The Saints' Future Is Almost Here & It's Bleak
They really got to caught up in FA at the same time they were drafting horrifically.
The 2009 team came together pretty easily and at pretty low cost. They drafted well and found a key UDFA in Pierre Thomas. Drew Brees was a bargain FA signing. Shockey was bargain. Sharper was bargain. After 2009 Sproles was a relative bargain and all those signings worked out.
Somehow those low risk successes enticed them to get into the big money world risky FA signings. They ate the cheese. I get they were trying to win but with hindsight you can see the weaknesses in due diligence and getting the organization on the same page.
Byrd was apparently thrust on Rob Ryan, so why wasn't there a discussion? There was some kind of dysfunction and it may persist. You can overlook a couple of misfires. In juries happen and sometimes you are wrong but it really looks like they were reckless on the big money signings and the manipulation of the cap to enable even more questionable personnel moves like extending Gallette.
We also signed cheap guys like Fujita and Shanle in 2006 who played key roles in the SB. I much preferred that to the spending spree from 2011-2015.
BUT, we didn't do that this year. We signed guys like JL, Kruger, and Fairley. Those are much more like 2007-2009 signings.
We also haven't given ridiculous extensions out the past few years. Jordan's is actually pretty cheap for a starting DE and structured well. Unger is worth what we paid him.
Mistakes were made and we appear to be correcting them. I say appear because we can't know for sure, but if we go through 2017 making the same, smarter decisions with money, then I think we can assume the right changes were indeed made.
You have to start somewhere and nothing is gained by continuing to cry about guys like Galette. That decision is now 2 years old.
If you fast forward to Fleener, it not out of the question that we have yet to learn anything. Shouldn't we have seen some kind of flash from Fleener that he was worth the $$$?
I'm gonna have to call you out on this one. You moaned for years that Graham can't block and wouldn't block. Fleener spent most of Sunday blocking because that's what the gameplan needed and he did a dang good job. He'll get his targets as the season goes on. Other teams will play us deep and then he'll produce.
As for his contract, it's pretty friendly. As long as he plays this year and next (he will), then we garner savings from cutting him in year 3. I think he's here for the long haul though. He's a good blocker and he will produce yards at some point.