So, you're saying our tackles aren't as good as we need them to be. The problem is if we draft a tackle then we don't have that draft pick to use on our pathetic defense. Spags definitely needs ALL the draft picks because the talent on D is subpar.
I'm a little concerned about de la Puenta. I'm wondering if Nicks helped him more than we realized?

The worry is that with Brees eating up so much cap room the money isn't there to get better players.Its always going to be either a young player just drafted or cast offs from elsewhere and trying to find a system to keep Brees safe.
I'm not dating we shouldn't have paid him but it will cost is elsewhere.

I always felt like what happened was, Jamaal Brown went down in '09, obviously unexpectedly, and Bushrod jumped in. I know I was panicking, back at that time. And the coaches were kinda like, winging it and flying by the seat of the pants. But it was sorta working. And then, it became a classic case of "hey, we won a Super Bowl with this thing" syndrome. So then it's like, OK, that's how we roll now -- Bushrod is now THE guy, never mind that it looks kinda sloppy and funky out there, never mind that teams with big guys like the Cowboys and Redskins can totally manhandle us on Bushrod's side, never mind that he's not a Pro Bowler or that Drew is looking jittery back there, when he used to look so smooth and fluid. Never mind all that, look away from it, look over here at the shiny object -- we just passed for eight zillion yards! Jimmy Graham! Sproles! Too many weapons! and all that jazz.

And then for a while, a lot of people (myself included) were like, "we have these TWO GREAT ALL PRO GUARDS, NICKS AND EVANS, we don't even need a left tackle out there" and then eventually, the fans and maybe even the coaches wind up in La-La Land, and reality starts to set in, about that left tackle slot. The temporary, stopgap, seat-of-the-pants, duct-tape and spit solution, Bushrod and Strief, has become the "new normal" out there.

I believe it's actually quite Payton-esque, in a way. To me, that's always kinda been sorta his temperament, or how he rolls. Like, short attention span man -- what's this, OK, stick a band aid on it, problem solved, everybody keep rolling -- he's on to the next thing. I'm thinking if we had been 8-8 or 9-7 in '09, no way Bushrod would still be here, probably Strief too.