New Orleans Saints
2012 NFL Free Agency: Finding offensive value
New Orleans Saints receiver Robert Meachem (17) prepares to throw the ball into the stands after pulling his secound touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks during action at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on November 21, 2010. UPI/A.J. Sisco
There are a handful of players in this year’s free agent pool that I would break the bank for because I know what kind of production I’ll be getting for my dollar. Mario Williams is one, while Carl Nicks is another. Even though he turns 29 in July and suffered a knee injury down the stretch last season, the highly underrated Brent Grimes is another player that I wouldn’t hesitate to pony up for, especially with cornerbacks in such high demand these days.
But if I were given the opportunity to be a general manager for an offseason, I’d focus my attention on finding value in free agency. Granted, the word “value” is a relative term to teams. A free agent like Vincent Jackson will have more value to the Bears than he would the Pack…
Top 3 Free Agents and Their Potential Landing Spots
QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints – Brees will be a Saint for the rest of his career, and nobody is going to stop him from leaving, but let’s say that the Saints dont re-sign or franchise him. Here are the possibilities. The Miami Dolphins came very close to signing him back in his San Diego days, but decided it wouldnt be “for the best” — but we all know how that turned out. So, that makes them a “contender” in this Drew Brees sweepstakes. The Redskins have always made a HUGE splash in free agency, so what makes us think that they won’t try and do it again by getting Brees?
Brees’ landing spot: New Orleans Saints. Nope, he doesn’t leave. He will retire a Saint and go for a Super Bowl in New Orleans next season.
WR Wes Welker, New England Patriots – Welker, a former Dolphin, is a free agent and reports are saying his contract talk are “at a standstill”, which means by March 6th, if he’s not franchised, he’s open to signing wit…
New Orleans Saints Mock Draft
The Saints are without a first-round pick thanks to last year’s trade to get Mark Ingram, so all of their initial focus will be on their first selection with the 59thoverall pick. The Saints, as you’ll see below, could potentially lose a lot of key contributors to free agency, so this year’s Draft will be crucial in trying to rebuild any losses suffered in March.
Option #1: OLB Lavonte David, Nebraska — David is a tackling machine with 285 stops in his last two seasons at Nebraska.
David is an ideal WOLB prospect for a 4-3 defense which suits the Saints’ and new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme perfectly. Some pundits and prognosticators have David taken well before pick No. 59, but since he is not built for all types of defensive schemes – and is built for this one – he could very well fall to the Saints at pick 59.
Option #2: WR Marvin McNutt, Iowa — Marques Colston likely will be lost due to free agen…
Saints Nation: Pro Football Focus Scores for Saints Players in 2011 (Offense)
If you like my weekly in season grading then you’ll love Pro Football Focus. Unfortunately you have to pay $30 a year to get access to their goodies. That’s where I come in to hook you up. For those of you that aren’t familiar, they grade every single player on every single play to give you an evaluation of each player and where they stack up. I generally share with you the final grades of the season to let you know where PFF felt the Saints players stacked up against the rest of the league. Here’s how things shook out in 2010 if you were curious about my write up last year.Here’s how each Saints player on offense fared in 2011:
QB: Drew Brees was the top rated QB in the NFL, ahead of even Aaron Rodgers. His overall score was 60.2. By comparison, Brees was ranked 5th best in 2010 and 3rd best in 2009. So this is new territory for him to be graded as the highest ranked passer in the entire league.WR: Marques Colston had a score of 17.5, good for 5th best in the…
Saints OG Carl Nicks Expects To Be Paid More Than Jahri Evans
Saints guard Carl Nicks wants his next contract to be among the most lucrative at his position. While it stands to reason Nicks, a two-time All-Pro, would receive a big pay day on the free-agent market, it seems less likely he will land that kind of contract from the Saints. Nicks told Sirius XM NFL radio Tuesday that his next contract should be worth more than the seven-year, $56.7 million deal teammate Jahri Evans signed in 2010. But the Saints have a laundry list of high-priority free agents, starting with franchise quarterback Drew Brees, which makes re-signing Nicks to a long-term deal difficult to achieve. Source: NFL.com Attached Thumbnails
Nicks planning for New Orleans exodus?
The days of standout players sticking with one team throughout their entire career are long gone, but that hasn’t stopped Saints offensive guard Carl Nicks from proclaiming his preference to play in New Orleans until he retires, provided of course that they pay him what he feels he’s worth.
In an interview earlier this morning on SiriusXM Blitz, Nicks made it clear that he’s not a fan of the franchise tag, and will be upset to say the least if he’s tagged by the Saints in an effort to keep him without giving him a long term deal. Nicks also went on to say that at this point, it’s unlikely that he’ll return to New Orleans next season without the use of the franchise tag, as the Saints simply have too many other needs to fill before dealing with him.
The current expectation is for Nicks to receive a contract that is north of the seven year, $56.7 million deal that his teammate and fellow offensive guard Jahri Evans received two years ago. That kind …
2012 NFL Free Agency: Ranking the Best on Offense
Quarterback
1. Drew Brees: Don’t get too excited here. There is pretty much a zero percent chance Drew Brees walks away from New Orleans. Not only did he give the Saints their first Super Bowl victory, but he and the 2010 team helped reunite the city of New Orleans after Katrina. The city loves him.
Possible Destinations: New Orleans Saints
2. Matt Flynn: Flynn will most certainly be looking for a new team once free agency begins. He wants to be a starter, which will never happen siting behind the great Aaron Rodgers. Flynn will be a hot ticket in free agency because of his ridiculous numbers in his two career starts. In a close loss to Patriots in 2010, Flynn threw for 251 yards and 3 TDs. Then in week 17 of the 2011 season against the Lions, Flynn threw for 480 yards and 6 TDs, which are both Packers records. Somebody will pay this guy.
Possible Destinations: Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins
3. Kyle Orton: Many will disagree with …
2012 NFL Free Agency: Will Drew Brees Stay in Big Easy?
With lingering health concerns surrounding Peyton Manning, the best player entering 2012 NFL Free Agency is hands down New Orleans Saints star signal-caller Drew Brees.
The 6-0, 209-pound former Purdue Boilermaker was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. After five seasons in San Diego, Brees was dealt to New Orleans, where his impact in six seasons has been immeasurable. The record-setting gunslinger has remained in contract conversations with the team for over a year, but the two sides have yet to reach accord.
Comparable contracts are clear for Brees with Tom Brady in 2010—the New England Patriots handed him a four-year, $72 million deal and Peyton Manning last season in the form of a five-year, $90 million contact—which in hindsight was too rich and risky and the Indianapolis Colts ultimately paid the price.
If General Manager Mickey Loomis can’t complete talks with the 33-year-old quarterback and his handlers in time, there’…
Video: Brees to hit free agency?
PFT Live: Will the Saints gamble on letting QB Drew Brees be a free agent? (NBC Sports)
New England begins the next phase of offensive evolution
After the 2009 season, Bill Belichick set out to revamp his offense in order to get more diversity than the Randy Moss and Wes Welker show. The model he used was the New Orleans Saints offense that had won the Super Bowl in the 2009 season.
Multiple offensive sets involving the tight ends as a weapon brought the drafting of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
Using the TEs in bunch formations and in other non-traditional roles turned the Patriots offense from outside the numbers based to utilizing the hash marks and spreading the ball around more.
The Patriots continued the trend in 2011 to the extent that it was able to carry them to the Super Bowl.
Saints, QB Drew Brees Remain Stalled In Contract Talks
The Saints and quarterback Drew Brees have yet to reach accord after more than a year of discussions. There is no hint of rancor at this point, but it remains perplexing that a contract with clear definition in terms of money, time and necessity has yet to be concluded. If GM Mickey Loomis can’t complete talks with Brees and his handlers in time, there is a possibility he could designate Brees the Saints’ franchise player. One possible knot: Brees could be looking for $100 million in his deal, according to various media reports, something Manning reportedly could have sought before accepting his $90 million pact. In addition to Brees, Loomis is looking at the possibility of losing top wideout Marques Colston, guard Carl Nicks, wideout Robert Meachem and starting cornerback Tracy Porter. Source: Sporting News Attached Thumbnails
QB Drew Brees, Saints remain at loggerheads in contract talks
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Saints Nation: Pressure Mounting on Mickey Loomis, Brees’ Deal Still Not Done
Some of us are starting to really freak out at this point while others remain calm until March 5th. I tend to be on the latter side of things, based mostly on the track record Mickey Loomis has put together to this point with the Saints. Here’s the deal: if the Saints don’t have Drew Brees’ contract locked in by March 5th, they will put the Franchise tag on him. That means Brees will be stuck signing a one year deal between $14 and $15 million. That’s hardly ideal for either side, but as a worst case scenario it would at least ensure Brees remains a Saint. Of course, should the team franchise Brees, both side are still free to work out a long term deal, but it gives the Saints protection that Brees can’t test the open market. Here’s my problem with all of this: Brees wants to be a Saint, the Saints want him to stay, and both sides have already agreed this contract will be massive. The hold up is a little puzzling. Jeff Duncan of this Times-Picayune dropped th…
2012 NFL Free Agency Rumors: Players Who Could Be Released From NFC South
This have become one of the most competitive divisions in the entire NFL. The last two seasons both the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons have made the postseason. During that span the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2010) and Carolina Panthers (2011) have created quite the roadblock for the two perennial powers.
While Tampa Bay plummeted back down to earth last season, Carolina appears to be on the upswing in a major way with the addition of Cam Newton and emergence of some of their young nucleus.
Needless to say, the Saints and Falcons remain the class of the division. Now both of them are looking to take that next step to, or in New Orleans case “back to,” contention in the conference. Meanwhile, Carolina and Tampa Bay look to challenge for one of the two top spots in the division. This means that we are bound to see plenty of player movement in the NFC South this off-season. Today’s article is going to focus on players that could find themselves out of a job in this…
New Orleans Saints Can Afford To Let Go Of Wide Receiver Marques Colston
Marques Colston’s days as a New Orleans Saint could be numbered as he is probably the most likely free agent not to be resigned. According to a report by Dan Pompei the Saints have not made any attempts to resign Marques Colston. Colston has caught for at least 1,000 yards in every season of his career except one, so the Saints would be losing great production from that standpoint. While I am sure it would be hard for the Saints to let go of Colston I think they can afford it and not lose a beat. The Saints’ offense is so good that letting go of Colston would not be such a big hit. Let’s remember that the Saints should be able to retain wide receiver Robert Meachem and they would still have wide receivers Devery Henderson and Lance Moore when he comes back from injury. The biggest reason I think the Saints can afford to let go of Colston is because of superstar tight end, Jimmy Graham. Graham is quarterback Drew Brees’s favorite target and his production should continue next season …
