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New Orleans' fans get good news
05.23.06 (3:37 pm)   [edit]

Hurricane season begins next week, which means the people of New Orleans probably have a lot more on their minds than the future of their football and basketball teams.

Drafting Reggie Bush is nice, but it won't do much to calm nerves around the devastated city when the next big storm begins to brew. Likewise, landing the 2008 NBA All-Star game won't help get the levees rebuilt any sooner.

Still, sports fans in the Big Easy have to feel a little better about things following the developments of the past week.

The most important came with the announcement by the Saints that the team had sold a record 55,000 season tickets for the upcoming season in the hurricane-damaged Superdome. Though luxury suite sales still lag, the surprisingly strong fan base means the plan spearheaded by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue to keep the Saints in New Orleans is working.

That hardly seemed possible a few months after Katrina when owner Tom Benson openly was shopping the team to San Antonio and looking for a way out of his taxpayer-funded lease at the Superdome.

Benson was so reviled in New Orleans at the time that someone left a refrigerator tied up on a sidewalk with rotting contents inside. On it was a message scribbled in spray paint: "Do not open. Benson inside."

Allowing the Saints to leave New Orleans would have been political suicide for the NFL, though, and Tagliabue knew it even if Benson didn't. He offered $20 million of the league's money to help and insisted the team remain to become a symbol for the rest of the city.

Then the Saints did something smart for once. Though they raised prices a lot in prime areas, they lowered them in others. Fans could get a season ticket for as little as $14 a game, and they responded.

The city may still be half empty. But now there will be a full house when the Superdome reopens Sept. 25 for a game against the Atlanta Falcons.

The second piece of good news came Monday with a big red bow wrapped around it. NBA commissioner David Stern announced the league's 2008 All-Star game would be awarded to the city.

That gave city officials some hope that perhaps the Hornets, who have thrived in Oklahoma City since Katrina forced them out, soon would return.

"The NBA would not want to award an All-Star game to a city (that was losing its team), so it certainly bodes well for us in that respect," said Doug Thornton, an executive with the company that manages the state-owned New Orleans Arena.

Perhaps. But Hornets owner George Shinn sure seems enchanted with his new city.

Shinn appeared to be the good guy after Katrina, vowing the team would stay and help the city rebuild at the same time Benson was looking for any loophole he could find to get the Saints out of town.

Now, however, the roles seem reversed.

The Hornets are getting fat in Oklahoma City, which is smitten with the idea that it's a big-league town. The team averaged 18,717 fans a game - some 4,000 more than in New Orleans - and even though their home arena is perfectly playable, the Hornets still plan to play 35 of 41 games in Oklahoma City next season.

The team has threatened to break its lease in New Orleans unless the state coughs up $8.5 million for a practice facility, and Shinn is seeking to sell part of the team to Oklahoma City investors.

Shinn, who said he's making twice as much money as he did in New Orleans, made it clear in an interview with The Associated Press in Oklahoma City a few weeks ago that he isn't happy with what he sees in New Orleans.

"In New Orleans, you've got high crime, you've got a bad educational system. Because of all the tourists, it's hard to keep the city clean. It's just hard. It's entirely two different markets," Shinn said. "They couldn't survive without tourists. The whole city is built on it, and you're not. You're built to draw people that want to grow families.

"And a couple things impressed me, I'm a person of faith and I love this country. I've seen more flag-wavers here and more people that are God-fearing than any part of the country."

Those comments may have prompted Stern to get busy and get owners to approve New Orleans for the All-Star game. The last thing Stern wants to do is look weaker than Tagliabue and, with the game scheduled for 2008, he seems to have effectively boxed Shinn in on his pledge to return the team to New Orleans after next season.

That may or may not happen, but at the least New Orleans will get an All-Star game out of it.

Combine that with the prospect of packed houses cheering the Saints and Bush in the Superdome, and it's been a pretty good week in the Big Easy.
 
About Aaron Brooks
03.21.06 (12:38 am)   [edit]
When you think of Aaron Brooks a comparison to Kerry Collins doesn’t instantaneously come to mind. However, Collins and Brooks do have a great deal in common. Unfortunately, much of the widespread similarities between the two quarterbacks seem to be common downfalls—mainly their poor decision making ability and propensity to turn the ball over. And with the Oakland Raiders’ set to meet with Brooks on Tuesday it would be wise if the organization carefully thought about the quarterback before getting too in depth with his future. Keeping Brooks out of the future plans all together may help to prevent another chapter in the “Kerry Collins saga.” Besides the glaring difference in mobility between Collins and Brooks, their on-field decision making is awfully similar. Simply put, both are careless and inconsistent quarterbacks. At any one point in the season, in a game, or even on a single drive, Brooks or Collins can make a spectacular play for their team or for the opposing defense. But more likely than not, both seem to aid their contesting defenses and hurt their own teams in the grander scheme of things. Since joining the New Orleans Saints, Brooks has been spectacular at times and second-rate at other times. After joining the club in 2000, Brooks has started in 82 of the 85 games he has suited up for. Looking solely at yardage and touchdown totals, both Brooks and Collins appear very impressive. Since his first start in 2000, Brooks has thrown for 19,156 yards and 120 touchdowns. Similarly, since 2000, Collins has posted just as impressive numbers, with 21,811 yards and 114 touchdowns. But behind the high yardage and touchdown totals of both quarterbacks lay interceptions, fumbles, and losses—and not in moderation. In the last six years, Brooks has thrown for 84 interceptions, fumbled the ball 59 times, lost 23 of them, and has been sacked 210 times. To measure him up, you can easily compare his numbers with Collins’ over the last six years using the same categories: 91 interceptions, 70 fumbles, 21 lost fumbles, and 180 sacks. This means there is just a difference of seven interceptions, 11 fumbles, and two lost fumbles in six years of play. Besides the 30 additional sacks that Brooks has incurred, it would be hard to find two quarterbacks as statistically similar as Brooks and Collins over a six-season span. From 1995 to 1999, before Brooks had entered the NFL out of Virginia, Collins put up 11,826 yards, 59 touchdowns, 75 interceptions, fumbled 51 times, lost 27, and was sacked 116 times playing for the Panthers, Saints, and Giants. Even each quarterback’s win/loss ratio is somewhat comparable. In 2001, Brooks’ first season as a full-time starter, he managed a 7-9 record; that same year Collins also went 7-9 with the New York Giants. In 2002, Brooks improved to go 9-7, while Collins posted just one extra win at 10-6. In ‘03, Brooks finished the season 8-8 and Collins was removed after 13 games, going 4-9. In 2004, Collins’ first season with Oakland, Brooks went 8-8 once more while Collins went 3-9. Finally, last season Collins finished 4-12 while Brooks was pulled after starting 13 games, going 3-10. In all, Brooks holds a starting record of 35-42 since 2001 and Collins holds a 27-43 record since then. This means in the past six NFL seasons, Brooks has differentiated himself from Collins by winning eight extra games—which turns out to value just over one additional win per season. One supplementary victory in 2006 is not exactly what the Raiders should be looking for right now. What’s even more frightening about Aaron Brooks is that he has yet to make a postseason appearance since finishing off a ten win season started by quarterback Jeff Blake in his rookie year. Brooks led the Saints to their first postseason victory in their franchise history, defeating the St. Louis Rams in the NFC Wildcard game 31-28 that year, but has not been back since. Offensively, Brooks has been in decent company since the beginning of his career, surrounded by players such as Ricky Williams, Deuce McAllister, Joe Horn, and Donte Stallworth. Ironically, Brooks took over the New Orleans Saints after Jeff Blake was injured on November 19, 2000 against, you guessed it—the Oakland Raiders. He started the following week and did not miss a snap up until late 2005. With Tuesday’s meeting, the Raiders could once again give life to Aaron Brooks—but not necessarily for the general welfare of the team.
 
A Turn Around
03.21.06 (12:37 am)   [edit]
The New Orleans Saints are undergoing a remarkable turnaround and local fans should be overjoyed. Just a few months ago the team fired the Saints Vice President of Administration Arnie Fielkow because of a dispute about where the team would be playing their games. The team obviously wanted to play all of their games in San Antonio, but the NFL persuaded Mr. Benson to play at least some of those games in Louisiana. Unfortunately, the team endured a horrible season, no doubt exacerbated by the constant traveling. The set-up for the team in Baton Rouge was unsatisfactory and the attendance was very poor, so many thought the stage was set for the team to leave. Incredibly, just the opposite occurred. The NFL made a pledge to help repair the Superdome. The stadium will be ready for September, after initial concerns that the building would take longer to repair. In fact, enhancements are being made to the Superdome and it should look better than ever. The Saints announced they were coming back to New Orleans and have made an ironclad commitment to stay until 2010. Mr. Benson is now the leading cheerleader for the recovery of New Orleans, saying that the team will be a major part of the rebuilding process. Benson finally fired Jim Haslett and his mediocre staff and brought in a promising new coach, Sean Payton. Yesterday was the icing on the cake, as the team acquired the top free agent quarterback in the league, Drew Brees. Along with another exciting free agent acquisition, Brees will make a major impact on the team. He has proven himself at San Diego and has the type of talent and leadership skills that are obviously lacking in Aaron Brooks. By the way, this move will allow the team to finally part ways with the inconsistent and frustrating Brooks. In itself, the quarterback change will boost ticket sales. Speaking of ticket sales, they are going very well for the Saints. The cheapest tickets have been reduced even more, making some of the most affordable tickets in the NFL. As icing on the cake, the team will get the second pick in the NFL draft and can trade that pick or fill another glaring need on the team. All of this is good news for local fans and the region. A Saints team that competes and wins can bring more than just excitement to the area, but pride. It can be a nice diversion every week from the challenges on rebuilding this region. Mr. Benson has done a 180 degree change in attitude from this fall. Not only is he the area’s top booster, but he is spending his money to bring in top talent. It is an incredible change that all of us in this community appreciate. Let’s hope that these promises are fulfilled on the football field and the Saints can once again be a team that the city and state can not only cheer for, but be proud of.
 
03.21.06 (12:36 am)   [edit]
Former Minnesota running back Michael Bennett agreed to a two-year contract with the New Orleans Saints on Friday. New Orleans also agreed to terms with linebacker Anthony Simmons and safety Omar Stoutmire while releasing guard Kendyl Jacox, who played for the Saints since 2002. Bennett, who rushed for 1,296 yards and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2002, is entering his sixth season after spending all of his previous years in the league with the Vikings. Last season, Bennett started six games, scored five touchdowns, rushed for 473 yards on 126 carries and added 27 catches for 124 yards. He'll likely play behind Deuce McAllister, whose 2005 season was cut short by a knee injury but is expected to be healthy by training camp. New Orleans also has running back Aaron Stecker still under contract. Simmons, a former top pick by Seattle in 1998, is entering his eighth NFL season. An injured wrist kept him out of the 2005 season. He played for the Seahawks until 2004 and led the team in tackles in 2001 with 123. In 2000, he made a career-high 147 stops. Simmons also has 10 sacks and nine interceptions in his career. Stoutmire's best seasons were 2002 and 2003, when he started 32 games for the New York Giants. Last season, he played in 10 games for the Washington Redskins, making 10 tackles. He has five career interceptions.