So a new week and we have enough too talk about I think. We will discuss the schedule, the QB situation. Since this will be the last post before the draft we will give our thoughts on what we would like to see happen, in general or in detail. Next week we will skip an episode to make room for all the draft news, but we will be back the week after, reviewing the draft.
Marijn Pessers (@Monedula_)
So to start it off. I myself find the schedule boring. I do not want to talk much about it. I do not mean this schedule is boring, I think it is always boring. It says nothing about the upcoming season. The only thing that you can say about it can be said years in advance. If the Saints play a difficult division they better win the NFC South because they most likely will not make it as a wildcard spot, regardless of when they play which game. The only thing the schedule does is tell you whether this is a 12-4 or more likely a 11-5 season OR a 5-11 or more likely a 4-12 season. Since there is no way to even predict 5-11 or 11-5 the schedule does not matter. If you can’t get into the playoffs you were never ment to go there in the first place. What do you think Brian?
Brian Bauer (@SaintBrian9)
You know, I can’t say I find it boring – but I will admit it’s a bit of a silly exercise. Like many, the second the schedule comes out I go through counting wins and losses. And like many, I either find myself with a runaway playoff team or a prodigious loser (amazing how few of us see a schedule from year to year and manage to find the middle truth of 7-9/8-8). This year I … didn’t. Don’t ask me why, maybe years of missing the mark wore on me. Or perhaps it’s because you can’t count on who’ll be bad, and who’ll be good. We don’t know the surprise teams yet, and we also don’t know the surprise failures, but we do know they’ll happen. They always do. I will say, however, there’s a section of the schedule this season that scares the living daylights out of me – a five game stretch right near the beginning of the season that’s going to define who the 2016 Saints are, for better or for worse. I was going to write all this stuff in here, but I think it’s long enough for its own post and way too long for this one. So keep an eye out for it later this week! (marketing right there people).
Marijn – you keep banging away at discussing QB. To me, that says 2 things right off the bat. 1. You don’t think Brees is QB beyond next season, and 2. You think we need to find his replacement, basically like now. So, if I’m wrong, please correct me. But I’m going to have to disagree with you slightly. I DON’T think Brees is gone after next season, I believe a deal is still upcoming. I’ve read a lot about Brees and some tension in the organization and how that might be causing him to string this out and maybe not get it done at all. I don’t buy it. Brees might have been annoyed with how that all turned out, but the fact is, he’s an image conscious guy, and he’s not going to want to make his years in New Orleans look like nothing more than a business deal, while spending his last two years in Miami pretending it’s going to amount to anything. I think the deal gets done, but the urgency is essentially gone with free agency over and only the draft remaining (yes, they still have a tad more to do on the book keeping end, I know). BECAUSE of that, I don’t think, despite the interviews and sit downs with the rookie class, that the Saints are going QB at any point in the draft, and certainly not at any point that matters. They’ll go into next season with Brees, McCown and Grayson (if they can’t slide him to the practice squad, which they might be able to), and that’s that. Am I wrong?
MP
Slightly wrong my friend 🙂 I do believe they will re-sign Brees. But they have been hosting a lot of rookie QBs. They even signed a last years undrafted rookie (if I am not mistaken) to a contract for 3 years. Given he is probably a camp body and they want an extra QB for practices, but there might be more going on. They could be using it as leverage to get Brees to take a smaller amount of money. Like, “Hey you are not the world. If we can get 2 first rounders and a replacement QB you are out of here buddy.” It would be failing at their job if they just put all their eggs in one basket named Brees. That is all I am saying.
Next to it being a sign to Brees, it is also a sign to the rest of the world out there. “We might go for a QB.” So what if the Bears are at 11 and 2 QBs have gone already and what if they want defense, maybe a DE the Saints could need… If someone does not want to miss out on the 3rd QB they might swap places with them and draft a QB, that would leave the DE in the hands of the Saints. Or even better, there is a team that wants the QB at 11 and the Bears just took the guy the Saints wanted. The Saints would trade down and get an extra pick and maybe the next best player at that position? The Saints have proven to be pretty unreliable when it comes to drafting. Last year I called Ian Rapoport an idiot for predicting the Saints might go QB. I still hate that pick. More now then when they drafted him. Signing a rookie QB for camp and offering him a 3 year deal (of which all 3 are of course without cap implications)… Grayson is sure not the guy they hoped he could be.
BB
We don’t know a thing about Grayson though other than he’s not ready. And I don’t think they expected him to be. He was a project from go. I would like to point out that the Saints talked to Jamies Winston last year as well. I just think Sean likes talking to quarterbacks, especially on the off chance you end up with an Aaron Rodgers falling into your lap later. As for leverage on Brees… He and his agent would have the same reaction I do. Yeah, good luck with that buddy! As I said, I just don’t see it.
MP
Ok, on to our last subject. The draft. It is in one week and I am hoping for Andrew Juge his draft board of 100 players. [I have now confirmation it will be 150 players in this years board, keep an eye out for that post people!] I will as last year copy/paste them into an file and cross them off one by one. I will add a few players I found when I wrote a post on the speedy guys in the draft. First off I would like to know from you if there is any guy, or more in this draft you are keeping an eye on. Not per se the projected top 10 players, but rather someone you would like to se on the team, or rather not see on the team and you will cheer when they are going to the Falcons for instance.
BB
There’s three dudes I want in black and gold at 12. One is a long shot and a half. The second is an increasing long shot and the third looked likely and is suddenly fading (dammit). Top pick for me is Myles Jack, the UCLA linebacker. Perfect for every need we have and perfect for any other squad. The guy is a beast. Second I want Deforest Buckner. A month ago the guy was mocked to us all over the place but that bandwagon is gaining steam. Lately I never see him mocked outta the top seven so don’t get attached. Lately because of the latter I wants Shaq Lawson. Great player, perfect add for the Saints. And yet another word of warning…. Recent mocks he doesn’t make it outta the top 10. Goddamn it.
MP
That is a nice list. I do not know where you get your mock info, I see other things. My guys are not the top guys in the draft however. I will watch them for sure but guys I am thinking of are going later. One to look at is Aguayo, the best rookie kicker ever (allegedly). I would love to have him on the Saints. Come round 3 and he is still available, I am quite happy if his name is the one the Saints pick. One other guy is Jake Brendel from UCLA. He is a Center but I mentioned him on my list of speed guys. I think he can play Guard and though athletically being a bit less, he is a smart guy to be gotten in the last round. Whenever I played Madden I would always prefer smart guys above athletic guys. You can train almost everything but smart is something hard to learn at a later age. So give me a smart guy above anything. He will learn the most and grow quicker then a guy who is physically a god and smoked weed every day *cough*Josh*cough*cough*Gordon*cough*.
Sorry… I think I feel a cold coming on.
Anyway, you already mentioned who you would like to see in the first round to the saints. They have 6 picks. What does need to happen to make this draft a good one? What positions would you like the Saints to pick? Also mention in which rounds you want that position to be addressed.
BB
Well, let me add – I’ve done a few mock drafts online and in every single one of them, Aguayo goes in the first round. No kidding. So 3 would be a total coup. For me, the front of the draft needs to be all line – offensive and defensive. In the first three picks, in no distinct order, I want a guard and two defenders, at least one DL but possibly two if they’re there for the taking. My intentions on defense were pretty clear – any of the dudes I mentioned in round one. At guard? I like the kid from Arkansas – Denver Kirkland, a lot, as well as the kid from Stanford that Larry Holder just mocked, Joshua Garnett. After that, hey, get cute for all I care. I wouldn’t mind seeing a wide receiver in round four-ish (Malcolm Mitchell out of Georgia perhaps) and maybe a corner in the mix since we don’t know Swann’s future at this stage. I would definitely find another guard in the later rounds as well.
MP
Aguayo is not going round 1. Fans mocking get kicker crazy. The value is not there. Then again, Johnny Football went Round 1 and we all see what a good pick that was. I did not know shit about the guy and I hated his stupid face when I saw it for the first time. In this case, face matched the personality a lot. So you never know which team has an idiot. Though a QB in round 1 can be sold easier to an owner and fans then a K in Round 1.
I partly agree with you on what to draft. I would like to see a Guard in at least round 3 and a DL in the first 2 at minimum. The thing is depth at DE position is not big this draft, so you want one in the first round. Shaq Lawson is indeed the guy for me. Bosa and Buckner will not fall so far. So what if Lawson is gone? Get Ogbah? I think that is reaching. In that case if Treadwell would still be there at that point I would say, take Treadwell! You get 2 DE’s late and go DT in the second. You will get a real good DT at that position.
There is an other option if Treadwell would be there, and that is a trade down. If Lawson is gone a trade down 4 or 5 spots would be ideal. Get yourself an extra 3rd and get Ogbah with the first round pick, or if he is gone get one of the top DTs or a NT in Andrew Billings. By the way, on nfl.com mock drafts I see really weird things right now, Treadwell going 19th, Billings and Spence falling out of the first round, Dodd, a name I haven’t heard at the DE position mentioned before is being drafted before Lawson who never goes top 10, contrary to the things you are seeing.
What do you think? Is a trade down 5 or even 10 spots something that is very desirable? There is a lot of good guys that are there in the 10-20 range that would go good on the Saints team.
BB
Janikowski went in round one. Just sayin’.
I wouldn’t mind a trade down at all if the guys you and I mentioned are gone. DT is deep this year, move down and don’t reach for someone (like they did last year … eek). I would be pretty opposed to Treadwell to be honest. He’s a solid WR but his ceiling, to me anyway, is a lot more Colston than it is Megatron. Yeah, I realize we got 10 amazing years outta Marques, but I’m saying that that’s a best case scenario, and how often does that work out? Other than Cooks, and to go way back, Meachum and Henderson, Saints don’t normally go WR that early and I’d be shocked if they do so after seeing how much Snead came on last year and acquiring Fleener. Offense hasn’t been much of a problem for this team (other than the decline on the line), and buying a new stereo when you need a transmission seems like faulty logic to me.
So yeah, if it’s Treadwell or trade down, please please please trade down.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
