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Danno · 02-26-2012, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by alexonfyre

Sorry, but if Drew were the only important player that needed a deal I would say take however long you want, but we have 3 or 4 other guys that we really don't need to lose, and it looks like we won't have half of them come preseason.

Why do you think they won't be resigned?

SloMotion · 02-26-2012, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by alexonfyre

Sorry, but if Drew were the only important player that needed a deal I would say take however long you want, but we have 3 or 4 other guys that we really don't need to lose, and it looks like we won't have half of them come preseason.

I enjoyed the candor and pessimism in your original comment,

, and you're right, the F/O has a lot to do, but it's still early in the contract season and no sense worrying about stuff that's out of your control ... like the draft & free agency. They'll get it done, it's all just posturing for the moment, the NFL is a business.

Danno · 02-26-2012, 12:52 PM

Why the hell haven't we drafted anybody yet?

FinSaint · 02-26-2012, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by alexonfyre

Sorry, but if Drew were the only important player that needed a deal I would say take however long you want, but we have 3 or 4 other guys that we really don't need to lose, and it looks like we won't have half of them come preseason.

There's so much time left before the FA period begins that it is just too early to make such predictions.

With Loomis' track-record of keeping guys around that they want to keep, and his abilities in drawing up contracts that are as cap friendly as possible under given circumstances - I'm not worried about the fact that nothing concrete has surfaced yet.

There'll probably be many contract announcements during the week leading to the FA period, and honestly, there's no reason for the FO to get any of the contracts done before that - even Brees'.

Rugby Saint II · 02-26-2012, 03:15 PM

Take care of business.
No slackers allowed.

alexonfyre · 02-26-2012, 06:54 PM

Originally Posted by FinSaint

There's so much time left before the FA period begins that it is just too early to make such predictions.

With Loomis' track-record of keeping guys around that they want to keep, and his abilities in drawing up contracts that are as cap friendly as possible under given circumstances - I'm not worried about the fact that nothing concrete has surfaced yet.

There'll probably be many contract announcements during the week leading to the FA period, and honestly, there's no reason for the FO to get any of the contracts done before that - even Brees'.

Brees definitely has to come first, I agree with that. And they will probably sign Colston and tag Nicks. The problem is that next year Nicks will walk, since he already announced as much, if he gets tagged. It is the guys after that I am worried about. Meachem is much more valuable than most fans give him credit for, and Aubrayo Franklin needs to stick around so that Spags has more than one person who fits his scheme. If a deal isn't done some time early this week, frankly, we have no chance at keeping either of them, which would leave us in a pretty awkward position in FA and the draft. We would pretty much have to go back to picking up a WR and an extra DT instead of a cover safety and linebackers like we so desperately need. It totally bones the entire road map set up by the last couple years.

FinSaint · 02-26-2012, 08:38 PM

Originally Posted by alexonfyre

Brees definitely has to come first, I agree with that. And they will probably sign Colston and tag Nicks. The problem is that next year Nicks will walk, since he already announced as much, if he gets tagged. It is the guys after that I am worried about. Meachem is much more valuable than most fans give him credit for, and Aubrayo Franklin needs to stick around so that Spags has more than one person who fits his scheme. If a deal isn't done some time early this week, frankly, we have no chance at keeping either of them, which would leave us in a pretty awkward position in FA and the draft. We would pretty much have to go back to picking up a WR and an extra DT instead of a cover safety and linebackers like we so desperately need. It totally bones the entire road map set up by the last couple years.

Brees' contract will be done, and I would be stunned if they can't reach an agreement before the tag deadline arrives - it wouldn't serve either the Saints' or Brees' interests.

It is hard to say what will happen with Nicks, it all depends on whether or not the Saints want to have him around on a multi-year basis or if they just want to keep him around for another year while they will find/groom his successor. If the Saints want to keep him around, they will sign him into a multi-year contract. The cap won't be the problem since they can structure the contract to be end-heavy and with the rising cap space in the future, Nicks' most expensive years won't matter as much in relative terms.

Now don't get me wrong, this would mean that they'd have a lot of money invested in Brees, Nicks and Evans, but they can do it if that is the way they choose to go.

Basically the same goes for Colston and/or Meachem, but they won't overpay anyone, so if another team makes an offer which is more than the Saints' estimated worth of a given player - they'll let that player walk.

The bottom line is that the cap space isn't as one-dimensional limitation as is the common understanding of it. There are numerous things that a capable GM and FO can do to "massage" the cap numbers, and the Saints have one of the best "masseurs" around as their GM. But this all takes time and careful planning, which is why we haven't yet heard anything about contracts being finalized. Also, the later the Saints "show their hand," the less time other teams have to plan their FA strategies.

And, finally, to address your draft remark... I would hope that the Saints plan on picking up a DT from the draft, because this year's DT class is really good and large, so there'll be good DT prospects around even in the later rounds.

CharityMike · 02-26-2012, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by Danno

Why the hell haven't we drafted anybody yet?

LMAO

Tobias-Reiper · 02-26-2012, 10:36 PM

Originally Posted by Danno

Why the hell haven't we drafted anybody yet?

Because Benson is too cheap, of course ...

Seer1 · 02-27-2012, 07:09 AM

Originally Posted by Tobias-Reiper

Because Benson is too cheap, of course ...

Mmmmm, it might have something to do with the date too....

Our House, Our Time!

02-26-2012, 12:50 PM	#11
Danno Site Donor 2014 Truth Addict Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Spanish Fort, AL (via NO and B/R) Posts: 24,640	Originally Posted by alexonfyre Sorry, but if Drew were the only important player that needed a deal I would say take however long you want, but we have 3 or 4 other guys that we really don't need to lose, and it looks like we won't have half of them come preseason. Why do you think they won't be resigned?

02-26-2012, 12:51 PM	#12
SloMotion 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 6,776 Blog Entries: 15	Originally Posted by alexonfyre Sorry, but if Drew were the only important player that needed a deal I would say take however long you want, but we have 3 or 4 other guys that we really don't need to lose, and it looks like we won't have half of them come preseason. I enjoyed the candor and pessimism in your original comment, , and you're right, the F/O has a lot to do, but it's still early in the contract season and no sense worrying about stuff that's out of your control ... like the draft & free agency. They'll get it done, it's all just posturing for the moment, the NFL is a business. FinSaint likes this.

02-26-2012, 12:52 PM	#13
Danno Site Donor 2014 Truth Addict Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Spanish Fort, AL (via NO and B/R) Posts: 24,640	Why the hell haven't we drafted anybody yet? Rugby Saint II, CharityMike and SloMotion like this.

02-26-2012, 01:13 PM	#14
FinSaint Site Donor 2015 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Finland... formerly Southern Virginia Posts: 4,955	Originally Posted by alexonfyre Sorry, but if Drew were the only important player that needed a deal I would say take however long you want, but we have 3 or 4 other guys that we really don't need to lose, and it looks like we won't have half of them come preseason. There's so much time left before the FA period begins that it is just too early to make such predictions. With Loomis' track-record of keeping guys around that they want to keep, and his abilities in drawing up contracts that are as cap friendly as possible under given circumstances - I'm not worried about the fact that nothing concrete has surfaced yet. There'll probably be many contract announcements during the week leading to the FA period, and honestly, there's no reason for the FO to get any of the contracts done before that - even Brees'. Danno likes this.

02-26-2012, 06:54 PM	#16
alexonfyre Site Donor Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Black Pearl University Posts: 799	Originally Posted by FinSaint There's so much time left before the FA period begins that it is just too early to make such predictions. With Loomis' track-record of keeping guys around that they want to keep, and his abilities in drawing up contracts that are as cap friendly as possible under given circumstances - I'm not worried about the fact that nothing concrete has surfaced yet. There'll probably be many contract announcements during the week leading to the FA period, and honestly, there's no reason for the FO to get any of the contracts done before that - even Brees'. Brees definitely has to come first, I agree with that. And they will probably sign Colston and tag Nicks. The problem is that next year Nicks will walk, since he already announced as much, if he gets tagged. It is the guys after that I am worried about. Meachem is much more valuable than most fans give him credit for, and Aubrayo Franklin needs to stick around so that Spags has more than one person who fits his scheme. If a deal isn't done some time early this week, frankly, we have no chance at keeping either of them, which would leave us in a pretty awkward position in FA and the draft. We would pretty much have to go back to picking up a WR and an extra DT instead of a cover safety and linebackers like we so desperately need. It totally bones the entire road map set up by the last couple years.

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02-26-2012, 03:15 PM	#15
Rugby Saint II Bounty Money $$$ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 5800 Airline Dr. Metairie, LA. Posts: 23,720	Take care of business. No slackers allowed.

02-26-2012, 08:38 PM	#17
FinSaint Site Donor 2015 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Finland... formerly Southern Virginia Posts: 4,955	Originally Posted by alexonfyre Brees definitely has to come first, I agree with that. And they will probably sign Colston and tag Nicks. The problem is that next year Nicks will walk, since he already announced as much, if he gets tagged. It is the guys after that I am worried about. Meachem is much more valuable than most fans give him credit for, and Aubrayo Franklin needs to stick around so that Spags has more than one person who fits his scheme. If a deal isn't done some time early this week, frankly, we have no chance at keeping either of them, which would leave us in a pretty awkward position in FA and the draft. We would pretty much have to go back to picking up a WR and an extra DT instead of a cover safety and linebackers like we so desperately need. It totally bones the entire road map set up by the last couple years. Brees' contract will be done, and I would be stunned if they can't reach an agreement before the tag deadline arrives - it wouldn't serve either the Saints' or Brees' interests. It is hard to say what will happen with Nicks, it all depends on whether or not the Saints want to have him around on a multi-year basis or if they just want to keep him around for another year while they will find/groom his successor. If the Saints want to keep him around, they will sign him into a multi-year contract. The cap won't be the problem since they can structure the contract to be end-heavy and with the rising cap space in the future, Nicks' most expensive years won't matter as much in relative terms. Now don't get me wrong, this would mean that they'd have a lot of money invested in Brees, Nicks and Evans, but they can do it if that is the way they choose to go. Basically the same goes for Colston and/or Meachem, but they won't overpay anyone, so if another team makes an offer which is more than the Saints' estimated worth of a given player - they'll let that player walk. The bottom line is that the cap space isn't as one-dimensional limitation as is the common understanding of it. There are numerous things that a capable GM and FO can do to "massage" the cap numbers, and the Saints have one of the best "masseurs" around as their GM. But this all takes time and careful planning, which is why we haven't yet heard anything about contracts being finalized. Also, the later the Saints "show their hand," the less time other teams have to plan their FA strategies. And, finally, to address your draft remark... I would hope that the Saints plan on picking up a DT from the draft, because this year's DT class is really good and large, so there'll be good DT prospects around even in the later rounds.
	"I'm not bashing people, I'm bashing their opinions because in my opinion their opinion is wrong" - Danno

02-26-2012, 09:14 PM	#18
CharityMike Site Donor 2018 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Mid City, New Orleans Posts: 3,556	Originally Posted by Danno Why the hell haven't we drafted anybody yet? LMAO

02-26-2012, 10:36 PM	#19
Tobias-Reiper Merces Letifer Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 4,161	Originally Posted by Danno Why the hell haven't we drafted anybody yet? Because Benson is too cheap, of course ...

02-27-2012, 07:09 AM	#20
Seer1 Site Donor Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bayou Bayfield CO Posts: 4,722	Originally Posted by Tobias-Reiper Because Benson is too cheap, of course ... Mmmmm, it might have something to do with the date too.... Our House, Our Time!