There was a guy on our local Sports Talk radio station who, while being 100% serious, suggested that the NFL brass instructed teams to take a loss to the Saints last season to help market a post-Katrina "feel good" story.
The basis of this conspiracy theory was that the league recognized that they could attract lots of non-traditional football fans who had sympathy for the Big Easy??
There was a guy on our local Sports Talk radio station who, while being 100% serious, suggested that the NFL brass instructed teams to take a loss to the Saints last season to help market a post-Katrina "feel good" story.
The basis of this conspiracy theory was that the league recognized that they could attract lots of non-traditional football fans who had sympathy for the Big Easy??
i would not be surprised in the least. i've always kinda felt deep down that anything that generates as much money as the NFL (and most pro sports) is NOT left up to chance. I try not to think about schitt like that, though... i don't want anything to put a damper on my love of sports. WWE will always be real for me, too
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THE SAINTS THIS YEAR???
Let's see..the qb has lost his mojo, the o-line can neither run nor pass block, the rb's either run sideways or just fall down, the wr's can't get open and drop too many. The d-line gets too tired and lazy, the lb's are bush league, the db's are pee-wee caliber tacklers and paper thin on the coverage. The kicker sucks, the coach makes bad decision after bad decision...and trying to make it in a shell of a city that's now treated like Sally Struthers is its official spokesperson is draining as fuck. All last year proved was how fast New Orleans can turn a great thing into nothing. It's old news, nothing to see here, move on, listen to some records, eat some food, and feel sorry for no one. Barely getting by on the bayou is getting by all the same.
WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THE SAINTS THIS YEAR???
Let's see..the qb has lost his mojo, the o-line can neither run nor pass block, the rb's either run sideways or just fall down, the wr's can't get open and drop too many. The d-line gets too tired and lazy, the lb's are bush league, the db's are pee-wee caliber tacklers and paper thin on the coverage. The kicker sucks, the coach makes bad decision after bad decision...and trying to make it in a shell of a city that's now treated like Sally Struthers is its official spokesperson is draining as fuck. All last year proved was how fast New Orleans can turn a great thing into nothing. It's old news, nothing to see here, move on, listen to some records, eat some food, and feel sorry for no one. Barely getting by on the bayou is getting by all the same.
but to go from thisclose to the Super Bowl to being TOTALLY inept from one season to the next??? i mean, they're not losing close games, they're getting stomped out by everybody they've played thus far! they had the no. 1 offense in the league last year, now they look worse than Notre Dame. And they're mostly a young team, so I don't see how they could've gotten old overnight.
could it just be that they never were really that good in the 1st place?
or could it be that HEX i put on those po' boys at the start of the season? hmmmm....
- Swing and a miss on every offseason move/decision/draft pick.
- O-Line can't block
- D-Line can't pressure
- LBers are horrid
- Poor playcalling
- Bad QB play
- Safeties are beyond horrid (can we just put in the entire LSU secondary, maybe?)
- It took one year for the Saints curse to fully take hold on Payton, Bush and Brees adn the rest of last year's newbies. It is now in full effect and we are back to sucking like we 'po to. If we're gonna suck, I'm rooting for Brett Favre to shove it up everybody's ass for the rest of the way. OR, any team that is playing the Cowboys.
All the teams we lost to will probably make the playoffs. I think we'll get some wins once we start playing some of these NFC also-rans.
Duece looks done w/ another ACL, which means he's probably done done. Which means we gonna see what the fuck Reggie is really about. With our line being so bad, I think we should just run 4 wr sets all day and pray they can hold blocks for 3-4 seconds and that Brees gets his shit straight.
Y'all wonder why cats pile on y'all when you get busted for cheating.
You mean busted for breaking an equipment rule?
Seriously, though???do you really think there's an NFC team right now better than the Pats, Colts, or Steelers?
Not sold on the Steelers being the same level as the other 2. They've had a nice early schedule. They're good, but no better than the rest of the AFC contenders IMO.
No, no one is as good as the Pats or Colts right now. Although it will be interesting to see how the Romentum fares against the Pats in a couple of weeks. The Cowboys are looking real solid.
Seriously, though???do you really think there's an NFC team right now better than the Pats, Colts, or Steelers?
Not sold on the Steelers being the same level as the other 2. They've had a nice early schedule. They're good, but no better than the rest of the AFC contenders IMO.
No, no one is as good as the Pats or Colts right now. Although it will be interesting to see how the Romentum fares against the Pats in a couple of weeks. The Cowboys are looking real solid.
What week do we get Colts v. Pats?
Week 9. They'll be the hardest test yet, although I thought the same thing about the Chargers game, and we all know how that went.
I hear you on the Steelers???not Pats or Colts caliber, but I think they've looked better than any NFC team yet. The Cowboys and the Pack are the best NFC teams I've seen, but that's not neccesarily saying much.
Pats play the Cowboys in Week 6. Best believe they won't be hanging 30+ on the Sons of Belichik. Pats win 38-?. Perhaps Romo can become the first QB to put more than 14 on the board against us. The Pats'll forego the chance to make it 52-? by putting in Cassel with 10 minutes to go in the 4th. Bank on it. And why? Because the Pats are all class, baby.
Pats play the Cowboys in Week 6. Best believe they won't be hanging 30+ on the Sons of Belichik. Pats win 38-?. Perhaps Romo can become the first QB to put more than 14 on the board against us. The Pats'll forego the chance to make it 52-? by putting in Cassel with 10 minutes to go in the 4th. Bank on it. And why? Because the Pats are all class, baby.
We'll see about all that. They're a touch better than the lil' sisters of the poor you guys have been running it up on.
Pats play the Cowboys in Week 6. Best believe they won't be hanging 30+ on the Sons of Belichik. Pats win 38-?. Perhaps Romo can become the first QB to put more than 14 on the board against us. The Pats'll forego the chance to make it 52-? by putting in Cassel with 10 minutes to go in the 4th. Bank on it. And why? Because the Pats are all class, baby.
We'll see about all that. They're a touch better than the lil' sisters of the poor you guys have been running it up on.
They certainly are that, and I respect Romo for his accomplishments so far. But we could've tacked on an extra couple of TDs against the Chargers and the Bills if we hadn't laid off. Who would've thought the rest of the AFC Eact would be so weak? And the Chargers? What the hell happened there?
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
- It took one year for the Saints curse to fully take hold on Payton, Bush and Brees adn the rest of last year's newbies.
Wasn't long ago that Haslett looked like a genius his first year as the Saints coach along with a new qb sporting a supposedly bright future.
I actually just finished watching Twin Peaks Season 2 for the first time. Carazy!
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
- It took one year for the Saints curse to fully take hold on Payton, Bush and Brees adn the rest of last year's newbies.
Wasn't long ago that Haslett looked like a genius his first year as the Saints coach along with a new qb sporting a supposedly bright future.
YUP. SPEAK.
"IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN"
The Saints ain't good enough. We're close, and close don't mean shit. I'm tired of coming close. I'm pissed off right now. You bet your ass I am. I'm sick of coulda, woulda, shoulda, coming close, if only.
Its a new week, games I care about and others I'll be watching:
Giants vs Eagles: I'm not worried about McNabb, I am worried about Westbrook even though he is somewhat injured. Also, will Litto Shepard be around? As long as the Giants defense and offense can carry on like last Sunday's second half, its in the bag. Giants 23 Eagles 20 in a nail-biter.
Colts vs Broncos: Broncos haven't looked good this year, barely beat the Raiders and Bills, lost to the Jaguars last week. The Colts will probably stomp them, but it might be intersting since Denver is pretty good defending against the pass, and while Addai is no slouch, Manning's passing game is crucial to the Colts. Colts 30 Broncos 13
Cowboys vs Rams: Can a creampuff team pull an upset? I'd like to see it, but with TO and Barber against a weak d, its unlikely.
Bears vs Lions: Rex gets benched! Not a bad move considering those first three games, but Griese, ehhh. I'm giving this one to the Lions as hurt as they are, the Bears are shakey this year. It will be a close game as it always is when midwest neighbors face each other.
Packers vs Vikings: Another midwest matchup. Gotta talk about the Pack since they are 3-0. Farve is not 100%, but the dude's looking sharp as fuck. I haven't been paying attention to the Vikings so I don't know whats going on over there. But I think the Pack starts loosing its magic this week and things start to even out in the NFC North.
Chiefs vs Chargers: Chargers go back home after two tough weeks on the road. They'll beat the Chiefs at home no doubt.
The rest: Pats over Bengals, duh, most lackluster MNF? Pittsburgh over Arizona, to go 4-0 too! Bucs over Panthers Ravens over Browns Seahawks over SF Dolphins over Raiders Bills over Jets Houston over Atl
The rest: Pats over Bengals, duh, most lackluster MNF?
What, more lackluster than that Washington/Philly game where the Eagles scored an exciting 4 field goals? Yeah, that one was a pleasure to watch. That Tennessee/New Orleans game wasn't exactly exciting either; New Orleans is just *bad* right now. At least in theory the Pats/Bengals game should have a lot of offense and be something to watch. The Pats will score often on the Bengals' defense so Palmer will have to come out firing.
Besides, do you really think that's gonna be the most lackluster MNF game? I mean, we still have to look forward to Dallas/Buffalo, which will probably be really ugly unless Buffalo finds some offense fast. The Giants/Falcons game could be a real loser too, and the Falcons/Saints game doesn't look too appealing right now. Miami/Pittsburgh could be an ugly one-sided affair too since you have two good defenses but only one reasonable offense to speak of.
The rest: Pats over Bengals, duh, most lackluster MNF?
What, more lackluster than that Washington/Philly game where the Eagles scored an exciting 4 field goals? Yeah, that one was a pleasure to watch. That Tennessee/New Orleans game wasn't exactly exciting either; New Orleans is just *bad* right now. At least in theory the Pats/Bengals game should have a lot of offense and be something to watch. The Pats will score often on the Bengals' defense so Palmer will have to come out firing.
Besides, do you really think that's gonna be the most lackluster MNF game? I mean, we still have to look forward to Dallas/Buffalo, which will probably be really ugly unless Buffalo finds some offense fast. The Giants/Falcons game could be a real loser too, and the Falcons/Saints game doesn't look too appealing right now. Miami/Pittsburgh could be an ugly one-sided affair too since you have two good defenses but only one reasonable offense to speak of.
Actually you're pretty on point with this. Wasn't there some rurmor going around last year that the NFL intentionally set up some bad MNF games since the show moved to ESPN? I do remember about three seasons ago the MNF games being pretty on point, while the Sunday night games were pretty meh.
*Delete the cheap shot, but Sunday night will not eb boring because I am biased :/
And Geno-pon-da-cheetoh, be lucky your team is on a bye week lest they get embarrassed four weeks in a row.
We tawmbout YOUR team, mahfalacka. It's mad weak to play the "wha-wha-wha-wha-bout your team, Cappy" card so quick.
Hey, my team stinks right now. Are you happy?
But here's the rub....being in Cowboy country....before I got the Sunday Ticket, I was subjected to so much NFC East football. I just can't take it man.
Packers vs Vikings: Another midwest matchup. Gotta talk about the Pack since they are 3-0. Farve is not 100%, but the dude's looking sharp as fuck. I haven't been paying attention to the Vikings so I don't know whats going on over there. But I think the Pack starts loosing its magic this week and things start to even out in the NFC North.
The Vikings lost their starting QB already. They weren't very good to begin with. Aside from Adrian Peterson, who shouldn't do much since the Pack are better against the run, they don't have any offensive weapons.
PLEASE, BEING SUBJECTED TO IGGLES/JINTS ON SNF IS THE BIGGEST TURD OF THE WEEK!!!
eagles will score a huge amount (77 points is possible) on giants execrable secondary... it will be fun to watch in a perverse sort of a way
brian westbrook will play and will THROW for a touchdown. take note, this is not the type of prediction any mere mortal would even think about making... when it happens you will know what type of being you are dealing with here on soulstrut
Comments
The basis of this conspiracy theory was that the league recognized that they could attract lots of non-traditional football fans who had sympathy for the Big Easy??
i would not be surprised in the least. i've always kinda felt deep down that anything that generates as much money as the NFL (and most pro sports) is NOT left up to chance. I try not to think about schitt like that, though... i don't want anything to put a damper on my love of sports. WWE will always be real for me, too
Let's see..the qb has lost his mojo, the o-line can neither run nor pass block, the rb's either run sideways or just fall down, the wr's can't get open and drop too many. The d-line gets too tired and lazy, the lb's are bush league, the db's are pee-wee caliber tacklers and paper thin on the coverage. The kicker sucks, the coach makes bad decision after bad decision...and trying to make it in a shell of a city that's now treated like Sally Struthers is its official spokesperson is draining as fuck. All last year proved was how fast New Orleans can turn a great thing into nothing. It's old news, nothing to see here, move on, listen to some records, eat some food, and feel sorry for no one. Barely getting by on the bayou is getting by all the same.
but to go from thisclose to the Super Bowl to being TOTALLY inept from one season to the next??? i mean, they're not losing close games, they're getting stomped out by everybody they've played thus far! they had the no. 1 offense in the league last year, now they look worse than Notre Dame. And they're mostly a young team, so I don't see how they could've gotten old overnight.
could it just be that they never were really that good in the 1st place?
or could it be that HEX i put on those po' boys at the start of the season? hmmmm....
Isn't this the New York state motto?
- O-Line can't block
- D-Line can't pressure
- LBers are horrid
- Poor playcalling
- Bad QB play
- Safeties are beyond horrid (can we just put in the entire LSU secondary, maybe?)
- It took one year for the Saints curse to fully take hold on Payton, Bush and Brees adn the rest of last year's newbies. It is now in full effect and we are back to sucking like we 'po to. If we're gonna suck, I'm rooting for Brett Favre to shove it up everybody's ass for the rest of the way. OR, any team that is playing the Cowboys.
Duece looks done w/ another ACL, which means he's probably done done. Which means we gonna see what the fuck Reggie is really about. With our line being so bad, I think we should just run 4 wr sets all day and pray they can hold blocks for 3-4 seconds and that Brees gets his shit straight.
You mean the entire NFC?
Y'all wonder why cats pile on y'all when you get busted for cheating.
You mean busted for breaking an equipment rule?
Seriously, though???do you really think there's an NFC team right now better than the Pats, Colts, or Steelers?
Not sold on the Steelers being the same level as the other 2. They've had a nice early schedule. They're good, but no better than the rest of the AFC contenders IMO.
No, no one is as good as the Pats or Colts right now. Although it will be interesting to see how the Romentum fares against the Pats in a couple of weeks. The Cowboys are looking real solid.
What week do we get Colts v. Pats?
And for the Giants hater a few posts before, if you are down on anyone it should be sorry ass Campbell and Betts.
Gene: Colts vs Pats is week 9
Week 9. They'll be the hardest test yet, although I thought the same thing about the Chargers game, and we all know how that went.
I hear you on the Steelers???not Pats or Colts caliber, but I think they've looked better than any NFC team yet. The Cowboys and the Pack are the best NFC teams I've seen, but that's not neccesarily saying much.
Pats play the Cowboys in Week 6. Best believe they won't be hanging 30+ on the Sons of Belichik. Pats win 38-?. Perhaps Romo can become the first QB to put more than 14 on the board against us. The Pats'll forego the chance to make it 52-? by putting in Cassel with 10 minutes to go in the 4th. Bank on it. And why? Because the Pats are all class, baby.
We'll see about all that. They're a touch better than the lil' sisters of the poor you guys have been running it up on.
They certainly are that, and I respect Romo for his accomplishments so far. But we could've tacked on an extra couple of TDs against the Chargers and the Bills if we hadn't laid off. Who would've thought the rest of the AFC Eact would be so weak? And the Chargers? What the hell happened there?
Wasn't long ago that Haslett looked like a genius his first year as the Saints coach along with a new qb sporting a supposedly bright future.
YUP. SPEAK.
"IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN"
PLAYOFFS? DON'T TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS! YOU KIDDIN' ME?
Giants vs Eagles:
I'm not worried about McNabb, I am worried about Westbrook even though he is somewhat injured. Also, will Litto Shepard be around? As long as the Giants defense and offense can carry on like last Sunday's second half, its in the bag. Giants 23 Eagles 20 in a nail-biter.
Colts vs Broncos:
Broncos haven't looked good this year, barely beat the Raiders and Bills, lost to the Jaguars last week. The Colts will probably stomp them, but it might be intersting since Denver is pretty good defending against the pass, and while Addai is no slouch, Manning's passing game is crucial to the Colts. Colts 30 Broncos 13
Cowboys vs Rams:
Can a creampuff team pull an upset? I'd like to see it, but with TO and Barber against a weak d, its unlikely.
Bears vs Lions:
Rex gets benched! Not a bad move considering those first three games, but Griese, ehhh. I'm giving this one to the Lions as hurt as they are, the Bears are shakey this year. It will be a close game as it always is when midwest neighbors face each other.
Packers vs Vikings:
Another midwest matchup. Gotta talk about the Pack since they are 3-0. Farve is not 100%, but the dude's looking sharp as fuck. I haven't been paying attention to the Vikings so I don't know whats going on over there. But I think the Pack starts loosing its magic this week and things start to even out in the NFC North.
Chiefs vs Chargers:
Chargers go back home after two tough weeks on the road. They'll beat the Chiefs at home no doubt.
The rest:
Pats over Bengals, duh, most lackluster MNF?
Pittsburgh over Arizona, to go 4-0 too!
Bucs over Panthers
Ravens over Browns
Seahawks over SF
Dolphins over Raiders
Bills over Jets
Houston over Atl
What, more lackluster than that Washington/Philly game where the Eagles scored an exciting 4 field goals? Yeah, that one was a pleasure to watch. That Tennessee/New Orleans game wasn't exactly exciting either; New Orleans is just *bad* right now. At least in theory the Pats/Bengals game should have a lot of offense and be something to watch. The Pats will score often on the Bengals' defense so Palmer will have to come out firing.
Besides, do you really think that's gonna be the most lackluster MNF game? I mean, we still have to look forward to Dallas/Buffalo, which will probably be really ugly unless Buffalo finds some offense fast. The Giants/Falcons game could be a real loser too, and the Falcons/Saints game doesn't look too appealing right now. Miami/Pittsburgh could be an ugly one-sided affair too since you have two good defenses but only one reasonable offense to speak of.
I'll type up my picks in a lil' bit, GV.
Actually you're pretty on point with this. Wasn't there some rurmor going around last year that the NFL intentionally set up some bad MNF games since the show moved to ESPN? I do remember about three seasons ago the MNF games being pretty on point, while the Sunday night games were pretty meh.
*Delete the cheap shot, but Sunday night will not eb boring because I am biased :/
We tawmbout YOUR team, mahfalacka. It's mad weak to play the "wha-wha-wha-wha-bout your team, Cappy" card so quick.
Hey, my team stinks right now. Are you happy?
But here's the rub....being in Cowboy country....before I got the Sunday Ticket, I was subjected to so much NFC East football. I just can't take it man.
The Vikings lost their starting QB already. They weren't very good to begin with. Aside from Adrian Peterson, who shouldn't do much since the Pack are better against the run, they don't have any offensive weapons.
eagles will score a huge amount (77 points is possible) on giants execrable secondary... it will be fun to watch in a perverse sort of a way
brian westbrook will play and will THROW for a touchdown. take note, this is not the type of prediction any mere mortal would even think about making... when it happens you will know what type of being you are dealing with here on soulstrut
Donovan McNabb @ New York
Jon Kitna home vs Chicago
I'd go with McNabb......if you're playing against my team go with Kitna.