Boogro

Cut Grant? Ninkovich is a pass rusher and plays only on passing downs when healthy. Grant can play both the run and the pass and is still young. Letting him go will leave a major hole that we can't afford to have. I say sign Grant, Hollis Thomas, restructure horn (if not Cut) if cut, sign Bennett or Curtis. Sign 2 corners, and re-sign Stinch if possible. At MLB, N. Harris, Fletcher, or Edwards would be fine. I'd like to see a good leader on D at that spot.

I liked what I seen out of Strief last year, looks like a good candidate for RT. Bring someone in to compete with him. I think weshould fill our roster as best as we can then draft BAP.

Bobaganoosh

If the Saints lose grant, then DE becomes priority number 1. Boogro nailed on Ninkovich...he is a situational guy that will not survive as an every down DE. Bringing in Edwards to man the middle and take charge of our defense to me is the key. Having the veteran leadership in the middle of our defense would help out tremendously...so what if he only has 3 years left in him...the next 3 years are when the Saints are going to be primed to make a run at the Super Bowl...as for Stinchcomb, offer him a fair deal, if he wants to much then let him walk and plug in Strief. Resign Grant, bring in edwards, sign Rod Hood and make a play for Daniel Graham, then draft the best DT or corner available in round 1.

It's all in the reflexes.

hagan714

CB trade for bly and sign clements.

FA
Deloatch, Curtis CB NOS 425000.00
Groce, DeJuan CB NOS 721600.00

Thomas, Fred
2007 2000000.00 Last year of contract

McKenzie, Mike
2007 2000000.00
2008 3000000.00
2009 4450000.00
Actually this is not bad at all

Craft, Jason
2007 1000000.00
2008 900000.00

I say bring'em all in and let them fight it out in camp like we did At S

Draft the following
Round 1
27 680 - Paul Posluszny - MLB, 6-2, 238, 4.67 Penn State
Round 2
59 310 - Kareem Brown - DT, 6-4, 303, 5.00 Miami
Round 3
91 136 - Matt Spaeth - TE, 6-7, 265, 4.75, Minnesota
Round 4
119 56 -Tim Duckworth - OG, 6-3, 304, 5.25, Auburn
122 50 - Jay Moore - DE, 6-4, 276, Nebraska
123 49 - Juwan Simpson - OLB, 6-2, 223, 4.60 Alabama
Round 5
155 30.4 -Anthony Waters - MLB - 6-3, 235, 4.65, Clemson
Round 6
187 17.6 - Brandon Myles - WR 6-0, 183, 4.37, W. Virgina
UDFA Rodney Hannah - TE - 6-7, 255, 4.55, Houston

Resign
Grant, Thomas, Stinch and Clark.

hagan714

forgot Thomas is due an additional 1 million in march so we will soon know. bye bye

SaintPauly

Cut Thomas for God's sake!!! That's all I ask.... that and bring back fetch monster..........: )

ScottF

--Stinchcomb would have to have pretty big balls to actually try and negotiate a better deal. He has been an embarressment for 4 years and was the weak link on an improved line. Not just a first rounder, but we actually traded down to get him- scary. Strief can do just as well.

-- I say do what it takes to get Bly. Keep Fred as a nickel, or Craft, whatever. If the kids stay healthy at safety, def backfield could actually be a strength.

-- I wouldn' be worried about QB. There are always a ton of cap casualities, and even though the top 5 QBs are solid, I don't know who you get in rounds 6-7. BTW--Whatever happened to McPherson?

-- The Saints should have their choice of a top defensive player. I see a lot of QBs and RBs going early, leaving 3--4 decent DB's and linebackers.

- On Horn, sign him if it's reasonable. Again, he's 35 and has 5 TDs in 2 years

Boogro

Well I just read on another website that he won't take a pay cut so I doublt that Horn will be back.


AP reports New Orleans Saints HC Sean Payton said it was too early to talk about free agency — or the status of veteran WR Joe Horn, who has struggled with injuries for two years and would be due about $4 million next season if the Saints decided not to waive him. Horn said he would not accept a pay cut to stay in New Orleans. “Can I still play at a Pro Bowl level? Yes. ... The film don’t lie. And my receiver coach knows what I can do, and I know coach Payton knows what I can do,� Horn said. “But I won’t be surprised if my agent got a phone call or I got a phone call and they told me I was going in a different direction. Then I’d clear out my locker, I’d say farewell to the fans here that I love dearly and they love me, and I’d put on another helmet.� If the Saints do part ways with some prominent players, Payton believes the franchise is in a stronger position to attract new ones through free agency than last season, when the team appeared to be early in the rebuilding phase with a rookie coach and a roster in flux.

http://ffmastermind.com/teambits.php?team=NO

It was posted JAN. 23, so there you go

SaintFanInATLHELL

Strong opinions. Most of which I disagree with!

Give Joe an opportunity to restructure. Explain to him that the Saints cannot afford to pay him #1 money when they can't guarantee he's going to be on the field. Also explain that they value his leadership and really want him to retire a Saint. But if he doesn't budge...

Grant's a UFA so there's no need to cut him. Ninkovich is unproven, and Grant really stepped up to the plate last year. I'd consider franchising and trying to spend the offseason working out a long term deal.

Total agreement here.

Davis is soft. I mean the guy was a #2 pick! I like how the line has gelled. Other than shoring up the backups, I'd leave it alone.

The guy wants something in the ballpark of $7 million a year. The very fact that he wants Champ Bailey money when it's clear he's not Champ Bailey worries me.

I think there may be an opportunity here. There are a couple of disgruntled decent cover corners out there that won't break the bank yet will be a significant upgrade over Fred "Gameshow" Thomas. Reports have Dre Bly of Detroit seeking a trade and Fred Smoot wanting out of Minnesota because both teams have coaches who are Tampa 2 disciples. The fact that Gibbs wants to play a scheme with press man to man coverage may end up being an advantage in terms of getting a better player out on that island.

Thomas is a stud no doubt. But how well will he fit in our defensive scheme? He coming from a 3-4 with big guys at the DT position that allow the LBs to operate clean. The Saints are probably not going to get there this year. So how effective would Thomas be at the MLB position in traffic? I don't know.

As for drafting a CB, I agree to a point. I fear though at 27th you're not going to be able to secure a top cover corner, which is what our defensive scheme demands.

Agreed. Fred isn't a bad CB (ok stop laughing now!) It's just that Gibbs wanted him to do something that's outside of his capabilities, which is cover #1 receivers by himself on the outside. In the nickel he'll be better.

We keep cutting Bellamy. He keeps coming back. He was an upgrade over Stotmire and Scott. So why not cut one of them and have Bellamy as the reserve safety?

Probably. I think the question is whether or not Branch can be the complete back required. That means rushing the ball, blocking when necessary, picking up the blitz, and catching the ball out of the backfield.

I'm not disagreeing with the last point. I'm just unsure if Branch is ready to do everything required.

SFIAH

Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO

Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.

Fleured

It is unfortunately the most accurate scenario. I would like to see Joe back until he retires a Saint but he's gotta give it up for the team. He will only prosper in the end if he does. He has to realize this team is only three or four good moves away from hoisting the Lombardi and there are receivers who will like to be catching chunks of stats from Drew on their way to a prosperous career. no?
Joe would be wise now to carefully consider his place with Saints history. Choose between restructuring, success and community or maybe a huge contract, getting huirt and sitting on foreign sidelines for teams that reshuffle him into retirement.

hagan714

Funny how much things change in a year. The idea of cutting Horn last year would have gotten you killed. Now most people think it is okay. gezzzz
Look at the WR and you have nothing but young pups playing. Only one has stepped up and is now considered a starter. But hey closton can do only so much. Closton and Henderson both still have alot to prove. Horn is still the only set of sure hands on the team. The best games Drew and the Saints had was when all 3 were on the field. Even the running game benifited. Sure Horn is up there in age and injuries hurt him. A torn groin is nothing to laugh at. The only thing that heals it is time. Time that is alot longer than 6 weeks.
Do we keep him? It's to early to tell. I would not mind keeping him and giving up a free agent in order to do so. Medical exam is the only way to tell. Give him a new contract and a large check for doing it. Then let him get performance pay. problem solved.
If we cut him then drafting a WR becomes more important. If you draft one high he better play alot better than Closton. In two years we are faced with resign Closton. He will want to be shown the money even more if he is the Teams top WR at that point. Nasty can of worms.