At this juncture, let's join a jangle juxtaposing jubilation and jeremiad. Jump into the joust of those jovial and jaded jurors, Fleur Daly and Aintny Whodat-
AW: Two years ago, a 3-13 NFC West team hired a new head coach- a man with a
history of heart trouble who earned his stripes as a player and coach
with the Dallas Cowboys. Today, Dan Reeves and the Falcons are in the
Super Bowl; Mike Ditka and the Saints are in the toilet bowl.
FD: Not! We came within a hair of beating Arizona. A win there means the
team controls its own destiny at home vs. Buffalo- hello playoffs! We
would've kicked even more Cowboy butt than the Cards did- remember the
way we stomped 'em in the Superdome? That puts us in Minnesota, where we
played tough in the regular season...
AW: Enjoy your stay in the Wonderful World of Disney! Upon your return, look
for some new bromides, 'cause all the old ones are gone. The Falcons are
no longer keeping us company as co-doormats- they've beaten us 8 straight
times, conquered Frisco, and made it to the top. Now that the Cardinals'
half-century without a playoff win is over, the focus is squarely on our
32-year record of postseason futility. The Saints are not getting the job
done; Coach Ditka is in charge of a *bad* football team.
FD: I'll acknowledge that the '98 Saints weren't among the league's elite,
but look at how our 6-10 record came about- six defeats came to the four
teams that made the NFC Semi-Finals, and three more losses came against
AFC playoff teams. The season was poisoned from the start when Billy Joe
Hobert went down in the opener. Fontenot's season-ending injury then
left the team with a vacuum in the middle. The defense suffered as well,
with Sagapolutele missing the whole year and Kevin Mitchell unavailable
for most of the second half of the season. It's a testament to Ditka's
coaching ability that he was able to squeeze six wins out of the team.
AW: Apparently those rose-colored glasses do nothing for your myopia- relative
to the rest of the league, the Saints got off easy injury-wise. Anyway, I
suspect a healthy Hobert would've suffered the same fate as our uninjured
QBs- yo-yo city. He played a good half of football vs. St. Louis-
whoop-dee-doo. His '97 QB rating as a Saint was 59; his journeymanity
would've shown through before long.
FD: He'll get a shot to prove himself in '99, as will Tolliver and the rest
of the bunch. By the time the starter is determined, a fine supporting
cast should be in place. The '98 draft was outstanding (Turley, Cleeland,
Bordano, Weary, Perry); look for the braintrust to add more great players
through the draft this year. In addition, the austerity of the past two
seasons will pay dividends in free agency- all the dead money (and dead
wood) is gone now.
AW: Ah yes, the annual mirage of free agency. Last year's crop sure turned
out well. Sean Dawkins and Qadry Ismail are gone, Lamar Smith wants to
be traded, and the Saints wound up swallowing Chad Cota's poison pill.
Oh, and don't forget how much fun Andre Royal was! As for the departures,
Eric Allen, Richard Harvey, and Anthony Newman helped put the Raider D
amongst the league's best, and Winfred Tubbs played in the Pro Bowl.
Smashing.
FD: You forget that the Saints are already winners in the upcoming free
agency period- proaction locked in Fields, Glover, and Johnson to
long-term deals. Kuharich and company can concentrate on acquiring new
talent without having to worry about other teams ripping apart our squad.
AW: Hoo boy, Kuharich- there's no better proof that Benson is a lazy owner
content to coast and rake in the dough. He bought the team and hired
Finks, Mora, and Kuharich; Finks died, Mora quit, Kuharich's still there.
Autopilot all the way. When it was time to make a change, Kuharich was
retained. He promptly played it safe with a PR move- hiring Ditka instead
of a promising young offensive or defensive coordinator.
FD: Yeah, those coordinators are can't-miss. Just look at Dave Wannstedt,
Ray Rhodes, Dom Capers, Kevin Gilbride, etc. There is no magic formula.
The line between success and failure is razor thin- just because we went
6-10 doesn't mean we can't make a quantum leap and surprise some people
in '99. Who's in our way? The Falcons are already starting to fall
apart, and they'll be toast once Chandler finally gets knocked out
permanently. Everyone forgets how close the Vikings came to being
completely dismantled a couple of years ago; plus, they used up all their
money on free agency last year and will be decimated by departures this
offseason. The Packers have a new head coach; the 49ers have been hanging
by a thread for years. Believe it or not, the Saints are close.
AW: Oh ye of too much faith. When will you realize that the Saints are going
nowhere? The only promising sign is that Ditka has hinted he'll do the
honorable thing and terminate his own contract if things don't get better
this year. That scenario is probably the only way we'll ever get rid of
Danny "if it wasn't for Mike's check I wouldn't have a check at all"
Abramowicz, who has somehow made me long for Carl Smith. Until Ditka's
gone, expect more pointless grab-bagging via waiver-wire roster
management.
FD: Is that a Kerry Collins reference? Hey, picking him up was worth a shot.
Whatever you think about upper management, Ditka is aggressively looking
for a winning combination. It may not be pretty, but it will work. The
groundwork has been laid; in year 3 things will start to happen.
AW: What kind of things, more player arrests? Face it, the Saints are a team
with no QB, no talent at RB or WR, barely enough offensive linemen to put
on the field, and a defense that yields big plays. Yuck.
FD: Try not to be too disappointed when the Saints start tearing through the
playoffs, OK?