Saints treat players with respect (1 Viewer)

[albionmoonlight]

This is from a Q&A with a former Broncos TE cut by the Browns after this training camp. The Saints brought him in for a workout. He says that the Saints treated the players working out with respect. If you read the whole interview, you see that that is actually pretty high praise from a guy who is very down on NFL teams and how they interact with players.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stefan_fatsis/09/08/qa/index.html

SF: So what happened?

NJ: One of the Saints' more productive pass-catching tight ends [Billy Miller] was injured last Thursday, so they were looking for a comparable replacement. [Starting quarterback] Drew Brees threw to us during the workout and most of the Saints coaches, including [head coach] Sean Payton, watched. All four of us did well. The coaches were complimentary. They were good dudes. But none of us was signed. An hour later, we were all back at the airport.

SF: It turned out that while you were auditioning, the Saints were trading a draft pick to the New England Patriots for David Thomas, a similarly sized tight end with similar career stats who's a few years younger.

NJ: Yeah, that was a little disappointing, but an organization never knows which deals will work out and which deals will fall through. They have to cover all of their bases. Even though we were flown out there as a back-up plan to a back-up plan, I still felt we were treated with respect. That goes a long way.

 

[4saintspirit]

I like that -- the Saints organization is quickly becoming recognized as a class act and one that players want to play for --

 

[Dome50]

That was a fascinating article.....gives you a good idea of what life in the NFL for the non-stars is like...

 

[Waymer]

Very insightful article, I agree.

Interesting to see "an outsider" say the Saints treated them with respect. The Saints have certainly had their fair share of criticism in the past during other head coaches, and even recently with the release of "Chad" Houser.

 

[LSSpam]

I love reading about marginal players and their experiences in their own words.

Stars are obviously fascinating because of their position and talent, but the money is so huge at the top (and even after football) and they're so image conscious that there's a lot of positioning and posturing going on anytime they talk, or even really anytime anything is even written about them. Even supposedly "objective" observers like journalist have a piece in how, say, Drew Brees is portrayed and positioned in the collective NFL fan psyche.

That's not the case with marginal players like this interview is with. While to a certain extent many want to sell themselves, by and large they're significantly more free to "tell it like it is" and otherwise speculate honestly and objectively (and more free with raunchy and sometimes embarrassing football stories). I've been to a number of "football club" meetings over the years and the best speakers are generally not Head Coaches or (current or former) star players, but rather the journeyman backup QB. Two of my all-time favorite interactions with former/current players or coaches was with Bubby Brister and Billy Joe Tolliver, both of whom weren't polished speakers or trying to promote some sort of NFL legacy or current business interest, but just football dudes letting everything hang out.