So we all saw all that coming right? Yea…me neither. Sean Payton promised us changes would be coming, but I don’t think anyone expected them to be coming like this. We traded our most dynamic offensive weapon, one of our young up and coming receivers, cut our best linebacker (kind of like being the smart Kardashian but…), signed a solid veteran corner, signed an explosive RB, cut one of the most beloved players in team history, brought in a pro-bowl center, and brought in a veteran linebacker who is a little better than the one we lost. The Saints now also have 5 picks in the first 80 which is more than they had the last 3 years combined. This has been the most insane 3 days I have experienced as a sports fan on both an intellectual and an emotional level. Thanks to all these moves I am going to have to add a couple of players to my draft profile list (THANKS PAYLOO!!). Since I have to at least do a little research to avoid sounding like a totally uninformed hack (assuming I manage that in the first place of course), I want to take a look at and Grade the Saints off-season moves so far.
THE JIMMY GRAHAM TRADE: B
If you could have seen my reaction to this trade the first 30 minutes after it became official you would have been calling an army of trained psychiatrists and possibly suggesting euthanasia. I was PISSED! From an emotional standpoint I was angry not only because I loved Jimmy as a player, but I thought he deserved better than to be trade bait.
However, after looking at the trade and taking some time to think about the potential benefits of the trade versus the costs I am now comfortable with it. That doesn’t mean that it is necessarily something I would have done myself, but I think it could work out well for us. At this point I really have two points that I want to make about this trade; first that I am a little embarrassed by the reactions of some of my fellow Saints fans, and second that I think the Saints could actually be a better team without him (but NOT because of him).
First let’s get to the embarrassment. Was Jimmy Graham an ‘iron man’ TE like Jason Witten? No. Was he a physically dominant monster like Gronkowski? Nope. Jimmy was for better or worse a wide receiver trapped in a tight ends body, and for the most part he played like it. I don’t pretend he was a perfect player, nor did he always live up to our expectations, but the one thing that really disappointed me was the way fans turned on him and tried to act like he wasn’t of great value to the team. Graham was repeatedly called ‘soft’ on twitter and social media and that irritates me. He wasn’t the toughest player, but ‘soft’ is a moniker that should only be used in sports in extreme cases. Being ‘soft’ is more mental than anything. Its a guy who will refuse to play through injuries, a guy who calls himself out of games, and isn’t even willing to try… a soft player is a quitter. Jimmy Graham never quite on the Saints. He just wasn’t as tough as he needed to be; as in physically tough, he became both injury prone and might have the yips. Jimmy became a drop machine who developed alligator arms. I believe that is in at least partially due to him taking some serious cheap shots the last couple of years (shots a player like Gronk or even Witten probably would have started a fight over), and partially due to the role he had to play in our offense. The fact is that Jimmy tried to fight through injuries, played through some that most people could barely function through, and tried to do his best to do his job. That isn’t soft, but that doesn’t mean it’s good enough either. He still busted his butt for us and deserves to be thanked for his efforts and the tremendous production he gave us, without us trying to degrade him and diminish his efforts, because we wear our hearts on our sleeves (there is NOTHING wrong with that btw… fan is short for fanatic for a reason).
Now on to the good news: the player we got in the trade for Jimmy is just as valuable, at his own position, as Graham is at his. The difference is that a quality interior offensive Lineman can have incredible positive effects on an offense as a whole, while even a player of Jimmy’s caliber can be schemed out of games (remember the NE and Sea games?). you can’t scheme a center out of a game, but you can scheme FOR one that allows you to dominate the line of scrimmage. Give Drew and extra 2 seconds and he will find someone who is open, and more importantly won’t be forced to make bad plays that kill drives at key times. The interior line, and center in particular, was the single biggest weakness on offense last year and in particular late in games. Provided he is healthy Unger fixes that issue. He also allows the Saints to run the ball more effectively and consistently which then opens up play action, something that our offense is built around and Drew might be the best in the league at.
The Saints also acquired the 31st overall pick in the draft, which when combined with the 13th pick and an early pick in the second could net them 3 talents that are either of a first round level, or right on the fringe. The saints need not only some starters at key positions, but also desperately need some young talented depth that can be developed into the future. Ralph Malbrough has ridiculed some of us on twitter for our worship of the ‘unknown wonder’ that is a draft pick…and he has a point. Getting extra picks is great, but only if you get quality players with them. I have this move as a B for now because Graham for Unger based on a total impact on the team is at least a break even provided he is healthy, but depending on what we get in the draft this could actually be a fleecing for the Saints (remember… Jimmy has been hurt 3 years in a row now).
Cutting Curtis Lofton and Pierre Thomas: B-
Cutting Lofton is an A. Even though he is our best linebacker (was), it was kind of like being the smartest member of the JACKASS cast… nothing to brag about. Lofton was a great leader, a solid vet, and a hard worker… and he was also a declining player who was average to begin with and was a huge cap hit. I assume he was offered the chance to take a pay cut and chose not to. Lofton wasn’t worth half of salary and as much was made about Vaccaro missing tackles… Lofton missed just as many and at a position that HAS to be a sure tackler (if your linebackers aren’t your best tacklers you are in trouble). Curtis will be missed, he should be respected, but at least on my end he will not be mourned.
Losing PT if for no other reason than our feelings on the matter is an F, and even if you just look at on the field value I don’t like the move of deleting him from the roster. PT was quite simply the most professional guy on the roster and the heart and soul of the team. He single handedly willed the Saints to win the first game against TB last year and always gave 1000% on everything he did. They say its always better to cut a guy a year early versus a year late…but in this one case I am forced to disagree. At some point this year there will be a time where someone will fail to make a key play, and every Saints fan will have the same though ‘PT would have picked that up’.
Pierre we love you, we thank you, and you will ALWAYS be a Saints legend.
Signing Brandon Browner and C.J. Spiller: A
Two positions of need, two quality vets, and at reasonable deals. Browner gives us a quality corner to play opposite of Keenan and also is known as a great mentor in the locker room. He could be key in the development of Dixon and SJB and he brings a ‘nastiness’ that we simply didn’t have. Spiller is an explosive playmaker who when healthy (sadly a big if) can absolutely turn a game on its head. He falls right into the tradition of bush and Sproles is actually kind of a mix of the two. He is a much better pure runner than Sproles, but not as a good as a pass catcher, he brings some elusiveness like Reggie but without the ‘east and west’ movement. Spiller if he can stay on the field is deadly!
Trading Kenny Stills to MIA: D-
I am SOOOOOO tempted to grade this as an F, but Ellerbe can at times be a good player (he was a couple of years ago at least) and there is a chance that 3rd round pick is packaged to go get a player who out performs Kenny in the draft. Either they sign a major talent in the draft or they get a proven player like Crabtree at a good price. If one or both of those don’t happen this is the single dumbest move since signing Spags as our DC. Kenny is a developing, productive, young, cheap talent at a key position that just became more important because you traded your best weapon. I will reserve final judgment until the end of pre-season (maybe Toon/Jones blows up), but as of right now it’s an awful move that makes no sense.
I am sure by the time I am done writing this there will be more moves done and I will have to write another, but love them or hate them… at least Sean and Mickey are doing stuff!
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