But something changed at halftime. The Saints came out with fire and played their most inspired half of they year on both sides of the ball. They were said to have been buoyed by an inspired halftime speech given by head coach Jim Haslett, which included yelling and items being thrown around the locker room. This was a fire the team needed to see after week one, but nevertheless they held Atlanta to only seven second-half points while scoring fifteen, yet because of the inability to overcome the deficit the game ended in another loss and those seven points proved to be enough as they came late in the fourth and gave Atlanta its final lead.
Haslett’s halftime tirade was set off by the continued mistakes being made by the offense, the most egregious of which has been the false start penalties. This was the same problem the team had last year, and I guess after being called a high school team a week previous by your owner, a year and a half later is not too late to address it. These kinds of slow reactions to problems common fans notice has been an ear mark of the Jim Haslett tenure in New Orleans. Problems that should have been dealt with consistently since the beginning only seem to get addressed when the team is greatly embarrassed or called out or has its back against the wall. This has proven not to be the model of how to win in the NFL.
On a lighter note, well a heavier note, the Saints first-round number six overall pick from a year ago, Jonathon Sullivan, has been made inactive. Sullivan was inactive for the Atlanta game also, and was seen before the game in the buffet line of the media booth. Sullivan obviously has zero discipline and cares little for the team or anyone on it. It is officially time to label him a bust, and his tremendous failure as a player and as a person will probably be the single biggest deciding factor, outside of the losing, that gets Jim Haslett canned. Remember, the Saints gave up two first-round picks to move up to number six in the draft to take Sullivan and pass on current NFL stars Marcus Trufant, Kevin Williams, and a host of others. When Haslett goes, we can only hope Sullivan goes with him and eats through his bonus money just as fast as he signed for it.