Fins' want Simoneau?!?! (1 Viewer)

[birdog]

Zach Thomas to visit wth the Saints as per the news. I was listening to Zach Thomas on Sirius this morning with Pat Kirwan. After the cordial greeting and all had expired he asked Zach Thomas some questions about his health, etc. He said if it would not have been for the automobile accident last year after he had just recovered from the cncussion he would have been back on the field. Some 2 concussion rule??? Kirwan then asked him if he still had a love for the game and he said absolutely. Kirwan then said if there were any teams he was interested in and he would not name any names and never hinted towards any. He only stated that he did not want to go to a team rebuilding, he wanted to play somewhere that would be a contender. Said he would retire a Dolphin when that day came.
Then Kirwan askes him "What about the New Orleans Saints" out of the blue.... He said "That is a team that could really use your services" His strong points are Man to Man type coverage schemes, which is what we play.
Thomas said he rathered playing in the 3-4 the past few years and thought he actually was better suited for it than the 4-3, Not having to take on a blocker every down.
Kirwan spoke about contract type stuff after Zack was off the phone and said it would probably be a heavy incentive laced deal with a little more than Veteran minimum being the starting point and all other incentives being derived from performance and playing time/games played/pro bowl, etc. a deal like this would be sweet. I say we ink him before he leaves the city. He also brings a lot of leadership ability along with him and plays hard.
Don't kill the messenger. I realize I have some personal opinions mixed in with what was said on the radio. But how can you justify breaking the bank, so to speak, for Kawika Mitchell, not even the best LB on that team. And not justify Giving Zach Thomas a $1 million dollars a year base salary with incentives that could escalate that upwards to near what you would probably pay for Mitchell if he came here and didn't even start.
Think about it..............

Zac also mentioned that he won't go to a team in rebuilding.....which excludes the Saints IMO, who are rebuilding their defense across the board, save the DEs, Fugita and McKenzie.........

 

[BoNcHiE]

Zac also mentioned that he won't go to a team in rebuilding.....which excludes the Saints IMO, who are rebuilding their defense across the board, save the DEs, Fugita and McKenzie.........

We are rebuilding a part of our team. We are still expected to compete for the division next year. I don't think he meant a team in our position.

 

[birdog]

We are rebuilding a part of our team. We are still expected to compete for the division next year. I don't think he meant a team in our position.

The way I'm hearing it, the Pats might be after him too.....Belichick likes veteran LBs, and there is a chance that neither Bruschi, nor Jumbug (J Seau) will return next year.

 

[bigno]

I'd disagree with that. To his credit Payton is all about open competition. This is how Pierre Thomas is still on the roster instead of Antonio Pittman or a Marques Colston instead of Donte Stallworth. Now if you want to say he overestimated how good his starters were in '06 going into '07 then he's guilty. But Payton had little reason to juggle the defensive lineup. I believe the D finished 11th overall in '06. If Simmons had been incredible last preseason and Payton had still started Simoneau then you might have argument. But Simmons didn't stand out anymore than Simoneau so he went with the guy that helped the team get to the NFCCG.

Your talking about '06 I'm talking about '07 if you really think Bullocks out played KK and Jason David out played any corner on the team than that's your opinion and your entitled to that but I disagree...I do agree about PT but I also felt he should not have rode the bench as much as he did when our top two backs went down, just look at what he did against the Bears. I'm not questining the whole Simmons, Simoneau situation cause I didnt see enough of Simmons last season to judge, but if your going to go strickly off preseason and camp than why was Hass cut? The fact is they were wrong and why we are upgrading in '08 give me Danny Clark over Simoneau any day of the week......Lets see if the Shanle gets the start again this season I think we can all agree he did not "EARN IT".....

 

[robj277]

Anybody wanna help me pay for Simoneau's plane ticket?

 

[Saintuary]

Anybody wanna help me pay for Simoneau's plane ticket?

No, but I got a skateboard he can have.

 

['79 Saints]

I agree about his attitude about competition in TC and not during the season. I just get a little annoyed with all the revisionist history here.......seems that everyone (but me) saw that Simmons was better last preseason because of his spectacular play than SImoneau but Payton stubbornly kept SImoneau in the starting lineup. No, the truth is Simoneau struggled just like the rest of the Defense, And if Payton were so enamored with Simoneau then why wasn't he retained? The problems with the Saints Defense in '07 prettty much begin and end with poor play by the DL. WIth better pressure and shut down running lanes guess what? Jason David would've looked like a decent CB and Simoneau would looked like he did '06. Give a QB all day to find the open man and David gets torched to the ground. Give a RB a hole you could drive a Peterbuilt through and Simoneau looks like he did in '07............

Well said TI Rider.

Simmons couldn't beat out Simoneau, this year just as Danny Clark couldn't beat him out last season. It has very little to do with "play favorites" as opposed to Simoneau's strengths are his intelligence, his awareness on the field and always being in the position he was supposed to be in when the defense is called.

His physical limitations are what really frustrates the fans here... and as you noted, poor DL play really exposed him.

Simoneau isn't going to blow people up a la a Brian Urlacher, but there is a reason why he's lasted so long in the league. He's a good guy to have on your team because he always knows his assignments and executes them consistently -THAT'S what endears you to coaching staffs.

We've had linebackers that were more talented than Simoneau playing under Haslett, but all too often they were out of position, which caused the Saints to give up plays they should have had covered.

A classic example of a talented player who consistently blew his assignments was Tebucky Jones. I'll never forget the game agaisnt the Vikings on ESPN (Mike McKenzie's first game with the Saints), where the Vikes picked up a first down near the end of the game, and they cut to little Rasputin (Venturi) and he is furious because Jones decided to freelance instead of sitting on the route, preventing the 1st down.

Parcells wants Simoneau for that reason... he's a player who can organize his defense on the field and a reliable one while he rebuilds his team. He's not going to field a contender yet, he just needs someone who knows what the heck he is doing...

 

[Torgo]

Well said TI Rider.

Simmons couldn't beat out Simoneau, this year just as Danny Clark couldn't beat him out last season. It has very little to do with "play favorites" as opposed to Simoneau's strengths are his intelligence, his awareness on the field and always being in the position he was supposed to be in when the defense is called.

His physical limitations are what really frustrates the fans here... and as you noted, poor DL play really exposed him.

Simoneau isn't going to blow people up a la a Brian Urlacher, but there is a reason why he's lasted so long in the league. He's a good guy to have on your team because he always knows his assignments and executes them consistently -THAT'S what endears you to coaching staffs.

We've had linebackers that were more talented than Simoneau playing under Haslett, but all too often they were out of position, which caused the Saints to give up plays they should have had covered.

A classic example of a talented player who consistently blew his assignments was Tebucky Jones. I'll never forget the game agaisnt the Vikings on ESPN (Mike McKenzie's first game with the Saints), where the Vikes picked up a first down near the end of the game, and they cut to little Rasputin (Venturi) and he is furious because Jones decided to freelance instead of sitting on the route, preventing the 1st down.

Parcells wants Simoneau for that reason... he's a player who can organize his defense on the field and a reliable one while he rebuilds his team. He's not going to field a contender yet, he just needs someone who knows what the heck he is doing...

Post of the decade. Simoneau is a solid, but unspectacular LB. He filled his role better than his recent predecessors.