lee909

For as much stick Jerry Jones gets, with three out of there last threefirst rounders being offensive linemen he has built one hell of a line in Dallas.
Martinm,Fredricks and Smith all drafted dominated not to mention young and cheap

K Major

Didn't say we should draft Cooper, just eye candy for us.

We all know where our focus should be this off season. LB, CB's and O line... repeat.

RailBoss

It was mentioned here already the fact that there was no sense of urgency
in the game yesterday. We are down late in the third quarter and the Saints played liked they were ahead in the game. There are countless holes to fill LB's DB's O line but the aggressive attitude of the team is not there.

dizzle88

Which all starts with Payton, he's not aggressive anymore, he's predictable, I'm sure we all called the play action pass to the FB that got stopped on 4th down before we ran it, because we'd already run it 3 times in the game and do it on every 3rd or 4th and short.

lee909

Just done a piece for the website i blog on based on my opening post
If anyone is interested

Saints: A glimpse of the future - Uncle Sam Sports | Uncle Sam Sports

Just added it as a blog on here too

lumm0x

I can't see how we can invest into Ingram what he will be asking. The game has changed where RB's simply aren't the bell cows they used to be and that is evident in the draft and when RB's hit the FA market. They never get the value they once did. I think investing too much into one player at that position is crazy. And while Ingram has improved a ton, he is still showing a proneness for injury and/or bad luck in that regard. We seem very capable of finding diamonds in the rough at this position when you see that Thomas, Robinson, Cadet and even guys we found like Joique Bell and Chris Ivory are still making waves in the league all as undrafted guys.

I hope we target the trenches as previously mentioned. We need to get younger and cheaper at OG and build depth over the whole o-line. Despite really good names on paper our d-line has been ineffective. But I can live with the cast we have and hope guys like Hicks and Jenkins grow into their roles.

Where I feel we need upgrading on the defense is at ILB and OLB. As much heart as Curtis Lofton has he is always in make up mode. He doesn't make a lot of splash plays anymore. Hawthrone is underwhelming and Humber is a depth guy. Haralson filled in nicely as depth when Butler went down but he is just that. Depth. We need a special player in the middle of that defense. Our secondary has been decimated with injuries and suspect play on the part of a few people but I think we can hope it is healthier next year and depth can be found in some mid-late round picks, a prospect FA or just the development of some guys we have already in the system.

I pretty much agree with your initial list of building blocks for the offense and the guys who need to move on. Some of our older key guys are declining.

Danno

Exactly, unless a true difference maker is sitting there at a position we don't really need.

If Cooper is there (he won't be), you pick him.

But as usual we'll address needs in free-agency to set up BPA in the draft.

Imagine if we land another Keenan Lewis in free-agency, and then another Vilma type at LB, then draft some interior linemen in the early/middle rounds.

Problem solved... Yes, we can afford it.

lee909

Some rumours that the cap could hit $150/160ml next year.
One one hand that would be a massive bonus with our backs to the wall but on the other it will push the prices of FA through the roof and into orbit.

Danno

Read another thread elsewhere discussing the 2015 cap. We can clear up 20-25 million in the blink of an eye.

We're actually in better shape next year than we were this year, assuming some realistic restructures and cuts.

lee909

Brees is the big one,his contract can be redone to free up money.
The big year is 2016 though,Bunkley,Colston,Grubbs,Evans,Hawthorne,Lofton can all be dropped at little loss. Not bad timing when you look at the players that contracts are ending around that year. I know most players end up redoing deals but if they end up hitting FA we could be good. Luck is due in 2016, i know he renews with the Colts but do not trample my dreams of him replacing Drew yet