Prank not appreciated

Don't get excited about the prospect of an autographed NFL football from the New Orleans Saints bearing the signature of Al Pacino, Emmitt Smith or Danny White. They're fakes, and Saints coach Mike Ditka is angry. New Orleans recalled a few of the charity footballs after finding fake signatures among the Saints' autographs. Ditka disclosed the incident Tuesday during a weekly show with Chicago radio station WSCR-AM. He said the team is trying to identify the perpetrator. Ditka revealed the prank in response to a recent published quote from an anonymous Saints player who said 60 percent of the team wants to see him fired. Ditka said he thinks 90 percent of the players want him back, despite a 2-10 record this year. "I hadn't heard anybody talk about it, and on top of that, hell, I don't know if we got anybody smart enough to figure out what 60 percent of 53 is," quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver said Wednesday. "I sure don't know. How many is that?" Tolliver said he had not heard any talk about that and it certainly didn't come from him. "I think he's a hell of a football coach, we've just go to play better for him," Tolliver said. Ditka said the anonymous player is probably the same one who signed fake autographs on the charity footballs. "That's the kind of clown one of those guys is," Ditka said. Later, on his weekly show on WWL-AM in New Orleans, Ditka said: "I think it's an act of ignorance of people who don't appreciate the job they have and the role they have." Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said only a few balls were ruined and they will be replaced. He said the team frequently autographs balls for charity.

With the 35-12 loss to Atlanta, the Saints have lost 10 straight to the Falcons, 10 of their last 11 games, 20 of their last 25 and 12 straight road games -- the longest active streak in the NFL. They are 14-30 under coach Mike Ditka.

The Saints are on track to record their second worst season since going 1-15 in 1980.

The losing streak transformed Benson from a laughing booster for Ditka into a recluse who refuses to talk to reporters.

"I don't think he's very understanding of what happened," Ditka said. "Not that he should be. No one should be. I don't think he's very understanding of the situation right now. I know he's unhappy about it.

"Is he supportive of me? I don't know, you'd have to ask him. I believe that he is, but that's not the key issue. I'm supportive of a lot of players that probably won't be here next year. We have to make some changes and if he felt the same way then he'd have to make a change. It's that simple."

Although he admits changes will have to be made, Ditka was reluctant to say he would fire any assistant coaches.

"When the season's over, what I think we ought to do as a staff is sit down and talk, and try to find out what we're going to do, what we want to do, where we're going to go," Ditka said.

"I'm willing to listen to anybody about anything, but I think it's very unfair to people, coaches, and their families to say that we're going to make a change. If you knew me at all, and you people maybe don't know me, I'm probably loyal to a point that it's ridiculous, and that can be a fault, but I am very loyal, and I don't know if that will ever change."

Ditka said he has no plans to quit, however.

"I hear all this stuff," Ditka said. "People coming to me, saying the right thing to do would be to resign, but nobody's in the position I'm in. I believe first of all when you sign a contract, you honor the contract. If the contract's meant to be broken, it has to be broken by other people. I don't understand what other people are saying. Is there right now an elixir or fix-all for this team. Yes, the only fix all we can have is winning."

Ditka had built hopes after trading eight draft picks for running back Ricky Williams, proclaiming Williams the "missing piece to the puzzle," and predicting the Saints would make a run for the Super Bowl this season. Since then, ticket sales have plummeted. The Saints only sellout this season is for the upcoming game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Benson devoted four of the six paragraphs in his statement to urging fans to attend the final two home games.

"I certainly understand the people want to know what I will do to put this organization back on a winning track," the statement said. "Until the appropriate time, however, I shall have no further statement other than to thank the fans who continue to support the team and attend the games."