Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

Attention needs to be paid to Vilma is all I'm saying. Vilma put the spotlight on Roger when nobody else had the balls to do it or they were gagged like Payton. If the man can play he deserves to be on the field even if for only one game or in certain situations, say if we have a commanding lead like last game. I agree, he may not be the best option but he did a lot for the Saints. He earned it IMO.

Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

I would love to see Vilma back with the team for the same reasons Beastmode said, but not sure if there is a role with him. Lofton/Hawthorne are fantastic right now and Humber looks like a really good backup. In theory Vilma could be a good addition to the nickel/dime defense but at this point I don't think you really want to take Lofton off the field. He is IMO the Saints defensive MVP this year.

Kind of the same thing with Butler. We are giving Haralson precious little playing time as it is right now and Galette is pretty much a fixture at that end/rush spot. If they are going to continue playing so many four-man fronts Butler doesn't really have a spot to play.

Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

Imagine this, Roger handing the Lambardi to Vilma and Payton.

Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

I doubt that either one will be able to return. If someone does come back it will most likely be Vilma for the veteran leadership down the road.

Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

This


If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Our D is performing well. Why force a player like Vilma, who is nearing the end of his career, in the game. He can be a backup and provide breathers for Lofton and Hawthorne but thats it.

I don't think Butler is going to come back this year. Just doesn't seem possible but who knows. Haven't heard any reports on either one of these. So I am just speculating.

Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

I think we're pretty good so far in the attitude department.

Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

There's a lot of football to be played before a decision needs to be made on these guys.

A healthy Vilma makes this team better. As long as he isn't just given his starting role back. We still play a lot of 4-3 and Vilma is our best 4-3 MLB and easily our best in coverage, again assuming he's healthy.

Butler also makes this team better based on what we anticipated. Its hard to say how good because he hasn't played yet so we don't have much to go on. Based on expectations going into the season, he was our best OLB.

Even if everyone on our roster remains healthy, these two upgrade our defense. Obviously if they aren't 100% recovered then there's not really a choice to be made.

Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

isn't that a relative response? I mean if we can have a guy like Butler come in off the bench this playoff season, that could be more valuable than an extra WR or RB.

Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

I think we should wait til next season with Butler; however if the guy is a machine and makes a full recovery then he should play. If Butler does play I think we would start to see more 34 Defense with JR and Butler at OLB. RR changed his scheme when Butler went down (my opinion).

Vilma would be a great coach for our young LBs, and honestly that's all I can see from him in the future but I hope I am wrong.

Re: Pending decisions for the Saints....
 

I don't think we would have signed Keyunta Dawson if Butler were coming back (roster spots). Vilma will be brought in slowly for the push at the end IMO. If we make it to the SB we are likely to face Manning again.