I have spent the past couple of weeks trying to defend the Saints front office, Drew Brees and his agent Tom Condon from people on this board, and others, with differing schools of thought. Things are not as simple and clear cut as those of us not in the know think.

First, of course Drew Brees knows what is going on in the negotiations, but I will guarantee you that he agreed upon hiring Condon that Condon would negotiate the best deal possible and present it to Brees when he feels it is right. He probably warned Brees that he may hear or read things in the news and on social media that he may not like, but in order for Condon to do his job effectively he needs full latitude. If Brees is who we have thought he was all along, would renege on the deal and fire Condon? No, he would stick by the agreement and let the professionals at working out deals do their jobs.

Second, Condon would have also told Brees that it was likely that he would be tagged and that it would help out Condon's other client, Carl Nicks. If Brees has any character at all he would hope for the best for his friend. Brees knows that if Nicks got the tag the Saints would not be able to work out a long term deal and Nicks would hold out. Now, the Saints have just as good a chance of signing Nicks as anyone else.

Next, and an issue that has not been addressed much here, is the fact that this year's salary cap number has not yet been determined and published by the league. All teams have five days from today to get in compliance with the cap and they don't even know what it is yet! I absolutely do not expect anything to happen with Brees before then.

I expect other smaller pieces to be in place before either side knows what is available for Brees' contract. Will Smith's restructuring and Brian de la Puente's signing yesterday are but a couple of those key pieces.

Another important note that many seem to not understand is the difference between the overall amount of the deal and the structure of the deal. Yes, the Saints offered Brees the largest contract in the history of the game. But, its was much more back-loaded than that given to Manning and Brady. The offer averaged over $18 million per year with that amount spread fairly evenly. Brady and Manning got well over $20 million guaranteed over the first three years with the back-end not being loaded as high. What this means is if Brees was for some reason not able to complete his contract (injury, retirement, etc.) he would lose out on a sizable chunk of that back-end money because those final two years would not have been guaranteed.

I fully expect the two parties to meet somewhere in the middle on the structure. But first, the parameters must all be in place. Both sides have to know what there is to work with before they can hammer out the details.

I want this thing done just as badly as any of you, but attacking the front office and attacking Brees does not help matters at all. This will most likely be Brees' final contract of his career and he absolutely must be assured that it is done right. And this is a pivotal point in the Saints' history and they need to make sure they do it right. Personally, I don't care if it take another four months to get everything worked out as long as they do get it worked out.

And I have no doubt they will.