Correct. A punter wouldn't have been worth those draft picks, but he is a Punter! I'm glad you are finally coming around.

I think that it's all relative, and come on man - it was a 5th round draft pick. Other than Jenkins... would you say that the two 4th round picks before him have made a bigger contribution to the Saints' success since the draft: Chip Vaughn and Stanley Arnoux.

Personally I would say that Morstead has been a key contributor to what the Saints have done in the kicking game during the last couple of seasons, and I would definitely say that the 5th round pick was very deservedly used on him.

As for the trade up... NYG picked Stoney Woodson with the Saints' 7th in '09 and Mick Petrus in '10 with the 5th. I haven't heard neither one of them making headlines lately, have you? Naturally the Saints could've made better choices with those picks, but that is not guaranteed as just the 4th round pick of Chip Vaughn in the '09 draft proves.

If not for McBride of the Cowgirls, Morstead would already be a perennial pro bowl punter, so show some love for the kickers too... they're key parts of the whole as well.

Yep, it was 2 picks in a 4 pick draft, no other team has ever done that to my knowlege.

He's a punter, and its the most insignificant position on a football team.

I think the Punter was much more significant than the backup QB has been, considering the Punter has actually been on the field contributing to the team while the backup QB has been standing around holding a clipboard.

And please, don't give me a weak "Well he coulda' been more important in a what-if scenario that didn't happen." argument.

I don't need to do that. He's a punter, we gave up two picks for the least important "position" on the team. End of discussion.

But I got plenty more if you want to go at it again, and again, and again.;)

What on God's green earth are you talking about? Where did I say anything about Payton being fired? In fact, I said the exact opposite: nobody needs to be fired because of an injury. That was my point, then you came busting in saying that I am some sort of sunshiner who is never critical of players... which is not only incorrect, but way out of left field. Which leads me back to my question: what are you talking about?

good point.missed real trainings by the trainers and coaching staff even if the guys did their training/conditioning thing.

So, would you be willing to trade Morstead for Stoney Woodson and Mick Petrus 'cos who knows maybe those would've been the picks that the Saints would also have made?

Oh, and if you're saying that the punter is the least important player on the roster... what does that mean for the long snapper?

As for me I think special teams, to include punting, are amazingly underrated.

I waiver between LS and P as the least important position on a team.

Would you rather have Nicks, Strief, Colston, or Tennant, or a freaking punter?

And if you wanna play the what-if game, suppose Morstead was a bust? Is he still worth two picks in a draft where we only had 4 picks? Judging from our special teams units a real football player probably benefits us more than a punter.

Guess how many punters were picked this entire decade. And guess how many were picked in round 5 or earlier. And guess how many draft picks those teams had when they picked that punter that early.

I'll take a Carl Nicks over a punter all day long, especially if I only have 4 picks.

First of all, the Saints had 4 picks before the trade up and they had 4 picks after the trade up in the 2009 draft, because they exchanged their 7th round pick that year for the NYG 5th round pick. Now, they did give up a 5th round pick in the 2010 draft, but they still ended up with 6 picks that year.

As for the whether I would prefer to have Nicks over Morstead - I won't even answer that 'cos that's naturally a given. Also, he wasn't available in either of the the draft classes of 2009 or 2010, so he couldn't have been drafted instead of Morstead.

The only one who we could really play the what-if game with out of that group of players is Tennant, and I would maybe lean towards Tennant on that one too, but it would not be a "cut and dry" decision for me.

Obviously the Saints wanted Morstead and saw in him something that they felt justified the trade up which they went ahead with, so in that respect I would say that it was worth it. And, furthermore, I don't remember a single time after Morstead became the Saints' punter that I've thought to myself: "if only the Saints had a punter, who would make our ST better."

Being a punter is definitely not as flashy of a position as being a QB, RB or a WR, for example, but you can't play successfully without having a guy making those kicks. The punting game can be that one thing that decides the outcome of a tightly fought game, where field position is ultimately what brings home the W. When a situation like that presents itself, you'll more than likely be happy that the Saints have one of the best punters in the league, and couldn't care less about the backup center.

Don't listen to Danno he got smoked in a poll on this topic...i know he doesn't want me to pull that up again.lol

You mean your homeristic "are you glad we got Morstead" poll. Gimme a break dude.:rolleyes:

Pull it up, I couldn't care less. It certainly doesn't mean I was wrong, and NFL history is certainly on my side. ;)

Smoked! the people spoke and you lost:twisted:

It's not even about who's right and who's wrong in this or any other topic for that matter. It's all about the debate and expressing varying opinions - at least it is for me.

I value Danno's opinion and I was very much interested in understanding why he feels that making that trade up for Morstead (or any other punter in a similar situation) was a mistake.

I understand that the Saints did give up a 7th round pick by substituting their 5th round picks with NYG, and if someone like Colston was drafted with that same pick in another year, maybe the Saints could've struck gold with it once again. But that's what the draft is all about, since it's basically gambling, and that's why you use scouts to manipulate the odds of success in your favor. For every Colston picked in the 7th round, there are probably dozens if not hundreds of players who never amount to anything, but that was not how the teams that drafted them felt about them at the time of the draft. Let alone all the players that go undrafted and become big contributors, like Moore.

So, in that regard I don't see the trade up as a huge gamble and certainly not as a mistake, because they drafted a reliable star punter, who has made major contributions to the way the Saints have played during the past seasons. And this becomes even more valid when you look at the players that the NYG drafted with the picks they got from the Saints - Woodson and Petrus.

I do to ..but he's wrong...onside kick...lol

If someone held a gun to my head, I would say that the holder for FG's and PAT's is the most insignificant...but it's funny when you think about it. A football team really doesn't have an insignificant position.

Let's take Danno's top 2...punter and long snapper. If your team is inferior with either of those 2, you are in a world of hurt. My point, however, is that this would be the case when you think about any position. JMO, though.

Exactly right. Anybody remember Tony Romo's botched hold? Or Dan Marino botching the hold of Ray Finkle? Laces out Dan!

This is intended for the OP.

You're an idiot. Is it genetic?

Dude I'll bet that nearly everyone, if not everyone, is ready to go at GB.

DONE!:bng:

I know a few rugby players who would disagree with you.:bartinator:
It really is possible to strengthen your body by continuing to abuse it. Ruggers like to say "that which does not kill you makes you stronger". It also seems to work for MMA.......just sayin'

Yes. And so far this preseason the Saints special teams have been very good.

so what trainer do we fire since Hartley is the latest casualty?

Wher is the damned I report? Not on nfl.com, not on NOS.com

Actually if you think about it, punter is probably one of the reliable positions to gamble on. Besides getting injured, how does a punter become a bust? Ha ha.