blog?"
For a split second, I think,"Yeah, Spirit, that's a great idea!' (How funny is that, me telling God He has a great idea!)
But then I shoo away the great idea with one I just know is better.... like read Sports Illustrated or check on the latest Michael Jackson rumor.
Then last night, I'm reading Kade, my 3-year-old son, the book, "If you give a moose a muffin" (a must read!). I'm tired, need a shower and just want to zoom through this classic.
But Kade wants to jump ahead, go back, jump back ahead, tell me side stories. I'm feeling my weariness and frustration rise up.
In this moment, God speaks to me.
Appreciate this moment.
Slow down.
Love on your son like I want to love on you.
This is pure love, the no rush, just enjoy the moment innocence Kade has.
At this moment, all Kade wants is my time and love.
In this moment, I feel God and His unconditional love.