LOL....BIRDMAN!

You two guys get back to us when you're NFL coaches and let us know who you pick for your linebackers. Try to be a more loyal fan, already.

Our coaching staff likes Shanle but you do not. Got it.

So why is it the rest of us Saints fans should care what a disloyal, back seat driver like you thinks about a player that HELPED US WIN A SUPER BOWL?

#51 speaks very highly of Shanle, FYI.
I'll take his word for it over yours. Sorry.

Hey, I know, Chopique, lets get angry & personal about it. Prescription run out again? Hang in there, only 6 more days till the 15th.

Dont sweat it, FinSaint. I dont know if Shanle's the weak link some of us believe him to be-- so in essence, I disagree with some of the posters here. (although all you did was call him "adequate" you "back seat driver"-- LOL)

-- some people just dont understand how the playground works. happy posting, and feel free to disagree with me. I've been wrong before. ha!

Wow dude, really? Thats what these forums are for - posting opinions. Don't bash these guys for their opinion. In essence, you are bashing them, which is what you're trying to accuse them of doing. Don't take it personal when someone doesn't have the same opinions as you. I'm indifferent about the situation, of course there are better guys out there, but he's been here and he knows the system so of course he is going to be valuable to the team. I'm pretty sure these guys know that too. They're just getting excited about the season and throwing out some wishful thinking, give 'em a break.

You're the one that sounds like a douche, not them. Just because you've been a member of the black&gold forum for longer than some people doesn't make you the most insightful person here; it also doesn't make you the biggest fan on here. A true fan doesn't belittle and berate other fans for having an opinion.

Look... I know I'm new here, but definitely not new to being a Saint's fan. I have never thought that my opinions should count
as much as the coaching staff's, but that was not the issue here, now was it?

Furthermore, I don't think that anything I stated about Shanle could be thought of as bashing on him. I simply stated that
I hoped the Saints would not resign him, and that wish was connected to another one, according to which the Saints would
have been able increase their talent level at that position... which would have made Shanle expendable. You have to agree
that as many improvements as the Saint's have made during this off-season, the one area of uncertainty that still remains
is in the linebacker corp, and that's not something I just made up while working through my "bashing-on-Shanle-fury" - it's
something that's been addressed in many threads here on this forum and on numerous news articles and blogs.

Also, I would like to state that I have nothing against Shanle as a person or a football player. That is why I hoped he would've signed
with the Rams who were interested in him, because his contributions to that team would've been more significant than they will
probably be with the Saints. Also, I believe that the Rams fans would have welcomed him back with open arms, him being drafted
by them originally. It's simply a matter of skill-set: I don't think that a LB with his particular skill-set is ideal for the type of
defense that GW runs. Finally, I don't think that he is a Pro Bowl caliber LB, and since I wholeheartedly believe that the Saints as a
team are on that level, I don't see why that type of a pairing up would be constructive going forward. Would you pick Shanle
as your starting weak or strong side LB if you had the choice of any LB in the league? If the answer is no, then I think it is only
logical that you would hope to make an upgrade in that position.

I leave you with some final thoughts... I have stated many times on various threads that I have complete trust in what SP, GW,
ML and the FO do. If they feel like Shanle is the best they could be able attain with all the other moves they made and with
the restrictions innate in such a unique off-season, then I'm fine with the decision. I never expressed that I didn't appreciate
what Shanle did for the Saints during the SB run, but the nature of the league is to always improve and to not be controlled
by emotions when you are making business decisions. Furthermore, I'm not a malicious person and I don't seek out to hurt people
neither physically or emotionally - the original statement was made in a purely speculative spirit, which I believe these forums
are designed for.

Sorry, for the long manifesto... got really defensive all of a sudden.

Good stuff !!!! I wish I was there.