Armchair QB: And so it ends...

The same way it began -- with an ass-whipping. Sure, there was only a touchdown difference in the final score, but the game wasn't that close. It was another Saints special. Putting the ball on the ground, getting stupid penalties, even the incredible night that Pierre Thomas had couldn't overcome the boneheaded mistakes.

Thomas is about the only bright spot to take out of this game. I've been a fan since preseason, and I was very pleased to see him get a chance to show what he can do this week. What can he do? Well, over 100 yards rushing and over 100 yards receiving is definitely not a bad first start. The best performance of a Saints running back this year. I don't want to discount the great play of Aaron Stecker over the past few weeks, but I do wonder what we might have done with Pierre Thomas in the game all those games when we were trying to get Reggie Bush to be the man.

Another disappointing end to a disappointing year. While I'm upset at the way the season went, I still feel like there's a bright future for this team. I'm just having a little trouble seeing it tonight.

Armchair QB: SOS

That would be Same Old Saints.

How many times have we been here, especially in the last few years. We've got to win to get in, and we can't get the job done. In fairness, the Eagles played very well today and our sideline looks more like a hospital ward than a football field, but we still had the chances.

The twist of the knife, of course, was the fact that Washington beat the Vikings, meaning that if we had found a way to win, we would control our own destiny. Now, we're hoping for the stars to align and planets to collide. We have to win, Washington has to lose to a Dallas team that's clinched home field and likely won't play any of its starters, and the Vikings have to lose to Denver. Mathematically, we're not eliminated, but in the real world, we blew it.

Of course, when the game starts on the crazy note today's did -- a fumble rolling around for 30 yards and ending up in the end zone under an Eagle -- you know what kind of day it's going to be. I felt pretty confident after our first drive and then the forced fumble that ended in a touchdown, but after that, it just seemed we couldn't do anything until the end of the first half. That last-second Grammatica field goal turning a disaster into three points has to be one of the top plays of the year. We go into the second half with a great drive and three chances to put the ball in from the one, and we can't get the job done. Give the Eagles defense credit, they whipped us up front. I don't disagree with the decision to go for it on fourth and goal, but as much as I like what Aaron Stecker has done for us, I question giving the ball to a guy with a bad wheel after we've been stuffed on the two previous running plays. Then, of course, came the questionable roughing call and the downward spiral.

As disheartening as yet another home loss in a key situation was, there were a few good things to talk about. I continue to be impressed with Stecker's performance. He looked like a monster in the early going, then came back after being carted off to finish the game strong. The guy has shown nothing but heart since replacing Reggie Bush, maybe more than anyone else out there in black and gold. He deserves a shot at earning a starting job somewhere, and as much as I'd like to keep him in New Orleans, he may just get it after this performance.

And what about Martin Grammatica? Sure, it's only four kicks, but after what we went through with Olindo Mare early in the season, it's pretty exciting to this Saints fan -- especially the 55-yarder under pressure at the end of the first half.

So, there's still hope, but getting to the playoffs at 8-8 isn't exactly an exciting proposition. It's almost like cheating in a way when you get in because someone loses instead of because you won the right. It feels like a recipe for one and done.

Don't get me wrong. Next weekend, I'll be in front of my TV, screaming for the Saints. I'll be back there cheering for Denver, and even though I'd rather have my fingernails ripped out than cheer for the Cowboys, I'll even hope they win. At this point, though, I think it's time to start talking about getting our key players healthy, the draft and fixing our defensive problems for next year.

Armchair QB: Hype

The hype is back on. I guess, as long-suffering fans of the Saints, we're just too eager to latch on to any kind of hope. It seems that some fans and analysts already have us pencilled in for that last wild card spot. Let's not forget, though, that some of us had the NFC South championship pencilled in a few weeks ago.

I was definitely pleased with the Saints' performance today. We did what we should have done and took care of business in a must-win situation. Drew Brees is looking great again, and how about Aaron Stecker? As strange as it sounds, perhaps Reggie Bush going down might be the best thing that could have happened for our playoff hopes this year.

I think too often since the loss of Deuce, the Saints have tried to cram Bush into a hole where he doesn't fit, as a head-down, plowing through the defense kind of runner. But Bush really needs a guy like Deuce to be the workhorse and give him a chance to get out in space and make the kind of plays he can make. Bush is not a guy that can carry the load himself. Stecker's shown over the past two games that, with a little relief from Pierre Thomas, he can. It gives us a solid running attack, and the coaches don't feel pressure to get the ball into Stecker's hands if the run's not working the way they do with Bush. It simplifies the gameplan.

As far as playoffs go, I have just as much hope as any Saints fan that we can finish 9-7 and sneak in, but I temper that hope with reality. First, we have to take care of our end of the deal, which includes beating Philadelphia and Chicago. That's not a given, particularly since we'll be going to Chicago on December 30, where it's likely to be snowing and cold. I don't need to remind anyone about that NFC Championship game last year. And even if we take care of our end, the Vikings have to lose, and they've been hot lately. It's definitely possible, but I wouldn't be making my plans for a playoff tailgate party just yet. For Monday night, all I can say is "Go Bears."

Armchair QB: Playoffs? Are you kidding me?

So with all the announcers' talk about the Saints climbing back into playoff contention and the team looking fantastic in blowing out Atlanta last night, they almost got me amped up again. Then I remembered that we were playing the Falcons, and there are some high school teams out there that might have a legitimate shot at beating the Falcons this year.

Still, it was a satisfying victory for me. I've always said, no matter how bad the season, it can be redeemed by sweeping the Falcons (or beating the Cowboys in a year that we play them.) So, yeah, I'm happy. But playoffs? I'm not ready to go back down that road yet. That's three straight wins away and a little help from some other teams, and I remember a couple of years when all the Saints had to do was win one of their last four games to get in, and they couldn't do it. I'm not buying into it yet. Impressive wins over Arizona and Philadelphia could get me back there, though.

I wasn't going to mention the Vick thing, but I have to say that I found it annoying to see players and fans paying tribute to him as though he were the victim of some tragedy. The only thing Vick is the victim of is his own stupidity. He knew what he was doing was illegal, and it follows that he should have known he was risking his freedom and livelihood in doing it. Sorry, but to me, dogfighting is a pretty stupid thing to gamble a multi-million dollar NFL contract and even more in endorsement deals on. The guy did the crime, he's got to do the time. End of story.

I also found it somewhat annoying that all the post-game talk was about Vick and Reggie Bush, two guys who didn't play a down last night and one that may never again. How about a little thumbs up for Aaron Stecker and Pierre Thomas who combined for the best rushing game of the season? Sure, it was against the Falcons, but it's nice to see the two-back attack again -- even if it wasn't the two we planned.

New mag

Just passing along a little info on a new magazine that the metalheads here might be interested in. It's being done by metal folks for metal folks. Looks like it might be cool -- and the price is definitely right for the first year. Check it out.

Armchair QB: WTF?!?!?!

I'll be 35 next Saturday. I've been watching football for at least 25 of those years, probably a few more. On Sunday, I witnessed what might be the absolute worst play call that I've ever seen in my life.

We've just sacked Luke McCown for a safety and gotten the ball back with a three point lead. There are three minutes left in the game. Momentum is with us. All we need to do is get first downs and eat up clock. Why are we running a trick play? I understand we're missing Deuce, who is the go-to guy in this situation, but give the ball to Aaron Stecker behind Mike Karney and run the damned clock out. But not the Saints, we try a reverse, put the ball on the ground and lose the game. We effectively blow our season on a trick play that made no sense. Even Jim Haslett wouldn't have made a call that boneheaded.

All I can do is shake my head.

There's a point when even the most optimistic fan has to admit that his team is going to miss the playoffs, and even my rose-colored glasses are starting to fog up from the steam coming out of my ears after that play. This team is far too inconsistent and makes way too many mistakes to get there. Their best shot was winning the NFC South, and I think Tampa pretty much has the conference wrapped up now. They'd have to lose a lot of games to weak opponents and we'd probably have to win out. I don't see either of those things happening.

Here's hoping Deuce gets healthy and we can somehow fix our defensive problems in the offseason. There's always next year.

Random Rant: Another ebook push

So, we're back to the ebook push again with the launch of two new readers from Amazon and Sony. I've made my feelings on ebooks pretty clear in the past, but with the launch of these new readers, I dutifully made the effort to check them out.

I first looked at Amazon's Kindle, and much to my surprise, I was actually kind of impressed with it. No, I don't believe I would like it as much as a real book, but, at least from the shots of it on the site, this looks like the most readable reader I've ever seen. The screen looks very much like a real book page, and with the cover they offer, you could almost hold it the way that you hold a book. I thought this might be worth at least checking out. Then I got to the price -- $400. After I put my eyes back in my head, I cruised on back over to the regular book section of the site. No thanks.

I next took a look at the Sony E-Reader. It looks a little less clunky than the Kindle, but, at least from the images I've seen, the screen doesn't look as easy on the eyes. Again, though, there's a $300 investment up front. That will buy a whole lot of traditional books.

Putting aside that I love my dead tree books and the fact that I hate the way the electronic format makes books somehow feel disposable, these readers, while the best we've seen so far, still have a lot of challenges. The biggest I believe, as I pointed out above, is the price. To your average person who doesn't have money to blow, a $400 upfront investment doesn't make a lot of sense. Most new releases that I've seen in ebook format cost $9.99. That's more than the average paperback, and not a whole lot less than what you can usually find the hardcover for online. (Not to mention the fact that, if you don't want to keep it, you can resell the hardcover or paperback, pass it along to a friend or donate it to a book fair. Things you can't do with the electronic copy.) It's a price point that I don't believe a whole lot of people are going to be willing to pay -- possibly only techies and hardcore environmentalist types who will feel better about themselves because they're saving trees. That's not a big audience, and not enough, I believe to push ebooks mainstream.

Then there's the fact that the software for these machines is proprietary. Want to download an ebook from the library onto your Kindle or E-Reader? Too bad. The only way to get the book you want is to purchase it from either Amazon in the case of the Kindle or Connect in the case of the Sony. I bristle at proprietary formats anyway. It's the reason that I have an MP3 player that's not an iPod -- one that allows me to load music from many different sources and from many different services. I'd say very few bibliophiles buy every single book that they read brand new. If we did, we certainly wouldn't have $400 to drop on a reader. This cuts out those of us who like to save a few bucks by buying used or going to the library.

So I hear the same argument building from some quarters that the music industry has already used on us. Authors deserve to get paid for their work and reselling or sharing a book with a friend is wrong. *sigh* I'm a writer. I hope to one day be a published writer. You can bet your ass I believe authors (and musicians) deserve to get paid for their work. When I am published, though, I will be delighted if someone likes my book well enough to pass it along.

It's an argument that's never made much sense to me. Someone that's not familiar with your work is much more likely to give it a shot if a friend passes the book along than they are to drop $10 on it at the store. I don't know how many times a friend has passed along a paperback, and I've liked it enough to go out and buy all the author's work. I don't know how many of my favorite bands I was introduced to by someone handing me a dubbed cassette (those are the little plastic things with wheels and actual tape in them for my younger readers.) I've literally spent thousands of dollars on authors and musicians that I took a chance on because they were handed to me for free.

Back to the subject at hand, I'll admit that these new readers have my attention, and that's quite an accomplishment considering my love of real books and my mindset about ebooks. But they've still got a long, long way to go. For right now, I still don't think they're ready for prime time and that little paper, ink and glue loving part of me smiles at the thought.

Armchair QB: Who are you?

Attention real New Orleans Saints team: Will you please take the field for the remaining five games of the season?

Seriously, whichever one you are, please show up for all of the remaining five games. If it's the team that stomped Carolina today, the one that looked like the team that went to the NFC championship game last year, that's fantastic. If it's the team that looked absolutely horrible in losing to Houston last week or the team that gave St. Louis its first win of the season, well, there's always next year. But give us some semblance of consistency. Don't toy with us poor, deluded fans who are hanging on with blind faith to the hope that we can make a run in our pitiful division and make the playoffs. Either give us a reason to hope or put us out of our misery.

Next week should be the telling game. While I still think 9-7 will win this division, which gives us enough wiggle room for one more loss somewhere down the stretch, I don't think it's possible to win the division if that loss is to Tampa Bay.

So, here we are, a far cry from my foolish prediction that the opening game of the season would be a preview of this year's Super Bowl. Now, I'm digging my fingernails into the hope just to get a playoff game and watching them rip off as we continue to slide down the cliff. Here's hoping the team that played today shows up for the next five weeks and lets me keep as many of those fingernails as I can.

Oh, and by the way, will someone (Steelers, I'm talking to you) please beat the damned Patriots so I can stop hearing how they're invincible, unbeatable and destined to go 19-0 already? Thanks.

Review: "Making Money" by Terry Pratchett

Once upon a time, a new Terry Pratchett novel was mandatory reading for me, but I just haven’t found his last few books as funny as expected. I’ve even missed a few completely over those years. So I opened “Making Money” ($25.95, HarperCollins), it was without the excitement that I once had.

The book returns to the story of the unfortunately named Moist von Lipwig, introduced in “Going Postal.” The former con man was given a new lease on life in that book when Lord Vetinari, the patrician of the city of Ankh-Morpork, spared him from execution to put him in charge of the floundering post office. In a few years, Moist has used his former criminal skills to get the post office running more smoothly than ever.

Now, Moist is bored and has returned to his criminal ways, in secret, for some excitement. The city also has another problem — its banks are failing. Vetinari once again turns to Moist to “persuade” him to take over the royal mint. Throw in the conniving family of the late chairman who want to seize control of the mint, an assassin’s guild contract and a girlfriend who is head of a golem liberation organization, and you’ve got all the makings of a zany Pratchett tale.

Once again, though, “Making Money” just doesn’t stack up to past Discworld offerings. The book will hold the interest of Pratchett fans, but don’t expect many laugh-out-loud moments, just a chuckle here and there. The satirical element of Pratchett’s work does run through the entire book as he takes stabs at several social and political issues, but it’s not quite as cutting as he’s been in the past.

The characters here also don’t seem as colorful and well-realized as some of Pratchett’s past heroes and villains. Maybe its my affection for older characters like Rincewind the Wizzard, Granny Weatherwax and, of course, Death, but most of the new characters don’t seem to connect the way those did. (This from the guy who was happy to see new blood in the books just a few years back.)

Storywise, the book is interesting and enjoyable, and it’s a step above some of his considerable output over the past decade or so, including “Going Postal.” If you’re new to Pratchett, though, I’d advise digging back into the Discworld catalog before trying out the newer volumes.

Read my reviews of past Pratchett novels. (Please note that some of the first reviews on this page are very old and rudimentary.)

Armchair QB: Stupid games

Well, it certainly didn't take long for the "I told you so" crowd to come out. In fact, they were out before the game ended Sunday. I wasn't going to be home for the game and was recording it. I stopped at a restaurant around 2 p.m., a guy there saw the Saints license plate on the front of my truck and started in. Mind you, at that point it was 20-7 in the third quarter.

Let's put aside the fact that we never should have been down 34-7 to St. Louis in the first place and just look at that fourth quarter. At least they gave us some excitement, and I still believe that had Josh Bullocks come down with either of those onside kicks that passed through his hands, we win that game in an incredible comeback. I certainly think there was more drama than Chris Berman's enthralling ESPN analysis of the fourth quarter: "the Saints scored some points late."

I felt pretty good after the Jacksonville game, but I told my wife, I'll feel much better if we take care of St. Louis next week and don't have one of our stupid games. Saints fans will know what I mean by "stupid games." It's when the team gets on a roll, wins a few games, starts looking better, then in rolls a winless or one-win team and not only beats us, but thrashes us. It's a very familiar pattern, one I hoped we'd break. But, we had a stupid game.

It's the same old Saints inconsistency. True, the Rams didn't play like an 0-8 team on Sunday, but the Saints did. Unlike the unflappable Drew Brees of last season, the one that started the game on Sunday was the Aaron Brooks impersonator from earlier this year. The guy that senses pressure and puts the ball up for grabs. And why is Jason David still on the field? I know Fred Thomas isn't the answer, but I think we'd be better off with him in there. Every smart quarterback in the league has the number 42 etched in his brain coming into a game with New Orleans. Drop back, look for 42 and let fly. Your receiver is as good as open.

Luckily, we're in the weakest division in the league, so we're still in the hunt for the NFC South. I think 9-7 wins the division, possibly even 8-8. Also luckily, we don't play the Dolphins.

Armchair QB: Four in a row -- wow

Though I never gave up hope, I'll admit that four weeks ago, it was even hard for me to look at this team and think it could make something of itself. I was preaching patience to my fellow Saints fan, but everything I was saying was about next year. Even I had pretty much given up on doing anything this season.

So it took some time for me to really embrace the fact that we might be back when we started to win. I was heartened by the victory over the 49ers, and though there were certainly a lot of things to work on, I had to admit that we did what you should do against a weaker opponent we took the lead and we kept it.

I was a bit more impressed with this weekend's victory over Jacksonville. Sure, they were without their starting QB, but I don't think that would have mattered. Our offense seems to really be clicking again, and the defense is looking good up front. We still have some problems in the backfield (Jason David burned again) and Olindo Mare has still got to go. Should we make it to the playoffs, which now looks like it might be a possibility again, I don't want him trotting out there with the game on the line. Unfortunately, Sean Payton doesn't seem to agree.

Overall, though, I'm happy at the halfway point, particularly considering how we started. Certainly 6-2 would be better, but in the NFC South, 4-4 is still very much alive. I am, however, holding my breath as we face the winless Rams next week. On paper, it should be a laugher for us, but the Saints have a historical way of making really bad teams look better and giving winless teams their first W. If we win this week, I'll feel a lot better.

Review: "The Name of the Wind," by Patrick Rothfuss

Normally I hate it when a writer starts one story then morphs into something else, but I really can’t hold that against Patrick Rothfuss in his excellent debut novel "The Name of the Wind" ($24.95, DAW).

It starts with the tale of an innkeeper with a secret past and some strange spider-like creatures who are attacking people on the road around the village. When a scribe comes to town and discovers the innkeeper’s secret, it changes to the life story of the innkeeper, who is actually the hero (and villain) Kvothe. In the end, the reader is left without any real resolution and with very little knowledge of what was going on at the beginning of the book. The spider-like creatures remain almost as much a mystery as they are when a guy walks into the bar with a dead one. As frustrating as that might sound to some, it’s really not at all.

The reason is that Kvothe’s story is fascinating. We follow him from his childhood with the traveling Edema Ruh and the tragedy he faced there, to his time on the streets in the city of Tarbean, to his quest for magic and the name of the wind at University. Along the way, it mixes elements of a lot of different stories.

Overall, the character of Kvothe reminds me a little of David Gemmell’s Druss the Legend. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but there’s just something about the feel of the story that gives me that same vibe. Maybe it’s the quiet, stoic heroism — though, I believe we’ll discover that hasn’t always been Kvothe’s way. Certainly, there’s the feel of a very dark and dismal "Oliver Twist" during Kvothe’s time on the streets, and much of the character’s experiences at the University will remind readers of the Harry Potter stories, though with a much more adult tone.

That said, "The Name of the Wind" doesn’t seek to emulate any of those stories. Despite perhaps reminding readers of those and more, Rothfuss’ debut stands on its own as a fascinating story about a fascinating character. The book creates a lot of questions in the reader’s mind, but answers few of them, instead hinting that all will be revealed as Kvothe’s story continues. There’s also something about Rothfuss’ style that seems to reassure the reader that patience will be rewarded and all will be revealed.

"The Name of the Wind" is a very well-crafted story with complex and likeable characters, and to me, that’s really what you look for in a fantasy novel. I highly recommend it.

Get "The Name of the Wind."

Armchair QB: Two in a row

So I'm a little late on this one. I was out of town for the Seahawks game and watched it late, then was playing catchup at work, dealing with elections and fall's my busiest season of the year. I'm behind on lots of stuff. It happens.

At any rate, you've got to be pleased to finally get in the W column and almost ecstatic to win two in a row at this point. I've been preaching patience in the Saints circles that I run in. It seems after the 0-4 start a lot of the folks around me had forgotten that Sean Payton led this team to its best season ever just last year. They were calling for wholesale changes to the team. Some were reasonable -- a new kicker. Some were ludicrous -- trying to get Ricky Williams back if he's reinstated. No thanks.

I've got a theory, though, and that is that teams who have success quickly and unexpectedly like the Saints did last season aren't really prepared to deal with all that comes with it. Certainly, we were overhyped coming into the season, and fan expectations, including my own, were running way too high. Then there's the fact that never in the history of the team have faces from the Saints been as prevalent as Reggie Bush and Drew Brees are right now. I mean, you see one, if not both of them, during every commercial break during every game. That has to be a bit of a distraction if you're not used to dealing with it. I think the team is just finally settling down and getting back to business. Better late than never.

That's not to say that everything is fixed. They gave us a good scare at the end of the Seattle game, and barely survived against an awful Atlanta team -- though certainly you have to note that's a rivalry game, too. Then there's the fact that we punted from the 35 because we don't trust our kicker to send him out for a 52 yarder. I'm still not sure that we did the right thing by not signing one of the kickers we tried out, but for now I'll trust that Payton knows what he's doing. He served us well last season.

Still, looking down our schedule, it doesn't look too bad. Niners, Jags, Rams, Texans, Panthers, Bucs, Falcons, Cardinals, Eagles and Bears. There are definitely some tough games there, but with the Eagles and Bears struggling, it certainly doesn't look as vicious as it did at the start of the season.

Certainly the Saints have got a tough mountain to climb. They'd have to finish 8-2 to match last season's total, 7-3 to salvage a winning season. I haven't given up hope yet, though. They'll definitely have to play better than they have even in their two wins, but I think a 9-7 finish and sneaking into the playoffs as a Wild Card team is not out of the question at this point. It's not the Super Bowl that we hoped for before the season began, but I think most of us would be happy with it.

Armchair QB: U-G-L-Y

Feels like old times, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Ugly. That's really all I've got the energy to say right now.

Random rant: Extra room on the bandwagon

Some people might think that an 0-3 start would cause people to question their loyalty to their team. Those people have probably never been real fans. They’re like this guy.

It may sound funny, but in some ways, this year’s start has made me a more fierce fan of the Saints. Sure, I’m as frustrated as anybody about the underachieving team. I’m upset that Deuce McAllister is done for the season. I’m mad because our offensive line can’t block anyone this year and our defensive backs can’t cover anyone. I’m disappointed that what I thought would be a dream season now looks like a season in which the Saints won’t even make the playoffs. But at least I’m not like that guy and the thousands more out there like him who have turned on the team only three games into the season.

I’ll still be in front of my TV every Sunday afternoon if I can’t actually be in the Dome. I’ll still wear my black and gold proudly whether we end the season 13-3 or 3-13. If we don’t make the playoffs, I’ll still believe next season will be our year, and the season after that, and the season after that. That’s what being a fan means — not cheering for the team when they’re winning.

I’ve been a Saints fan since I was a child, and I’ve been through highs and (mostly) lows with this team. I’ve jumped up and down in the Dome and screamed my head off as they won the big game. I’ve also sat until the bitter end of a lopsided loss as the building emptied on more than one occasion. Sure, I like to gripe about them when they’re struggling and wonder why I continue to follow them, but the next time they kick off, you can bet I’ll be there. That’s what being a fan means.

All my life, friends and family have poked fun at me for being a Saints fan through the losing seasons. They’ve taken great joy during the years when the Saints flopped in saying, "I told you so," and they may get to do it again this season. But guess where many of those people were sitting on Sunday afternoons during the Saints’ run last year? Yep. Right in front of the TV acting like they’d always been fans. They went out and bought their hats and T-shirts when it looked like the Saints might go to the Super Bowl. Now, they’re neatly tucking those away, and they’re back to laughing at those of us who still believe.

All I can say is good riddance. I’m thankful for the extra elbow room up here on the bandwagon, and I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. I know you’ll be climbing back up here when things turn around.

Armchair QB: Thank God for the bye

Three weeks into the season, and I'm already stunned into numbness. I watched the last quarter of tonight's game with a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach, akin to the one I had after the NFC Championship game last year. Like so many others, I had high hopes and lofty predictions for what this season would be like. At least 11 or 12 wins, a Super Bowl appearance. Seems a little silly now, sitting here at 0-3. The hard facts are that, as the commentators pointed out several times, only five teams in history have started 0-3 and made the playoffs. None of them have made the Super Bowl. The even harder fact is the team we've seen these first three weeks doesn't look remotely like a playoff team. To paraphrase Dennis Green, they're not who we thought they were. That galvanizing force that brought this team together last year -- the fire, the drive, the heart -- just doesn't seem to be there. Even the home crowd couldn't jumpstart them.

The mistakes keep coming from the guys you least expect. Last week it was Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister putting the ball on the ground. This week it was Drew Brees, one of the most accurate passers in the league last year, throwing four interceptions and fumbling. In fairness to Drew, he got zero protection. The Titans were in his face almost as soon as he got the ball on almost every play. That line that looked like a brick wall looks more like a picket fence with a bunch of boards missing this year.

The hardest part to take is that you know they've still got the talent. We saw it in the third quarter on a scoring drive that looked like last year's team. Heck, even Jason David made a few plays. I thought they'd finally found that old rhythm again, but after Drew's fumble, things just seemed to fall apart. It's another scene that's eerily familiar to Saints fans.

Perhaps the worst news of the night for fans though, was the report that Deuce's knee injury could be a season-ending ACL tear. That would definitely steal the thunder from the Saints' running game -- quite literally. Not to mention likely ending the career of one of my favorite players. Here's hoping that the "sources" aren't correct and we can see 26 back out there in a couple of weeks.

Update: It appears the reports of Deuce's injury were true. Very bad news indeed.

Perhaps with a week off, the Saints can regroup and find something to rally around and come out with a little more intensity and consistency in week 5. You've got to have faith. That's about all we've got left at this point.

Random rant: No, really, our envelopes cost $8 each

If you've been reading regularly, you might remember that my son is a Thomas fanatic. So, in preparation for Christmas I've been doing a lot of eBay shopping for trains since the retail price of the wooden Thomas trains is ridiculous. (There's no way I'm buying that a 2 ½-inch wooden train with a magnet on each end is worth $12, but that's another rant.)

Luckily, I've found a great seller for my Thomas needs, but when it comes to other things, I always get a chuckle out of shopping on eBay. It happens every time I click on something that seems to have a reasonable price only to find out that shipping on the item costs twice what the item itself costs. Last week, I was shopping for some SD cards when I encountered this. The 1 GB cards were $5.99, which I knew was too cheap, so I also knew the shipping would be outrageous. In this case there were several sellers offering those cards with shipping ranging from $10 to $11.

What sent me into peals of laughter, though, was the one seller I clicked on who was positively indignant about people complaining about his inflated shipping charges. Did I mention that he also wouldn't combine shipping on multiple items? So two SD cards, shipped in the same envelope = $22 shipping, three cards in the same envelope = $33 shipping, etc. He explained that it was not just shipping but the price of the envelopes and labels that you were paying for, before ending angrily, "if you don't like my shipping charges, don't buy the item." OK, no problem.

I've sold on eBay and half.com for years, and I understand you have to pay for envelopes, labels, etc., but let's break this down. First class shipping on an SD card in a padded envelope is, maybe, $1.50 max. Then, let's just assume that your envelope and your label cost $1 each (and those would be some very, very expensive labels and envelopes -- mine cost less than $1 combined), that's still $3.50. Don't try to tell me you need $11 to cover the cost of labels and envelopes.

Of course, we all know what's going on here. It's rampant on eBay. People want to offer a super-cheap price on the merchandise, so they jack up shipping rates to cover the loss they're taking on the sale price. It looks a lot better to have that SD card listed for $5.99 than for $13.99, and you hope people won't pay attention to the shipping until it's too late. I'm just wondering if anyone's really falling for that. Judging by the fact that I constantly see people bidding more on items than they can buy them for in the store, I'm assuming just for the feeling they get from winning, I guess there probably are. (That's also backed up by eBay's latest slogan, "shop victoriously.")

Here's a thought. Don't try to make up your losses on shipping and shovel crap down my throat about envelopes and labels. Give me the best possible price that you can give me on your item with a reasonable shipping cost. If it beats my local store, I'll buy it. If not, I won't. You won't have to worry about going on the defensive with people who are angry over your inflated shipping, you'll look better and your customers will feel better about you. Imagine that. Of course, it will never happen. That's just not the eBay way.

Armchair QB: In for a long season

Another week, another ass whipping, another frustrating season as a Saints fan. At least that's what it's looking like from here.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not ready to bail yet, but I am getting that familiar sinking feeling. I'm remembering those times the Saints had a good year, sent expectations through the roof and then tanked. I'm seeing the pattern come into focus again.

I expected the team to come out of the gate blazing this week after last week's embarrassment in Indianapolis. I expected not only a win, but an impressive win. I expected a statement game against a division rival. I guess maybe I got that statement. It was definitely not the one I was hoping for, though.

The sad thing is no one seems to know what the problem is. Sure there's Jason David who gets burned every week like a pasty guy on a beach, and we can't forget Olindo Missé, but the problem goes deeper than that. With the possible exception of the defensive front, these guys just don't look like they're ready to play. Deuce and Reggie both put the ball on the ground. And what about that offensive line? The one that didn't let anyone get to Drew Brees last year? This year, he's running for his life. There have been moments in these first two games that reminded me of the Archie Manning years.

I haven't been this disappointed in a Saints team since the infamous late-season collapse in 2002.

Next up, the home opener against Tennessee. In the Dome, Monday night. No, the atmosphere won't be anything like last year's home opener against the Falcons, the return after Hurricane Katrina. But the Saints need to treat it just like that game. I'm sure I speak for most of the Black and Gold Nation when I say that I need to see something next week. It's time to show the fans that have supported this team through thick and thin (mostly thin) that you're not about to disappoint us again. To paraphrase a famous New Orleans saying, show me something, mister.

Review: "Dragons of the Dwarven Depths" by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

During my junior high and early high school years, I was a devoted follower of the Dragonlance series based on the world from then-TSR's (now Wizards of the Coast's) Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. If you'd asked me in ninth grade to name my favorite books, the Legends trilogy would have been right there near the top. In fact, my first novel, written in my high school years, was a complete ripoff of the Chronicles trilogy.

Somewhere during those last couple of high school years, I lost interest as the company began pumping out a series of lousy novels that were really only connected by the Dragonlance logo on the cover. But when I saw this new installment, "Dragons of the Dwarven Depths," from the original writers Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, I just couldn't pass up the chance to revisit my childhood.

I had some reservations going in. After all, this is the beginning of a trilogy that promises to fill the gaps between the books in the Chronicles trilogy. I thought those three books covered the story pretty well. Also, there's always that nagging feeling about revisiting something I really enjoyed 18 or 20 years ago and finding it isn't as special as I remembered. I revisited the Chronicles a few years back and still found them fun, and I enjoyed Weis and Hickman's more recent War of Souls trilogy. Nostalgia won.

"Dragons of the Dwarven Depths" tells the story of the finding of the Hammer of Kharas, the tool used to forge the legendary dragonlances. The companions are trying to lead a group of former slaves from Pax Tharkas to safety after the fall of the Dragon Highlord Verminaard. But a pair of draconians have stepped up to take Verminaard's place, determined to destroy the former slaves. The only place of safety available is the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin, which hasn't been opened in 300 years.

The book is tough going through the first 100 pages or so. There are huge information dumps throughout as Weis and Hickman try to recount the events of "Dragons of Autumn Twilight" and offer up backstory on the characters that long-time readers already know by heart. They're so big and come so often that I was going "OK, let's get on with the story already," and I almost didn't make it through the first part of the book I understand the need to get new readers up to speed, but I think perhaps there are better ways to go about it.

Once that's out of the way, the pace picks up a bit, but there are still a few problems. One of those is that we already know how the book turns out. So, for example, when Tika is attacked by a draconian or when the companions are prisoners of the Hylar dwarves and under attack by the Theiwar, there isn't as much suspense as their could be. After all, we already know that all of the companions survived and made it through to "Dragons of Winter Night." It's a challenge of any prequel and one that's hard to overcome.

There's also, at least in the hardcover edition that I read, a serious editing problem. There are tons of missing words, misspellings and incorrect grammar. I'm an editor myself and know what the job is like, so I'm pretty forgiving of a few mistakes, but these were so frequent that they took me right out of the story on several occasions. That's never good.

Finally, there's the question of the characters. Most of them seem somehow different from the characters that I remember. Two decades ago when I was reading these books, I cared for these characters deeply. Here, most of them seem very shallow to me and there were only a few moments when I was genuinely pulling for them. That could be the product of faulty memory or the passage of time and experience as a reader. I'd have to revisit the originals to say for sure.

So there are a lot of factors stacked against "Dragons of the Dwarven Depths." Are there any good points. Sure. The latter part of the book moves swiftly and is a lot of fun. Then, there's the nostalgia factor. It's always nice to visit with some old fictional friends, and there are a few moments in this book that offer a little bit of extra insight into favorite characters.

If you're a newcomer to the Dragonlance world, I'd still recommend reading Chronicles and Legends first. For fans of the original two trilogies, though, it's a nice, enjoyable little walk down memory lane. It wouldn't be at the top of my reading list, but it's probably worth a look.

Armchair QB: Stupor Bowl

Well, my Super Bowl preview prediction tonight turned out to not be so super. Apparently, the Saints' explosive offense got confiscated at the Indianapolis airport and our defensive backs spent the whole night there filling out the forms to try to get it back.

I was prepared for a loss going into the game. Of course, I wanted the win, but I don't mind losing to the defending champs in their house on opening night of the season right after the Super Bowl banner has been unfurled in the rafters. That's a lot to overcome. But to get a royal ass-whoopin' was not something I was ready for.

That snippet of "The Saints are Coming" that played right after the lone New Orleans touchdown might have been the highlight of the night at my house. Granted Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison are not the easiest guys in the league to cover, but at times, it didn't even look like our guys were trying. Our offense was more conservative than Bill O'Reilly, even down by 24. Where were the shots down the field? Just one or two is all I ask.

Sure, it's only the first game of the season, and we were in the defending champs' house on the night they celebrated their championship. But, if you're a Saints fan, it gives you some cause for concern. We've seen it all before. The team has a fantastic season, gets everyone fired up and lays a big egg the next year. After a performance like tonight, you've got to wonder if it's "here we go again." I don't think so. I think this team is a lot better than that, and I think this coach is a lot better than that.

So we're 0-1. That leaves 15 more games, and we'll get another shot at the Colts in February.