How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Yeah I know its a little early but how would you so far rate the Saints offseason moves?

A - Great I love it!
B - Its okay but still could use some improvement
C - Seen better days
D - Horrible, words can't describe it!
F - Why the heck Im I watching this crap!

:bandg:

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

B= We still have\'nt done anything at DT and LB, what i thought was our biggest prob.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

B for production == A for effort = I say A for the effort becuase we have been looking for LBs which for the first time means our front office does not have their heads in the sand thinking we have the players we need.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

C

LB - Didn\'t sign one
DT - Didn\'t sign one
OT - signed a guard
S - Got a darn good one.

25%.... maybe 50% max. Where I come from a 50% is and F... but I\'ll call it average... for the Saints anyway.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

B - The need to make a move in a big way at the LB position

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

As far as addressing the major needs, D
As far as getting some quality players, B
As far as re-signing our own key guys, A
As far as value for all the guys we signed, A

Overall off-season grade B.

Could go to an A-minus if we\'re able to acquire a major need (OLB, ILB or DT) or a 2nd round draft pick via a Howard trade.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

(C) overall - 2.07 on 4 point scale

(F) LB - greatest need, still unaddressed
(A) FS - Dwight is a huge improvement
(D) SS - Bellamy shouldn\'t be a starter
(C) CB - might be enough, depends on Fahkir
(D) DT - thought we\'d lose Bryant, all eggs in Sullivan basket
(C) DE - where\'s the Howard trade? we need cap room

(F) QB - where is our backup? A 7th for O\'Sullivan? c\'mon!
(A) C - no changes necessary
(A) G - nice pickup in Mayberry
(F) T - still a HUGE need at starting right tackle
(C) TE - Meir is a good pickup, get rid of some others
(B) RB - Smith will work, I like it

(A) - resigned situational free agents - Gleason, Bryant, Craft, I\'m suprised we kept them all, and I like it, good value

These grades could (and had better) improve after the draft, when some of the more glaring needs will (had better be) addressed.

In conslusion, I rate them at average. Gimme a good draft and a nice trade or two. They could get up to an A if they address the glaring needs (LB, SS, OT, backup QB).

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Danno, can you tell me who these \"key\" guys are? And how their signing makes it an A?

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

C+

I like the additions of D. Smith, A. Smith and J. Mayberry. D. Smith is an instant upgrade at safety, and A. Smith and Mayberry will provide quality, veteran depth. I think resigning Craft was a good idea given our questionable depth at CB.

Meier may not be the answer at TE, but Conwell\'s not getting any younger (or less injury-prone) and Boo remains inconsistent. I hope Fisher can make an impact at LB, but his past injuries leave a huge question mark over his head.

We could certainly do better at addressing needs. We simply must address the LB position in some way, and now the draft looks like the most promising option. I\'d agree QB (at least backup) is a place that could use a look, too.

Overall I think the Saints could have done a better job, but I\'ve gotta admit there\'s already been more activity than I ever expected. If we can make good on the rumored Howard trade, this grade could improve.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Can you tell me which key guys we didn\'t re-sign?
Kenny Smith? maybe, but I doubt he was included on our KEY list. Pathon? Maybe, but thats certainly debateable.

If you re-sign everyone you wanted to re-sign, I\'d call that an A.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I guess my hang up is the use of the word \"key.\" Maybe we just have different definitions of a player that is considered \"key.\" I definitely don\'t think we re-signed anyone that is worth grading out as an A, especially since better options were available.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I do. Greene. Gleason. Craft. Bryant.

Don\'t get me wrong. I don\'t think these guys are best in class. However, I think they\'re good situational players, that add value at a very cheap price tag. These players hit the free agent market, but we managed to get all of them resigned. I thought for sure we\'d lose at least some of them.

So I give the front office an A for that.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I didn\'t mean the guys we re-signed were A players. Good grief, far from it, but the key guys we did re-sign Bryant, Craft, Gleason, Mitchell, Bellamy, McAfee, Hall were all important for various reasons. Some we retained for the bare minimum.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

LOE, they hit the free agent market, but did anyone go after them. Did they get any offers, schedule any visits? Anything? Not from what I saw. Noone we resigned to me was like I said \"key.\" We did resign some guys though. Hodge, great call there. Craft, well, we need another CB. Woulda preferred Dyson. Bellamy? Eh, would have preferred they just moved T-Buck to SS, save the cap hit and Bellamy\'s salary. Or they could have gone after Arturo Freeman. Bryant? Eh, prob not much interest around the league for a rotational guy. I wonder how we pulled off that coup. I mean realistically, would losing any of those guys have made one bit of difference for our team? Not to me. I likened their resignings previously to filling out a roster on Madden. You know, how you have to have a certain amount of guys at each position? That definitely doesn\'t warrant an A.

[Edited on 5/4/2005 by saintswhodi]

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I can buy that. But they are mainly just bodies. We could draft someone to do what Gleason does, as well as any of those other guys. I was just wondering how that warranted an A, and the designation key. No biggie.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I\'ve wondered about that too...unless it\'s because Bellamy is the feild general and a better locker room guy.

smith and t-bucky might have been a better combo.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I don\'t buy that. Anyone we draft will have no NFL experience, these guys have already been trained in our system, already have daily routines that get them to our practice facility in NO. That\'s an advantage, especially when talking minimum pay. Gleason alone, with his blocked punts and excellent special teams play, would be hard to replace for league minimum.

Could you be sure, on say a 5th round pick, of getting someone who could come in an play, and consistently make game changing plays?

I stand by my grade of A for those resignings, though I see the point you are making.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

can you count on our current roster to do the above?

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I know that some of them were garnering league interest. Here\'s a quick link from the Times-Picayune.

http://www.nola.com/saints/t-p/index...6985309720.xml

Gleason had an offer from Arizona. Miami wanted Bryant. Atlanta was after Craft.

[Edited on 5/4/2005 by LordOfEntropy]

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I was referencing Gleason and his special teams play. Blocked punts, etc.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

So Gleason and Bryant got looks, I can accept I was wrong on that. What about Hodge, Mitchell, Lamont Hall, and Terrence Melton? 2 guys out of 6 of these \"key\" guys got looks from other teams, and all Bryant did was schedule a visit. Hhhhmmm. Still has me wondering how that warrants an A grade for signing these players. We can throw Bellamy in, but he didn\'t even attempt to look elsewhere. He jumped at what the Saints gave him cause in my eyes it was pretty generous. I would have saved that $800,000, and the cap hit we took for cutting Tesucky, and just moved Tesucky to SS. Still don\'t see them as \"key,\" still don\'t see warranting an A grade.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Well, I think we just have a difference of opinion. Hodge, Hall, Bellamy, Mitchell, these didn\'t matter to me.

But Gleason, Bryant, & Craft did. I didn\'t think we\'d keep them all.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

So a backup SS who is mainly a special teamer, a rotational DT/DE, and a 7th year corner drafted in the 5th round who has all of 7 career INTs and can\'t gain the starter\'s job are key, and deserve an A cause we kept them? I guess it is a difference of opinion. No prob.

[Edited on 5/4/2005 by saintswhodi]

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

So you would have taken a guy that is known for his lack of wrapping up the ball carrier, at times, and moved him to strong safety?
I\'ve never been big on Bellamy either, but....

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Never said the players were A players. I said the front office re-signed EVERY player they thought was important.
Gleason is important to the special teams.

Craft is important to the secondary.

Bryant is very important to the D-line since he can play both DE/DT. And with the likelihood of Howard being traded, it was probably our most important re-signing.

Yes, I give the front office an A for \"re-signing everyone the wanted to re-sign\".

I would rate the players they re-signed about a C+

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Whodi, please don\'t take my statements out of context. Notice in the thread above that I stated the A was only for

(A) - resigned situational free agents - Gleason, Bryant, Craft, I\'m suprised we kept them all, and I like it, good value

I did not give an A overall. Notice there are quite a few F\'s in there.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Danno, LOE, points taken. I guess I was looking at it from a different perspective than you two. My bad. If we are simply looking at the fact that they dod re-sign them, then I guess that does deserve an A. But the actual quality of players that they are should average that grade to around a B- or a C for me. But I see where you guys are coming from.

Well BNB, Tesucky led the team in tackles last year, and has more range than Bellamy, albeit misguided range most of the time. His tackling definitely improved last year though. Considering his age, speed, the cap hit we took to cut him as well as the salary we paid Bellamy to stay, yes I would have preferred just moving T-suck to SS and letting Bellamy ride.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

it give us a C. wow go figure.....average

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

While I agree with you on most of what you said, I\'m not as convinced about his tackling as you are. While there was improvement, I don\'t see it as enough to warrant a move to the strong position. He definately has more range than Bellamy, but he had the mental capacity of a 2-year old.
I wouldn\'t want that idiot running our defense. Sorry, but he was a moron. How he ever got accepted into Syracuse is beyond me. The guy wasn\'t even smart enough to look at the camera during an NFL interview, he was constantly looking at the monitor off to his right.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I get you BNB, but to me, this is the year Bellamy\'s age becomes a true liability. He wasn\'t as good in 2004 as he was in 2003, and that is not gonna get better. At least T-suck showed an ability to improve at one thing he was poor at, tackling. I admitted his range was misguided, that\'s why strong would be better for him cause he could play closer to the line and have limited responsibilities deep. Especially with Smith back there now. And he does have speed. I would have given him a shot, besides the benefits I mentioned of the cap money saved by not cutting him and not paying Bellamy. And who\'s to say he had to run the D? Maybe Watson\'s ready. Maybe we would have gotten Sharper. Who knows? But your points are well taken, and more than likely a correct assessment.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Moving T-Suck to SS and releasing Bellamy isn\'t an option I\'d really thought of - but I\'m considering it now, moot though the point may be.

Hm. Depends on what Bellamy\'s numbers are.

T-Suck certainly improved towards the end. Was he worth being paid as the top safety in the league? Not to me. He\'d have to restructure for me to keep him.

Anyway, if we\'d kept him, the cap numbers for this year would\'ve been almost exactly the same as releasing him. So why release him?

Because we\'d still have the same problems on our hands next year.

It\'s either release him now (at a certain cap hit) and be done with it, or keep him at that exorbitant rate this year, but still have that same 3 mil cap problem again, next year.

I\'d have released him. That is, of course, unless he\'d have been willing to do a *major* restructure. If he\'d agreed, then I\'d have considered moving him to SS.

Good point that I\'d never thought of.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Actually, it was JKool\'s point that he made around the time we were cutting T-suck. But it\'s still a good point, and one I found myself considering as well. I was with the cut T-suck at all costs thinking initially but when it was put like that, I found myself thinking it might have been worth at least a shot. But you are right in that a restructuring would have had to have taken place to even consider this move. No way did he deserve the same salary.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Oh, Bellamy is not my ideal choice either, trust me. I nearly started breaking my own **** after David Carr juked him out of his shoes a few years back.
Man, we really need to make a play for Davis or Pool in this coming draft. Safety should be a priority for us going in. I call failure on this draft, if this position is not addressed.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Agreed. It -must- happen. Bellamy is not the answer. We have no starting SS.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

As long as LB is also addressed I\'m happy. And I guess Davis kinda fills that too.
Here\'s what I hope our draft looks like...
1st day- LB, OT, DT,
2nd day-SS, CB, BPA, BPA

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

We definitely need to take a long hard look at SS on the first day. Ideally, I would like to see them get Sharper or Fujita, and not have to address LB right off in the first round and hopefully get Davis. I would play him at SS seeing as how he ran in the 4.5 forty range I believe. Then I would draft a LB in the 2nd like Crowder if available or any of the other studs who wouldn\'t have to start game one becuase of Sharper or Fujita, plus Watson. We could draft a guy to play SLB. So that\'s SS and LBs addressed in the first two rounds, and then depending on what we get for Howard, we can look CB if we haven\'t traded for Buchanon, or we can look backup QB, or wherever else. But I agree 1000000000000% we need to get a SS. Not on the second day though. Day one. We have enough backup material second day safeties on the bench.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I could also live with that.

Also wouldn\'t mind somehow adding QB David Green to the mix. Two games of learning behind Brooks and he should be good to go.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

Never really cared much for Greene myself. He does not look like a good NFL type QB to me. I never thought he was anything special at GA. Their receivers either. Gibson is way too inconsistent, although that other receiver may develop, I for got his name. But I would prefer we took someone other than David Greene. Being that he went to UGA though, well you know how that goes for us in the draft. You may very well get your wish.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

:yes:

I don\'t think I could nod my head any harder, in agreement with that statement.

How would you rate this offseason so far?
 

I was never a huge fan of the \"move T-Sucky to SS\" idea for a couple of reasons. One was his cap number, which was an almost universal bone of contention around here not so long ago. As for his leading the team in tackles - it\'s a bit of an aberration in that he didn\'t have much CHOICE. He wouldn\'t have had the opportunity to make so many tackles if the front seven had done a better job against the run. But I suppose he can thank rotten D-line and LB play for helping him improve his tackling. I\'m sure the Dolphins will thank us.

This is not a defense of Bellamy, however. The FO mentioned at the time that his resigning had as much to do with his locker room presence as actual production they expect from him. I wouldn\'t be terribly surprised to see Mitchell take over for him at some point this season (assuming safety is not addressed in the draft ... as most of us agree it SHOULD be).

As for all the Davis fans, look no further than Whodi\'s point: he went to UGA ... no way the Saints will be able to resist.