JKool

I would be shocked to find out that any unit of last year's Saints was the worst AT EVERYTHING. Thus, while the defense was ranked LAST in yards allowed, it was not last in points allowed. Clearly our Offensive Line was not the WORST in the league, but it was still pretty darned bad.

This fact has generated a lot of poor arguments.

In order to see if we can get some agreement on anything, I propose we try and figure out where our effort should be placed in the offseason.

Let us say that we have 20 points of effort. Each point represents coaching, money to spend on FAs, scouting, scheming, drafting, etc. Where would you assign these and how much would you assign. Here is my quick list (which I reserve the right to modify after discussion ensues, since I basically just pulled it out of my azz):

MLB - 3 (We need one, and how.)
OT - 3 (Replacing Riley is the only way to get things done.)
OLB - 2 (We need a backup AT LEAST)
DT - 2 (This may not be necessary with new LBs, but it would obvioulsy improve us.)
S - 2 (We need a quality backup AT LEAST)
OT - 2 (Replacing Gandy would free cap space and an improvement here is welcome.)
RB - 2 (I like Stecker, but he doesn't inspire a lot of confidence as an every down back.)
CB - 1 (After MM, we drop off VERY fast.)
QB - 1 (At least a backup who is better than Bouman, please.)
OG - 1 (Our interior wasn't that solid, an upgrade would be nice.)
WR - 1 (After Horn, we're nothing but a lot of potential.)
TE - 1 (They were shakey at times, but with a bit more attention, I don't think they suck.)

I'm willing to drop the points spend on WR and TE and alot them to LB (either O or M) and OT, but I haven't decided yet, so I left it as is.

Thoughts?

[Edited on 6/2/2005 by JKool]

FireVenturi

OLB-3-Ed HaRTWELL
OT-3-Riley Sucks
DT-2-wouldn\'t hurt to add someone
OG-2- we are not as solid as we think here
Cb-2-After MM we have nickel backs
S-2-Ball Hawk please
OT-2-Gandy aint gettin any younger
TE-2-They cant catch and aren\'t great at blocking either
MLB-1- I think Courtney is fine...need a backup
Qb-1-Bouman sucks

No points on RB..Deuce is a top 1o back and Stecker is a good backup
No points on Wr..Joe is a top 5 Wr...Donte will be great if his hands become consistent...Devery is a speedster...Jerome(if here) will be a good backup

Season Ticket Holder Since 2003
Section 149, Row 14, Seats 15 and 16 Baby!

chRxis

hartwell is a MLB, no? anyways we need him and kendrell bell... i\'ll personally start collecting to try to pay them if benson won\'t... riley and gandy could go **** a duck as far as i\'m concerned... as a matter of fact, didn\'t they do that last year, b/c they sure as hell weren\'t playing good football out there... mckenzie is already one of my favorites, but he needs help and thomas isn\'t help (unless it\'s at nickel back)... b. young is really good, provided there\'s a beast to occupy double teams that allow him to shoot gaps in the line... i think his name says it all, \"te-sucky\".... bellamy is aging and i think ss should be a priority this offseason... boo williams thinks that we\'re calling his name, but really we are booing him (he sucks, bad).... need a tight end or allow hilton to get some reps, b/c hey who knows he might be a stud

chRxis

i honestly feel the only areas on the team that we are set at is rb and de... say what you want, stecker is a GOOD backup so we don\'t need to look for another one... i\'m all about trading d. howard to get some area of need filled... and carney, please do us all a favor and retire (or cut your foot off so you can\'t kick anymore)

GumboBC

JKool-

I know I\'m not sticking to your analysis, but I just want to say a couple of things.

I think the most pressing need is at OT and MLB. I really don\'t know which is more important. We need both.

After that, I think we need another DT and then a safety.

One other thing....

When I look at our record of the past few years, I don\'t think we had the same problems from year to year.

Take this year for example. I think Deuce being hurt and us finishing 26th in rushing really hurt. Our passing game is really predicated on the ability to run the ball on first and second down. Deuce\'s injury and the offensive line didn\'t allow that. And that was a whole new problem

Of course, we still had a sucky defense.

And when you couple our defense with a poor running game and a terrible offensive line, I think we were lucky to win 8-games.

BrooksMustGo

I\'ll play.

OT - 7
MLB - 5
WR - 2
DT - 2
QB - 4 -- A trade is the only way we\'re going to either address or afford the other needs.

Here\'s how I think Haslett with prioritize the offseason.

DT - 5 via the draft
WR - 5 via the draft
RB - 7 via the draft (Deuce, sit over there with Ricky Williams)
RT - 3 via free agency

JKool

BMG,

Thanks for playing (you too FV).

Are the 7 points at OT for two OTs or just one?

I\'m beginning to agree with you that cap space is going to be an issue. I\'m still not convinced that Brooks is the one who should go though; Gandy\'s contract is in the 4 mil range, and given his performance versus Brooks (who I believe is going to be near the 6 mil range), I think Gandy should go first.

Also if LKelly is right, if we dump Brooks, we\'ll take a cap hit for his remaining bonus (prorated over his remaining contract) this year, so I\'m not sure how much room we\'ll free up if we let Brooks go.

Guys, I\'m somewhat convinced by emotional appeal that our RB situation isn\'t that bad. I\'m willing to move it down to a 1. I still think if Stecker had to carry the load, we\'d be in trouble. I will in turn move my extra point to OT then.

BMG, why a 2 at WR? Stallworth isn\'t that bad is he?

Hartwell is a MLB. I agree that we should make him a priority. There are many LBs available, who aren\'t even super stars, who would improve our unit greatly (ha ha, I said unit).

Billy, part of the reason for dividing up points was to get people to really think about priorities and level of importance. Play the game dang it!

The rest of you, I eagerly await your views -

"... I was beating them with my eyes the whole game..." - Aaron Brooks

GumboBC

Okay, I\'ll give it a shot..

OT -5
MLB-4
OLB-3
CB-2
OT-2
DT-2
S-1
TE-1

I\'m going to have to go OT as the most critical.

We have Devery Henderson, so I see no need in bring in someone else.

I feel pretty good with Fakir playing behind our pass rush if we can stop the run. And we\'re solid with McKenzie.

I still feel we need a DT. If we face a power running attack like the Steelers or Panthers, I think Brian Young will struggle.

BrooksMustGo

Kool, I ranked the 7 as both T positions. I\'m convinced we\'re going to need new guys on each end. I know this won\'t make a lot of friends here, but I suppose we could keep Riley cheaply and not have to replace both sides.

I figure that Riley has probably already cleaned out his locker and the front office will try and make Gandy work for another year and pay his HUGE cap number.

I listed WR as a 2 because I\'m not convinced that we keep Horn. I\'ve gotten the impression for a couple of years now that Haslett would like to drop him, but he\'s been too valuable and (in the case of this year) he was cheap. I think any sort of \"show me the money\" coming from Joe will mean he\'s gone.

I also figure that Pathon is gone with his big cap number. I\'ll revise my rankings if we manage to re-sign Joe, but Stallworth all by himself doesn\'t instill a great deal of confidence in me.

I\'m nervous about the RB situation honestly. I almost expect Haslett to give up on Deuce and draft a RB in April.

I\'ll be very surprised if we sign a quality LB in free agency.

http://www.blackandgold.net/site/signature/buddysig.jpg

JKool

Thanks Gumbo.

BMG, thanks for the quick reply. I see your Horn argument. I would increase my WR number if Horn were to go as well. You think that Stallworth is a fine #2 then? I\'m inclined to agree, but I bet that would be unpopular. I sometimes wonder if Stallworth doesn\'t suffer as a result of being the #2 (poo jokes aside) WR? If he had more deep routes, I think he\'d do better; also, he\'d see more passes, which may help his consistency.

As for Riley, I imagine your view is pretty unpopular. Why not let Folau play instead of Riley? He\'s just a cheap, and he did start the year before - and I don\'t remember him being as bad as Riley was this year?

"... I was beating them with my eyes the whole game..." - Aaron Brooks