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Underhill: Saints' future looks bright

Whatever you call it, the Saints' future looks bright if team sticks together.

Nick Underhill

Whether it was intended or not, two years ago the Saints started down a path that led them to this point.

New Orleans has never publicly admitted that the franchise was rebuilding the past two seasons. Using such a phrase would be conceding something about the present. Rebuilding teams aren’t expected to win or compete. It’s throwing in the towel in the short term, and this team, despite enduring bumps and bruises, never expected or accepted the losses that piled up the past few years.

But the trade of tight end Jimmy Graham, at least to outsiders, seemed to signify a change in direction. The team took a step back to take a step forward. Center Max Unger filled a major need, but the draft compensation acquired in the deal was for the future. At least to some degree, there was one eye on the future the past two years, even if the team continued to compete in the interim.

The benefit of the pick acquired in the trade, which was used to select linebacker Stephone Anthony, has been negligible. But even with the potential miss, New Orleans has done a good job the past two seasons bringing in young, impactful players and making other smaller moves in free agency to rebuild the middle class of the roster and add depth.

There's disappointment in the air after a third 7-9 finish in a row, but if this team continues its current trajectory, it feels like it’s a few players away from competing for a playoff spot. And that's reason for optimism.

“Really disappointing because, I mean, we had the guys to do it,” linebacker Craig Robertson said. “We still have the guys to do it. To sit on the couch and watch the playoffs again sucks. But just to know the type of caliber guys we have in this locker room, next year we’ll come ready to work and make (some noise).”

Entering the unknown is a scary thing. No one knows what lurks around the corner. There could be beneficial results. There could also be only doom, heartache, and regret. The optimism here is contingent on everything staying the same and the team walking down the path it seemingly began paving two seasons ago.

...

“I think everyone really loves this locker room. Drew (Brees) said it last night when he broke up the locker room,” punter Thomas Morstead said. “I just really enjoy playing with this team. It’s been a really challenging, up and down year, but we just really have a good group of guys, and you just think as an athlete you have to be eternally hopeful that you’re right there, getting close to breaking through. And I think when you have the right group of people, regardless of talent, you have a chance.”

The day will come when change will happen. Nothing can last forever. At some point, it might be a good thing for the team and all parties involved. But it would be hard to make an argument that it would be positive for the Saints to endure a major shake up right now when they're so close to changing their record.

The revamping of this roster is nearly complete and, with a couple of good moves, the benefits will be ready for harvest this fall. In fact, the circumstances have aligned for the Saints to have a legitimate shot at competing for a couple of more years — or as long as Brees is under center and performing at a high level.

After years of wrestling with the cap, and looking at places where moves had to be made to cut costs or create space, the Saints should have the money to acquire some finishing pieces this offseason. The team will use some of its cap space to retain some of its players, but there will be about $30 million to draw from before those moves are made.

Make no mistake. The Saints have had cap issues, but maybe it was never reached the so-called depths of "hell" some claimed. New Orleans has always somehow found ways to add players and work around cap constraints (the team used what can only be called shell years to push cap charges down the line in some contracts last offseason), but it’s probably a little bit easier to develop a plan and execute it when there is money readily available and you don’t have to do creative accounting.

But still, the dead money era is over and that should help a lot. After paying more than $40 million to players who weren’t on the roster, the Saints, as of now, have that figure down to around $9 million next season. That means the money will be there to acquire an impact defensive end, a top cornerback or a middle linebacker. Maybe there will be enough to acquire a couple of those guys. More depth can be added. If the team wants to retain defensive tackle Nick Fairley, and the price is right, it could do that.

Everything is lined up for next season to be the one where the luster returns for this organization. All the hurdles have been cleared. It seems like everything was designed for next year to be the year.

Now, hopefully, the Saints hold on to what they have so it can pay off.

Whatever you call it, the Saints' future looks bright if team sticks together | Saints | theadvocate.com