With time to reflect, we'll be fine. The Saints prepared for this and our linebacking corp is probably going to be better this season even without Vilma. This isn't going to hurt us at all. Time to look to the future, what's done is done. We're starting the Spagnuolo as DC and Lofton as MLB era. Here's to the future and a much-needed overhaul of the defense!

Glad you brought up Lofton.

From Wiki:
Atlanta Falcons

Lofton was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Lofton became a starter in his rookie 2008 season and ranked fourth on the team with 94 tackles (67 solo). Since 2010, Curtis Lofton led the team in tackles and has been an integral part of the defense.




This gives me a whole-lots-a warm fuzzies. Wonder how much practice he has seen against the Atlanta starting offense? :broccoli:

I'm glad we got the punishments out of the way and now we can focus on football. Personally, I don't think these suspensions are that bad for us. Right after our season ended, before we ever heard of 'bountygate,' I was on record in multiple threads saying I thought it was time for us to part ways with Vilma and Smith. I thought it was time for some younger guys like Galette, Romeus, and Martez to get their chance. I do think that it's completely ridiculous that Vilma got a whole year without any definitive proof. Glad to see a lot of his peers around the league are defending him. However; for the Saints, I think we made out fine with these suspensions and we'll use the suspensions to our coaches and players as motivation for the year.

Now since the punishments are out of the way I expect the front office to make a strong push to get Drew's contract finished. We need our leader so lets get this deal done soon.

We were fine the minute we signed Lofton. Hawthorne made us more than fine. We all expected Smith to miss a few games and I can't speak for anyone else, but I didn't expect Vilma to be back in the first place.

Glad this is over... now we can talk some real football.

Look, we have a fighting chance to do something.... ANYTHING! What scared me most was mentioning 20 to 27 players for suspension. The NFL COULD have irrevocably crippled our team for the 2012 season with mass suspensions at this late date.

In my opinion, the Sean Payton loss is far more extreme.

If the NFL would have crippled the Saints with suspensions, you could watch those TV $number$ drop for planned games (ie MNF, SNF, ESPN etc.) because the Saints would be playing with SCABS on defense.

There is WAY too much money at stake for the NFL to cripple the Saints, or any team for that matter, for an entire season.

no, they could probably cripple the Jags, Chargers, or Rams for a season and no one would notice

Vilma still has a knee. It takes 18 months to heal and he's not close. Losing a year gives him an opportunity to gain the strength and flexibility that he would not otherwise have been afforded otherwise. This is a good thing for him, and given his limited potential productivity, a good thing for the Saints, as the team can add effective players and reallocate cash.

Smith, well, he's been out before without serious repercussions, so no biggie.

I guess I'm saying, "So What?"

As much as I cant' stand Duncan now, here's a link to Vilma's statement

New Orleans Saints linebacker Jon Vilma: "I intend to fight this injustice" - New Orleans Saints Football NFL News - NOLA.com

Smith did miss the first 2 games of this past season because of the Star Caps suspension, and although one could argue that it didn't really affect the D or the pass rush in any way, it did place Smith behind the 8-ball and he was playing catch-up for the rest of the season - it could've been one of the reasons why he never seemed to get his game face on.

So, I'm hoping that when he returns to the roster in week 5, he'll be ready to go full stream and not still be digesting a 12-pack of donuts.

so with Smith out for the first 4 games, does Junior start? and does Lofton or Hawthorne take over for Vilma? I assume Lofton and Hawthorne will be on the field at the same time?