They really liked the guy but admitted his skills were off the past two years. One thing that hurt him was the wedge rule on returns, he couldn't dart out of it like a mouse anymore and he was starting to get caught from behind more often. That's going to be hard to get use to because Reggie never got caught from behind. As long as he doesn't fumble though that's a wash.

Holy crap. Didn't see this coming at all. His speed will create the same match up problems that defenses had with Reggie. I think Reggie will keep an eye on Sproles performance this year.

I love this! That's TWO talents we took from AJ Smith. Awesome!

I'm not crazy about this move. Would have liked to seen somebody younger.

He's not that fast. He'll get caught from behind but that's fine as long as he moves the chains. One thing I like is he's short. Brees is going to be able to put the ball where only he can get it just like with Colston on the other end of the scale.

Taking talent from A.J. Smith is about as hard as taking candy from a diabetic.

I'm pleased with this, just another step in our quest of a Two Dat

Plus he WANTED to come to the Saints!!

He'll be better for us than Reggie was!!!

I like the signing. Takes our return game up a notch. He'll take a way a LB. He can still make people miss, gets YAC and (unlike our last RB) he plays 16 games.

Thomas, Ivory Ingram and Sproles Ok sound good. I love this signing.

Probably closer to 11/32.... and waning

Reggie s not 'done"... Reggie never took off for more than a game.

HEY BOY

Did AJ Smith just makes us better again LOL

Whether Sproles has the skills Bush had/has is not the point. Sproles HAD to be accounted for by a player of speed by the defense. An average linebacker usually got burned; safety allotment made the vertical game work for SD. That aspect especially hurt the Saints last year, when defenses predominantly played cover2/3.

My only complaint about Bush was/is that he didn't have exceptional first step acceleration or hard angle cut ability at top speed. Sproles definitely has that, though not the top end speed.

When I saw this, I really was a little bit faint. If I had that reaction, the DCs in ATL, TB, and CAR must be catatonic thinking about facing PT23, Ingram, Sproles, and Ivory twice a year.

I think this is the best batch or RBs that I have ever heard or any team having. Yes, that is right, I'm making that statement. BEST BACKFIELD ANYWHERE EVER!

It's a good batch on paper, There are concerns however. Are they going to be able to stay healthy? Will Ingram get going early? And Sproles, from the Charger fans he's respected but even they admit he's not the man from 2 years ago. As long as the Saints don't find themselves in the revolving door of RB's like last season though the run game should be much improved and that's all Brees needs to open things up.

Great bullet for Drew's gun

True, he's got some negatives for sure, but the positives greatly outweigh them.

From what I've read on the Bolts' board...
He fumbles as much or more than Bush does
He's a good KR, but only an average PR
He's still only a 7-10 touch per game player

We brought him in to be the change of pace scat back and return guy.

It does look like he's going to be asked to do almost the exact same things Reggie did.

For comparisons...

Sproles / Bush

Yards per carry - 4.6 / 4.0
Yards per catch - 9.6 / 7.3
Yards per PR - 8.2 / 7.8

I'll take sproles any day.

The big difference is Sproles will make a cut at full speed and GO.

Bush makes a cut wait, go this way, no wait I need to go this way, no wait I'll go that way, no let me go back 6 yards to get one and cut this way. Dang tacked by a guys finger.

Here is a picture of our new backfield (from left to right - Ivory, Thomas, Ingram, Hamilton, Sproles) ...

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...TH8vlHgXoOD55Q

You forgot the best one:
Reggie- $11.2 million

Darren- $3.5 million

Is this bad news for Ivory or Thomas?? I like our return game now

I was thinking that $3.5 was Reggie kind of money...
I like Sproles stature better than Reggie's.
Built low to the ground, and like Euph said, no hesitation at all. That works for me.
Sproles is a very good pick up.
ALL my concerns are on the other side of the ball. So many uncertainties.

Big Ing, Pierre the Powerhouse and Little Darren are about to tear some sh*t up!!!

This is a good move... We get a return guy... We get that 3rd down back to replace Reggie.... In fact he will prob fit in real nice here... GEAUX SAINTS

I think the pick-up is ok. I think they wanted to sign somebody with ivory and Thomas still recovering.

Bush and Sproles stats are not all that different.

Bush - Rush yards 2,090, AVG 4.0, TD 17, FUM 13
Sproles - Rush yards 1,154, AVG 4.6, TD 6, FUM 1

Bush - Receiving yards 2,142, AVG 7.3, TD 12, FUM 1
Sproles- Receiving yards 1,400, AVG 9.6, TD 11, FUM 1

Bush - Punt yards 720, AVG 7.8, TD 4, FUM 5
Sproles - Punt Yards 935, AVG 8.2, TD 2, FUM 7

I think he is a little better then bush, but not by much. The only thing I really like about him is the return game aspect. But I think Bush was a better red zone threat.

I knew something was definitely up when I saw those quotes from Payton in the press conference yesterday, when he started talking about Darren Sproles' skillset, when the reporters weren't really asking him a question about Sproles!