Article Can the Saints Remain Competitive after Re-Signing Michael Thomas? (1 Viewer)

[DerrickB]

Can the Saints remain competitive after re-signing Michael Thomas to a new contract? That’s an intriguing question that everyone wants to know. The number continues to rise after wide receivers such as Antonio Brown and Adam Thielen got new contracts from their perspective teams.

Can the Saints Remain Competitive after Re-Signing Michael Thomas?

 

[saint_drago]

They can stay competitive if they still have Drew Brees or Teddy is able to step in and be above average. But if Drew is gone after this year and the QB play is suspect, then I don't know. There's still so much talent on the roster. They might be competitive but they probably aren't going to be real contenders.

So much depends on Drew. That's a lot to pay a WR if you don't have someone to throw him the ball.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

this is grist for the mill like any discussion point
but i think we forget that fans and media are, at best, hobbyists when it comes to capnomics

 

[DerrickB]

this is grist for the mill like any discussion point
but i think we forget that fans and media are, at best, hobbyists when it comes to capnomics

I ain't a hobbyist bro, I just call it like I see it.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I ain't a hobbyist bro, I just call it like I see it.

Huh?
I wasn’t calling anyone out
Not even close to that
I just think it’s helpful to remember that the people making these decisions are in this 24/7
Doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it
Doesn’t mean they’re infallible
just adding some perspective that gets overlooked from time to time

 

[Outbackjack]

The thing about high value WR’s.....and I’m not taking a thing away from Mike T...(he’s unbelievably good).....but champion teams very rarely have high $ WRs.

Look at the last few Super Bowl winners....and their top WR

NE-Edelman
Phil- Algalor
NE- Edelman
Den- Thomas
NE- Amendola
Sea- Baldwin
Balt- Torrey Smith
NYG- Cruz

None of those guys are top 5-10 receivers.....maybe Demario but within two years he’s basically out of the league. Not saying great WR aren’t important, but it’s very clear it’s not required to win at the highest level.

 

[saint_drago]

The thing about high value WR’s.....and I’m not taking a thing away from Mike T...(he’s unbelievably good).....but champion teams very rarely have high $ WRs.

Look at the last few Super Bowl winners....and their top WR

NE-Edelman
Phil- Algalor
NE- Edelman
Den- Thomas
NE- Amendola
Sea- Baldwin
Balt- Torrey Smith
NYG- Cruz

None of those guys are top 5-10 receivers.....maybe Demario but within two years he’s basically out of the league. Not saying great WR are important, but it’s very clear it’s not required to win at the highest level.

This is a good point that also applies to the highest priced RBs. This is a tricky situation because we don't know how much football Drew has left in him. With a good QB you can justify that kind of money for a WR. If you don't have a QB then what's the point? It's like putting a shiny new paint job on a car that's been on blocks for two years. It might look good but it's not very useful or practical.

If Drew was in his mid 30s I'd say pay MT whatever it takes. But since Drew is 40 and really slowed down in the second half of last year, I don't know. That money would probably be better spent on bringing in a capable QB if Teddy doesn't pan out.

 

[Stalwart385]

I don't buy into the "you can't win if position x makes y money".

 

[TribuneUK]

I don't buy into the "you can't win if position x makes y money".

Care to elaborate why? Interested to know, not trying to be aggressive

 

[Stalwart385]

Care to elaborate why? Interested to know, not trying to be aggressive

There is just a lot more to it than one contract. You have to draft well and be smart in FA. You need a few blue chippers and be good enough everywhere else. As long as the guy is playing like a blue chipper you can usually find much bigger issues on rosters that failed. Now if you get a Byrd situation where it's wasted money that's another story.

We could pay Thomas almost 20 mil this year if you take Peat off the roster and start Easton instead. I don't think that makes us a roster that can't win.

 

[TribuneUK]

There is just a lot more to it than one contract. You have to draft well and be smart in FA. You need a few blue chippers and be good enough everywhere else. As long as the guy is playing like a blue chipper you can usually find much bigger issues on rosters that failed. Now if you get a Byrd situation where it's wasted money that's another story.

We could pay Thomas almost 20 mil this year if you take Peat off the roster and start Easton instead. I don't think that makes us a roster that can't win.

Thanks for the extra info. I agree there are few absolutes in team building, but I do disagree with the example/solution you suggested (although you may not be too wedded to it as an idea). I think the importance of Peat on this team is consistently underappreciated by a number of forum discussions. I'd be looking for another way to recoup cap room than weaken the OL, until someone clearly supercedes Peat as starting Guard and swing Left Tackle.

 

[insidejob]

But since Drew is 40 and really slowed down in the second half of last year, I don't know.

It really wasn't Drew that slowed down towards the end of the year last year, it was the entire offense. It took Ginn a few to get back to his old self, TQS suddenly couldn't catch a cold, the OL injuries were piling up, etc.

Drew definitely slowed down with the rest of the offense, but I seriously doubt that he was the cause. Just a sheet storm of problems that all came on at once.

 

[Stalwart385]

Thanks for the extra info. I agree there are few absolutes in team building, but I do disagree with the example/solution you suggested (although you may not be too wedded to it as an idea). I think the importance of Peat on this team is consistently underappreciated by a number of forum discussions. I'd be looking for another way to recoup cap room then weaken the OL, until someone clearly supercedes Peat as starting Guard and swing Left Tackle.

I don't think you could argue against him being overpaid. He has not performed near his pay grade. I'd like him on the team just for less money. I don't value him as a swing tackle much either. Bushrod was an improvement as a backup tackle for very cheap. I will have a much bigger issue paying Peat 4 year 40 mil next year than Thomas 4 years 72 mil. People will probably point to the larger Thomas contract but the Peat one is probably costing you more money. You could have an average guard for 5-6 mil per year. You can't get a top 5 WR for much cheaper than that.

Similarly, people would point to Brees contract as holding us back in lean years. Numbers popped up with not being able to win if you pay a QB "x" amount of money. The real issue with the team was dead money, overpaid players and bad drafting though.

 

[Swimmer]

Very interesting conversation. Many of us started having hemorrhoid problems when we started paying Brees about $25 mil/yr. We all knew he was worth more, but that was a lot a cap space for one player. I wondered if we could afford to surround Drew with enough talent at that level. But that's the new NFL.

Now we can clearly see that Brees has been so great that we pay him $25 mil and we save $15 mil to $20 mil in high priced WRs. In reality, Drew was only costing us $10mil to $15 mil per year. What a freakin bargain!

 

[Jumpman910]

Depends on the QB, but of course they CAN stay competitive, just a matter of how long and what alternate moves are made. No NFL team in the modern NFL has ever been able to keep all of their young talent and we'll be no different. Just a matter of being able to draft well and to identify prospects who can take over the reigns.