why? a guess....
 

I'm still trying to come to grips with the way this draft has gone - please bear with me, I'm trying to think positive (while gritting teeth).

The more I think about it, the more I like getting Sullivan. Cost aside. But what about the rest of it, why did it fall the way it did after him?

Hypothesis: coach knows we need an OLB (glaring need), has pick #37 to work with, Perhaps coach believes Bailey might be available there, takes a chance. But Bailey goes a couple moves too soon. Bummer.

Coach still has #37 to work with. Hm. Henderson? - he's ILB (and we've already commited $ and contract to Ruff). Maybe he thinks remaining OLB's are interchangeable, and only worth a 3rd. Assuming that, change plan -- keep #37, take best talent available, get one of the "interchangeable" OLB's with the 3rd.

Just a guess. Probably way off, but this is the only scenario I've thought of so far that would explain this.

why? a guess....
 

Word out the saints mess up the minnesota viking. A team was negotiating a trade so they could get Sullivan

why? a guess....
 

I read that too.

why? a guess....
 

While the draft seems to have been screwed up, I keep telling myself that these are the profesionals. These guys get payed the big bucks to get the players that this organization needs. They know this job more than us...
Then I remind myself of the Bengals. The Cowboys last few drafts (excluding this year). Some people don\'t deserve the control of the fate of their teams. The Saints picked players that they felt they needed.... Man, I can\'t shake off the feeling that they\'ve really made mistakes so far in this draft. I\'ll be awake all night trying to understand these picks. I\'ll be trying to justify it in my mind all...night...long. :mad2:

why? a guess....
 

Cowboys had an excellent draft last year as well (they have three potential probowlers from it), and the Bengals had an excellent draft this year.

why? a guess....
 

Like many of you, I was caught off guard by the Saints\' choices so far in the draft. That aside, I want to say that I am not unhappy with the players they got. What most of you seem to be missing is trust in this organization\'s scouting department - without merit. All of their top choices since Haslet was hired have been great pick ups for us. Just because Randy is gone doesn\'t mean the scouting department is worse. The only thing we seem to have lost is getting extremely high value for our picks which seems to be the theme of this year\'s draft for most teams..

This year we didn\'t get any \"glamour\" picks and I think that is what has left us with a bad taste in our mouths. We\'ve seen all the mock drafts with Sullivan being picked between 15 and 20 so that\'s where we expected him to go. However, from all the reports that have come out I\'d say that was a great, but expensive move.

Lets give the scouts benefit of the doubt on these picks before we start blaming Loomis for ruining this draft.

why? a guess....
 

Good post Scotty. :D

why? a guess....
 

Time will tell. If I see the Swamp Dogs second-lining it in the SuperBowl, I\'ll be only too happy to praise the honorable prescience of Loomis\' sparlking brilliance.

If the picks flop, on the other hand, and the team goes 7-9 with another late season meltdown, I\'ll promptly contribute to the Loomis Assassination Squad.

\"Suicide Squad -- Attack!!\"

:cool:

why? a guess....
 

My problem is this... regardless of what our picks do or don\'t do... we still haven\'t addressed our NEEDS on defense. The drafting of a first round DT was huge. I admit that. Good move. HOWEVER, our LBs may be the worst in football and we still don\'t have a playmaker at corner.

I\'m still baffled by their moves at LB. Ruff is not the answer - hell, even the Saints know that. Why do you think he has a short-term contract? They\'re not really expecting him to be the long-term MLB. If Hodge plays like he did last year again this year, I bet he will be let go after the season. Allen is a complete and total question mark. What amazes me most is that Haslett was a linebacker. You would think he could evaluate our talent at that position best of all. Apparently, that\'s not the case.

As for CB, we\'re OK, but not great. Carter, Thomas, Ambrose, and Craver... I just see them as average at best. I am doubtful that Carter will ever return to being a shutdown guy. Maybe if we had a true game-changer playing across from him his play would be better... I just see him as a great second corner, not a number one. Ambrose, Thomas... OK, they\'ll have their good games and their bad games. Overall they are both average at best. I think Craver can really step it up, but not enough. We need a stud... an impact player... a game changer.

As for the draft - I am most upset b/c we went in with two first rounders and a second needing three positions badly - DT, LB, CB. Those should have been our first three picks. Instead, we got ourselves on good DT, and no one else who will really impact the defense.

Our defense is the key to our chances next season. In order for this team to ge better, the defense must improve dramatically. IF, and there\'s always a big IF when you\'re talking about first time starters, Mitchell can be a faster version of Sammy Knight, then our safeties are much improved, b/c Jones is a huge step up over Bellamy. Swapping Sullivan for Hand should make our D line better, especially if Grady can stay in shape. However, our corners are no better than last year, and I think our linebackers are MORE questionable. Overall, it is very hard for me to tell if we\'ve gotten any better at all. My gut says minimally if at all.