cardboardboxer

Hello fellow Saints fans.

I am a long time reader (look when I signed up) but I don't post often (sorry). But this is the best time of year to be a Saints fan (right before the draft) and this year is more exciting than the rest.

I wanted to weigh in a little on the big draft coming up, and especially point out the one factor that I see not many people mentioning- the Benson factor.

I'm going to warn you now that I plan to use nicknames in this post. This is all for fun and Saints fans make the best nicknames. So I plan to use some....I can spell if I need to I promise.

Lets all be honest- Benson is one of the cheapest owners in the NFL. We all know that. And I think that is VERY relevant this year.

High picks in these times make HUGE bucks just for being drafted. And if we pick in the place we "earned" then we will be paying second most of any team....

That does not sound like Benson's style to me.

I can see the Saints making some deal to move down so that Benson does not have to pay out as much. I bet his Lord Cheapness will tell the GM Looney to take "any deal that does not embarrass me as much as the Ricky deal did."

And I think that it might be a really good thing. Why?

We REALLY need defensive players. We have not drafted great on the defense the past couple of years (not talking about Will.....I love Will) and its taking its toll. If we move down then we have a shot at some of the better defensive players in the draft. There is none we can get with the second pick and still save face.

But if we do that, we have to think "what do we have to lose?" I say not much.

Bush will be gone. I live in Texas now and the Texans are in love with him. I expect them to buy the ring and get down on their knees soon.

So what are we left with at second? Only two choices we can pick and save face- Lionheart and Young.

I REALLY don't want Lionheart. I know some of you like him....but I see him as a disaster waiting to happen. Why? Because he lacks talent?

No. Because he thinks he is awesome. HUGE head. And can you blame him? L.A. lacks a pro team (for now). So in L.A. USC is their pro team. For him to come to the Saints (I love the Saints sooo much guys but I have to be honest) would be a step down in his eyes I think. I don't see him going from the pro team in the second biggest city where he is porking celebs every night to going to a city that is not one kinda (I saw the destruction with my own eyes recently...bad stuff).

If we draft him, I see him pulling an Eli- holding our jersey like it has a disease on it when the cameras are on. Then after we pick him I see him leaning over to his agent to say "if I hold out all year, they have to trade me right?" I personally don't see a guy with such an ego that he would not admit the other team was better after he was defeated in the Rose Bowl playing for the Saints. We are a humble team with no great football history in a humbled city. He is currently Mr. L.A. Those don't go well together.

The other option is to pick Young. He IS a great talent...but he is a little too "boom or bust" for my tastes. I saw him play in person this year and I know for certain that this Superman has holes in his cape. USC's defense could not stop him, but that doesn't mean that the Panther's defense or that the Buc's defense couldn't. If we stay in the spot I would prefer to pick him because Lionheart is a cancer, but I hope we don't have to choose between the two.

I think the best move this year is to make Benson's wallet happy AND make Saints fans happy (when has that ever happened) by trading down. Pick up some good defensive talent in whatever spot we trade to.

But then you ask "Who will be our QB?" A veteran. I want to see the playoffs sooner than it takes to develop a rookie. Lets do what it takes to get the Jags current backup, or somebody else already in the league who can play.

With a better defense and a good enough quarterback, us Saints fans will have more to talk about next year during this time than the draft.

What do you all think?

Crusader

Don't forget young Bullocks, I think with a year under his belt he will turn ito on heck of a saftey.

cardboardboxer

DOH!



I should have not forgotten. Good call.

kevinn1972

The problem is, I can't see a veteran QB that can make a difference for us coming to N.O. No way Gerrard is going to pick us when he can go somewhere else where the city isn't destroyed. Let's face it, that is going to factor into the free agency period for us. And seeing as how Ben$on allowed our players to be jerked around as far as facilities and the like, that's not going to make many quality free agents come calling either.

xan

Yo Kev, which city is destroyed? I'm not sure the Saints live and play in Waveland. 75% of Greater New Orleans is just fine, thank you. It's ignorant statements like that that make the myths of Katrina an albatross. There is no smell, there will be a Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. Conventions are being booked. There is a dramatic reduction in crime. Property values are increasing or holding up.

Keep repeating the lies and people will believe they are truths. However, you're right about Benson but you could have used a stronger word than "jerked".

pakowitz

I have to agree with ya.... most of New Orleans wasnt hurt that badly and everyone in the media was blowing it out of proportion b/c whole neighborhoods were flooding but its definetly not the whole city.....

kevinn1972

Sorry, I guess I'm just imagining all of the residents on the news, the people that have come to this town, and the town hall meetings that I've seen on C-SPAN. I didn't realize that so much of New Orleans was in such good shape. I guess the homeowners in the lower 9th ward upset about their houses are just a very small minority of people that don't have stable homes to live in. And I didn't realize that having the ability to enable a bunch of people to get drunk was a sure sign of a strong economy. Thank you for the education.

May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your crotch, and your arms be too short to scratch.

pakowitz

woooo u see a few meetings on TV and automatically u know exactly whats going on in New Orleans... i work in New Orleans and it isnt half as bad as they preach on TV.....ps. the 9th ward wasnt that great of a place to start off with before the hurricane.....

xan

Stinging retort from a rumor monger. You must be Benson's toady, thinking that if there aren't welfare squatters in the Ninth Ward, it really isn't an intact New Orleans. If you care go there and see it in person. It might be more informative than your missle lock on Oprah, despite your lack of education. Have a beer in spirit for all those who're working hard to kill off the perception that if we interview enough displaced criminals and welfare mothers, we can keep the perception of New Orleans as a hell hole. Good work.

To all the others who really know what's going on, I apologize for not acknowledging the distress some are in. I am pissed that the amazing activity level and speed of recovery are bypassed by repetitive focus on the old and irrelevant. The future is becoming brighter each day.

MordorIV

Bush will be good but vince his arm is not that good.