Don't make moves for the sake of making them (1 Viewer)

guillermo

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This was not a quality class of free agents. The increase on the salary cap allowed teams to sign or franchise the quality free-agents to be.

We all know the glaring needs on defense, we need a starting corner, two starting linebackers, a pass rush specialist and a defensive tackle for depth.

Now look at the 2008 free agent class:

I consider there were only 2 starting caliber corners: Samuel and Florence. Samuel wanted to be the highest paid defensive player in the league, so chances were we were not going to get him. Florence will be paid around 6 million a year and I think even at that price he would have been worthy. It may be a miss but for some reason we were not linked to the name.

On linebacker, we got Vilma, Briggs seems was not an option after (we don't know if it was choice of the player of the saints). If it was one or the other, I take Vilma any day. Now, for the value of Briggs' contract I would have pushed for him. Not sure we did or not.

With tons of money available for most of the teams and not many players, chances were we were going to miss more then score.

Now, what is in the future? Any moves to do or not do? My view on some of them:

Randall Gay. Forget about which players we haveand how big our need is. Randall Gay is and will be a nickle or dime corner. If he comes here, he should get nickle or dime contract money. We may sign it to take Thomas or Craft's spot and pay accordingly. 5 or 6 million a year would not make sense. We need to use one of our first two draft picks on a cornerback. Plain and simple.

Jeremy Shockey. Please, do not use our second rounder on him. We may agree or disagree if he is worth a second rounder, but we can't that we need picks for defense. I would even prefer to wait until draft day, and if by our pick Ellis and Dorsey are gone, I may considering switching first rounders with the giants for his rights, and then grab the corner and linebacker we dearly need.

Bryant Johnson: Great compliment for Colston, Devery and Meachem, but Donte' Stallworth got 5 million per year with the browns. Johnson should be demanding more money than that.

Some free agents movements that may make sense:

Alge Crumpler: Teams are spending money now, we haven't heard serious interest on him besides Seattle, maybe we can get him on a reasonable price now. An important thing to consider: if Shockey comes here, he will want to renegotiate his contract at some point, and we all know it won't be cheaper than whatever Crumpler would command. Just for not giving out any draft choices, if we are going to spend money on the position, Crumpler makes more sense than giving away a second for Shockey.

Rod Coleman: Again, same as Crump. Tackles have moved now, I am not expecting much more movement on defensive tackles. Maybe there will be less demand and the price may be lower now.

Drew Carter: Not a star, but the guy has great potential. He is tall, fast and with good hands. We can get him for a low price considering what other receivers are getting.

Teddy Lehman: A great college player, who had 2 injured seasons on his 4 year stand in Detroit. It is really hard to evaluate a defensive player who plays with the lions. But I would take a chance for him, as depth. The guy can play the weak side or the middle and is a special teams demon. Let's say that if we get him, at least we get a younger, more talented version of Simoneau.

I would like to read on other potential moves that you consider would make sense, and stop focusing on the usual suspects.
 
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Don't confuse the masses with the facts. They've already made up their minds. Change, no matter how silly it is, gives the illusion of progress and something to talk about.

That said, love your post.
 
I AGREE!! I been posting the same thought on all of these threads about how sucky our FO is for not getting Briggs etc....I think people are jumping the gun at wanting to use our draft picks to trade for a certain guy...Shockey was not a good teamate dispite his skills....we dont wanna win that bad guys, we've gotten production out of our tightends, we just dont have a "star" at the position and thats really all Shockey would bring...there are some free agents out there that I'm sure we will go after once the dust settles that can help this team...Teddy Lehman could be a guy we could look at to backup Shanle and see what he has to offer, he was a tremendous player for Okla, and when he came to Det he flashed those same abilities, then he had this foot injury that slowed him down for the past 2 years...but its slowing down for everybody (fa)
 
I would prefer Shockey over Crumpler due to youth and a better overall talent. But I would agree I would prefer to sign Crumpler than give up our second, which is a high second.

That said, I won't be surprised to see a substantial move made for Shockey. I'm just hoping we sign one of the, and if it is Shockey, not give up our second straight up for Shockey.
 
Now this is a good post.....and a welcome contrast to all the "Benson is cheap", "Our FO is stupid", "Same Old Saints" posts. FA isn't over yet. I'm on the verge of taking a little "vacation" from SR because of these "sky is falling" posts.
 
I didn't even know Lehman was a free agent. He would be a good move also. I like Johnson Goff in the draft...maybe our second rounder for him
 
It's impossible to determine what the FO tried to do. But, just getting Vilma is not success with all the wholes the Saints have. Plain and simple.
 
It's impossible to determine what the FO tried to do. But, just getting Vilma is not success with all the wholes the Saints have. Plain and simple.

Have you liked anybody the saints were possibly interested in besides the big name players?
 
It's impossible to determine what the FO tried to do. But, just getting Vilma is not success with all the wholes the Saints have. Plain and simple.

I can agree with that. It is not a success, but it is only the third day of free agency and the draft can't come quicker.

At the end, you judge when you look at your roster in training camp.

If I would think it is only a success if we get two of the top free agents (Samuel and Briggs) and some other player, then I am setting myself with dissapointment.

What worries me most is reading that "Make it happen, Mickey" everytime there is a thread on any player.

I don't want to make moves for the sake of making them. Signing middle-of-the-road free agents to big contracts is the best way to dig your team into mediocrity for years to come. We need to be more intelligent then that.
 
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You know what I find pretty cool, I already had responded to your thread by the time I noticed the link in mine. I agree with you 100% in terms of having both day one picks and coming away with two probably defensive starters. Draft is how we will have to build, but at least this front office has done a good job of that with Payton these last two years. We understand you don't pay a top ten player top3 money. We understand you don't pay the 50th ranked CB like he is the 20th best. We can't win every negotiation, and occasionally we will have to spend more than we wish, but we do so at positions that truly determine wins and losses, at the LOS. All good teams place priorities there.
 
The only place where I disagree with you is that I kinda think we should use our first two picks on DBs. Mostly I'm worried about McKenzie's recovery, so getting two good DBs would be nice. Then again, it all depends on who's available when we pick.
 
That's all well and good, except that Mickey Loomis said himself this team would be very aggressive and that we were going to fill our needs in free agency. They knew who was going to be a free agent just like all of us did. You say one thing and then sit on your thumbs? Maybe it's another "smokescreen" or something.
 
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