Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

Looks like somebody (named Jazzy Jeff Duncan) wrote a negative article about Graham's contract that contained ZERO facts and sources, that ground Duncan's same old tired axe against Payton and Loomis, and tried to make the Saints organization look bad. Which a lot of you people took at face value, and started hooping and hollering and grabbing the bars of your cages and screaming bloody murder. So NOW someone from inside the Saints organization ("multiple league sources" that Florio quotes) is quietly putting the word out there that the Saints are in FACT doing something about Graham, and that hence by implication, it's Graham's agent that is the hangup, and that Jazzy Jeff Duncan is revealed as being a chump who writes by pulling stuff out his ---hole without any facts. As opposed to when Florio files an article, where he has MULTIPLE SOURCES confirming the same thing instead of just wild speculation.

One writer is a hack, the other is an adult. Jeff Duncan is basically reduced to being Message Board Guy. It's a lot of internal politics, a lot of back and forth in the media, but it's pretty funny stuff. Florio and Katherine Terrell just made Jazzy Jeff Duncan look like a doofus.

Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

Pay graham, he's worth it. Just like Drew is. Fill holes with

Payton and loomis could start a jewelry business with all the gems they've unearthed.

Salary cap will increase anyway

Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

It is absolutely pizz poor strategy and timing to start this discussion with Jimmy inside of the season. There are more ways this could hinder his production than make it better.

Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

The timing is definitely questionable. However this is a business and there are sometimes risks to take.

Jimmy Graham is playing like a man who already has a ticket booked to Canton! Every week he puts up these numbers he increases his leverage. This is bad for Loomis. Every week he plays he risks a career ending injury which means he gets absolutely no money. This is bad for Graham.

It may be that this is nothing more than a carrot. Something to think about as a 'We are in this position, you are in that position, you wanna cash in early or take the risk?'. Assuming they didn't put something too stupid forward this may be something to consider.

Either way, JG ain't gonna be a poor man after this deal. As a fan I don't want to see momentum disturbed but I do understand the potential business impact of this. Also, regardless of if he waits until the end of the season and possibly has a Superbowl ring, he will be a Saint. There is no way we will let him go. No way.

Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

Making Duncan look like a doofus isn't hard to do. He does it to himself quite well.

Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

Duncan can go kick rocks, for slappy to tip the Saints' hand to say that they are indeed talking with Graham only feeds this bozo's ego. Come on Loomis don't feed this clown.

Graham will get his, this doesn't fit Loomis MO. He normally works deals out after the season. IMO I like it because if the price is high now, just think the asking price after he has another off the charts season stats wise

Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

From a strategy perspective, I have learned that Mickey Loomis knows more about this than I do.

Jimmy's got a number, but he's also on pace to break some serious records (only three games in, I know), so while some see this as a risk, I prefer to look at it as an incentive to an already talented player

ML: "Jimmy, I'm going to write down a number and you tell me what you think of it."

*slides napkin across table*

JG: "Wow, that's a big number. But I'm doing pretty well this season, what happens if I redefine "beast mode?"

ML: "Well then Jimmy, then we change the number."

Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

There is zero upside to entering into a contract negotiation after the season starts when you can not close the deal. There is zero cap space to award the contract. So you either have Jimmy trying too hard and dropping passes, or the negotiations grind to a halt and he gets upset. It is nothing but a distraction for a player.

I am well versed in the risk/reward possibilities, and you do not dangle a carrot in front of a young player wanting his first big contract when he preforming at Hall of Fame levels.

Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

And Will Smith.

Re: New Orleans Saints make initial contract offer to tight end Jimmy Graham
 

Here are your Free Agents next year and their present Cap hit. How is Greer gone next year? He is ours till 2015. DLP is a whole 2M.. why is he gone?

Graham - 1.4M
Jenkins - 4M
Strief - 2.5M
Smith - 8.5M
Vilma - 3.8M
Quddus - 500k
Brown - 880k
Bush - 500k
Carr - 500k
Coleman - 600k
Collins - 500k
DLP - 2m
Haralson - 1.1m
Harris - 480k
Herring - 600k
Humber - 580k
Johnson - 775k
McCown - 500k
Meachem - 715k
Morgan - 500k
Richardson - 715k