MeisterS

which players the saints should go after with all the top studs either tagged or re-signed
(peterson,wilson,bailey,woodson all gone)???

saintz08

Here is a nice read on who got tagged and at what level .

The Indianapolis Colts aren\'t acknowledging it, but they made quarterback Peyton Manning their exclusive franchise player when they placed the tag on him Monday. That means that Manning would not be free to negotiate with other teams when the free agent market opens next Wednesday.

A league source with direct knowledge of the situation said Wednesday that three players were made their teams\' exclusive franchise players -- Manning, Oakland Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Julian Peterson.

Exclusive franchise players are not free to negotiate with other clubs. A non-exclusive franchise player is free to negotiate with other teams, but his previous club has the right to retain him by matching any contract offer, and the right to receive two first-round draft choices from his new team as compensation if the player signs elsewhere. Seven players who were given the franchise tag by Tuesday\'s deadline fall into this category -- Washington Redskins cornerback Champ Bailey, St. Louis Rams tackle Orlando Pace, New Orleans Saints defensive end Darren Howard, Green Bay Packers tackle Chad Clifton, Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister, Seattle Seahawks tackle Walter Jones and Jacksonville Jaguars safety Donovin Darius.

In addition, the Kansas City Chiefs made tackle John Tait their transition player, giving them the right to retain him by matching any offers but not the right to receive draft-pick compensation if he departs via free agency.

The Colts are being secretive about Manning\'s situation. A team spokesman declined to say Tuesday whether the club made Manning its exclusive franchise player, and normally accessible team president Bill Polian did not return a telephone message Tuesday and declined to comment on the matter through the spokesman Wednesday. When he announced Sunday in Indianapolis that the club would use its franchise tag on Manning, Polian did say it was certain that Manning would be with the team next season.

The Colts apparently didn\'t want to take any chances that some team would be willing to surrender two first-round picks for Manning and would attempt to steal the league\'s co-most valuable player with a contract offer that Indianapolis would be unwilling or unable to match.

Corners

1 Champ Bailey Redskins UFA 26
2 Charles Woodson Raiders UFA 27
3 Chris McAlister Ravens UFA 27
4 Antoine Winfield Bills UFA 27
5 Troy Vincent Eagles UFA 34
6 Bobby Taylor Eagles UFA 30
7 Fernando Bryant Jaguars UFA 27
8 Shawn Springs Seahawks UFA 29
9 Ahmed Plummer 49ers UFA 28
10 Will Peterson Giants RFA 25



[Edited on 26/2/2004 by saintz08]

\"Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn\'t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.\" - George S. Patton
On another note, I\'ll take a bite of that crow 08. - Saintfan
Brooks is a moron!! - Halo

WhoDat

My question is do you think that the Saints could swing two CBs? Assuming we\'re looking for at least a best of what\'s available type MLB also and a DT, and LB/WR/OT/CB/etc in the draft?

Is that possible?
I\'d love to see something like this in FA:

Any two of Winfield, Vincent, Taylor, Bryant, Springs, Plummer, and Peterson.

The MLB market looks slim. Nate Webster is probably our best option as an UFA, or maybe Randall Godfrey. I\'d love to see the Saints trade for Ed Hartwell, but I don\'t know how likely that is.

If they go OLB, first I want to see Rodgers resigned. He\'s solid and a good value considering he\'d come cheap. Otherwise, Emmons, Favors, Gold, or Peterson would all be big upgrades.

At DT, I think Rod Coleman is the cream of the crop. C. Griffin is another idea, Robaire Smith could be up and coming as could Brian Young. McGlockton or Traylor could be a very short term fix if you think either has a couple of good years left as a stopper in the middle.

I also took a quick look at what\'s out there at WR. Not a bad list of UFA\'s that could help and probably come relatively cheap: Reggie Barlow, Darrell Jackson, Charles Lee, Dennis Northcutt, Marcus Robinson, and Dez White. Of all of those, I think Charles Lee is the guy I\'m most interested in. He\'s big and showed he has a knack for making plays this year. Plus he\'s young, would be cheap, and we would be stealing him from the hated Bucs. This could be a really nice move for the Saints.

After looking at the FA market this offseason, I\'m not real excited. I see a lot available at CB, but the MLB spot, another position that we need just as bad IMO, is pretty thin. Maybe we will need to look to the draft for that.

Maybe the best course of action is to go after 2 CBs and a WR in FA and look to the draft for MLB (1), DT(2), and whatever else after that. Thoughts?

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

rAge

When talking about LB\'s, you forgot to mention Eric Barton.

You also listed a bunch of WR\'s that would come cheap, but D.Jackson was in that list and he is the top WR on the market (coming off his 2nd 1000yd season). He is going to want big money. We don\'t need help at WR anyway. Depth? Maybe, but not major help.

And no, not any two of those CB\'s would be good. Any combination of Springs, Bryant or Plummer would suck. They are all #2 quality corners. You need a Winfield to play opposite of one of them.

Anyway, if I was running things, I would sign Winfield & Bobby Taylor for CB\'s (also resign thomas). Eric Barton at OLB (forget about rogers, resign hodge), Rod Coleman at DT (resign kenny smith, if he will sign cheap) and resign Terrell Smith. Then with the draft, take Jon Vilma in round 1 to play MLB. Round 2, go after another CB (batman carroll, keith smith, joey thomas, richard colclough) and an OLB (dontarrious thomas). Round 3, take a RB (julius jones). And then say \'superbowl here we come\'

http://www.cutandpastescripts.com/cg...=forgottenrage

BlackandBlue

I\'d take Barton in a heartbeat. I think that Taylor is overrated, but that\'s just my opinion. I think he is a decent player who looks better because he has been surrounded by tremedous players in the secondary with the Eagles. I could see us signing Winfield, there will be no true \"shutdown\" corners available to us, the guy has proven that he is the best tackling CB in the league, and would provide great support against the run, which we all know we need some help in.

Boogro

My wish list includes Winfield and Plummer. Coleman, Griffin, Smith or Young at DT(anyone of them, but in that order. I don\'t want to see another rookie DT or Kenny Smith starting. Holdman would be a great addition, but I am sure we won\'t have to cap to sign him. Barton, D. Jones, or Webster. Resign Thomas, Brown, Rodgers, and T. Smith. Then, I\'d draft the best available palyer.

BlackandBlue

I\'d love this, but we have too many holes. If we can fill most in free agency, then this is definately how you build a team. But I am very pro- \"Best Player Available\".

rusta

the dream offseason in my opinion would be to go get ahmed plummer, antoine winfield and robaire smith
then draft 3 LB\'s with our first 3 picks (one has to pan out :P ), preferably vilma, DJ williams and dansby, i know that will never happen but maybe 2 of these guys?
i would say we need to get a wr to scare stallworth into performing but we already signed crowell