To Whom It May Concern at One Buc Place:
Happy mid-week! By now the shock and awe of your encounter with the Saints should have faded slightly. But hopefully it's not forgotten. The memory of a thrashing should stay with you, as a reminder that you don't want to feel the pain of something like that again.
While I didn't see the game (and I've never been so glad so many stayed home from a sporting event before in my life) I read about it. I heard about it. Watched my Tweet Deck blow up about it. Wasn't good. Wasn't pretty. On either side of the ball.
When push came to shove, the only pushing and shoving was done by the other guys. All over the field.
You know, at the advent of this football season started, I had one simple, personal request for you: don't suck.
When you balance out the wins/decent performances with the losses/complete meltdowns, the average is just above suck, at least on my rating scale.
There have been some encouraging things so far -- the development of Josh Freeman (congrats, by the way, on not being intercepted on Sunday, even when under all that pressure) and the play of Mike Williams. But the defense needs work. It's crumbling more than old Play Doh when faced with a decent running opponent. And when you've lost, you've lost big and bad. When they say "go big or go home" I'm not sure that's what was meant.
I have a sign in my office, a replica of a poster created by the British government to raise morale during World War II. It says, with typical British practical pithiness, "Keep Calm and Carry On." That's my advice to you -- not that you asked for it, but I'm in a giving mood. The expectations for success were low this season, so any modicum of accomplishment is a good thing.
Call me a cockeyed optimist, but I still believe this season will be "above suck." You know what needs to be done -- the trade for Alex Magee is a good sign. Unproven, but encouraging.
Keep Calm and Carry On, gents.
Your faithful, long-suffering fan,
Janey