Hmmm, with the expected huge increase in the 2014 cap, this may not have been a bad move.

It'll hurt us a bit in 2013, but we'll benefit greatly in 2014.

I think the amount was like 56 mil total for tagging him 3 times

So what you are saying is that, this might not be a bad move?

From a numbers point of view yes, but from a PR standpoint it remains to be determined.

I want Brees long term, but I'm not comfortable with not being able to upgrade the rest of the team because of him.

How could we still get Colston and Nicks under contract?

We won't. If we got 1 of them it will most likely be Colston. So we are just going to let our pro bowl guard go wherever and get a big fat 0 in return. Thanks Drew!

A lot of people believe that Loomis's position in negotiating was that the tag set the value for the first and second season at roughly 16 and 18 million and that's what was holding things up. So yes, the leverage Brees has is that he is likely worth on the open market what he was asking, but that the Saints position was that he wasn't going to be on the open market and with these deals he lacks the security of a long term deal.

On the flip side, Brees does not have to sign the tender right away and could use the fact he isn't technically under contract to skip ota's and the start of training camp without incurring fines. Not sure if he will do that or not.

The biggest drawback on using the tag for Brees is that it can't be used on Nicks or Colston and the 16 million of the tag is immediately deducted from cap space until a long term deal is worked out to reduce that figure.

I wonder if this isn't Loomis pressuring Condon/Brees to sign, or it will hurt the team overall?

If Brees truly is interested in keeping our key players (which I now doubt), then this pressures him to sign before Monday.

This may be a brilliant move by Loomis. I'm simply not smart enough to put all the pieces together.

The funny thing is he was trying to get rid of the TAG during the CBA talks. Came back back to bite him in the a**. For someone who is very smart, that was dumb.

It may be a pressure move but not for the reason you mentioned. It's more sign our deal or play under a one year contract for less than the avg value of what we offered. And with that comes the risk of injury....etc.