Loomis will be prepared this time (1 Viewer)

[treeduck]

Last year the bounty punishments weren't even announced until well after free agency. The loss of SP and the 2nd round pick were kind of dumped on the team right before the draft and everybody had to adjust on the fly.

This year we lose our 2nd round pick again but this time Loomis will be prepared in advance with a much better strategy. He did pretty well last year in free agency despite the Drew Brees contract, and Colston, Nicks etc being free agents. He brought in a lot of good players we didn't expect, Grubbs, Lofton, Hawthorne, Chamberlain, Bunkley, everyone was excited about these guys.

We have cap issues this year but not nearly the problems of last year. I'm not expecting a truck load of big star free agents but I think he's going to make a lot of smart moves and bring in a few good players. I'm confident he'll be able to balance out the loss of the draft pick and fill a few holes.

 

[Prodigy]

I love how Loomis always makes it happen.

In Loomis we trust!

 

[treeduck]

I love how Loomis always makes it happen.

In Loomis we trust!

:ylsmoke:

 

[Hotdog_Skin]

Yeah, we really are so fortunate to have a guy like Loomis in our corner. Many focus on the importance of coaches and players, but the GM is so crucial in sculpting a winning team. It's not really glamorous work, but GM's really are what create the shifting successful dynamics of a team.

 

[Hotdog_Skin]

Oh, ya know, something I was just thinking about. I wonder how Loomis' additional duties will effect his focus on this offseason. Like, with him being so involved in the Hornets.. Err, I mean Pelicans, does anyone worry that this will give him less time to make the brilliant moves we normally expect from him?

I don't really know how time consuming his duties with the NBA team will be, but I can't help but wonder if it will have an effect on his Saints off season duties..

 

[SuperRemo]

even though the punishments weren't announced until after free agency, i'm fairly confident the saints knew that draft penalties would be part of the deal and were preparing accordingly.

 

[birdog]

Loomis gets to sign good FA players on offense...but not so good on defense. I cannot think any FAs on D, other than Vilma, and Sharper.

As a matter of fact, there seems to be a great unbalance between FAs signings on offense & defense....I wonder why?

 

[Nolan]

Loomis gets to sign good FA players on offense...but not so good on defense. I cannot think any FAs on D, other than Vilma, and Sharper.

As a matter of fact, there seems to be a great unbalance between FAs signings on offense & defense....I wonder why?

Not sure what's up with your memory? We actually don't sign that many free agents on the offensive side of the ball. Our two most recent are Sproles and Grubbs.

Vilma was acquired by trade. We signed Greer via free agency before the 2009 season in addition to Sharper. Bunkley, Lofton and Hawthorne, and Chamberlain were significant defensive free agents last off-season. We've never failed to address defensive weaknesses in free agency. We may have run into some bad luck on them panning out, but don't act like we haven't made quite a few high profile signings on the defensive side of the ball.

 

[birdog]

Not sure what's up with your memory? We actually don't sign that many free agents on the offensive side of the ball. Our two most recent are Sproles and Grubbs.

Vilma was acquired by trade. We signed Greer via free agency before the 2009 season in addition to Sharper. Bunkley, Lofton and Hawthorne, and Chamberlain were significant defensive free agents last off-season. We've never failed to address defensive weaknesses in free agency. We may have run into some bad luck on them panning out, but don't act like we haven't made quite a few high profile signings on the defensive side of the ball.

Maybe I used the wrong terms about the FA signings on D......but only Greer, and to some extent Lofton (although he has certain limitations) are adequate. The rest, did not really panned out so far......even though they were considered good players.

Sproles & Grubbs are on offense. I have said that there seems to be an unbalance between the performances of FAs on offense, compared to defense.

 

[treeduck]

Maybe I used the wrong terms about the FA signings on D......but only Greer, and to some extent Lofton (although he has certain limitations) are adequate. The rest, did not really panned out so far......even though they were considered good players.

Sproles & Grubbs are on offense. I have said that there seems to be an unbalance between the performances of FAs on offense, compared to defense.

So you don't think the Sharper move was a good one then?

 

[birdog]

So you don't think the Sharper move was a good one then?

I said other than Sharper, and to some extent Greer & Lofton. But Sharper had 1 great year with us.....Greer had a great season in 09....then downhill after that. He never could repeat his good performance, and last year he was well below average.

Lofton is a good MLB, but with limited range. That is exposed when covering in the passing game. Heck, that's why the clowns let him go. Hawthorne?.....he used to be pretty good in Seattle, but below average in Nola. Chamberlain?....he was injured, and he probably will never play for the Saints now, that the new scheme will be a 3&4 scheme.

Other notable FA signings over the last couple years....Shaun Rogers?.....nope. A Franklin?....nope. Really most of the defensive FA signings have not panned out. The Saints D needs players who are playmakers.....right now that is missing.

 

[Superfuzz]

I had high hopes for Rogers. Greer, Lofton and Sharper are easily our best FA signings on D.

 

[guillermo]

I think this is going to be an interesting off-season, but will be a disappointment for those who log to the board every hour looking for free-agent signings.

Let's understand this: the free agent purchases for this season were done last year. Just look at the contracts of Lofton, Hawthorne and Bunkley. They were structure to have a low cap number first and start to increase.

Without the romanticism of players signing for a contender, the reality is that these players accepted a long term contract instead of signing a short term in any other place. But in order to get it, they had to accept less money first.

As we are looking to rebuild the defense, with the lack of resources we have no other choice than to go young, getting the right building blocks and avoiding big time contracts.

The draft and middle of the road young free agents is the way to go.

 

[Goatman Saint]

I can see a lot of FA activity to tell you the truth. First I think there are going to be a lot of cuts on the defensive side of the ball. I also think that there will be more than a few young backups brought in with the promise of a chance to start. I don't think there are more than three guys Jordan, Hicks, Lofton, that should be real comfortable going into the offseason.

 

[409forever]

i don't see any big-time starters thru free agency.while i would love to get reed.i don't see balt. letting him go.as far as r lack of success with defensive starters,could b our coaching???