Bill Barnwell of ESPN doesn't really like the Saints offseason moves...

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At the end of the day, the Saints seem to be in denial about their problems. They repeat, or at least attempt to repeat, the same mistakes over and over

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we call this Loomising, 'round here

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VetteGuy

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This thread will not go well here.

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The stat about the opponent's QBR rating versus the Saints is mind-blowing. We literally made every QB we played against look like a Top 2 QB in the NFL when they played us.

Pathetic.

Barnwell's podcast after the draft discussing all team's offseason, they literally laughed at us and had no further discussion. Just laughed, said "oh Saints, they suck" and moved on. All other teams got a few minutes of conversation, even the shittiest of franchises.

Barnwell has made no bones for several years how much he hates the way Loomis operates the Saints and Pelicans. No matter what we do, Barnwell was going to hate it.

specks of validity here and there in his arguments but a lot of it is a very short sighted way of viewing things not in entirety. It's easy to criticize not doing A if you don't know why they didn't do A or what's planned for B and C. Yes the Byrd signing is obviously not a good signing at this point but whatever, we're living with it for another year and will move on. He may not be a total bumb this year. Galette was just horrible with the turn of thug events. Saints should have seen that coming.

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Chad504boy

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Yes the Byrd signing is obviously not a good signing at this point but whatever, we're living with it for another year and will move on.

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I was told once that a conjunction used in a sentence like that oftentimes serves to negate everything that came before it.

In the NFL, if the goal or vision is to compete for world championships, shrugging your shoulders and just saying, "oh well," to a staggeringly bad contract like Byrd's isn't something you can do if you want to achieve your goal or realize your vision.

You can't have Drew Brees' contract coupled with two monster, zombie contracts for players that either A.) Didn't do sh!t for you (Gallette) or B.) are playing like they should be in the Arena League (Byrd).

That much money being spent, and then the Fleener money being seemingly misspent, is going to prevent you from contending and winning world championships.

It's ironic that you mention that they don't have context or are being shortsighted. Yet you're here trying to dismiss one of the single biggest issues that has stood in the way of this franchise and returning to being competitive with words like, "whatever".

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Fleener will be productive and post his best career numbers with the Saints, but that's not the issue. The Saints can plug a lot of tight ends into this offense and produce big numbers. They can't do the same on defense, where they've been a mess for years now. I'm not sure spending the money they've assigned to Fleener on a cornerback or edge rusher would have solved the Saints' problems, but it would have at least addressed an issue of concern. Tight end should be one of the last things the Saints are worrying about. It's reminiscent of the 2015 offseason, when they were facing down a terrible defense and decided to double down on running backs by re-signing Mark Ingram and adding C.J. Spiller.

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I can't disagree with this

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Brees is still playing at a high level and worth a top-dollar quarterback contract, but the Saints badly needed to create short-term cap space by giving Brees an extension. Brees' side knows this, of course, which is why they have all the leverage in carving out the terms of a deal. That goes even further when you remember that the Saints really can't franchise Brees next year, given that his cap hit would rise even more dramatically. It speaks to how mismanaged the Saints' cap is that they find themselves in this situation and weren't able to throw enough money at a Hall of Fame quarterback to make a deal happen before free agency began.

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I cant' fault the Saints for this too much. Brees is wanting top dollar. That, unfortunately, takes time to negotiate. The benefit to extending Brees is really over for this year. At this point, it's about getting Brees on a long term contract more than freeing up cap space.

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This is an organization that, on a daily basis, is regretting the Jairus Byrd signing, which was made under similar circumstances. The Saints would have needed to give Norman a massive second-year roster bonus and convert that to a signing bonus to fit Norman under their cap, a move that has bit them twice with Byrd and Junior Galette. The time to extend Brees to create cap space was February, not April.

At the end of the day, the Saints seem to be in denial about their problems. They repeat, or at least attempt to repeat, the same mistakes over and over. The result has been a team that is wasting the final years of one of the great quarterbacks in football. It's fascinating to see the contrast between the Saints and Panthers. Carolina made it to the Super Bowl and felt like it wasn't one player away from winning. New Orleans finished 7-9 for the second consecutive season and felt sure it was.

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Meh. The biggest issue with Byrd is that he sucks. It's not the money that was paid or the mechanism for fitting the deal into the available cap. It's that their ability to recognize how much of his success was based on a scheme that fit him vs natural ability. And, of course the injuries hurt.

If the staff thinks Norman was a difference maker, they absolutely needed to try and make that deal. Those opportunities don't come along every day.

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The Saints were one of the worst defenses in football history last season. You don't need me to tell you that, but I'm going to do so anyway. It's not just that they were last in DVOA. The Bears, who were 31st in defensive DVOA, were closer to the Patriots in 12th place than they were to the Saints in 32nd. New Orleans allowed a 78.8 QBR to opposing quarterbacks, which means the average passer against the Saints would have been the second-best quarterback in football.

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All true.

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In the NFL, if the goal or vision is to compete for world championships, shrugging your shoulders and just saying, "oh well," to a staggeringly bad contract like Byrd's isn't something you can do if you want to achieve your goal or realize your vision.

You can't have Drew Brees' contract coupled with two monster, zombie contracts for players that either A.) Didn't do sh!t for you (Gallette) or B.) are playing like they should be in the Arena League (Byrd).

That much money being spent, and then the Fleener money being seemingly misspent, is going to prevent you from contending and winning world championships.

It's ironic that you mention that they don't have context or are being shortsighted. Yet you're here trying to dismiss one of the single biggest issues that has stood in the way of this franchise and returning to being competitive with words like, "whatever".

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Byrd is our starting safety, we just drafted a future replacement, Saints will take the field in August and compete. What the frick else do you want them to do? Turn in their competition card because byrd contract didn't play out too well mostly cause of his health and fluctuating coordinators. You say i'm ignoring it but what the frick do you want to be done about it?

The last time I looked it was Mickey Loomis and Shawn Payton who are paid to make the decision on draft choice and free agents not some hack reporter at ESPN. He is entitled to his option but it is not his job to build a football team. He has nothing to loose and he can build a football team like the rest of us a mature GM'S ON PAPER ONLY. Let those who jobs are on the line decided what is best for the Saints make the
D.ecisions. We can judge how successful those decisions are after the season is over.

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was told once that a conjunction used in a sentence like that oftentimes serves to negate everything that came before it.

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In the NFL, if the goal or vision is to compete for world championships, shrugging your shoulders and just saying, "oh well," to a staggeringly bad contract like Byrd's isn't something you can do if you want to achieve your goal or realize your vision. 

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We drafted a safety. What else would you have them do?

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and then the Fleener money being seemingly misspent, is going to prevent you from contending and winning world championships. 

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Seemingly misspent? He hasn't even played a down yet.

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With good reason

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I don't necessarily disagree. I'm just saying that Barnwell has a pretty particular bias in this regard and it really doesn't matter what Loomis does at this point. He's not going to like it.