BakoSaint

My apologies to Saints Report Forum. A couple years ago I was banned for among other things saying Alex Analzone was too injury prone and would never develop, we traded too much for Davenport and should stop trading away future picks, and that Matt Ryan is no good and not an amazing worthy rival who just has bad luck in the playoffs. I argued that time would catch up to Drew Brees and it would be hard to bounce back from the Minneapolis Miracle and No Call and that we should rebuild and consider trading Lattimore, Thomas, and Kamara for a stockpile of draft picks to get the next QB eventually rather than paying them big contracts. I said we should stop trading away future draft picks in ways that don't make sense such as making a win-now move in trading up for Davenport but then picking a guy like Davenport who was a raw prospect and would take years to see full result (win now but don't?), and we should begin cleaning up our salary cap and play the long game with stockpiled picks, taking advantage of compensatory picks, and selling high on impending free agents like the Patriots have.

I was so wrong. Analzone and Davenport have been amazing. Matt Ryan has since proved all the doubters wrong, all he needed was three 1st round pick WRs to continue bouncing between losing seasons and early playoff exits while maintaining good stats when it doesnt count, he was never part of the problem in Atlanta. We are so lucky to have Lattimore and his stolen gun, and Michael Thomas with his internal disagreements and injury issues at a top salary. Kamara has been solid, and if history tells us anything from the 1990's Lions, its that championships are built on evasive sideline to sideline running backs who seem about 10-20% more productive than their dirt cheap veteran backup. We had to push $85 million in salary cap to future years. My only regret is that we didn't secure a blockbuster long term deal with Lattimore as many suggested. Drew Brees obviously had a lot left in the tank, and although he has decided to retire early for purely personal reasons, there aren't a lot of good QBs available in this draft anyway and no good free agents available at a discount so it wouldn't have been good timing to have a stockpile of draft picks or a cleaner salary cap.

The important thing for a franchise to win is that all their fans have the same opinions and that anyone with different opinions is shunned as a non-fan. So I am sorry Saints Report. You were right. By avoiding any kind of rebuilding and not trading any of our young stars before they hit free agency, we are truly locked and loaded for the future.

ChrisXVI

What the hell is this?

shawnkytonk

Nonsense apparently.

jnormand

Fodder to keep our thoughts off Latt? Lol. I have no idea.

Boston Saint

Drinking and posting is wrong.

73Saint

Drugs are bad, mmmmkkkkk?

BakoSaint

I got banned on Saints Report, which is the most trafficked Saints forum, several years ago. They said that suggesting a rebuild that could involve trading players like Lattimore and Thomas was trolling. In hindsight, the rebuild I suggested looks smart. Lattimore committing a possible felony is the last straw, as they basically banned me for suggesting we trade players like Lattimore to stockpile draft picks for a QB of the future. So this post is an 'I told you so' to Andrus and Dan in Laffayette and whoever else in their little cult. I can't post it on there so I am posting it here. They also love Matt Ryan over there and will not allow placing any of the blame for Atlanta's failures on him.

blackangold

It just looks bad that you care enough to post this, on a separate forum, 2 years later... but if it makes you feel better hopefully you've released that burden and can move on.

BakoSaint

I don't think of it as being about my feelings and how much I care. I think of it as that the fans are an important part of an NFL franchises success and all teams at some level cannot help but respond to pressure from fans at some degree. I think its harmful to the success of the Saints franchise that their most trafficked fan forum in Saints Report runs a China-style censorship operation which controls, hampers, and misrepresents the variety of fans views and sends a false message to the Saints that 101% fan consensus is to resign and extend everyone and always win now and always trade up and mortgage the future. Thats the view of the admins of that forum, but they use their position to mostly block other views from being expressed, and their position is strong and influential as many of the fans calling in to radio shows and discussing the Saints around the watercooler are influenced by that site. I hope one day their site traffic is zero and sites like this are on top instead because I think that will benefit the team and fans.

I am not hung up on it and I am gonna go hiking today and see some wildflowers maybe, but everyones got to vent sometimes. Venting done.

AsylumGuido

The franchise couldn't care less about what any fan thinks about how they handle their business. Nor should they. The people making the decisions are not likely to even be with the franchise in a few short years. It is their job to do what they feel is best to win as soon as possible. You and I might be associated with the team for life, but for the front office and coaching staffs, they are nothing more than transient workers for which short term success weighs FAR more heavily than future success. And it is becoming more so every passing year.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill