JimBone

OK...here is a list of players the Saints have lost and who they replaced them with:

Brooks--Brees...upgrade
Bentley--Faine...dropoff in talent but solid.
Gandy--Stinchcomb/Strief...younger and more depth, to me a move in the right direction.
Hodge--Fujita--upgrade
Howard--Nincovih...considering that Smith starts and Ninkovich is pure depth, i like it.
Mitchell-B.Scott...upgrade
A. Smith-Bush...no need to say anything here.
A. Thomas--Bennett...upgrade...while he's here.
Slaughter/McKinnon--Simmons...as long as he stays healthy, we got a steal.
Meier--Campbell...upgrade purely in staying healthy and solid blocking.
Jacox--Goodwin/Evans...once again, more depth, younger and smarter.
Hakim--Hass..upgrade, finally a possession guy.

Overall, it looks as though the Saints upgraded, got younger, and added more depth...seems to be a successfull year 1 for Payton.

Aaaaaayyyyyy!!
-The Fonz

GoldRush26

Basically you seem to be saying that we did nothing but improve across the board. I like to put a positive spin on things myself but that's a lil too much. Losing Howard for absolutely nothing didn't make us better. Losing Bentley was huge and there's no one we could have gotten to replace him adequately. We'll be fine without him in the long run but we would have been that much better with him here. Also Hass is a huge question mark. He seems to be a system guy who could prosper in the right system, not a bona fide all around talent that could go to any team and produce. Ideally he will be single covered every time and he can be an ex-factor this year as a 3rd reciever, but if history is any indication on how fast WRs take to the pro game, then he won't make any worthwhile contributions this year. No way is he an upgrade over a seasoned vet like Hakim, bad hands or not.

Now we also got the best QB available in FA and the best player available in the draft, so that helps to shore up our losses.

hagan714

I agree with the upgrades. As for getting notta I also agree. that is why i would like to see something for donte and others. do not give them away but do not overprice him either.

gandhi1007

I was with you all the way until I read this line. Anything, I repeat...ANYTHING... is an upgrade over Hakim. The guy couldn't catch a cold if he was hiking naked through Antarctica!!! He was always known as a breakaway speed WR. Guess what.... he isn't exactly breaking away from anyone anymore. I think Haas is a definite upgrade. He runs precise routes & doesn't drop the ball!!! Like the Miller beer commercial.....Good Call!!!!!

LKelley67

kinda a different and interesting way to analyze it...

I consider it more by depth chart position than overall roster,
on a 1-5 scale:

Fumbles 1.5 to Brees 4+, assuming full health and playing status

Bentley 5 to Faine 2+, losing arguably the best in the league for a decent but injury prone starter

Gandy 2 to Unknown, One of the biggest rolls of dice on the team as is, I came to loathe Gandy's play and he was supposedly a negative in the locker room. So if the replacement can just be close to average it will be an improvement

Hodge 1 to Fujita 2.5, he might be more than 2.5 but just that will be an improvement

Howard 3-4 to Smith 4.5, We are just doing what we should have done last year at this time except getting no compensation in return. Ninkovich still has to make the team. he looks more like a 3-4 backer to me.

Mitchell? to Scott 2, or is it Stoutmire, Harper, or Bellamy? If we have anything it is options at both safety positions.

RB 4 overall to 5 overall, we went from having an All Pro type back with journeymen backups to having the most talented and deep RB core in the league.

Slaughter/McKinnon 1.5 to Bockwoldt unknown at mike, Simmons is WLB, all we have is an overacheiving unknown in the middle right now. Watson good as gone. i'd like to see Ficher getting enough reps to see if he has real potential. Possibly still the most outstanding hole on the team IMO.

Bockwoldt 2 to Simmons 3 unknown, if Simmons can play he will be an improvement, so far, so good. He could end up being an excellent risk/reward move.

Meier 0 to Campbell 2.5, just showing up will provide more than Shad boy.

Jacox 2 to Goodwin/Evans 2, to be seen here, Goodwin seems to have a better rep than Jacox

Hakim 1.5 to Henderson 2, Devery #3 on the depth chart at this time. As much as I like the buzz on Hass also he still has to make the team first before annoiting him as a #3. Colston and him are more battling it out to take the spots that have been held by Talman, Poole, and Beerman at this point.

adding,
Fakhir Brown 2 to ??, Ancient Fred Thomas? Jason Crapt? I think the prospects of Josh Lay or Anwar Phillips could be the best option. We know the limitations of the others. One of those guys might at least surprise to the upside. I consider this the position to be the largest potential detriment to the team at this time. I did hate how Haz did not give rookies much playing time even if they showed some good potential. There could be a very dramatic change in how it is determined who we see on the field now.

Overall, I think it is much better. Still very risky and potentially terrible defense still. Offense, there is no telling. Brees is the antithesis of Brooks IMO. Not the most physically gifted but a supremely smart and motivated leader who succeeds by making very few errors. The Bush-Deuce tandem has the potential to be better than has ever been seen before. Add that with an above average receiving corps and a creative, bright, offensively minded coach and it could be a historic offensive turnaround for a team in one year.

3-13 back to mediocre would be a good first step. It is nice to think there is even potential for even more than that though. It has been 4 summers since I had this much optimism no matter where it pans out.

JimBone

The main thing i am taking for this offseason is we unloaded some of the main problems that were obvious for years, and we replaced them with proven leaders, winners, and a handful of younger talent. I think we have improved the depth of our team everywhere with the exception of LB and possibly CB. I do think we will get 1 surprise this year out of either Anwar Phillips or Josh Lay...one of them will see regular playing time this year. Obviously, this front office has been looking for character guys so you would think the locker room and the huddle will be better places to be. Yes, we lost some players that we will not be able to replace. Bentley was a huge loss...but Faine does have potential...Howard was a great talent that had to go but i think we get better by having Smith and Grant play full time. But finally seeing Brooks, Gandy, Jacox, and Hodge go, it seems to me like we are headed in the right direction.

Aaaaaayyyyyy!!
-The Fonz

jbutts

We all acknowledge things will be better this coming season after all of the personnel moves on the field and off. Of course, very few seasons could be worse than the last.

My favorite part about the people we pick up is the ability for them to make another better.
Brees is the best example.
We all agree that when he is healthy he is a better passer than AB.
The thing is he doesnt just throw accurately and smartly, he throws a catchable.
this means our recievers who have had many many drops the past few seasons now have one more positive point towards catching the ball.
Brees also has a quicker release than AB.
This means the O-line, while still potentially porus and awful, will not need to block as long, meaning less sacks because the ball will be out of the pocket sooner.
Brees is also more accomplished in idea of selling the playaction or selling the reverse. our running backs may be able to get out of the backfield a few more times, based solely on his ability to run a fake without telegraphing it to the defense every play.

there is the intangible aspect of Brees, but there is no example you can give unless youve been in the huddle so i wont consider that.

Bush is obviously going to help Deuce with carries but he also draws focus from him and allows a better chance of succesful pass plays as the defense must respect his speed and agility.

At center, Faine is physcial and mental question mark. Bentley was enormously talented, no one denies it or wanted him to leave. However, Bentley was also more talented than Jerry Fontenot but Jerry was a better center, because he seemed to make all the right calls and put the line in the best position to suceed. Thats what is most important, starting on the advantage and not in the negative, same as field position really.


as far as the defense goes,

I think we can all say that an improved offense will allow our defense less time on the field. That right there should be a big advantage.
Also, with the additions we have made along the line with Ninovich and Thomas as well as the return of Bryant, Smith, Grant, Whitehead, sullivan and Young will hopefully allow for a faster and better rested group of lineman.

While linebacker remains a tense situation, there is hope for Simmons to return to form and Fujita to bring his lunch pail everyday. Buckwoldt is another question mark, but he will come to play everyday, he can run and he has instincts, the plan now is to hope he will learn from our new coaching staff maybe blossom into a force we didnt know was in him.

Saftey is set if the FO doesnt do anything ridiculous like trade Smith, the only guy to give our Secondary some swagger sense Sammy Knight assasinated people back there.
Bullocks is an up and commer, plus we have signed every other saftey in the league so that right there is an advantage as other teams have no safeties, we have them all.

Corner is what we might call an abyss of talent. Mike Mckensie can be a star if he ever concentrates for a full season. after him, i dont have much to say.

but, as always, Linebackers who takle, lineman who get pressure and Safteys who can anticipate and help over the top (or block out the sun in our case, are there really that many?) will lessen the time they have to cover.

At least this way, we stand a chance against anyone who isnt from Pittsburgh, Indy, NE or other such denizens of the deep playoffs.

Euphoria

I think people are looking for anyhthing to get excited about and this happens every year... doesn't matter who you think is an upgrade if the team doesn't gel you still end up with 8 to 3 wins and at home for the post season. The LB's I like and the change in playbooks I like aside from that I think a lot of people are being misled to think that Brees is a the QB's of all QB's. He isn't a deepthreat, he hasn't singlehandedly win games... he had alot of talent around him. I am takingthe approach wait and see... I mean I'll support this team like I have always did, watch all the games cheer for the good times and hid my head in shame in the most dire times, but this year more than any I am abit more leary going into the season.

E U P H O R I A

GoldRush26

Sorry I don't agree that ANYTHING is an upgrade over Hakim. Bad hands or not, he is in the NFL for a reason. You don't stay in the league this long when "anything" is better than you. I'm not ready to get pumped up about Hass, a reciever we drafted in the 6th round. Why don't we hold off on anointing him as our NEXT BIG THING and see if he can even make break into the top 4. Brett Bech didn't drop any passes either, and he didn't turn out too well for us. Hass has to prove he has at least adequate NFL speed to produce. He doesn't have to have Hakim speed, but at least above adequate.

pakowitz

if im right... hakim is a FA at the moment... so technically he isnt in the NFL.... and there is a reason no team has signed him... he cant catch... never could... never will....

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