| 
(9/17/03) Jim Haslett came a little closer to putting his dream team together yesterday, cutting backup white quarterback J. T. O’Sullivan and picking up black safety Victor Green. The Saints are now down to just 10 white players on their 53-man roster. Any talented black kickers and punters, please call Jim Haslett! He’ll definitely find a space for you on the roster.
(9/5/03) Any pro football fan who hasn’t realized how black the NFL has become will certainly be stunned if he gets a look at this year’s New Orleans Saints team picture. Just 11 whites are on the 53-man roster, just 6 out of 48 if QBs, the punter, place kicker and long snapper are excluded.
Only two blacks start out of 22 starting positions, and one, C Jerry Fontenot, is a 16-year veteran playing what he says is his last year. TE Ernie Conwell is the starting TE. By next year, if Conwell is injured or released, head coach Jim Haslet will finally realize his cherished dream of fielding an all-black team. He’s undoubtedly thinking of ways even now to find some black kickers and long snappers!
The backup TEs are black, as are all the other o-linemen with the exception of rookie Jon Stinchcomb. Todd Bouman, who should have started ahead of Duante Culpepper in Minnesota the past two seasons, and J. T. O’Sullivan are the white backup QBs to black starter Aaron Brooks. Of course the receivers and RBs are all black.
There are two white defensive backups, LB Travis Carroll and safety Steve Gleason. Neither saw the field last year and it would be surprising if they did this year. The Saints once again hold their title, holding off stiff competition from Dallas, Baltimore, Arizona, Seattle and Houston, as the NFL’s blackest team.
LIKELY NUMBER OF WHITE STARTERS: 2
APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF WHITE PLAYERS ON 53-MAN ROSTER: 11
GRADE: F-
(3/14/03) The Saints apparent goal of fielding the first all-black team is still on schedule. Various media reports indicate that the team’s major goal is to trade star white guard Kyle Turley. The team had only three white starters last year
