Nick Underhill: There should be brighter days ahead if the Saints stick together (1 Viewer)

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crosswatt

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Fantastic piece by Nick. Give him the clicks and read the entire piece. It, to me, is a really great way to look at the dreaded "next year" talk with some optimism.

The day will come where change will happen. Nothing can last forever. At some point, it might be a good thing for the team and all parties involved. But it would be hard to make an argument how it would be positive for the Saints to endure a major shake up right now when they're so close to changing their record.

The revamping of this roster is nearly complete and, with a couple of good moves, the benefits will be ready for harvest this fall. In fact, the circumstances have aligned for the Saints to have a legitimate shot at competing for a couple more years -- or as long as Brees is under center and performing at a high level.
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There should be brighter days ahead if the Saints stick together | Saints | theadvocate.com




And a great finishing line to end the article:

Everything is lined up for next season to be the one where the luster returns for this organization. All the hurdles have been cleared. It seems like everything was designed for next year to be the year.

Now, hopefully, the Saints hold on to what they have so it can pay off.
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Nick has been reading some of my SR posts!

Seriously though, great article and he's absolutely right, and not just because he agrees with some of us on here.

The large hurdles have been cleared all while the Saints have managed to go 7-9 a few times, thanks to a first ballot HOF'er.

The vital positions are all there, save one.
The depth is there at the majority of the positions.
The resources (money & draft picks) are there to fill in the above two holes.

There is leadership and a culture on this team. There is young (and cheap) talent that is under contract for 2+ more years. There is money to make big splashes (WDE & LB please!).

They have made enough good moves that there is only one off season left to get right. Get a couple of free agent signings correct and get 2 solid to really good contributors out of the 6 draft picks and this team will compete for the Super Bowl for the next 2 years.

The pieces are finally all on the table. They've used the corners and put the borders all together.

Now it's time to fill in the middle of this puzzle and glue the sucker together!
 
Not a doubter but I'd like to see underhill give some examples of who has been retained or released (players and coaches, scouts etc) during this "rebuilding". Is underhill that trustworthy? Have his predictions been right in the past?
 
I can see next year being our year and definitely how the front office and coaching staff has been building towards the 2017 season.

The only main concern I have is special teams.

If we are really going all in on next season, then McMahon needs to be looking for another job and we need to seriously start looking for a returner.
 
since67 said:
Not a doubter but I'd like to see underhill give some examples of who has been retained or released (players and coaches, scouts etc) during this "rebuilding". Is underhill that trustworthy? Have his predictions been right in the past?
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Basically the whole scouting staff was let go, and they were replaced by many overqualified individuals.

And I don't agree with a lot of the complaints I hear about the coaches. Anyone screaming about Bill Johnson this year? He had UDFAs starting in 2015 who weren't picked up when they were released.

Some valid complaints about the staff. Many strike me as reactionary and without much consideration.
 
Been a frustrating season, but what has kept me sane was that I didn't expect to be a few close calls away from being a contender. This wasn't supposed to be the year, but it was within our grasp. So, I'll take that as positive. I've been in agreement with Underhill's article all year.

It will be a critical offseason to to hit on a good percentage of FA acquisitions and draft picks. If we have the same success as the past two off seasons, clean up the dumb mistakes & stay reasonable healthy, we will be in the playoff mix next year.
 
Underhill said:
Basically the whole scouting staff was let go, and they were replaced by many overqualified individuals.

And I don't agree with a lot of the complaints I hear about the coaches. Anyone screaming about Bill Johnson this year? He had UDFAs starting in 2015 who weren't picked up when they were released.

Some valid complaints about the staff. Many strike me as reactionary and without much consideration.
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Good follow up comment to the article, Nick.
 
Quality job as usual, Ser Nick of the House Underhill.

Be interesting to see what we can do without a mountain of dead money hovering over us.
 
Nick is head and shoulders above ANY local writer , Da man Knows . Haven't read a bad article from him yet
 
Payton said last year in his post-season presser that he and Loomis met and came up with a plan moving forward. Their plan isn't complete yet. Which is why Sean isn't leaving. They've been building a new, younger Corps of players to compete with. I believe we will see thEirik plan come to fruition next season and beyond. This isn't a "win now" team. It will be a consistent winner.
 
yeah, we'll finally build an awesome defense right when Drew retires, so then we can be like those teams of the 80's & 90's with amazing defense & no QB who never won a playoff game. *sigh*
 

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