You never wish for anyone to lose their jobs, but you also expect a decent return for the investment you make in a wayward franchise, monetary and emotional. Saints fans have not gotten an equal return in several seasons. So with the propensity for the Saints to play down to the level of their opponents, and this year to lose to them, it was as good as a sure thing the interim tag would be applied to someone on the current staff very soon. But then something unexpected happened. They won.
The Saints did not turn the ball over in their victory. They were able to stop the run pretty well and even got a score from their special teams with reserve linebacker Colby Bockwoldt’s six-yard scoring return of a fumble by Oakland’s Carlos Francis on a kick return in the fourth quarter. Some changes made to the defense, which included placing Fakhir Brown and Mike McKenzie as the starting cornerbacks, and Orlando Ruff as the middle linebacker, seemed to pay off as the team was more disciplined on defense. Kerry Collins was still able to go over the three hundred-yard passing mark and added two touchdowns, but a lot of it was due to Saints defenders simply slipping on the Network Associates Coliseum surface. The win allowed the team and coaches to breathe a little easier coming off three straight losses and heading into a bye week.
The win was bittersweet because it seems to have caused more angst than joy in the Saints fans I have spoken with and the articles I have read following the game. Questions abound. Will they turn it around or was this just the result of playing a much worse team? With the Falcons loss, do the Saints have a shot at the division or do they make a push only to collapse late again? What will it take for Jim Haslett to keep his job? Is it okay to root for the team again, or do we learn a lesson from this team’s recent history and continue to criticize?
No answers are forthcoming as the Saints are on a bye this week, but one thing is certain, Jim Haslett and his staff are on the hot seat, the team knows it, the fan knows it, and they know it. They will not be given many more opportunities to get this team going in the right direction as the owner, Tom Benson, knows that with each loss, any plans for a new stadium are losing steam and he seems willing to make the changes necessary.
Although a press conference to discuss plans to renovate the Superdome is scheduled for Wednesday, October 27, Mr. Benson won’t be able to marshall much support for help from the state with a consistently losing team. It’s put up or shut up time for this team. To fans, it’s just about time. Some change, any change, is better than the status quo.
