WhoDat

Smitty - thanks for the vote of confidence, sort of, but I think you misunderstand my plan. I\'m not suggesting that the Saints try to \"buy\" a SB. Not at all. Consider. It\'s January and Free Agency has not started. You have to sign Horn, and a tackle (turley or otherwise). However, with cuts and restructuring deals you have the potential to have close to $30 million dollars under the cap and 5 draft picks in the top three rounds.

I wanted to see this team sign three key players. An impact MLB, CB, and S. Use the draft to find a DT, TE, backup RB, and add depth anywhere on the defense. I think the Saints very easily could have signed three players of the Chris Claiborne, Tebucky Jones caliber and still had plenty of money under the cap for draft picks and the June cuts. We could have easily done this without getting ourselves into future cap trouble. Hell, our proposed Jones deal was for $3 mill a year. That\'s what Claiborne got. We could sign both of those guys right now by releasing Hand and still have about the exact same cap position as we do now! Three veteran impact players on defense make a huge difference. Adding a DT through the draft, and free agent MLB and S would toughen up our bery weak middle on defense. A shutdown corner helps the bleeding in the passing game and should help with the pass rush.

My way, the defense gets much better, and we don\'t screw ourselves with the cap. That means that we before a legitimate SB contender THIS year and stay that way for yeas to come. Instead, we\'re not likely to be a legitimate contender this year, but we may be in the future. Look, what I think is irrelevant. I just don\'t think people have understood what I meant. I\'m not in favor of taking our shot right now with total disregard to the future. I think with my plan there may have been some tough decisions to make two or three years down the line about which players to keep, but that\'s going to happen anyway when all of this young talent turns into good or great young EXPERIENCED talent. I can see what the Saints are doing... I just think they could have taken measures to be good right NOW without throwing away money or mortgaging the future. I mean, Haslett is already talking about being patient... about years to come. Does he believe that - I\'m sure he does. But it also sounds like an excuse for a failed season before the season has even begun.

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

WhoDat

You certainly right about the common fan not knowing what goes on behind the scenes, if you will. I\'m sure there are things going on none of us know about. However, I seriously doubt that the Saints would have had real problems signing any plaer I mentioned in that post. I think we could have signed just about anyone this off-season.

The issue, to me, is like many of the people on this board have pointed out - the Haslett lead Saints have NEVER gone after a free agent with a big name. Not one. Some have been moderatley well known - Blake, Gandy, Pathon, Sloan, Jackson - but most are fairly obscure to the average football fan Hand, Horn, Ruff, Carter (maybe he was moderately well known... for the wrong reasons), our entire offensive line minus Fontenot, even Brooks was a nobody when he came here.

The contemporary Saints don\'t seem at all interested in \"big name\" free agents. In fact, they\'re so uninterested that I would say they\'re almost prejudice against them. For some reason, the Saints seem to believe that players who are well known or have proved their worth on the field are, for some crazy reason, not worth our time or money. I only say \'almost prejudice\' b/c their interest in Tebucky Jones shows that they aren\'t strictly against players with big names. Still, I wonder. Chris Claiborne, for example, hung around in free agency for a while. I didn\'t hear about a whole lot of teams being interested in him... then he ends up going to a division rival for $3 mill a year. Something could have been done there, I\'d bet on it. They liked Ruff - no name.

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

BlackandBlue

To me, Jones has no more of a bigger name than Hand did when he signed with us. I\'ll never forget when we were entertaining him two years ago, I was screaming from my humble little abode, don\'t sign that fatass, sign the OTHER fatass. The \"other\" fatass being Sam Adams.

WhoDat

Sam Adams would have been nice. I think Grady has it in him to be a very good DT - he just needs to shed about 50 or 100 pounds... nothing big you know?

I don\'t know if Norman Hand was as well known around the league as Sam Adams when we signed him, but...

I know what you mean Gator. I don\'t know if its voodoo or a sacrilege against the catholic church, but this team did something to piss somebody off. Maybe its the black and gold... oil went bust in America a long time ago.

BlackandBlue

In that relationship, who is getting ****ed? :P

ssmitty

ok, first things first......bb, when you order a muff at be, tell em to put double meat, double cheese and d olive dressing and the key to the good one i was talking about is to tell em to lightly bake it to where the cheese is just starting to melt.......uummmmm...2nd, i\'m assuming they show saints during fb season, right? i was just at desperados on greenville for lunch today, so not far away.....i know the area..now, on to wd and gator......1st, gator, where is the grammer king, on vacation? posted by wd at 12:00 the 28th......what is a bery? just hadda do it................now on to wd\'s why about why did\'nt we sign em? on this one i\'ll go with gator on behind the scenes with my reasoning being the saints, and not only the saints but probably the majority of teams shy away from trouble makers, **** stirrers(damn, did i spell that right?) and so on........ i think they\'re doing a little more investigating now then in the near past, case being connell, carter,(i hope he comes around) and a few others....as far as hasletts comments, he\'s still learning how to answer the press since he gets pissed very easily......let\'s see what trades and deals come about and say i told you so then, but until then, who really knows? ps, i do believe in second chances, god knows i\'ve needed em and got em........is\'nt it getting exciting getting closer to the draft? i can\'t wait............smitty

WhoDat

Hey guys, I never said that the Saints didn\'t have a plan... but just b/c they have a plan doesn\'t make it a good one. If the history of this franchise has not taught you all that planning and practice does not always make perfect, I don\'t know what will. It just seems like another bad decision on a very very long lost of \'em.

BlackandBlue

It\'s always good to hear someone else back up one of your statements.

Cowboys | Trufant at No. 5? - posted at KFFL (http://nfl.kffl.com)
12:05 PT: Jean-Jacques Taylor, of the Dallas Morning News, reports for The Sporting News that the Dallas Cowboys are focused on improving their depth at CB, but the team is concerned that Kansas State CB Terence Newman will not be available with the fifth pick. If so, look for Dallas to consider Washington State CB Marcus Trufant.