Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

I think Strief was overrated for many years.The same way he's been getting beat all year is what I always saw out of him. Brees just stepped up and out of the way of plenty of killshots. When he hit the market nobody went after him.

Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

He's been a blue collar RT. Nothing flashy but able to do his job. Now the wear and tear has started showing I think he could be a decent backup and hopefully mentors Peat to become the next starting RT. We could have did alot worst than Strief, he's been solid enough for a very good O over the years and hope he does retire with the Saints, he's earned it.

Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

I know it's not popular but he usually grades out well by PFF.

Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

He is a good guy. I met him at training camp in Jackson, MS, after practice, and he had time to sign tons of autographs & take pics w/ my kids. My pic. with him is one of my favorites, and one of the funniest you'll see.

Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

and so who else on the roster has taken his spot?
Who do you want in our lineup to take his place? Im game, if they can do the job better.
He's one of the best athletes in America.
He's a starting right tackle in the NFL, and has been for several years, with no challengers.
In the NFL's #1 productive offense.

Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

Would like to see him back as a back-up for both OT and OG spots.

He also adds a lot of value as a leader on the team, essentially he is a coach in the locker-room. We saw how valuable that type of player is when we cut Jenkins and Harper. You can't judge a players value by just looking at his contribution on the field. Hell, even Vilma was valuable to us in his last few years, the guy didn't play but you would always see him coaching on the sideline.

Off topic, but I would love to see Vitt get cut loose and us bring Vilma in as the LB coach.

Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

Wouldn't say he is great by any means, but he is an above average RT.

Not too sure how you can be overrated when drafted in the 7th round.

Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

Not sure if you ever catch Pro Football talk w/Florio, but when Vilma is on air he has been pretty good. I think he will opt for full time TV broadcasting vs the grind of coaching.

Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

I don't doubt that, but some times the football itch can't be scratched unless your back on the field in some capacity. We all love and miss Vilma. I'm sure he won't be coaching for the Saints, it's just a pipe dream for me.

Re: Strief a Saint or taking his ball and going home
 

^^ This ^^. Somebody obviously held him in high regard, :neutral:.

It's a thankless job, O/L. Everyone notices when you make a mistake, everyone else gets the credit when you do your job. You go home at the end of the day in a lot of pain and usually only with the satisfaction of doing a job that nobody really wants or can do, because you rarely make the big bucks.

Guy wants to retire a Saint, the team he started with, instead of bouncing around the league trying to squeeze every last payroll dollar out of the game, speaks volumes in regards to his character and his experience with the organization, IMO.

Put him in the FO or on the coaching staff, whatever, but you want to keep this type of guy around, just sayin'. :)