Reflecting A Year Later On The Marcus Davenport Selection...
Making my peace, lately with lots of things lately in my life which has definitely affected my outlook on even my opinions on sports...
Take the ribbing from friends I take over the never ceasing complaining over the Davenport selection (recap: was that p*ssed as the team had turned the corner, and Sean's ego had to geaux off-script in the draft)...
So let me just get this reality out of the way - Davenport will never be worth the draft capital Sean Payton gave to select him. Never...
That's not Marcus' fault, it's Sean Payton's fault...
Davenport will be a fine defensive end - but he's no elite Lawrence Taylor talent; nor J.J. Watt talent. Davenport may develop into Cam Jordan's talent, but it won't justify another one of Payton's horrible draft gaffes.
And it's not just Payton's fault, it's Loomis' fault too. And it's not just Loomis' fault because it's Tom Benson's organizational failure to install, enforce checks and balances against a now-tenured head coach...
You see, the Problem is that no one man in an organization should have that much power. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts, absolutely... That's what winning a Saints Superbowl does...
History repeats, we've seen this before, in Miami, with Don Shula. Engineered the only perfect season in '72. Just a decade later, the Perfect Quarterback, Marino, falls to Shula. And not one Superbowl Trophy in that career...
Shula should've been fired when it was apparent he was riding Marino's talent, but was holding back the team with horrible drafts, free agencies, even coaching hires. Sounds familiar?
But Shula had the same tenure, clout that Payton enjoys. And Payton should've been fired for the back-and-forth 4-3 to 3-4 back to 4-3 defense seasons (7-9 records), Byrd, Galette signings, all of it. But Payton, too, had tenure.
Then the improbable 2017 draft happens and the Saints potentially land three (3), HOF talents in a draft, maybe more. And then Payton goes against his nature and doesn't take the kill-shot vs Minnesota. Same vs the Rams...
So Payton has tenure and he's here so long as he deems fit. His yes-man Loomis firmly entrenched, with a boss' yes-man numbers guy in Lauscha providing sauve in the incredible revenue this revered small-market brings...
But now, now, I'm pulling for Marcus Davenport because he will be the one who ultimately pays the price of always having to answer that draft validity question. And I see a young kid who just wants to be a football star...
And that's why I'm pulling for Davenport to provide the Saints Fans great memories that he can point and say - "I may not have been worth the picks, but I made plays to make the Saints winners..." And that will be enough...
That is what I'm pulling for Marcus, because no player, with the hypocritical, but understandable exception - a generational franchise quarterback, should have that load placed on him...
Why the QB? Because no other position can truly determine the outcome of a game as a QB can. If you watch football, know the game, you know this is an absolute truth...
I've been, and will continue to be critical of Payton's draft gaffe(s). But I will only be critical of Davenport should he fail as a man or in his efforts to the team, but not for being selected with that much draft load...
So I'm pulling like hell for Marcus this year to make plays and to help make this team a winner, again...
Take the ribbing from friends I take over the never ceasing complaining over the Davenport selection (recap: was that p*ssed as the team had turned the corner, and Sean's ego had to geaux off-script in the draft)...
So let me just get this reality out of the way - Davenport will never be worth the draft capital Sean Payton gave to select him. Never...
That's not Marcus' fault, it's Sean Payton's fault...
Davenport will be a fine defensive end - but he's no elite Lawrence Taylor talent; nor J.J. Watt talent. Davenport may develop into Cam Jordan's talent, but it won't justify another one of Payton's horrible draft gaffes.
And it's not just Payton's fault, it's Loomis' fault too. And it's not just Loomis' fault because it's Tom Benson's organizational failure to install, enforce checks and balances against a now-tenured head coach...
You see, the Problem is that no one man in an organization should have that much power. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts, absolutely... That's what winning a Saints Superbowl does...
History repeats, we've seen this before, in Miami, with Don Shula. Engineered the only perfect season in '72. Just a decade later, the Perfect Quarterback, Marino, falls to Shula. And not one Superbowl Trophy in that career...
Shula should've been fired when it was apparent he was riding Marino's talent, but was holding back the team with horrible drafts, free agencies, even coaching hires. Sounds familiar?
But Shula had the same tenure, clout that Payton enjoys. And Payton should've been fired for the back-and-forth 4-3 to 3-4 back to 4-3 defense seasons (7-9 records), Byrd, Galette signings, all of it. But Payton, too, had tenure.
Then the improbable 2017 draft happens and the Saints potentially land three (3), HOF talents in a draft, maybe more. And then Payton goes against his nature and doesn't take the kill-shot vs Minnesota. Same vs the Rams...
So Payton has tenure and he's here so long as he deems fit. His yes-man Loomis firmly entrenched, with a boss' yes-man numbers guy in Lauscha providing sauve in the incredible revenue this revered small-market brings...
But now, now, I'm pulling for Marcus Davenport because he will be the one who ultimately pays the price of always having to answer that draft validity question. And I see a young kid who just wants to be a football star...
And that's why I'm pulling for Davenport to provide the Saints Fans great memories that he can point and say - "I may not have been worth the picks, but I made plays to make the Saints winners..." And that will be enough...
That is what I'm pulling for Marcus, because no player, with the hypocritical, but understandable exception - a generational franchise quarterback, should have that load placed on him...
Why the QB? Because no other position can truly determine the outcome of a game as a QB can. If you watch football, know the game, you know this is an absolute truth...
I've been, and will continue to be critical of Payton's draft gaffe(s). But I will only be critical of Davenport should he fail as a man or in his efforts to the team, but not for being selected with that much draft load...
So I'm pulling like hell for Marcus this year to make plays and to help make this team a winner, again...
Total Comments 7
Comments
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Our franchise has a history of moving up fairly often and more often than not getting burned by it. As fans we are always going to see risk and a small percentage of it paying off. But the pressure on Davenport is minor compared to what was on Ricky Williams.Posted 07-29-2019 at 11:51 AM by neugey
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He was playing great...4 sacks before breaking his toe. Hard to push off without all 5. I think we may have a young Julius Peppers on our hands...we should all wish.Posted 08-11-2019 at 12:51 PM by waltwil
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Neugey, that's some good context of the situation; honestly hadn't thought about Ricky Williams, and that's really an astute observation...
Waltwil, he was coming along, but being durable is reality to the equation; we won't know till year 3 if he's durable...Posted 08-18-2019 at 01:30 PM by jeanpierre
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I could see your point if the two 1st round picks were mid round or higher, but both were at the tail end of the draft. The value was little more than two 1st picks from the 2nd round. Would you still be griping about that? I seriously doubt it.Posted 11-15-2019 at 05:32 PM by AsylumGuido
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Two first round picks generally are two starters, with a fifth year options that allow a team more cap flexibility...Quote:Originally Posted by AsylumGuido
I could see your point if the two 1st round picks were mid round or higher, but both were at the tail end of the draft. The value was little more than two 1st picks from the 2nd round. Would you still be griping about that? I seriously doubt it.
Now we have those two starter slots tied into one player, one...
And as I said, that mismanagement is on Sean Payton; this is what happens when one guy has too much power within an organization...Posted 11-18-2019 at 02:09 AM by jeanpierre
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Dude Payton was trying to get a pass rush. He believed as a we all knew that that was the team weakness . It was the best option THAT year. Best options don’t always give you the world but it’s sometimes worth a shot and the guy when healthy is still a very good player. I for one am ok with giving it your best shot when there is POTENTIAL for greatness. Safe bets work ok but seldom achieve the superlative. Losers always play it safe.Posted 11-05-2020 at 10:15 PM by Thirty3
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There was as productive Defensive Ends taken later in the draft - and have been a helluva more healthy...Quote:Originally Posted by Thirty3
Dude Payton was trying to get a pass rush. He believed as a we all knew that that was the team weakness . It was the best option THAT year. Best options don’t always give you the world but it’s sometimes worth a shot and the guy when healthy is still a very good player. I for one am ok with giving it your best shot when there is POTENTIAL for greatness. Safe bets work ok but seldom achieve the superlative. Losers always play it safe.
Is When healthy gonna be on his HOF plaque?Posted 11-07-2020 at 03:37 PM by jeanpierre
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