Clearing the Deck
 

I don\'t think cleaning the deck is a practice used a lot. However getting rid of a high priced veteran eating up cap and who is starting to be a problem either in the locker room or on downside of career for a new comer who can develop and be around for years to come and is a team player is a good thing. What the Saints have done this offseason is improve the overall talent. Horn isn\'t ready to be put to pasture so keeping him and $$$ is right. Getting rid of him for stallworth is crazy!!!

Clearing the Deck
 

Euph,

I was merely going on Kirwan\'s claim (see link posted), so you may well be right that there isn\'t much \"clearing the deck\" going on. If there is, I thought it was interesting to discuss.

I agree that it isn\'t time for Horn to go. However, if Kirwan is right, then there are some teams who would have moved him so that the new kid (Stallworth or Gardner or whoever)\'s ego wouldn\'t have been bruised. I think that would have been bad, and you seem to agree. Thus, it is my guess that we are in agreement on this one, right?

Clearing the Deck
 

Yes I think we are in agreement on this one. Horn is somewhat vocal but isn\'t a bad seed as others are... Horn is a class act, a couple of brain farts/fun doesn\'t mean he is a cancer. He is a leader and good for rookies, his salary is something like 700,000 only this year and that is a bargin for a guy of his caliber. I think what some teams really do is pick there battles. Is Ty Law something they need to deal with or someone they can replace??? Obviously they feel he is someone the Pats need to keep.

Clearing the Deck
 

Absolutely! What I thought was interesting is HOW teams fight their battles. Some teams avoid battles by getting rid of the incumbents (clearing the deck) and others make the players duke it out (more training camp battles - which, as BnB points out, is good for the team). WhoDat has pointed out that our coach has used both strategies over time; my point was this year he didn\'t. I tried to conclude that this was a good sign for his strategy this year - I still don\'t know what to think about that.

Clearing the Deck
 

So, no one defends the \"clearing the deck\" strategy? I was kind of hoping to find some resistance to my suggestion that this was always a bad idea and that it was tied to players poor behavior in some cases. Interesting.