shadowdrinker_x

Parity...Copycats...some of the words used to describe the NFL...And..It's mostly true...

Look at the last couple of years...Since Tampa Bay won the Superbowl..Every team has been drafting heavily on Defense...Trying to capture what Baltimore and Tampa Bay had when they went on thier title runs...

Now..the focus has really been forced into switching...

Peyton Manning...Drew Brees...Donovan McNabb....Tom Brady....all sorts of Offensive talent..All of the teams now that are winning big..are doing so on the Offensive side of the ball..

What does that mean for us?..Well...with the patterns shown in the last few years..it might be a safe bet to presume teams will draft more Offesnive players early...in an attempt to follow suit of the more succesful teams this year..It happens every time...

So..chances are really getting better for us to get a high quality defensive makeover this offeseaon..If anything..we may even get the Linebacker the fans so desperately want...Johnson..and ..we might not even have to trade up to get him...he could fall in our laps..

With any luck..we may get afew of the toss offs from other teams when they get rid of some key free agents this year too..

It may be Optomistic..but..It could become reality ..and soon..

[Edited on 6/12/2004 by shadowdrinker_x]

mutineer10

Indeed. Or, considering our woeful history on draft day, we could have the opportunity to take Johnson and instead waste the pick on someone like Johnathan Sullivan, Devery Henderson, etc. Never forget, as optimistic as we\'d all like to be, Loomis will in all likelihood still be around come next spring.

Or, we\'ll actually draft Derrick Johnson - he\'ll summarily hold out and refuse to sign - we\'ll pay him too much - he\'ll finally report to training camp 75 lbs overweight and spend the rest of his career getting paid a ridiculous sum to watch every game with Sully in the snack bar.

I have such high hopes for us...

no_cloning

It\'s becoming more and more obvious that this is not a case of a few \"missing pieces\". It\'s the mentality of being content with mediocrity - running from top to bottom in the whole organization. You may find some individuals with character that end up in New Orleans by accident (Joe Horn), but if you come into this league as a rookie and join this group: Good luck.

It doesn\'t matter who the Saints draft and I\'m not hoping they\'ll lose all their remaining games because of the high draft position (that\'s one player in the first round - do you really think one player can turn this ship around, emphasis on \"one\" and \"player\"). Even if they get rid of Haslett - and they will and I\'m all for it - they\'ll still have the same owner and probably mostly the same front office and mostly the same players.
I just can\'t get excited about a high draft pick when I know that it is hardly the solution to the underlying problem.

Euphoria

I think the cookie cutter for winning in the NFL is not top rated offensive players or top rated D players, its more of the 10th player therory I have seen. You get players that are about 10, not 1-5 and not 20-30 but near 10th. Take a look at the Pats there qb Brady isn\'t top QB but he can win a few games on his own but needs help, he can look great but also look bad. I wouldn\'t put him in the same boat as Manning, Culpepper or McNabb.

Cap-wise this is great keeps you long way out of cap trouble and you have a team you can keep together. You play a 10th ranked player at his position what he is worth ranked 10th and you have a solid ball club overall. No week spots.

E U P H O R I A

shadowdrinker_x

I wouldn\'t put him in the same boat as Manning, Culpepper or McNabb.

Oh...remind me how many superbowls any of these guys have won?...you can even add them all together..then..let\'s compare how many rings Brady has...

Euphoria

Now hold your horses, this isn\'t based on Rings its based on talent and stats. NOT RINGS geez evalute player not rings, think deeper than that man. My point being that Brady in the ballpark of being ranked at 10 at the qb position.

shadowdrinker_x

ok..so..stats are more important than winning?..well then..Brooks should be your man...

He has had pretty good stats the last few years..despite a losing record...

Tom brady is without a doubt a top 5 qb...He plays big in big games...and has never lost a playoff game...he just flat out gets the job done..

themightyduck

The best teams in the NFL have a good mix of both standout playmakers and reliable role-players.

The key to the players; success is that they\'re well coached and fit in nicely into their coordinator\'s schemes. No one bickers, and everyone enjoys playing on the field with each other. Coaches and players respect and trust each other.

In the offseason, good teams have a solid, football minded front office which is agressive in signing key players that will improve the team. In the draft, the front office will take players who will become a solid contributor in about 2-4 years.

Now, obviously, there\'s one team in my mind that sticks out: the Patriots. They figured out how to make a Super Bowl team, and everyone will be copying off of them for the next 10 years. Tom Benson, start taking some notes.

When it comes to discussing Saints losses, Jack Daniels can be a great listener.

Euphoria

I am not taking anything away from Brady, just that he has a solid supporting cast around him where others don\'t and they win. Without Manning Colts are crap. Simple. But if I use your theory you have to put QB Rohan Davey at a top 5 QB, 2 rings??? Je\'rod Cherry one of the best SS in the league has a ring.

shadowdrinker_x

Whatever....Comparing Davey to Brady is like comparing a Kia to a Corvette...If you can\'t see that..Ignorance must be bliss like they say...

The real question was..Do you think that teams will start to go on a trend of offensive picks early? In order to follow suit of the better teams in the league right now....