I'll take 2.
 

Impact players that is!! I wanted one impact player in free agency and one in the draft. I see no impact player signed by the Saints THIS offseason. Maybe someone will surprise everyone. But, I said that last year too.

Here's hoping we get lucky in the draft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll take 2.
 

I would say Younge is one, the Atitude he brings in is what we need more than anything.

I'll take 2.
 

I haven\'t read TOO much on Young, but I think it would be a surprise if he made a real BIG impact. It\'d sure surprise the hell outta me. I think he will be an upgrade, but maybe not a REAL impact player. I\'m always hoping though Chuck. But, I\'ll take a wait and see approach this year. I\'m just now starting to get excited about the season though. I\'m sure I\'ll be optimistic the more I read WhoDat\'s negitive posts - ;)

I'll take 2.
 

Oh so WhoDat is the negative one, I think he can be the one who can break me being optomistic.

I think he is a great addition just because of the attitude, its not always the talent that wins but the willing.

[Edited on 12/4/2004 by Chuck]

I'll take 2.
 

I prefer REALISTIC Billy. Just b/c I don\'t like Haslett doesn\'t mean that I\'m negative. In fact, what else have I been negative about this off-season that you\'re not saying yourself?

I think that Craft and Young are both DECENT additions to the team. I was upset about Craft originally b/c I thought the Saints might be likely to downplay the importance of another corner b/c of it. From the reports, it looks like that is exactly what happened.

I\'m realistic about this season. They haven\'t added much. Their winning ways in the second half of last season came against precisely ZERO teams with winning records.

Still, with all this my most recent prediction was 10-6. I think that is pretty fair.

I am really unhappy with the fact that we lost Smith. Otherwise, the off-season has been pretty unproductive. A couple of players that could help, or may not be a real upgrade. I\'m interested to see what happens in the draft.


On the other hand, your pictures have added real insight this off-season. ;)

I'll take 2.
 

Younge is a fireball, we have so much talent on the line its unbelievable, but we just added heart. I really think that will go far,

maybe im not being \'realistic\' and its just hope speaking.

[Edited on 13/4/2004 by Chuck]

I'll take 2.
 

\"realistically\" we do have a young, explosive defensive line; unfortunately none of them can cover a wide reciever.

I'll take 2.
 

IMPACT players:
OFFENSE
Brooks
McAllister
Horn
Stallworth
Boo
Conwell
Bentley

DEFENSE
Howard
Grant
Sullivan (should be this year)
Thomas
Jones

Special Teams
McAfee
Lewis
Carney (minus the last 4 games)

The only area I see lacking an IMPACT player is Linebackers
Now how could we fix that? Hmmmm....
Oh yea, heres how, draft a couple of these....
VILMA
DJ
Donterrious
Davis
Smith
Watson
Lehman
Boulware
Fox
Seigler
VILMA

I hope they get the hint.

I'll take 2.
 

I hope that Young and Craft both come in and are impact players. I really do.

Of course, can you name an \'impact\' free agent pickup other than those who came in 2000?

Sloan? Nope
Conwell? Maybe a little.
Gandy? Nope.
Pathon? Nope.

Ruff? Nope.
Carter? Nope.
Ambrose? Nope.
T-buck? Nope.
Gravy? Nope.
Rodgers? Maybe - more than these other guys.
Ford? Nope.

We\'ve picked up some solid contributors on our line and here and there, but for the most part, we have not signed a free agent who made a real impact since 2000 when we signed Horn, Brooks, etc. Every other \'impact player\' (Deuce, Bentley, Howard, Sullivan, Grant, maybes: Stallworth, Cie Grant, Mitchell, etc.) have come through the draft.

I hope that Young and Craft can help. I hope that Stecker will help. I hope that WR from Detriot whose name I forget will help. But it\'s real easy to justify off-season moves in April. It\'s been done here every year for the last three and, well, we\'ve all seen the results. Let\'s just hope this year is different for once.

I'll take 2.
 

Oh come on, I would say Gandy has taken care of the left side. Everytime i saw AB get blown up it was the right side. Gandy was a HUGE up grade over the TURD we had.

I'll take 2.
 

Well, everything I\'ve seen and read says that he is a less talented player than Roaf or Turley, but he is quiet and doesn\'t mouth off in the locker room so Haslett and Co. love him. That man held on to more than a drunk sailor on a dockside hooker. He won\'t be able to continue to get away with that stuff much longer. Gandy is solid, but not an impact player.

[Edited on 13/4/2004 by WhoDat]

I'll take 2.
 

I agree with the Roaf comparison, but not the Turley. Turley (at LT) was horrible. He was bull rushed constantly. He was tossed around like a trailer park Ho\'. He was a good RT, but a very weak LT.
Gandy is no Roaf (when Roaf isn\'t moping around unhappy) but he is a definite upgrade over Turley (at LT).

I'll take 2.
 

I guess impact nowadays means Pro Bowl. How can you say Gandy wasn\'t an impact player? While he didn\'t make an impact in the media, he make an impact on our offensive line. He didn\'t give up too many sacks and Duece did have a lot of rushing yards. Yeah, Roaf might be the better player and make the Pro Bowl every year. That doesn\'t mean Gandy didn\'t make an impact on our offensive line.

I'll take 2.
 

I think the definition of \"impact player\" depends entirely on the context it is used.

If we are talking about draft picks, an \"impact player\" would be a player who could come in and be a consistent start in their first year. They \"impact\" the team in that they are an upgrade over the other players at the postion.

If we aren\'t talking about draft picks though, but about more veteran players, an \"impact\" player to me would be a player that impacts how the opposing team sets up their game plan. They don\'t have to be a pro-bowler, but they do have to be more talented than the average starter, so that an opposing team has to give them special consideration.

By this definition, I don\'t believe Gandy is an impact player, because he is not \"significantly\" better than the average starter at his position. Better yes, but he does not impact the opposition\'s game plan.

I'll take 2.
 

There is not much game planning you can do with a left tackle as it is. If you do game plan for a certain plaer on an offensive line, in this case Gandy, they sure as hell did a poor job of it. Duece had over 1600 yds and Gandy didn\'t have many sacks allowed. Also, he didn\'t have very many pre-snap or holding penalties. You can have an impact just by doing the little things. Tebucky Jones would have had an impact if he would have tackled well. That was the only knock on Jones last year and he would have the little things, such as tackling, then he would have been praised and said to have an impact on the team\'s defense.

[Edited on 14/4/2004 by Boogro]

I'll take 2.
 

I think Gandy did make an impact. I can say that because anyone else the Saints would have plugged in would not have been so successfull. Gandy was praised all year long by Haslett and his demeanor in the locker room was praised by his teammates. And to add to what Boogro said, he surely had fewer pre-snap penelties than Bentley, Jacox and Riley. HEnce, Gandy is an impact player.