Jeremy Green - ESPN Chat on Deuce
 

He reports that Deuce will not be a Saint after this season.

I'm shocked in that I've not read or heard anything like this. Is anyone out there familiar with this?

I really don't think this guy has a clue of what he's talking about.I don't see how the Saints can even think about cutting Deuce loose any time soon. He is our big back. Besides, can you imagine to outcry from the fans?

Plus, this will be his 3rd year (I think) of the long-term $50M contract he signed. We might not be able to move him because of the cap hit even after '07.

Just another reason why this might just be suspicion without facts to support it.

jeremy green is an idiot... come on... theres no way that we could cut deuce... the rip in the fans would be huge.... plus he is the heart of our squad and people in the gulf south love deuce...

Hope it's not true, but we did just trade up to take a RB. I don't know.

Pittman is in no way a replacement for Deuce. he is indeed a replacement for Stecker. That is what this draft is all about...finding depth. The Saints now have depth at RB, OL and CB...and when was the last time the saints were 8 deep on the o-line and had potential to be 5 deep at CB?

pittman was drafted to replace stecker


"That leaves the most curious pick of the draft left to discuss, the trade up to draft Ohio State runningback Antonio Pittman.

This move, which can't possibly be justified by "best player available" since they gave up a fifth round pick to move into position, is immediately targeted at Aaron Stecker, who is due $1.25 million this season. The total value of Pittman's three year rookie contract will likely be in the neighborhood of $2.25 million, making him a cheaper option at the #3 runningback spot. Before the draft we thought that Stecker could be floated in trades, as he was used sparsely last year on offense, and $1.25 million is a lot to pay a special teamer.

Given his fourth round status and Stecker's contract, it seems that there won't even be need for a training camp battle. Unless the team makes room for both of them on the 53-man roster, or Pittman gets hurt, Stecker has probably played his last game as a Saint."

got a link for this BS

i read it also yesterday... it was in a chat on ESPN.com... ill go search for it again..

It was on a chat line on ESPN. This guy hasn't got a clue.

dave (cleveland): Why would the Saints draft Pittman with an already crouded backfield?

Jeremy Green: (11:42 AM ET ) McAlister is not going to be there after this season. Bush will have to eventually prove he can start and they like the two RB attack. Pittman in terms of value was a very good pick here.



http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=15087

its about 2/3rds of the way down

From the same Chat:


Tom (Nola): For the 100th time, Any thoughts on the Saints draft?

Gary Horton: (5:17 PM ET ) I especially liked their first pick of Robert Meachem, even though a lot of people wondered if WR was that big of a need. But the Saints love 3 WR sets and to spread the field. With Horn gone, this gives them another good target for Brees. The rest of the draft has been solid and they have done a good job filling needs. At least they have addressed the secondary with 2 picks.

Green's shooting in the dark...just a throw-away remark.

Given Pittman's build and the obvious interest in him by trading up, I'm thinking the plan here is to have our 3rd RB be a mini-Bush type. Obviously both Bush and Deuce are important to the team, but I think a Bush injury rips more holes in the playbook -- hence the insurance policy.

Should Deuce go down, you can always find a more traditional RB to sign or trade for. Bush's unique and varied role on the team almost demands having somebody on the roster who can step in with a working knowledge of the playbook.

But hey, what do I know?

I see the drafting of Pittman as a money saving move.

Stecker is due almost 2 mil this year, to much for a special teamer at best.

Pittman, maybe 3 milliom on a 3 year contract.

Stecker has never impressed me anyway. Can you say bye bye?

The Saints made a mistake last year by letting Michael Bennett be traded. He was to have the role of Reggie Bush before he dropped to them. Stecker tried to play a reliever role but was not effective even on special teams.With Pittman he can step in for both Reggie and Deuce.
It's time for the fans to get rid of their loser mentality. Stockpiling of talent for winning teams don't mean letting go of starters, it mean finding quality backups when drafting at the bottom of the draft.
Start getting use to how winning teams play and aquire players.

The "Deuce Coupe" AINT going nowhere!!! Bush without Deuce is like Master P without government cheese!! You'll never say "UUUUNNNGH!!!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMhonqcbXv8

Has this been posted? He has flashes of greatness but I don't know too much about him. I have a friend who graduated from Ohio State and he gave me the thumbs up on Pittman. And just to add more to the Deuce post, if you think we are going to keep Deuce and Bush forever you are naive to what the salary cap was implemented for. There is no way we could afford 2 superstar RBs, and neither one deserve a pay cut so Pittman is our backup plan in 3 years when one of them will have to go.

I think Pittman is a great #3, he reminds me a lot of Warrick Dunn. Looks like a scatback, but is still tough between the tackles. Remember when Stecker fumbled against Baltimore? Or when Deuce came up limping against the Bears and we had basically no running game? They call him "Mr. Reliability" for a reason. Lots of scouts had him rated as the third best back in the draft. Trading a 5th rounder to get him is chump change.

Guy has man love for Pittman.
 

Pittman pick???????? Well thats what the media is trying to figure out. So they are coming up with all kind of reasons. This is the sensational one. Thats all. Sports broadcasters try to get one right. forget about it.
Pittman we HOPE can not only be a third down back but a back that helps rest Duce and keep him fresh. We saw last year Bush is better used as a roving back. When he is in the back field it makes it to easy to key on him and match up with our other weapons. Duce and Bush on the field is best. We needed a back to come in and give Duce a break while not limiting the offense. Enter Pittman. Stecker can not be used in that role. I knew we would be getting a back to fill this need. Pittman by no means was the back I thought they would end up. I love the move. Shawn should be able to continue his game plain with or without Duce on the field.
Make no mistake Pittman is not Duce. Lets see what we got first before jumping the gun. Besides RB in the market place this year got squatt and could be had for the same.

Yo, everybody can leave that DEUCE crap alone, he's not going anywhere, PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Deuce's contract was through 2012 and the details are as follows: (The figures are from rotoworld.com).

2007: $2.6 mill salary ($1 mill roster bonus + $100,000 workout bonus)
2008: $3.6 mill salary ($1 mill roster bonus + $100,000 workout bonus)
2009: $5.3 mill salary ($100,000 workout bonus)
2010: $6.2 mill salary ($100,000 workout bonus)
2011: $7.1 mill salary ($100,000 workout bonus)
2012: $8.1 mill salary ($100,000 workout bonus)

The signing bonus on the deal was $12.5 million. Signing bonuses implications to the salary cap are prorated and divided out by the length of the contract upon signing (7 years was the original length. $12.5/7= about $1.8 mill)

So the salary cap hits are as follows:

2007: $2.6 +$1.8+$1 = $5.4
2008: $3.6 +$1.8+$1 = $6.4
2009: $5.3 +$1.8 = $7.1
2010: $6.2 +$1.8 = $8.0
2011: $7.1 +$1.8 = $8.9
2012: $8.1 +$1.8 = $9.9

Cap Hits if cut before salary is due (before 6/1): (The remaining amount of a signing bonus is summed and counted against the cap upon termination of a contract.)

2007: $1.8 X 6 = $10.8
2008: $1.8 X 5 = $9.0
2009: $1.8 X 4 = $7.2
2010: $1.8 X 3 = $5.4
2011: $1.8 X 2 = $3.6
2012: = $1.8

So financially against the cap, it makes almost no sense to cut him loose before 2009.

Duece isn't going anywhere.
Pittman is a tough inside runner with speed to burn. Payton's plan in the offense is to run multiple plays out of the same formation to keep the defense off balance. Pittman gives him more of an option than Stecker.
Pittman will also give Duece and Bush a rest when we are blowing these other suck a$$ teams out this year. No need to put more tread on the tires than we have to.

And Jeremy Green is an idiot!!!!!!!!

I never knew the details to his contract but I might have to change my stance on Deuce now. He's more than affordable and I definately wouldn't mind having him for at least 2 more seasons.

Theres no reason not to keep him until at least 2010 unless as someone said we traded him and someone else picked up the cap hit but I dont know if that happens because Deuce is soon approaching 30 and we saw a few years ago the difficulty of dealing backs 30+ years old. It still doesnt really make sense to let him go until 2011. In 2010 there is a $2.6 mill difference, but for a RB of his caliber, it is more than worth it. Jamal Lewis signed a $3.5 mill deal this season so keeping Deuce for that difference would be well worth it IMO. All in all, I dont know who this Green cat is but he certainly doesnt seem to know much of what he is talking about. Deuce isnt going anywhere anytime soon.

I honestly think some of you are looking at this from the wrong view? Every draft will create pre draft rumors and post draft rumors. Lewis was basically our only true kickoff returner..Until we got bush..however, as big a role reggie plays in this offense, You simply cant have him play every possible offensive position without the risk of injury.
The pittman draft was actually a pretty good pick. They can use pittman as a 3rd Rb, and more importantly put him on special teams and let him return punts and kickoffs. Think of the options..Bush-pittman returning kicks< who do u kick to? Pittman - Lewis? Pittman-Devery? As far as stecker goes..I honestly think stecker will either be cut or traded..most likely cut. Duece isnt going anywhere for a few years..reggie was drafted to give the offense an unlimited amount of mismatches..you dont take away part of the equation and still have mismatches. This offense this year is just anotherr example of payton planning for teams trying to defend against the saints from last year..This year is gonna have some new twists..This coach is always gonna stay one step ahead.

What about Jamaal Branch, Walter Payton award winner and on the roster for the last two weeks of the season. He's a certified, long proven beast who any number of teams, now that there's NFL game tape on him, who'd mess their shorts to have him either start or be the primary backup. He's more of the Deuce replacement and he's got one of those unbelievably rare UDFA contracts so he's cap friendly. Can we afford to have 4 rb's on the roster? Which would you keep, Branch, Stecker or Pittman?

that might be a good point if pittman was a kick returner which he wasnt in college....

i dotn believe it at all. plus it just is a bad move all around. it doesn't make sense. that is why i dont see it. you have a monster back there between him and bush. you do away with that for what reason??

Sounds like another rumor, don't buy into it.....
Deuce is the man in N.O, the fans know it, his players know it and more important Sean Payton knows it, no way he leaves after this season...

I see Pittman's value coming in on 3rd down. Personally, I think that Deuce is underrated as a receiver out the backfield and in his ability to play on third down. However, Pittman's speed and versatility allow him to slide in on third downs when Reggie motions out to the slot or to flanker. Thus he will take much of the role Stecker did. However, my concern is exactly what Pak said. Pittman did not return kicks in college and doesn't seem to be a return man type. Now, due to the bevy of receivers on the roster and based on those that appear likely to be kept, Lewis may have seen his last days along with Stecker. So my concern is who will be returning kicks. Im thinking Henderson maybe, or Pittman might give it a shot.

As far as Deuce going anywhere, its definetly a rumor. It just has no basis behind it and is quite ridiculous from all angles. However, Pittman's presence does seem to mark the end for Stecker and/or Branch.

Only one comment on Jeremy Green- idiot. Like someone said, the remark was his attempt to find a easy answer, which is more than likely the wrong one.

I pretty much agree with the consensus that Pittman was obtained to make Stecker obsolete. Aaron did a nice job when called upon for us, but there was not enough consistency or potential to keep him around.

But one thing comes to mind after all this discussion and that is Mike Karney. It seems we've evolved into more of a single back with a jack of all trades back. Karney doesn't seem to fit our current offense. We all remember the destruction he put upon the Cowboys when Payton utilized the one weapon he believed the Cowboys did not game plan for, but does he have a role with the current direction of our team? I think Mike is one of the best FB's in this league and likely will not be long for riding the pine hoping for a few downs a game where he lead blocks on short yardage.

I am curious to see how the FB position fits into Payton's plans and how Karney is utilized as a player.

Pittman will be key to HB rotation. THATS ALL. Do not go so far out there on the limb. This is great. If it works out Shawn can rest Duce with changing the game plan like last year. END OF STORY.

Do you think they could ever use all three of them at the same time?

On the field...

Colston (out wide), Meachem (out wide), Bush (split), Deuce (back field), Pittman (back field), Brees (undercenter)

Thoughts???

Seems pretty badass to me

with Shawn anything is possible

Great Pick!
 

I think this was a great pick for our offence. Sean will have the ability to have a fresh back at any time. This will also give him great ability to execute alternate game plans when something isnt working the way he wants it to. Defensive Coordinators will have an even harder time trying to keep up with our program. There are rumors that Duece will go but there is no way that will happen. He is and has been a solid producer and fan favorite since day one. I am sure Stecker will get his walking papers with this move. I thought Stecker was a little stale last year. Maybe because he felt that there was no way up the roster with the likes of Duece and Reggie and Branch pushing for his position. Branch and Stecker are fair 3rd string backs that we can do with or without. I know there are some that think Branch is better than he gets credit for but he didnt even start in Europe. Antonio came from a great program and put up very respectable numbers over the last two years. Keep in mind that he has PLAYED THE BIG GAMES. This will be one hell of a trio. Everyone should consider getting him as a gift.

Pittman Pick
 

Pittman cant hold Deuce's Jock, (at the moment).
He will be a good 3rd back but thats it.
He comes from a week Big Ten. And those lineman were opening holes
granny could push her own wheelchair through.
It a money move and also a fresher pair of legs. Stecker was not able
to do a lot because of limited ability but Pittman at a younger age will
be servicable for insurance purposes and possible trade bait in 2 years