Most Hated Saints Person Ever: Albert Connell vs. Torrance Small

We continue with the next matchup in our "Most Hated Person in Saints History" tournament.

For those who haven't been following along,we've got a full 64-person bracket packed with all the ghosts from Saints past that you love to hate. We're going matchup by matchup, choosing the more hated Saints figure each time, until we've finally crowned a winner as the most hated person in Saints history.

The full tournament can be found directly below. Our next matchup today is between the No. 7 ranked Albert Connell vs. No. 58 ranked Torrance Small.

Your decision can be based on anything you'd like, whether it's on the field performance, off the field antics, or anything in between. I highly encourage those veteran fans to share there memories of some of the older persons in question and make their arguments for or against. Younger members may want to wait and read what the veterans have to say before placing their vote.

To help you make your decision here's a little more info on today's contestants, courtesy of BewareofDog:

Albert Connell (WR 2001) - Okay, finally. Now, we're getting somewhere. Here's a guy that Who Dats might be able to sink their teeth into when it comes to a little hate. Maybe. Let's find out. For y'all who don't remember Connell, he played one season for the Saints (his last in the NFL) and had 12 rec, 191 yds, and 2 TDs. That was the extent of his playing career for the Saints.

So, how could a fella who only played a season and had 12 catches be the object of hate by Saints fans? He ripped off our beloved Deuce McAllister, that's how. Twice. He stole $863 from his locker and $3500 from his car. He returned the money, later on, after he had been released from the team and the matter was dropped when Deuce told Jefferson Parish authorities that he didn't want to press charges.

Oh, and you can also throw some hate toward Randy Mueller who signed Connell to 5 year, $14 million contact with a $2.5 million signing bonus based on his only good season with the Redskins. Um, two and a half mil? Upfront? WTF was he doing stealing over $4000 grand from Deuce's locker and car?

Chris Rock: "I guess he just really needed some extra cheese on his whopper."

Torrance Small (WR 1992-1996) - Does anyone remember the last time the Saints beat the Broncos in Denver? Hint: It also happens to be the last time they ever won a game against the Broncos anywhere. Christmas Eve, 1994, a Saturday afternoon game. The Saints beat Denver 30-28 and part of the reason why is because Denver's secondary couldn't stop Torrance Small. He had 6 catches for 200 yards and 2 TDs of 75 and 36 yards. It is still one of only two 200 yard receiving games in franchise history (along with Wes Chandler's 205 yds in 1979 in a loss to the Falcons).

That performance was in the last game of the 1994 season and the Saints rewarded Small in the offseason with a new contract worth $5.5 million which more than doubled the $2.6 million his agent was originally seeking. Small was released two seasons later when Mike Ditka took over. There are some folks who would "hate" him because they feel he underperformed his new contract but Torrance Small was originally a 5th round pick by the Saints in 1992 who was primarily a backup during his first three seasons with the team. During his last two seasons with the team he had just as many receptions as he did during his first three (88) and he was only a starter during his final season with the team.

It was the Seattle Seahawks who offered Small the $5.5 million contract and the Saints had the right to match. They did. Should Torrance Small be hated because the Saints FO decided to overpay for a backup WR on the heels of a monster single-game performance and the threat of being outbid by another team?

Voting will be open for exactly 48 hours from the time of publish. Voting results and brackets will be updated as we go along.