cajunasian61

I don't want to be the pessimist, but what makes everyone so sure that David will be a backup next year? The coaching staff has proven time and time again that they do not always play the best players. Some Examples (Starter - followed by obviously better alternative):

Jason David - Jason Craft, Usama Young, Anyone FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ANYONE!
Josh Bullocks - Kevin Kaesviharn
Mark Simmoneau - Brian Simmons
Scott Shanle - Brian Simmons
Jeff Faine - Jonathan Goodwin

Ok so my last two weren't obviously better alternatives, but they have been argued on this forum before. The point is that sometimes the coaching staff doesn't always play the right players no matter how obvious it might be to us. How else could anyone explain Bullocks starting the last two years (or ever). He was embarrasing to watch. After he got hurt and Kaesviharn started for him I thought there was no way that Bullocks would get his starting spot back, but he unexplainably did.

So when Jason David is starting across from Randall Gay on opening day, alot of you (including me) will be cursing at the TV (or maybe live), but don't be surprised. David is being paid too much money to be a backup, and he unfortunately will be the starter on opening day next year. For those of you who think Usama Young will be our starter are wishful thinkers. I don't know what anyone saw in Usama last year to think he could be a starter, because I missed it. He was below average at best, and will need more time. He may be better than Jason David, but is that really something to be proud of?

thesaintsfan

So let me get this straight, by picking up all those players the Bucs haven't done much to help their team but by us signing JUST R. Gay we will have 12 wins next year? Are you serious? That is just a delusional statement. IMHO none of the players we have signed could single handedly turn us into a 12 win team. I think that all of their efforts combined will help us get to the 12 win range. I say that because we would've made the playoffs last year had we stayed healthy. We aren't that far away from being a true force in the NFC but the signing of one marginal starter at CB will not turn us into a 12 win team.

It seems like it's hard for alot of us Saints fans to give the Bucs credit for winning the NFC South last year. Some seem to think it was just a fluke that they swept us and won the division. I wish I could say that it was a fluke but it wasn't. They weren't a great team but they were a good team with alot of young talent. So far this offseason I feel like they have done a better job than we have at addressing their team specific needs. Sure, they haven't brought in the risky big names that we have but that's because they didn't need to. We have been desperate for a playmaking LB basically since The Dome Patrol so rolling the dice on a couple of "damaged" players was a risk we needed to take. The FO thought that the risk was worth the potential reward and it is because if healthy Vilma and Morgan will be beasts. I don't think we've done enough to address our specific needs at DT, TE, CB, and S so far this offseason. But like I said before, if we make a few more moves and have a good draft we could easliy have the best offseason in the NFC South.

phatoosdey

it's hard to say who has had the better offseason so far but you also have to consider coaching changes along with FA and draft

thesaintsfan

That is a very good point phatoosdey. New coaches can sometimes get alot more out of players than the old coach could. We might see that first hand this year with the Falcons. Hopefully they will still suck though. A new coach isn't going to fix the mess they have at QB.