N/S Zack Baun: Top Graded LB / DPOY cand. [Why Isn’t Baun Still a Saint Thread] ………. [Eagles re-sign Baun to 3-year, $51 million contract on March 5] (13 Viewers)

[sfidc3]

Be honest. Who saw Baun being this good

Ok.....DA certainly didn't.....

If he's hardly ever on the field it is hard to know.....the more pertinent question is who saw him in practice every day and thought he would never be this good....

But it's been beaten to death and nothing could be done about it....so I'm done with it....

 

[fnholmes]

That was a whole different set of coaches ago.

Still under Loomis.

 

[Saint KayBee]

Still under Loomis.

Loomis makes keep/cut decisions based on what the coaches want. So every veteran the team has retained that contributed to winning was also under Loomis.

Considering how much winning this team has done since 2002 — seven wins was the absolute normal circumstances floor until this past season — I’d say he did a great job at retaining the players that the coaches want.

Some GMs play a role in scouting, some like Loomis are bean counters who just make sure the money works out. He has been the same type of GM the entire time. I could understand the push for him to get outta here if he had switched up his method but I’m not gonna fault the guy for remaining true to himself as the head coach situation didn’t work out. Everybody wanted Allen fired and he’s gone now. This wasn’t going to magically become a playoff juggernaut midseason just because the coach was fired. He’s gotta either fix this or get outta here but there’s still work to do and he might as well be the one doing it to make the salary cap situation right again.

 

[Jd101]

Loomis makes keep/cut decisions based on what the coaches want. So every veteran the team has retained that contributed to winning was also under Loomis.

Considering how much winning this team has done since 2002 — seven wins was the absolute normal circumstances floor until this past season — I’d say he did a great job at retaining the players that the coaches want.

Some GMs play a role in scouting, some like Loomis are bean counters who just make sure the money works out. He has been the same type of GM the entire time. I could understand the push for him to get outta here if he had switched up his method but I’m not gonna fault the guy for remaining true to himself as the head coach situation didn’t work out. Everybody wanted Allen fired and he’s gone now. This wasn’t going to magically become a playoff juggernaut midseason just because the coach was fired. He’s gotta either fix this or get outta here but there’s still work to do and he might as well be the one doing it to make the salary cap situation right again.

So you're saying the SB was because of him and not Payton. Glad we got that straight

 

[Jd101]

Still under Loomis.

Jimmy Hoffa. It was Loomis

 

[Archie's Boyz]

Don't forget about the GM that let Drew Brees go, oh wait that wasn't Loomis

San Diego let Drew Brees "go" because his shoulder was injured. Dr. Andrew's said only one in one million could return from that type of damage. Not the same.

 

[Saint KayBee]

So you're saying the SB was because of him and not Payton. Glad we got that straight

I wrote way too many words for you to misinterpret me so flagrantly.

Loomis gets the players the coaches want. The coaches coach the players. The players go out and execute. I didn’t think I’d have to explain this. Pedantry is boring and useless.

 

[JackDiesel]

Not hindsight, but I thought it was a mistake to let Hendrickson walk. He had outperformed Davenport. I assumed it was due to our salary cap situation, but some say the Saints just weren't particularly high on Hendrickson for whatever reason. Now he's double digit sacks year after year and DPOY nominee. It's just maddening to see these guys you drafted at the top of the league in defense playing on someone else's team.

I could justify in my head that we let Hendrickson go because of the cap. That always made sense. To hear Underhill confirm that he was let walk because the coaches didn't believe in him was like WTF. They were basically saying he inflated his stats with cleanup sacks.

What were our coaches doing? We could have had so much talent on this defense if Allen and his hand picked positional coaches weren't so incompetent. And the wasted draft picks we spent trying to replace these guys...

 

[Bayouboy]

And the wasted draft picks we spent trying to replace these guys...

We used 3 first round picks and a high second round pick trying to replace Hendrickson. We still don't have a replacement.

 

[MikeyF]

2024 Saints free agent report cards: Was letting Zack Baun go a big loss?

Taking a look back at the 2024 offseason, was letting linebacker Zack Baun go a big loss? His rapid and sustained success with the Eagles suggests so:

saintswire.usatoday.com

Yesterday, I did a lot of reading about Brandon Staley's, 4-0-4 gap use in the 3-4 D which is what he learned from Vic Fangio.
It keeps the OT off of the LB which has helped out Z. Baun immensely... He isn't & never would have been the same LB in DA 4-3 & 4-2-5 D...

Great choice & move by Baun!

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

This should put a portion of this argument to sleep. Baun was shifted to MLB here and the vision was always to have him play MLB but..well it's all in the quote. This is from Underhill's latest article profiling Baun who he caught up w/ for the SB.

The good thing is he only signed a 1 year contract. If the Saints purge some vets and we bring over this scheme the could potentially be an option to come back and play.

Yes, the Eagles correctly identified that Baun would fit great as an inside linebacker in Vic Fangio’s scheme, which is primarily a 3-4. And Baun has been sensational in the role while racking up 151 tackles, five forced fumbles, an interception, 3.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and four pass defenses in the regular season – plus another 26 tackles, interception, forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, two tackles for loss and two pass defenses in the playoffs.

But Mike linebacker was actually the Saints’ long-term vision for Baun, too, when they initially traded up to draft him in the third round in 2020, even though he had primarily served as an edge rusher in college.

The problem was that Davis was one of the NFL’s best Mike linebackers, so there was no vacancy. And the Saints and Baun both struggled to find consistency while using him in multiple roles. By 2024, when he finally got some decent playing time as a rotational backup, he was primarily playing Sam linebacker and being used in some rush packages.

 

[TribuneUK]

This should put a portion of this argument to sleep. Baun was shifted to MLB here and the vision was always to have him play MLB

It won't put anything to sleep, seeing as people* pointed this out 20 or so pages ago and the cavalcade of poor reading comprehension has proceeded unabated.

* Including you, I know

 

[Dome50]

Was reading about the Eagles defense and thought it was interesting that all three levels are anchored by way of the Saints (in one way or another). Outside of Baun, not saying I wish it necessarily happened differently. Just saying it's interesting. Secondary: Ceedy Deuce, Linebackers: Baun, Defensive Line: Jalen Carter (drafted when the Eagles repackaged first round picks the Saints gave them in exchange for picks we used to draft Olave and Penning).

 

[SuperSaint]

I blame everybody for this one.

Baun was never going to work here, because he was never going to be a scheme fit in DA's defense.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

I blame everybody for this one.

Baun was never going to work here, because he was never going to be a scheme fit in DA's defense.

You're quite literally ignoring everything that's been written. He was a scheme fit, he would have played MLB/ILB just like he does for PHI. Biggest thing in front of him was playing time/snaps because he would have had to supplant Davis.