Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Worth a look?
Sammie Lee Hill, DT, Lions. Age: 26.
Sammie Lee Hill could start for some teams, as he does a decent job of pressuring the quarterback. He just hasn't had much of a chance in Detroit because he's been behind Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley and Corey Williams on the depth chart.

Jason Jones, DT, Seahawks. Age: 27.
Jason Jones is a quality interior pass-rusher who was lost late in the year to a knee injury.


Randy Starks, DT, Dolphins. Age: 29.
Randy Starks is a talented interior pass-rusher. He struggled a bit down the stretch, but that could have been the result of personal issues he dealt with late in the year.


Roy Miller, DT, Buccaneers. Age: 26.
Roy Miller doesn't offer anything as a pass-rusher, but he's a primary reason why the Buccaneers had one of the league's top run defenses in 2012.


Arthur Jones (RFA), DE/DT, Ravens. Age: 27.
Arthur Jones broke into the starting lineup in the middle of the season and performed well, stopping the run effectively and getting to the quarterback on occasion.



Mike DeVito, DE/DT, Jets. Age: 29.
Mike DeVito has been a key run-defender in New York's three-man front.

Steve McLendon (RFA), NT, Steelers. Age: 27.
Steve McClendon looks like a solid replacement for Casey Hampton. He performed well in the playoffs against the Broncos in January 2012, and that carried over into this season when he saw the field briefly.



Ropati Pitoitua (RFA), DE/DT, Chiefs. Age: 28.
Ropati Pitoitua has served as a solid rotational defensive lineman for the Chiefs. He's solid in run support and tallied two sacks in a game against the Chargers.

Terrance Knighton, NT, Jaguars. Age: 27.
It's rare to see a 330-pound nose tackle struggle in run support, but that's why Terrance Knighton was benched in favor of C.J. Mosley back in October. He still played an ample amount though.


Alan Branch, DT, Seahawks. Age: 28.
Alan Branch is sort of a jack-of-all-trades defensive tackle. He has no glaring weaknesses and is at his best when stopping the run.

Ricky Jean-Francois, DE/DT, 49ers. Age: 26.
Ricky Jean-Francois handled himself well when inserted into the lineup in the wake of Justin Smith's injury. He's not much of a pass-rusher, but he contained the run well.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Connor Barwin, DE/OLB, Texans. Age: 26.
Connor Barwin is coming off a very disappointing 2012 campaign. After registering 11.5 sacks in 2011, he managed just three this past season. He's talented, so there's a good chance this was just a fluky year.

Thomas Howard, OLB, Bengals. Age: 30.
Thomas Howard missed all but one game in 2012 with a torn ACL. It was impressive that Cincinnati's defense still played well despite missing such a solid linebacker.

Manny Lawson, OLB, Bengals. Age: 29.
The Bengals asked Manny Lawson to rush the passer and stop the run, and he did that very well. He's not good in coverage, however.




Glover Quin, S, Texans. Age: 27.
A converted cornerback, Glover Quin has starred in his new safety role over the past couple of years. He was particularly sound in 2012, so he deserves a nice contract.

Danario Alexander (RFA), WR, Chargers. Age: 25.
Danario Alexander exploded after signing with the Chargers in the middle of the season, catching 36 balls for 624 yards and six touchdowns in nine games. He has tons of potential, but he is also a big risk because of his extensive injury history.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Conner Barwin I like and is affordable. I also like Glover Quin, but might be out of the price range.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

To me Terrance Knighton seems like a good choice, because he could be had on the cheap and he's still only 26 years old, so he can potentially come from an injury quicker than some of the older guys.

He has pretty much the size needed from a 3-4 NT - could be a little taller - so if all the other things about him square off... he would be my choice at the moment.

Also, he would be a good (cheap) choice who'd allow the Saints to test, for example, if Hicks could be their NT going forward, without any added pressure of taking away snaps from a highly paid FA.


I guess this means that Dorsey's homecoming isn't going to happen as he really doesn't have a natural position in the 3-4 defense...?

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Excellent observation, let me give you my personal thoughts on Sammie Hill, after a season of focusing on that defensive line to debunk the "Ndamukong Suh double-teamed on every play" myth.

Rotated in/out, he's frequently paired with Nick Fairly and was very effective this season, IMO, much more than the season before. He drew frequent double teams, and at one point in the season, I started to think teams were more focused on blocking Hill than Suh. Seriously. You can argue he benefits from playing next to Fairley & Suh, but I honestly think it may be the other way around.

He's the kind of player New Orleans could coach up to his full potential & has no character or drug/alchohol/driving issues.

Sign him, :mrgreen:.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

And you're basing that on the stellar work Bill Johnson has done developing D-linemen in the past...? Case & point Mr. Ellis?!

:clown:

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Oh, forgot about that, :lol: ... I'm still kinda' new at whole 'following the Saints' thing, :mrgreen:. I was thinking more along the lines of Spags & Payton's influence on him as opposed to Cunningham/Schwartz.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Well, scratch the Spags reference in my previous posts ...

http://blackandgold.com/saints/54940...-released.html

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

:-D


BTW, why aren't the Lions firing Schwartz already?!

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Because that wouldn't be holding to the status quo of mediocrity they've committed to maintaining during the SuperBowl era. They even gave him an extension, :(. I can't take it anymore, they're killing me.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

hate to say it but cheap and draft is the way the saints will go. goodbye to long time veterans on this team and say hello to a major youth movement

leave it to mickey and sean to leave us all scrambling before the draft. love it

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Top Ten FA List [Updated]

01 LT Jermon Bushrod
02 OC Brian De La Puente
03 FS Jarius Byrd
04 OLB Brad Jones
05 NT Chris Baker
06 LB Paul Kruger
07 RT Andre Smith
08 NT Aubrayo Franklin
09 SS Kenny Phillips
10 WR Julian Edelman

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

#8, Aubrayo Franklin makes more sense to me now & I still like #10, Julian Edelman.

Franklin would be well worth getting now.Sign a 1 year deal for under $1ml last season.Would at worth be good rotation allowing us to sort other areas for a year or two.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Get the feeling that someone other than Greg Williams wanted Abrayo Franklin when he was signed two years ago...

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Most chatter seems to be that Dolphins will not let Jake Long leave and that his recent injuries or just a blip...

Thought we could draft (steal) Fisher, but he's busting out in a big way this week, and so we may be stuck overpaying for Bushrod even with Graham's contract on the horizon...

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Youth = Speed, Endurance

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Upcoming 3-4 LB Free Agents.

1. Anthony Spencer (Dallas)
2. Paul Kruger (Baltimore)
3. Shaun Phillips (San Diego)
4. Connor Barwin (Houston)
5. Manny Lawson (Cincinnati)
6. Brad Jones (Green Bay)
7. Erik Walden (Green Bay)
8. Bradie James (Houston)
9. Clark Haggans (San Francisco)
10. Lorenzo Alexander (Washington)
11. Gary Guyton (San Diego)
12. James Farrior (Pittsburgh)
13. Larry Foote (Pittsburgh; I think he's retiring though)
14. Tim Dobbins (Houston)
15. Dannell Ellerbee (Baltimore)
16. Sergio Kindle (Baltimore)
17. Quentin Groves (Arizona)
18. Paris Lenon (Arizona)
__________________

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Erik Walden and Connor Barwin both intrigue me, and should be cheap.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

I like Barwin... but I don't see him leaving Houston unless we overpay.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Kindle (Bal) seems like kind of a risk. Injury issues, some off field stuff and it seems like he didn't learn anything from playing on the same team with guys like Ray Lewis/Terrell Suggs, which you would expect from a player in his position.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Jones, Kruger make the most since and would have the biggest impact for the money committed...

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Jarius Byrd would have been a nice pick-up.

Just read that Jake Long is looking to get $10 mil per year. That wouldn't happen in NO imho.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

I ranked Jarius Byrd, but he likely would see a franchise tag...

Reading the Dolphin newspaper articles, I get the feeling that Long may avoid disappointment on the open market and will resign with Miami...

And there isn't whole lot of info re: his injuries which gives me pause...

I'm just not sure we can commit what Bushrod may think he's worth...

@TripTP: #Ravens Ed Reed on growing up a #Saints fan. "Im black and gold forever"

A year at the Dome before retirement?

Pleasepleasepleaseplease

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

On the defensive side, no one on those lists have impressed me as much as Kruger this year. Baltimore'd be crazy to let him go though. I can't figure out why we'd try to fix the D backfield before the front seven. Hell, we can't even be sure it's all that broken as bad as the DL and linebackers were.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

That would be nice.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Sure it would be nice to have Reed for a year but he would serve only as a band-aid we still would have to find a long term solution or we'll just be back to the situation we were when Sharper retired.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Signing a hall of fame safety near the end of their career never works out..

Ohh wait, scratch that...

http://blog.nola.com/saints_impact/2...n-sharper3.jpg

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Wish we had played Sharper for one more year, they just pushed him to the side in favour of Jenkins and we haven't been able to catch an interception since

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Then again he was simply horrible in 2010. It was pretty obvious he had one good year left in him, and that was 2009.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Sharper had a very unproductive 2010 0- interceptions in 8 games played.

After 14 years he was done. He had micro fracture surgery in the off season and never returned to his previous level of play. He missed the first 6 weeks, played a few weeks then was hurt again.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Sharper wasn't pushed aside in favor of Jenkins - he simply couldn't get himself healthy enough to be at a 100% level, which was probably a big reason why he decided to retire after the 2010 season.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Sean Smith 6'3" / 218 / 25 /CB Miami

National Football League: NFL Draft 2009 - Sean Smith

The Miami Herald confirms that CB Sean Smith is likely to reach free agency without a deal in place with the Dolphins.
Smith and his agent are using Jason McCourty's six-year, $43 million contract as a baseline in negotiations, and plugged-in columnist Armando Salguero considers that too pricey even for the cap-rich Dolphins. Per Salguero, the Fins view Smith as more of a "good player" as opposed to a "game changer or playmaker." Jan 25 - 1:16 PM
Source: Miami Herald

if the saints are going to redo the defense and as i read it to get under the cap why not get a CB that can play safety also. granted the price maybe a bit step but no to make a push for a player of this size and skill set would be a shame.

major short comings is playing against smaller quicker wr but against bigger WR he is solid.

Good bye Harper to pull the move

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

If we got Sean smith I wouldn't want us to move him to safety

Our CB's are worse than our safeties, I'd let him start and let Greer and the others battle for the second starting spot

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

And Good Bye to any decent free agent DE, DT, OT or OLB.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

IDK, if they are using McCourty's deal as a guideline - 6-years $7M a year isn't really what this needs right now.

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

thats what the wallet says i agree. but if the saints were to do a deal in this price range i have to ponder the secondary as the place to start. the dl has a couple of issues and so do the LB corp but the secondary needs a new infusion of attitude. i would still be open to wheel and dealing in the draft to add another bigger CB to the mix early also.

your a fin man give me some in site on the kid. i like what i saw against the pats the pass few years. i liked him coming out of college but thought a second was a bit high back then

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

Here's a little excerpt on Sean Smith from PFF...

Here's the entire article: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blo...d-cornerbacks/

Still want Sean Smith?

Re: 2013 Saints - Free Agency Targets
 

I want Osi.