It is time for a new adventure (Payton's saints, version 3) (1 Viewer)

[Hedon James]

I know you can't account for fluke plays and refs etc, but something has just seemed "off" with the defense (in this game and the Minn playoff game last season). A lack of fire, and pressure that they normally had during the regular season didn't get to the opposing qb. I don't know what it is, just didn't seem like the same. I don't know what it is or how to describe it. I think SP has assembled a good regular season team, just something is missing in the playoffs, something that they are lacking to get them over the hump so to speak

I see the same thing. Lack of KILLER instinct.

It seems like we have a young core who has mostly only experienced success in this league. Dan Marino has been quoted to the effect that his SB appearance so early in his career led him to believe there would be PLENTY of opportunities to win one in the future.....but those opportunities never came around again. I think we have a young core that takes winning Division Championships and playoff appearances for granted, only paying "lip service" to Superbowl aspirations. Everyone SAYS it. Very few have the actual fire that BURNS with urgency. I think we're content to be "one of the best teams in football" every year, with no urgency to be "THE best team in football." That's what this team is missing, IMO.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure wouldn't hurt their chances.

 

[State Of Affairs]

Yes we are old, but so the Falcons and Bucs.

Great perspective but the only part I question, off the top of my head is this... it seems the core of this team is in their prime. 2nd contract guys, which is also problematic because of salary cap issues

 

[Doug B]

And I am keenly aware that Lance played only one game this year and has often not played against top competition. But if I am going to go big, I want to go big.

Obviously nothing is known this early ... but a cursory search on Trey Lance reveals that a ton of mocks have him going in the top 8. Pick 8 is Carolina, with supposedly the Panthers ready to move on from Bridgewater after 2021

 

[OneBigEasy!!]

Payton should have given Winston opportunity this year. We were in the post season, didn’t have a first round bye. Should have played him after Philly game to see what he could do. The notion that if he performed and it would drive his price up for next year is loser mentality. JMHO

 

[guillermo]

Great perspective but the only part I question, off the top of my head is this... it seems the core of this team is in their prime. 2nd contract guys, which is also problematic because of salary cap issues

We will need to be very effective with the draft and free agency. A lot of players will leave for better pastures (I mean, higher salaries) but that will bring us extra picks.

I am not expecting to have the Lattimore draft once again, but lately we have been good. That is why after cleaning the cap I can think we can be competitive after a couple of years, or even earlier.

 

[AARPSaint]

If the story about Payton wanting Mahomes in the draft is true, one would have to admit that he knows quarterback talent very well. I would trust Payton to make the best choice for a quarterback in the draft if he wants to go in that direction.

This thread is off to a good start, but I wish it had begun later in February. We are going to have to face a lot of unpleasant facts. There is little doubt Brees will retire with his last pass in a lost cause. Fortunately, we have a lot of great memories like 37 second scoring drives and pinpoint completions. Some really good players are likely to be cap casualties. Others we don't expect will be kept. I have to agree that we should attempt to regard this offseason as an adventure into the unknown.

 

[Gentilly504]

This team will be totally different. This will be a retooled team. You can’t pay everyone. I believe Hendrickson, Marcus Williams, Rankins, Janoris Jenkins, Anzalone, Jared Cook, and Kwon Alexander will be gone.

1st priority is to sign and extend Ram and Lattimore. Next priority will be to sign Winston(from reports, Saints really want him). Saints will not pay Hendrickson will be looking for big pay and some team will. It won’t be the Saints.

 

[Jellybean]

Unlike many of you around here, I am not mad about losing yesterday or even angry about the last four years. Actually, I am grateful, even when we didn't get to the big game.

I think that the job of the coach and general manager is to constantly put the team in a trajectory to make the playoffs, and once we are there, anything can happen.

And everything DID happen, a miracle play, a terrible call, two really disappointing loses.

I do kind of laugh when I listen to the talk of the saints being underachievers. Really? Besides New England, tell me which team can claim being divisional champions for 4 straight weeks. Have a touch of reality, at least 25 teams will love to have our record.

Coud we have done better? Of course we did. That and only that can be the nature of our dissapointment.

And how about Drew? I think there is no contest he is the best PASSER in the history of the league, but his playoff record will harm them in the talk of being one of the best quarterbacks ever. Not too shabby on my book.

Now, it's time for another adventure, and I am excited for it. We are starting Sean Payton's saints v3.0.

To me, priority number one is to find the resources to keep Marshon Lattimore and Ryan Ramczyk on long term deals. This is even priority over the quarterback of the future.

If we can find money to hold to Trey Hendrickson, that will be a huge bonus.

Regarding who will play quarterback, I think it will be Taysom at least on a transitional period, if not more.

Why Taysom and not Jamies? Easy. Money. The priority is to earmark money for Lattimore and Ramczyk. It Jamies wants to be our quarterback, he will have to do it on the cheap for a couple of years. We simply don't have the money to pay him.

Can it be another guy currently on the league? Before starting posting exotic trade options (like Watson's), please consider that trades have cap considerations, that 31 General Managers work for the best interest of their teams, and finally, that other teams have more cap space and trade assets (players and draft picks) to trade for NFL stars. I'll give you an example: Watson wants out. He likes Robert Saleh. The Jets have the second overall pick and Sam Darnold, If I am Caserio, I am sure I can take more from the Jets than from the Saints.

I am excited because I can see Sean Payton re-designing the team. We can see an offense similar to the ravens if Taysom is the long term answer. We can return to the vertical game is Jameis is the guy. And we can see something specific if we get a player on a trade or at the draft.

We are in a good division to be competitive soon. Yes we are old, but so the Falcons and Bucs. The panthers are young but with ways to go. We don't need to be lethal in order to be competitive.

So once that the anger passes, treasure with joy what we lived the last four years, and be prepared to a new adventure. It is going to be fun.

I actually don’t think the Jets will take a QB.

But I agree. I think keeping Ireland is going to pay off for the next several years. Especially now that we are headed for a couple of down seasons or more. He likely won’t be poached for 2-3 seasons or until we find a QB and rebuild the depth

 

[Jellybean]

If the story about Payton wanting Mahomes in the draft is true, one would have to admit that he knows quarterback talent very well. I would trust Payton to make the best choice for a quarterback in the draft if he wants to go in that direction.

This thread is off to a good start, but I wish it had begun later in February. We are going to have to face a lot of unpleasant facts. There is little doubt Brees will retire with his last pass in a lost cause. Fortunately, we have a lot of great memories like 37 second scoring drives and pinpoint completions. Some really good players are likely to be cap casualties. Others we don't expect will be kept. I have to agree that we should attempt to regard this offseason as an adventure into the unknown.

Payton also drafted Garrett Grayson lol so he can’t be 100% trusted in QB picks.

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

I do kind of laugh when I listen to the talk of the saints being underachievers.

Coud we have done better? Of course we did. That and only that can be the nature of our dissapointment.

These two points are conflicting. You say you laugh at the talk of the Saints being underacheivers and then in the next sentence state we could have done better. Correct me if I am wrong but isn't that what underachieving is? Falling short of potential? Maybe I am missing or misunderstanding your point.

While it's great to have awesome regular season records, to not even MAKE the Super Bowl with the talent on this team, let alone win one is terrible. It really is. To act like anyone wouldn't understand while ANOTHER playoff disappointing loss to an inferior team IS IN FACT disappointing is disingenuous.

 

[Poison]

My impression was that he left money on the table to play in New Orleans for one season -- it wasn't a money move for him, but rather a professional-growth move. But we'll know more in two months.

I think this is self-evident. At 26/27 years old, with potentially 10+ years left in the league if he plays his cards right, my hope is that he adopts a similar mentality with his next deal.

Sure, he could go and compete to be the starter somewhere like Houston on slightly better dollars, but after a year in this system, with an offence that will have Kamara, Thomas, Armstead and Ram (hopefully) moving forward, why wouldn’t he prioritise staying in NOLA? Give himself a year to audition for the job with the prospect of better money post-2021.

I’m not all-in on Jameis but to me he stands out as the best, most immediate option for us. It would be a shame to lose him — and also a recipe for disaster to start 2021 with just Hill on the roster as the presumptive starter.

 

[BarBar]

Unlike many of you around here, I am not mad about losing yesterday or even angry about the last four years. Actually, I am grateful, even when we didn't get to the big game.

I think that the job of the coach and general manager is to constantly put the team in a trajectory to make the playoffs, and once we are there, anything can happen.

And everything DID happen, a miracle play, a terrible call, two really disappointing loses.

I do kind of laugh when I listen to the talk of the saints being underachievers. Really? Besides New England, tell me which team can claim being divisional champions for 4 straight weeks. Have a touch of reality, at least 25 teams will love to have our record.

Coud we have done better? Of course we did. That and only that can be the nature of our dissapointment.

And how about Drew? I think there is no contest he is the best PASSER in the history of the league, but his playoff record will harm them in the talk of being one of the best quarterbacks ever. Not too shabby on my book.

Now, it's time for another adventure, and I am excited for it. We are starting Sean Payton's saints v3.0.

To me, priority number one is to find the resources to keep Marshon Lattimore and Ryan Ramczyk on long term deals. This is even priority over the quarterback of the future.

If we can find money to hold to Trey Hendrickson, that will be a huge bonus.

Regarding who will play quarterback, I think it will be Taysom at least on a transitional period, if not more.

Why Taysom and not Jamies? Easy. Money. The priority is to earmark money for Lattimore and Ramczyk. It Jamies wants to be our quarterback, he will have to do it on the cheap for a couple of years. We simply don't have the money to pay him.

Can it be another guy currently on the league? Before starting posting exotic trade options (like Watson's), please consider that trades have cap considerations, that 31 General Managers work for the best interest of their teams, and finally, that other teams have more cap space and trade assets (players and draft picks) to trade for NFL stars. I'll give you an example: Watson wants out. He likes Robert Saleh. The Jets have the second overall pick and Sam Darnold, If I am Caserio, I am sure I can take more from the Jets than from the Saints.

I am excited because I can see Sean Payton re-designing the team. We can see an offense similar to the ravens if Taysom is the long term answer. We can return to the vertical game is Jameis is the guy. And we can see something specific if we get a player on a trade or at the draft.

We are in a good division to be competitive soon. Yes we are old, but so the Falcons and Bucs. The panthers are young but with ways to go. We don't need to be lethal in order to be competitive.

So once that the anger passes, treasure with joy what we lived the last four years, and be prepared to a new adventure. It is going to be fun.

Top notch post here. I am not angry about the loss. I am just basking in the memories of the last 15 years. This has been an incredible ride that about 30 other teams would be incredible jealous of.

I am just grateful to have the GOAT on our side for these last 15 years. No doubt in my mind for this stretch he has been better than Brady, better than Rodgers, better than Manning. Maybe not this year but basically all the others. The absolute excellence he has committed to was a joy to watch every Sunday and follow through the off season.

I knew it was coming but I am not ready to say goodbye. It is clear that he is done. Sadly, Brees has finally been beaten by father time. The ONLY reason this upsets me is that Brady will take every record next year and basically erase the legacy of the real GOAT.

Man....if we only had a defense and an easy division.

 

[meily]

CSP is def not the problem. His hands have been totally tied, he could not make the change at QB--even if he really wanted to. We need to turn the page and I welcome the opportunity for CSP/Loomis/Ireland (hopefully) to actually get a shot at a proper rebuild. Fans will need to exercise patience. It will be tricky because we have such a solid, established roster...another 'rolling rebuild' will be tempting, but also leave us in the same sort of purgatory we have been stuck in (cap constraints and limited draft capital). It won't do any real service to carry on with 10 win seasons (and playoff exits), or even worse the 7 to 8 win years that leave us constantly in the middle of the draft.

Where is the rebuild? out goes Drew in comes Winston...where is the rebuild? we are just adding players through the draft and restructuring contracts of guys who like the environment and want to win here, its really that simple. This team was built back up through the draft and we may lose a player or two but we keep our core players and add via the draft and FA.

 

[Jellybean]

I know you can't account for fluke plays and refs etc, but something has just seemed "off" with the defense (in this game and the Minn playoff game last season). A lack of fire, and pressure that they normally had during the regular season didn't get to the opposing qb. I don't know what it is, just didn't seem like the same. I don't know what it is or how to describe it. I think SP has assembled a good regular season team, just something is missing in the playoffs, something that they are lacking to get them over the hump so to speak

In 2018 it was a viable threat outside of Thomas and Kamara. The last two years it’s been on Brees

 

[guillermo]

These two points are conflicting. You say you laugh at the talk of the Saints being underacheivers and then in the next sentence state we could have done better. Correct me if I am wrong but isn't that what underachieving is? Falling short of potential? Maybe I am missing or misunderstanding your point.

While it's great to have awesome regular season records, to not even MAKE the Super Bowl with the talent on this team, let alone win one is terrible. It really is. To act like anyone wouldn't understand while ANOTHER playoff disappointing loss to an inferior team IS IN FACT disappointing is disingenuous.

My point is that besides the teams that have won the Super Bowl in the last 4 years, I think almost every team would love to have the same record the same did. I mean even Green Bay, Seattle, Pittsburgh and all the darlings of the league can't challenge our record.

Since as I wrote, the goal is to be able to get to the playoffs, I don't think we underachieved, but also we were not able to reach the final goal.