Up Next Draft Then FA
 

great season.
Now follow it up with another great off season.
the d needs some pieces as does the offense.
start your wish lists now gang.
seasons done

We need CORNERS! and Fred Thomas must go.

I just want to know who of our players becom free agents. Other than that, give me a CB, LB, DT and a WR. Maybe a G too.

i will start with a shut down corner. that could cure a lot of ills

WR
4. Jeff Samardzija, Notre Dame
5. *Robert Meachem, Tennessee
6. *Sidney Rice, South Carolina
7. *Anthony Gonzalez, Ohio State
8. Dwayne Bowe, LSU
TE
1. *Zach Miller, Arizona State
2. *Greg Olson, Miami (FL)
3. Matt Spaeth, Minnesota
T
3. Tony Ugoh, Arkansas
4. Joe Staley, Central Michigan
5. Ryan Harris, Notre Dame
G
2. Ben Grubbs, Auburn
3. Josh Beekman, Boston College
4. Tala Esera, Hawaii
5. Tim Duckworth, Auburn
DT
3. DeMarcus Tyler, North Carolina State
4. Quinn Pitcock, Ohio State
5. Marcus Thomas, Florida
OLB
1. Paul Posluszny, Penn State
2. *Lawrence Timmons, Florida State
3. *Jon Beason, Miami (FL)
4. Rufus Alexander, Oklahoma
5. Juwan Simpson, Alabama
6. Michael Okwo, Stanford
7. Earl Everett, Florida
ILB
1. Patrick Willis, Mississippi
2. H.B. Blades, Pittsburgh
3. Buster Davis, Florida State
4. Justin Durant, Hampton
5. David Harris, Michigan
CB
2. Marcus McCauley, Fresno State
3. *Darrelle Revis, Pittsburgh
4. Daymeion Hughes, California
5. Tanard Jackson, Syracuse

A few options at postions of need. We have alot of options. use the pick, Trade up or trade down. In the first two rounds. come on donte sign with the eagles.

Even though we have a lot of them and it was a running joke before the season started I'd like a playmaking safety. Harper showed signs of being a good safety until he got injured but I wasn't that impressed with bullocks and the rest of our safeties that replaced harper. CB is by far the #1 priority, lb #2 priority then we could work on the middle of our d-line and a safety

S
2. *Reggie Nelson, Florida
3. Brandon Meriweather, Miami (FL)
4. Eric Weddle, Utah
5. Michael Griffin, Texas
6. Aaron Rouse, Virginia Tech
okay pick one

Yeah, it's way past Fred's time. He tries, but he's just too small.

I am sure they will do their best, to get the best players they can get. And to coach them well just like this season.

Asante Samuel
Randy Starks/Corey Redding
Another Back-up QB

1Rufus Alexander
2Justin Harrell
3Fred Bennett
3Craig Davis/Brandon Myles/Jarrett Hicks
4Scott Chandler
4Marvin White
5David Irons
6Mason Crosby

Jeff Samardzija is not going to the NFL anymore. He's playing baseball, so he's off that list for WRs.

not sure what we wil do in the first round of the draft. CB, OT,LB seems to be what we will have to choice from. Heck trade it and move to the top of the second and go TE, Zach Miller or such and have faith in shawn to pull a few rabbits out this draft like he did last year.
But after the game I am looking at k mason crosby in the second also. he should be there at the bottom of the second.

I'd take the best available player and I'd rate them as...

1. Patrick Willis (I hope he falls)
2. Buster Davis
3. Tank Tyler
4. Quinn Pitcock
5. Brandon Merriweather

Corner situation addressed in free agency and in the third round.

anyone not named fred thomas

Paul Posluzny
LaRon Landry
Darelle Revis
Keith Jackson, Jr.

CB, CB, CB did I say CB?

First of all, we have to make decisions on which of our own free agents we need to re-sign. Charles Grant, Hollis Thomas, Scott Shanle, and Jon Stinchcomb are the most notable. Speaking of Stinchcomb, alot of you have OT as one of our top needs...and i am confused by that. We have 3 young, capable OT's, one of which is a pro bowler. I thought Jon played really well all year in his first year as a starter and Strief played lights out against Simeon Rice...so why is OT one of our top needs? My list goes like so:
CB, MLB, TE, DT, WR, S. In that order. And that is assuming we resign the guys i mentioned before.

They'll all be back... we have the money.

1st thing we have to do is cut Fred Thomas......and fast!!!! There are two shut down corners that will be free agents......Nate Clements (my personal favorite) & Asante Samuel. We should do the same thing we did last year to get Drew Brees to get one of these two CB's. That by itself would cure alot of ills. If you look back at every one of our losses this year, it all boils down to turnovers & Fred Thomas getting burnt over & over again.

Why not try and get BOTH?

Even if Jeff Samardzija was shooting for the NFL, I wouldn't be comfortable with him as a prospect. and the Fighting Irish are my team. He has all the physical traits and 'skills'. But I got the impression, especially this last year, he didn't have drive. He caught the necessary clutch catches. He was statistically productive. But I got a feeling he only played football just for his athletic portfolio and to hang out with his bud Brady. And it is no surprise to me that he chose baseball over football. He has the talent but no conviction for the long haul.

I am not worring too much about the draft. I think this coaching staff and management will make the right choice. We may not agree with it. But how many of us were scratching our heads when Colston took Stallworths slot?

We can't keep putting that much money into one position like we have with our RB situation. Yes we need another CB, Fred Thomas was exposed in the playoffs, but McKenzie had a solid season and played very well in the playoffs. I only remember one or two catches on him last night.

Here is what I am thinking...

I believe we need to go after a veteran CB to play the #1 CB position, and then move MM to the other. That'd be one heckuva combo. I think our first draft pick should be on a young LB or DT. A lot of what we do is going to depend on the offseason moves we make before the draft. If we re-sign Hollis Thomas, DT isn't such a pressing need. Personally I would like to see us re-sign Thomas, and then draft a young MLB in the first round. This of course will depend on our ability to get a top-flight CB in free agency. Look at the CBs in this draft, and it's not too promising. Leon Hall is the top guy, but he'll be long gone by the time we are picking. Daymeion Hughes out of Cal is a good player, but is more of a physical CB and he doesn't have elite speed. Some worry about his ability to be an every down corner, thus relegating him to nickel and dime packages (which isn't what we're looking for). Marcus McCauley out of Fresno State is a popular choice in some mock drafts I've seen because he has 4.3 speed, but the guy was so bad (against WAC competition) this past season that he actually got benched by his coach. That's a pretty big red flag IMO. Darrelle Revis might be a good choice, I don't honestly know enough about him yet. The rest of the CBs probably aren't worth a first round pick. Because of that, I think we need to draft the best defensive player available, hopefully at LB or DT. Although the LB class isn't too good, there are some good players that should go in the first round: Lawrence Timmons (will be gone by our pick), Posulszny (probably gone), Patrick Willis, and Buster Davis. Davis and Timmons were two of the biggest reasons FSU had one of the best defenses in the count

Anyways, so that's what I am thinking right now... make our biggest offseason addition a CB, and then draft a young stud for the middle of that defense. Of course, getting a big CB is easier said than done. Despite one year of success, I'm not sure how players feel about this franchise.

A final note, to anyone who thinks we should get Landry... he'll be a top 10 pick, stop dreaming.

hagan where did you get that list? can ya post a link to it or something.. id like to look at it

Asante Samuel put on a clinic Sunday night. Covering Marvin Harrison nonetheless. I could see him getting a huge contract. If the Saints can't get him at a reasonable price, I hope that they get someone that can play like him.

I'd like to see what the Saints could do with a talented TE who is big and physical and can catch, like Witten or Heap). And is it too early to think about grooming a young QB to learn under Brees?

http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/sub/mockdraft.html

Sorry about no link gang and pak. the site is still working prospect profiles so there are some big gaps in the bio. pretty standard at this time of year.

have faith indeed........
one thing we don't need is a coach trading everything to get that special bust we can right off in a few yrs...........
oh wait, we don't have that coach anymore.........whew..........
i'm kinda spoiled on last years picks......
anything close would be stellar to me..........
we have the youth movement in place, and it should get younger with adding a few.......
i never really knew how it felt to draft a first pick and have it feel like it's a second pick, but that will change now....
whoever is responsible, continue to bring these gems in.....
now, how long does donte have to sign before we lose that 3rd, because if someone offers him a sheet load full of money (and it could happen with the year he had) we could lose out there.......
other than that i believe it's time to sign grant and joe if that's what they are looking for in as much as leaders on the field........smitty

Going after Adalius Thomas and Clements, and resigning Grant should be the top priorities during the FA period. Thomas can play all three lb spots, and would give the Saints the big time playmaker they lack in the middle of the defense.

Clements hasn't proved anything consistently to anyone yet. I go Samuel immediately!
Draft Alexander for that MLB position, Justin Harrell will be availbale in the 2nd(darn great player). That heals alot of the defensive problems right there, the best CB left for us would be Fred Bennett who is huge, physical, and a speedster, love em

The thing I would worry about with Samuel is that he's been playing under Belichick who could get a chair to play better than Roy Williams. He's turned a bunch of nobodies and late round picks into a very good secondary. I would be cautious of pulling one of those guys out of New England and hoping they'll be as good. Just what I'm thinkin...

calm down please about cutting fred. What do we have to replace him? He would be a good nickle or dime guy till we get some young blood in here and get playing time under thier belt. I know you guys a upset but he is the same player that as a group we said did a great job against Owens. funny how quick the lynch mob gathers.

Huh? Okay....I like Asante Samuel, but two good seasons & a heck of a playoff run this year do not equal Clements record. Clements has shut down his side of the field since his rookie season in 2001. You just don't hear about it because he plays for Buffalo & not New England. Not to mention....Samuel wants Champ Bailey money. Sorry, but we can get Clements & address other needs like TE with that money.

That's a good point. I seem to remember us signing someone out of NE as a safety a few years ago that was supposed to be all that and a bag of chips. How did that guy turn out again? Hmmmm..........

OMG! This is coming from you! You need to be slapped as hard as possible, I understand you're showing your opinion but Thomas sucks! Thats what they have rookies for and good players in the nickel like Delotach, Craft, and Groce :wink:

Whatever Ghandi, Samuel is on a hot streak. Besides Clements wants the big money, too. They're ways to resolve in getting great players. Samuel has had more than two good years I say three. Even though that doesn't matter, if he wants the big money, leave Grant alone and get Samuel. Besides Ninkovich has played well when not injured, and there's Justin Smith in FA, he doesn't want everything and in my opinion can play just as well or better than Grant has been

:bananajoy: yep it came from me.
I still stand by what I said from day 1. our secondary stinks. It still does. I was not signing any praises on here. I have been laughing how people flip back and forth so easily. Signs of improvement are there but when you that far down in the begining of the season even the flip side of a turd looks better.
Cut Fred and Craft is his back up.
HMM feels like crap, smells like crap, and even taste like crap. Glad I did not step in it.
sorry i do not buy into that way of thinking.

Wasn't all that impressed with what i saw of posluzny this year. Think i read somewhere he had a lingering injury (knee or ankle???), and he looked sluggish.
I agree with most, we need a starting cornerback, but I'm not ready to cut "Toast" Thomas. He's showing signs of his age, but will probably still play in nickle and dime packages. Corner and MLB are my top two needs, and safety is up there as well. Bullocks didn't seem to progress this season, like he should have. I saw way too many plays where he was out of position. TE, Guard, and DT after that.

Football Outsiders has mentioned a couple of times how Fred Thomas was playing really well early this season before he was injured, and has stunk up the joint since. Their postition on him is that he is good against possession receivers but bad vs. speed receivers. If they are right, he can still be very valuable as a nickel back or backup. Who knows, maybe he'll be back in his early-season form by next season. Lord knows he's a great tackler for a little guy. He'll be cheap and he knows the system. And he's got the character and attitude of a Saint (it's nice to be able to say that and mean it in a positive way, eh?).

I wish I still had my Sammy Knight avatar, but it went away when the site changed. :(

$0.02

I'd keep Fred around as the dime corner and let him work his way up to the nickel spot. Craft played well when asked. The secondary fell apart when Harper went down. Just from my decidedly amateur analysis. He was good at getting the secondary organized and calling out coverages pre-snap and was improving in every game.

I'd take Clements over Samuel. Take a look around the league at the guys who left the Pats and then did NOTHING. Up till this season, Troy Brown had been more of a playmaking corner than Samuel. Clements will likely be cheaper, as well.

I think this offseason will be much like last seasons (only without the wholesale changes). Bring in needs via free agency, draft BPA in the first two rounds, and then get the depth in the later rounds. With the extra picks, don't be surprised to see the Saints move up in the first or second round to get the player they want. I sure as hell wouldn't mind Aaron Ross, Michael Griffin, or Dwayne Bowe in the first round. Outside of Willis, I'm not sure there's a legit 1st-round ILB in the draft. Poz may slip into the second round (I haven't seen much Senior Bowl reporting on him). We do need more WRs...Bowe, Davis, or Higgins would look awesome starting opposite Colston. I'd hold onto Copper and Henderson regardless. Haven't seen enough of Jamal Jones to make a call.

hey rich.. post the pic you want as your avatar and ill fix it for you

i totally agree with you... ross is a beast and is really undervalued as a corner in this draft. many are saying he will go in the 2nd and if thats the case and willis isnt available, the i would have to seriously consider trading down and adding some more picks and still take him

i like griffin but we have bullocks who could still come back to his form when he was a rookie and i am hoping harper comes back from his injury b/c that guy will be a defensive leader