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Still can't find the specific article mentioned. I did however, find this by Jeff Duncan. The article is kind of surprising because Duncan is usually the team's optimistic mouthpiece (Horn comments in bold):
http://whodatzone.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1422
FAMILIAR REFRAIN
Management, coaches, players continue to misstep, resulting in N.O.'s struggles
Monday, November 01, 2004
By Jeff Duncan
Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis was right a few weeks back when he said, "Everyone is accountable" for the club's disappointing season.
There is plenty of blame to be shared in New Orleans' 3-4 start, and the bulk of the blame is certain to target Coach Jim Haslett and his staff, who likely will pay with their jobs at the end of the season if they can't reverse the shaky start.
As coach, Haslett must assume responsibility for the club's failure to meet expectations, but like anything, the widespread problems are much deeper and more complex than simply coaching.
First and foremost, the players have to take responsibility for the disappointing season. The Saints were counting heavily on a handful of young veterans to emerge with breakout seasons this year, but so far, few have produced.
Wide receiver Donté Stallworth has not developed into the big-play threat the Saints were counting on when they selected him with the No. 13 pick in the 2002 draft. He has 28 catches and one touchdown in five starts. Worst of all, his 12-yard average is the lowest of the team's top four receivers.
Jerome Pathon replaced Stallworth in the starting lineup against the Oakland Raiders, and the move could be permanent.
Tight end Boo Williams opened the season with Pro Bowl aspirations. Those dreams quickly disappeared along with much of his playing time after an early spate of dropped passes, inconsistent blocking and mental errors.
In recent weeks, Williams gradually has been phased out of the weekly game plan. His production (13 catches, one touchdown) is not half of what it should be at this stage.
Offensively, the right ankle injury to running back Deuce McAllister was a major blow.
McAllister suffered the injury on his second carry of the second game of the season and hasn't been the same since. After ranking second in the conference in rushing last season, he ranks 13th with 280 yards this season. His 3.4-yards-per-carry average is the lowest of his career. Some coaches believe McAllister has run tentatively because of the injury and his fumbling problems earlier this season.
Defensively, the disappointments are even more numerous.
Johnathan Sullivan, James Allen and Cie Grant did not assume the lead roles team officials expected.
Sullivan reported to camp in poor condition, lost his starting job to a former street free agent and appears content to ride the bench. The Saints desperately needed Sullivan to step forward but he has been a non-factor. His lackadaisical attitude and apathetic sideline demeanor at Oakland irked many in the organization.
Knee problems continued to hound Grant, who was placed on injured reserve before the season. His absence forced rookie Courtney Watson to start at middle linebacker. He wasn't ready, opening the door for steady veteran Orlando Ruff.
Allen failed in a cameo role at strongside linebacker and was replaced in the lineup by Sedrick Hodge.
Meanwhile, normally reliable veterans Darren Howard and Fred Thomas have seen their play drop off drastically. Both were signed to major contracts during the offseason, but neither had managed to justify their salaries.
As the franchise free agent, Howard was guaranteed an annual salary of $6.5 million. As has been the case for much of his career, injuries have hampered his production. Sidelined for three games by neck and knee injuries, he has nine tackles and 3 ½ sacks.
Coming off a career year, Thomas turned down the Philadelphia Eagles to sign a four-year, $14 million contract with the Saints. However, he has responded with the worst stretch of games of his NFL career. In the first six games, he failed to make an interception and had one pass breakup. He lost his starting job to Mike McKenzie and is in danger of being replaced as the nickel back by Jason Craft.
Poor execution
The book on the Saints is clear and easy to follow.
Defenses stack the line of scrimmage to stop McAllister and play deep in the secondary to prevent big plays. In the process, they force the Saints' inconsistent passing game to execute long drives. More often than not, they fail. A dropped pass. A blown route assignment. An off-target throw. A protection breakdown. Invariably, something goes wrong.
Williams, Stallworth and Joe Horn are the leading violators.
Horn annually ranks among the team leaders in mental errors. Team officials are willing to put up with such mistakes from a player as competitive and productive as Horn, but Williams and Stallworth have not attained that status. As a result, they've seen their opportunities squeezed in recent weeks.
Penalties, especially pre-snap infractions, have been a problem.
Tackles Victor Riley and Wayne Gandy have played decently, but both have contributed heavily to the Saints' total of 51 penalties. Twenty-eight of the infractions are pre-snap penalties, including 18 false starts. Riley has been whistled for a team-high six false starts, and Gandy has three holding calls and four false-start infractions.
The Saints have experienced similar breakdowns on defense, where the game plan for opposing coordinators is the same as it has been for years: Pass on first down against the Saints' base personnel package, preferably in play-action, then run against their undersized sub packages.
It all starts with the run defense, which gradually has deteriorated in each of Haslett's five seasons. Four rushers have topped 100 yards against the Saints this season, including old-timers like Emmitt Smith (127 yards) of the Cardinals and newbies like Vikings rookie Mewelde Moore (109).
Poor linebacker play is the major culprit. The group, as a whole, lacks instincts and physicality. There's a reason the Saints are the only team in the league with two safeties (Tebucky Jones 51, Jay Bellamy 40) as their leading tacklers.
The shoddy running game has a domino effect on the rest of the defense. In an effort to slow down the run, the Saints often "load up" on early downs, leaving the secondary vulnerable to big plays in the play-action passing game.
The Saints have given up too many big plays on first down. The poor first-down defense is a reason why the Saints have yielded 33 receptions of 20 yards or more, by far the highest total in the league.
Coaching blunders
The staff is respected around the league, but they have contributed to the problems.
Players criticize the defensive scheme as unnecessarily complex and frustratingly conservative. Others gripe that the offensive game plans are too conservative and fail to take advantage of the lineup's personnel.
Players have groused privately about the conservative nature of the weekly offensive game plans, especially to start games. Intent on establishing the run, the Saints routinely open the game in two-tight end or "regular" sets with fullback Mike Karney and try to set the tone. Too often, they go three-and-out.
As a result, the Saints are habitual slow starters. They routinely fall behind and are forced to abandon the running game to play catch-up. The Saints have failed to score in the first quarter of six of their seven games, continuing a theme from recent years.
In the wake of the Vikings rout, Venturi scaled back the defensive game plan. Haslett got much more involved in the weekly coordination and worked with Venturi to make four changes to the starting lineup. Unfortunately, the changes might have occurred too late.
Poor personnel decisions
Loomis and director of player personnel Rick Mueller make the call in free agency and on draft day so they, too, must shoulder some accountability.
Mistakes in player acquisition have contributed to the problems on defense.
The 2003 draft should have been the foundation for the future of the franchise. Fresh off a solid 9-7 season and armed with a windfall of picks from the Ricky Williams trade, the Saints were poised to become annual contenders in the NFC playoff race. The Saints went into the offseason with an NFL-high five first-day draft picks: Two first-rounders, a second-rounder and two third-rounders.
They used one of the picks in a package to acquire Jones in a trade with the New England Patriots. Jones has struggled and the team has received little production from the other three picks.
The two first-round picks were used to move up in the draft and acquire Sullivan, who has been such a disappointment with his attitude, conditioning and immaturity that some club officials are prepared to write him off as a bust and move on without him.
Second-round draft pick Jon Stinchcomb has been inactive for 16 of 23 games. Team officials insist he will be a quality starter in time. Still, it's arguable that the Saints could have used that pick to acquire more defensive help.
Third-round pick Cie Grant has been sidelined by knee injuries that some team officials believe could be chronic. His future is cloudy.
Some team officials also question the decision to draft LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson in the second round of this year's draft. He has big-play potential and should eventually develop into a starter, but he's not ready to play and has been inactive for six of the first seven games. With so many pressing defensive needs, the selection of a receiver at that spot is debatable.
No other team in the NFL is getting less production from its past two second-round draft picks.
While its true that second-rounders like Denver's Terry Pierce, Indianapolis' Bob Sanders, Tennessee's Antwan Odom, Pittsburgh's Alonzo Jackson and New England's Marquis Hill have not produced much, those teams have the luxury of being patient. Coming off three consecutive non-playoff seasons, the Saints couldn't afford to waste valuable picks on "projects" like Stinchcomb and Henderson.
Likewise, the Saints were conservative in free agency and have been criticized for being $8.1 million under the $80.1 million salary cap.
At the time, team officials explained the strategy by saying they believed the club's core of young players was ready to assume lead roles. For the most part, that hasn't happened. Which leads to an inevitable conclusion: Either the coaching staff can't get the talent to produce or the "talent" is grossly overestimated.
If the Saints don't turn it around, the answer will be clear soon.
. . . . . . .
Jeff Duncan can be reached at jduncan@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.
http://whodatzone.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1422
FAMILIAR REFRAIN
Management, coaches, players continue to misstep, resulting in N.O.'s struggles
Monday, November 01, 2004
By Jeff Duncan
Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis was right a few weeks back when he said, "Everyone is accountable" for the club's disappointing season.
There is plenty of blame to be shared in New Orleans' 3-4 start, and the bulk of the blame is certain to target Coach Jim Haslett and his staff, who likely will pay with their jobs at the end of the season if they can't reverse the shaky start.
As coach, Haslett must assume responsibility for the club's failure to meet expectations, but like anything, the widespread problems are much deeper and more complex than simply coaching.
First and foremost, the players have to take responsibility for the disappointing season. The Saints were counting heavily on a handful of young veterans to emerge with breakout seasons this year, but so far, few have produced.
Wide receiver Donté Stallworth has not developed into the big-play threat the Saints were counting on when they selected him with the No. 13 pick in the 2002 draft. He has 28 catches and one touchdown in five starts. Worst of all, his 12-yard average is the lowest of the team's top four receivers.
Jerome Pathon replaced Stallworth in the starting lineup against the Oakland Raiders, and the move could be permanent.
Tight end Boo Williams opened the season with Pro Bowl aspirations. Those dreams quickly disappeared along with much of his playing time after an early spate of dropped passes, inconsistent blocking and mental errors.
In recent weeks, Williams gradually has been phased out of the weekly game plan. His production (13 catches, one touchdown) is not half of what it should be at this stage.
Offensively, the right ankle injury to running back Deuce McAllister was a major blow.
McAllister suffered the injury on his second carry of the second game of the season and hasn't been the same since. After ranking second in the conference in rushing last season, he ranks 13th with 280 yards this season. His 3.4-yards-per-carry average is the lowest of his career. Some coaches believe McAllister has run tentatively because of the injury and his fumbling problems earlier this season.
Defensively, the disappointments are even more numerous.
Johnathan Sullivan, James Allen and Cie Grant did not assume the lead roles team officials expected.
Sullivan reported to camp in poor condition, lost his starting job to a former street free agent and appears content to ride the bench. The Saints desperately needed Sullivan to step forward but he has been a non-factor. His lackadaisical attitude and apathetic sideline demeanor at Oakland irked many in the organization.
Knee problems continued to hound Grant, who was placed on injured reserve before the season. His absence forced rookie Courtney Watson to start at middle linebacker. He wasn't ready, opening the door for steady veteran Orlando Ruff.
Allen failed in a cameo role at strongside linebacker and was replaced in the lineup by Sedrick Hodge.
Meanwhile, normally reliable veterans Darren Howard and Fred Thomas have seen their play drop off drastically. Both were signed to major contracts during the offseason, but neither had managed to justify their salaries.
As the franchise free agent, Howard was guaranteed an annual salary of $6.5 million. As has been the case for much of his career, injuries have hampered his production. Sidelined for three games by neck and knee injuries, he has nine tackles and 3 ½ sacks.
Coming off a career year, Thomas turned down the Philadelphia Eagles to sign a four-year, $14 million contract with the Saints. However, he has responded with the worst stretch of games of his NFL career. In the first six games, he failed to make an interception and had one pass breakup. He lost his starting job to Mike McKenzie and is in danger of being replaced as the nickel back by Jason Craft.
Poor execution
The book on the Saints is clear and easy to follow.
Defenses stack the line of scrimmage to stop McAllister and play deep in the secondary to prevent big plays. In the process, they force the Saints' inconsistent passing game to execute long drives. More often than not, they fail. A dropped pass. A blown route assignment. An off-target throw. A protection breakdown. Invariably, something goes wrong.
Williams, Stallworth and Joe Horn are the leading violators.
Horn annually ranks among the team leaders in mental errors. Team officials are willing to put up with such mistakes from a player as competitive and productive as Horn, but Williams and Stallworth have not attained that status. As a result, they've seen their opportunities squeezed in recent weeks.
Penalties, especially pre-snap infractions, have been a problem.
Tackles Victor Riley and Wayne Gandy have played decently, but both have contributed heavily to the Saints' total of 51 penalties. Twenty-eight of the infractions are pre-snap penalties, including 18 false starts. Riley has been whistled for a team-high six false starts, and Gandy has three holding calls and four false-start infractions.
The Saints have experienced similar breakdowns on defense, where the game plan for opposing coordinators is the same as it has been for years: Pass on first down against the Saints' base personnel package, preferably in play-action, then run against their undersized sub packages.
It all starts with the run defense, which gradually has deteriorated in each of Haslett's five seasons. Four rushers have topped 100 yards against the Saints this season, including old-timers like Emmitt Smith (127 yards) of the Cardinals and newbies like Vikings rookie Mewelde Moore (109).
Poor linebacker play is the major culprit. The group, as a whole, lacks instincts and physicality. There's a reason the Saints are the only team in the league with two safeties (Tebucky Jones 51, Jay Bellamy 40) as their leading tacklers.
The shoddy running game has a domino effect on the rest of the defense. In an effort to slow down the run, the Saints often "load up" on early downs, leaving the secondary vulnerable to big plays in the play-action passing game.
The Saints have given up too many big plays on first down. The poor first-down defense is a reason why the Saints have yielded 33 receptions of 20 yards or more, by far the highest total in the league.
Coaching blunders
The staff is respected around the league, but they have contributed to the problems.
Players criticize the defensive scheme as unnecessarily complex and frustratingly conservative. Others gripe that the offensive game plans are too conservative and fail to take advantage of the lineup's personnel.
Players have groused privately about the conservative nature of the weekly offensive game plans, especially to start games. Intent on establishing the run, the Saints routinely open the game in two-tight end or "regular" sets with fullback Mike Karney and try to set the tone. Too often, they go three-and-out.
As a result, the Saints are habitual slow starters. They routinely fall behind and are forced to abandon the running game to play catch-up. The Saints have failed to score in the first quarter of six of their seven games, continuing a theme from recent years.
In the wake of the Vikings rout, Venturi scaled back the defensive game plan. Haslett got much more involved in the weekly coordination and worked with Venturi to make four changes to the starting lineup. Unfortunately, the changes might have occurred too late.
Poor personnel decisions
Loomis and director of player personnel Rick Mueller make the call in free agency and on draft day so they, too, must shoulder some accountability.
Mistakes in player acquisition have contributed to the problems on defense.
The 2003 draft should have been the foundation for the future of the franchise. Fresh off a solid 9-7 season and armed with a windfall of picks from the Ricky Williams trade, the Saints were poised to become annual contenders in the NFC playoff race. The Saints went into the offseason with an NFL-high five first-day draft picks: Two first-rounders, a second-rounder and two third-rounders.
They used one of the picks in a package to acquire Jones in a trade with the New England Patriots. Jones has struggled and the team has received little production from the other three picks.
The two first-round picks were used to move up in the draft and acquire Sullivan, who has been such a disappointment with his attitude, conditioning and immaturity that some club officials are prepared to write him off as a bust and move on without him.
Second-round draft pick Jon Stinchcomb has been inactive for 16 of 23 games. Team officials insist he will be a quality starter in time. Still, it's arguable that the Saints could have used that pick to acquire more defensive help.
Third-round pick Cie Grant has been sidelined by knee injuries that some team officials believe could be chronic. His future is cloudy.
Some team officials also question the decision to draft LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson in the second round of this year's draft. He has big-play potential and should eventually develop into a starter, but he's not ready to play and has been inactive for six of the first seven games. With so many pressing defensive needs, the selection of a receiver at that spot is debatable.
No other team in the NFL is getting less production from its past two second-round draft picks.
While its true that second-rounders like Denver's Terry Pierce, Indianapolis' Bob Sanders, Tennessee's Antwan Odom, Pittsburgh's Alonzo Jackson and New England's Marquis Hill have not produced much, those teams have the luxury of being patient. Coming off three consecutive non-playoff seasons, the Saints couldn't afford to waste valuable picks on "projects" like Stinchcomb and Henderson.
Likewise, the Saints were conservative in free agency and have been criticized for being $8.1 million under the $80.1 million salary cap.
At the time, team officials explained the strategy by saying they believed the club's core of young players was ready to assume lead roles. For the most part, that hasn't happened. Which leads to an inevitable conclusion: Either the coaching staff can't get the talent to produce or the "talent" is grossly overestimated.
If the Saints don't turn it around, the answer will be clear soon.
. . . . . . .
Jeff Duncan can be reached at jduncan@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.
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That would make this Saints fan very happy.Too bad it won't happen 
