Saints 2014 Hall of Fame Induction Class is the Worst Yet

I'm a huge Saints fan! A proud member of the "Who Dat Nation." And I was excited to hear that the Saints would be announcing the 2014 Saints Hall of Fame class today... until I saw who was in it.

The team announced Tuesday that quarterback Aaron Brooks and kicker John Carney will be inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame as the 2014 class.  According to NewOrleansSaints.com, the selections were made by the Saints Hall of Fame Media Selection committee.  I tell you that because, there aren't many members of the "Who Dat Nation" who would have selected these two players, especially Aaron Brooks.

I'm gonna tell you why I was shocked to read that Aaron Brooks will be inducted, but I'll also tell you why he's deserving.  John Carney deserves the honor, but nobody likes to nominate kickers for your football team's hall of fame.  And now the Saints will have three kickers inducted.

First off... Aaron Brooks?  Really?  Has there ever been a Saints player that took more money and provided more disappointment?  Don't say Reggie Bush, because he is a Superbowl Champion and was instrumental in the team's rise from the dust after Katrina.  Aaron Brooks however, was the bridge between the Saints pre-Katrina days and the Drew Brees era. Indeed, the Saints had a quarterback in that lost Katrina season of 2005... and Aaron Brooks was that guy.

Brooks spent six seasons with New Orleans and never lived up to expectations following his debut season in 2000.  In those six seasons, he threw interceptions, he threw backwards passes, he ran out of bounds, he called the worst audibles and missed the playoffs most of the time.  He did however, do one great thing that is deserving of the honor that the Saints will bestow on him.   He quarterbacked the Saints to their first ever playoff victory.  That is a mountainous hump that hardcore Saints fans know how hard it was to get past.  And Aaron Brooks was the guy.

It was the day before New Year's Eve in 2000 and the Saints were playing the defending champion St. Louis Rams with future hall of famers Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner.  I was at that game and Aaron Brooks threw three touchdown passes to Willie Jackson and the Saints held on for victory.  Brooks left Saints fans filled with hope.  He would later, slowly let that same hope out over the next five seasons leaving Saints fans deflated and defeated before his departure to Oakland.

Brooks showed flashes of athletic brilliance during his playing days and surprisingly has his name all over the Saints record books.  Maybe it's the era Brooks played in, but he ranks right behind Drew Brees in touchdown passes and 300 yard passing games for the Saints. So, as a member of the Who Dat Nation... I'm gonna turn the page on Aaron Brooks and welcome him back into Saints fans good graces.  Aaron, we'll choose to remember that magical winter night in the Dome in 2000 when you got our team over the biggest of humps.

AARON BROOKS (2000-05—6 seasons)
•    Quarterbacked Saints to first playoff victory in franchise history in 2000 vs. St. Louis
•    Ranks second in franchise history with 120 passing touchdowns
•    Ranks third in Saints history with 19,156 passing yards
•    Had 10 career 300-yard passing games as a Saint, second-most in team history
•    Set then-franchise record with 441 passing yards vs Denver, Dec. 3, 2000
•    Shares team record for pass attempts in a game (60)

As for John Carney, it's a well deserved honor for the years of kicking duties he put in for New Orleans.  As many clutch kicks as Carney made over his career, I'll never be able to forget the clutch kick he missed after one of the most exciting plays in NFL history.

JOHN CARNEY (2001-06, 09-10—8 seasons)
•    Saints’ career leader in field goal percentage (.828)
•    Ranks second in team history in points (768), field goals made (168), field goals attempted (203) and points after touchdown (264)
•    Shares team record for field goals made in a season (31 in 2002)
•    Kicked record-tying five field goals in a game on three occasions
•    Kicked game-winning field goal in 2005 season opener at Carolina, Saints’ first game after Katrina
•    As a Saint, kicked six game-winning field goals within the last 10 seconds of a contest.

I don't want to be too hard on these two selections with my statement that this is the worst induction class yet so let me qualify that.  Obviously, for decades, the Saints struggled to have stars on their team as well as struggled to having winning seasons.  But in recent years, Saints fans have seen some of their all-time favorites like Willie Roaf, Morten Anderson and Joe Horn go in to the Saints Hall of Fame.  After having Tom Benson, Deuce McCallister and La'Roi Glover get inducted in recent years it was surprising to see Aaron Brooks name in the announcement.  However, he and John Carney are undoubtedly a big part of Saints history and now... for good or bad, they'll be remembered by the Who Dat Nation forever.

PREVIOUS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
1988—Archie Manning and Danny Abramowicz
1989—Tommy Myers and Tom Dempsey
1990—Billy Kilmer
1991—Tony Galbreath and Derland Moore
1992—George Rogers, Jake Kupp and John Hill
1993—Joe Federspiel
1994—Henry Childs and Jim Finks
1995—Doug Atkins and Bob Pollard
1996—Dave Whitsell and Dave Waymer
1997—Stan Brock and Rickey Jackson
1998—Dalton Hilliard and Sam Mills
1999—Bobby Hebert and Eric Martin
2000—Pat Swilling and Vaughan Johnson
2001—Jim Wilks and Hoby Brenner
2002—Jim Mora and Frank Warren
2003—Jim Dombrowski and Wayne Martin
2004—Rueben Mayes and Steve Sidwell
**2005—No induction due to Hurricane Katrina
2006—Joel Hilgenberg
2007—Joe Johnson
2008—William Roaf
2009—Morten Andersen
2010—Joe Horn
2011—Sammy Knight
2012—Tom Benson and Deuce McAllister
2013—La’Roi Glover