Saints sign Polley and Foreman!
 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2468174

Two very good moves. Both solid guys that are still young and have proven themselves. Now what was an average unit, gets a little better. I guess this is going to accelerate the Watson get out of town plan Payton has.

I really like the Polley choice. Cool.


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With him being a Seminole and all... I'm not surprised. :wink:

RE: Saints sign Polley and Foreman!
 

I like the Polley pick up. I don't know much about Foreman. Either way, it seems that this coaching staff is willing to see & address its weaknesses, even if there are no "Big Names" in the signings on defense.

I am STUNNED!!! Good moves.

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Linebacker: check
CB: solid last year but a ?
OL: Need depth

2 of three taken care of, our D should be good. Lets fill one of the other needs for bennet

While neither one of these guys will be a star, they really improve the depth of our LB's and they have played in the league and been successfull to some degree in the past. I like the moves to bring these guys in...and i like the move signing Billy Miller too. If he is healthy, he may be the cheaper alternative that shows Conwell the door.

Yup... Miller has good hands and a capable threat to stretch the middle of the field. And most importantly as you noted, a MUCH cheaper option than Conwell. Though none are spectacular moves, all solid and definately improves our depth. Now like reggie said, we need to improve our cornerback situation. Our off season is shaping out nicely after a slow start.

You may be correct on the star quality aspect. Since we really don't have stars at the LB position at present, Polley may very well compete for a starting job as opposed to simply providing depth. I haven't kept up with his pro career but do know when he played here at Florida State he was pretty darned good. At that point he was considered rangy with good speed.

Hmm...

rang·y ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rnj)
adj. rang·i·er, rang·i·est

Having long slender limbs.
Inclined to rove.
Providing ample range; roomy.


I noticed he's bulked up just a bit as a pro and has maybe lost a step or two because of it. Yes, I'm a little biased towards high hopes for his success as a Saint 'cause he's a Seminole. Speaking strictly as a Saint, I hope he is a big contributor to a defense going in the right direction.


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He most definitely has a chance to start...i dont doubt that for a second...if nothing else, him being here makes the other guys have to earn their spot and i am all for it...I hope he does make it onto the field because he does have the speed to make plays.

This is GREAT NEWS !!!!! We might actually have some LBS this year fellas !!! WE MAY HAVE A DEFENSE !!!! whens the last time we could say that>?????

1992 ?




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Dont get too excited yet...we are still a few players away from even being considered as a solid defense...but we seem to be headed in the right direction.

I like this coach. I am still trying to figure out how he is getting Benson and the FO to go out and get these players. Well at least buying season tickets for the saints is fun again.

Okay question for you all on forman. I know he signed a 5 year deal with the texans in 2003. Why was he cut in 2005 by the texans and then cut by the raiders. He returned in 12/05 to the gaints. I am guessing he is another injury type of guy. What was that injury? well at least he had a minni camp that started in dec.

I thought this was interesting

The addition of the two linebackers could jeopardize the future of Saints linebacker Courtney Watson, the Saints' second-round pick in 2004. Watson was included in the one-for-one trade with the Dolphins for Moore and could be released soon.

Along with the dolphins in the bidding for bennet could this be a package deal?

Maybe Coach P is not satisfied with the players we had/have. Haz was always trying to give the guys that didn't have a chance to start another chance. He never upgraded because he was waiting for his players to step up and provide.

Coach P is obviously trying to improve the team as a hole, not just make a few minor adjustments and see if the guys will do their jobs better than what they are capable of.

In any event, I am glad we picked these guys up. Polley really does have a shot at starting. I don't know if he would have signed if wasn't told he has a chance.

The answer to your question lies in your next sentence. :lol:

Everything....and I mean everything with Benson lies in the ticket sales & merchandising.

so true Gandi. the answer was right in front of my face. thanks

I think you almost answered your own question within your post. It is called selling lots of season tickets which translates to dollars in Benson's pocket. Maybe Benson is starting to figure out that if he spends money on quality players, people will spend the money to come see them. it is a vicious circle, and we the fans benefit.

good to see we signed polley. it is nice to see us have competition at all the positions. should make guys play harder.

i was hoping we would get polley all along. now if we can get a decent corner i might soil myself.

First of all I just want to go ahead and say that signing Polley is an amazing thing. The following is from a Len Pasquarelli article about a week ago:

Awesome. He can play all three positions. That gives us two guys (Polley and Simmons) who can play ILB, and still leave us with enough solid players to fill the outside LB spots. This means our starting LB corps could be Fujita, Simmons, and Polley. That's a humongous upgrade over last year. Then, with Grant, Smith, Hollis Thomas, and Brian Young up front, and McKenzie, Dwight, and Bullocks in the secondary, we have a pretty solid defense. Plus you add Bush and Brees to the offense, WOW. I'm pumped.

Here's Polley's scouting report:

Good speed and athletic ability. I'm not really sure why they say he has such durability concerns if he's posted 100+ tackles in four of his five seasons...

Here's one for Foreman:

At the worst, a solid backup. Could be a good player though.


Overall, I am very happy with these signings. It gives us good depth at LB, and should give us the final piece to our starting LBs. Polley could be a good one along with Simmons and Fujita.

The one thing that scares me though is that we dont have anyone eating up blockers up front to help out our LB's...but we will see how good Gibbs' system really is.

Scares you and me both. But in years past, we had no space eaters AND no LBs. But even last year we finished middle of the pack in D, with the offense leading the league in turnovers and no spaceeaters, and sub-par LBs. So we should be even more improved by the addition of MUCH better LBs, and an offense that hopefully won't see nearly as many turnovers, even without any true space eaters.

Sully & Thomas will eat up space......on our cap room. They will also eat up just about any meal prepared for them. :D

You see, they are getting players, to try to make the team better. Just let them do it. They know how to make the team better.

Polley + Foreman + Simmons + Bockwaldt = Flexibility...
I like it.
Throw in Finch, Fujita, and Rabe...
Not bad.
Anyone smell a "Will Smith can now roam" article coming soon?

Add-in...
The Broncos employ a system where guys (DL) try to eat up blockers, and let their backers roam. Pittsburgh too.
Not saying we're close to those teams, but if you think about it...
Sending more blitzers than the line can protect is the key to a blitz. We can now keep backers fresh and keep them coming.
The rush will solve our secondary issues.

I'm really stoked about these moves. Finally some quality depth at LB. These guys have both been starters in the NFL for 4-5 years, they are proven commodities. Hopefully the FO was able to sign them at a reasonable price. We might even have enough depth for a 3-4 defense now! I think Polley is a lock to nail down a starting spot - remember he was coached by Lovie Smith in St Louis. Jay Foreman is a popular player up here in the midwest, because he's son of Vikings great RB Chuck Foreman, grew up in Minneapolis and had some good seasons at Nebraska. Our LB's are starting to actually look like a proficient, skilled group now.

The pass rush is very critical so having the upgrade at LB will definitely help. The year we went to the playoffs we had Weary and Mathis at corner. We had so much pressure that those two guys looked like Bailey and McAllister.