re: New Orleans Saints could move Andrus Peat to left guard

If 32 teams pass on a guy for 7 rounds, I don't care if every draft analyst in the Internet had the guy rated fourth or fifth round.

These draft analysts aren't accountable to anyone. It's all theater.

The saints have repeatedly made poor choices on draft day and in free agency. That's the biggest reason our talent pool is so bad.

Not the only reason, but the biggest.

Stick the sum beach at LG and hang the hell on! End thread/on to the next problem

Veterans Max Unger, Zach Strief not concerned about Saints jumbling offensive line

By Josh Katzenstein, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
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on August 29, 2016 at 7:33 PM, updated August 29, 2016 at 7:49 PM

nola.com

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With Terron Armstead in place, the New Orleans Saints never planned to have Andrus Peat play left tackle, the position he held at Stanford.

But, 16 months after taking Peat in the first round, the Saints still don't know where to maximize his talent. As a rookie, he started at left guard, left tackle and right tackle, but the Saints planned for him to become the starting right guard this offseason.

Now, less than two weeks before the regular season, the team wants to see if Peat playing left guard is the best option. Even though the shifting could limit the line's chemistry, the Saints' most veteran blockers aren't worried about the unit's ability to mesh.

"I think we have enough starts as a group at both guard spots to really not have it affect us," center Max Unger said.

With Peat shifting to left guard this week, the Saints will presumably evaluate Tim Lelito and Senio Kelemete at right guard, but it's clear that nobody is guaranteed a starting spot. The Saints signed veteran offensive lineman Khalif Barnes to a one-year deal Monday, and the 34-year-old surely wouldn't join a team unless there was a chance to play.

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So, with the final preseason game Thursday, one in which many starters typically rest, the Saints have just three of their line spots secure — Armstead at left tackle, Unger at center and Zach Strief at right tackle.

"It's good to play next to someone for a long time, there's no doubt about it," Strief said. "To have that feeling of where that person's going to be and what they're thinking, it's important. It's not the end-all, be-all of o-line play. At the end of the day, if you're on the same page, you might have to talk it out more. But, ultimately, if you're doing your fundamental correctly and he's doing his fundamental, it's designed to work together."

Few NFL offensive linemen spend an entire career at one position, so Peat's experience is hardly unique. In his first three years, Lelito has already played tackle, guard and center, and Kelemete has played guard and tackle.

"He's been doing well," Unger said of Peat. "They're asking quite a bit of him, and it is challenging. And I think that him playing on the left side, I think it'll be good. I feel like it's a little bit more natural for him. He played left tackle in college and he got quite a few reps at that in training camp, so I think it'll be good."

And the Saints have to figure out how to make the line play well, whether it's jumbling the positions or looking for more outside help. Strief said it'll be important for players to actually work to improve instead of assuming the blocking will get better.

"At the end of the day, I think we're looking for the right peas in the pod," Strief said. "We're looking for the right fit across the line, and, look, changes are going to happen when you don't perform well."

Before the season begins against the Oakland Raiders on Sept. 11 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the Saints have to improve at several positions, but in order to have the high-powered offense they expect, strides from the offensive line would go a long way to helping other units.

"Every year at this time you could say you could get better in every area, but we really need to get better in every area," Strief said. "Obviously, there's not a ton of time, and yet there is a couple weeks. And I think everyone's antennas are up, and I think everyone knows what's at stake. And we've got to improve quickly."

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How does your theory work with 06 and our going to the NFC championship game then two poor years then winning it all in 09 then in 2011 having one of the best damn offences I've ever seen in the NFL?

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How do you account for the Saints' inability to field a decent defense during that same period? Even the 2009 defense was no better than average except for its ability to get turnovers. And that was a one time thing.

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The 2010 defense finished in the top 5.

You, once again, don't know what you're talking about. Tell me more about Benson's trust

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just wish they would pick a spot for him and let him learn and play that spot - not flipping him all over the line and not letting him get a comfort with the position.

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becuase they refuse to admit he's a bust and get rid of him, so there trying anything that might make him average.

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2006-20156 and you have one good defense. That's a hell of a performance.

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Saints have had more than one good defense from 06-15.

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Benson irrevocably transferred 60% of the shares in the Saints to trusts for the benefit of his daughter and grandchildren. The whole estate issue came about when Benson wanted to remove the Saints shares from the irrevocable trusts by substituting other assets of equal value for the Saints shares in the trusts.

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First, the estate issue where Benson changed his will is different than the trust issue.

Now answer this: How many controlling shares were in the trust?

I've already addressed your retarded post the previous time you brought up, feel free to go back to it. Also must be why Payton is so well payed or we spend so much.

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I've actually discussed this several times with one of the top trust experts in the country. But continue to say your bullshite with so much confidence. Maybe you should keep up with the story too.

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Winning took a back seat to maximizing income and franchise value based on common business valuation methods such as discounted cash flows.

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And then you also said this:

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I realize that winning would likely enhance the value of the franchise, but that is not the objective of a trustee. Increasing the value of the franchise while Tom Benson is alive could have detrimental impact on his estate from a tax perspective. The greater the value, the more cash they have to come up with to pay the taxes.

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So they want to increase the value of the franchise but not increase the value of the franchise.

And no, they very, very likely wouldn't be paying taxes on the increase in value. That's the whole point in establishing the trust.

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First, the estate issue where Benson changed his will is different than the trust issue.

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Without 100% of the Saints the change to the will would not have been so severe. It requires withdrawing the shares from the trusts to give Gayle sole ownership. So the two are intricately connected.

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Now answer this: How many controlling shares were in the trust?

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First there were more than one trust, so I have to question the depth of your knowledge regarding these matters.

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In the ongoing family struggle over Tom Benson's fortune, a new attorney is now overseeing the trusts holding non-voting shares in the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans franchises -- interests in the teams that Benson wants to take back, according to court records.

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LINK The trusts owned non-voting shares which means they had zero control over the operation of the franchise, but the officers of the corporation had a fiduciary duty to the trusts with respect to their 60% ownership interest. If you think keeping the beneficiaries of the trusts happy did not influence the decisions, then you are clueless to how fiduciaries behave.

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You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I've actually discussed this several times with one of the top trust experts in the country. But continue to say your bullshite with so much confidence. Maybe you should keep up with the story too.

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I'll put my estate and trust experience up against yours anytime anywhere. I've spent over 25 years working on high wealth estate and tax planning engagements. I have worked with experts in the field who have headed the estate and trust tax sections of the ABA and AICPA, as well as the authors of several reference books regarding income tax issues for trusts, gifts and estates. I have prepared countless trust and estate tax returns that required reading and deciphering the intent of the settlors. So I do have some idea of what I've been talking about.

I wasn't writing a legal brief in any of my posts. I was trying to convey concepts so that readers without experience in these matters could learn about competing influences on Saints management. You'll have to forgive me for any shortcomings that might call into question the obvious genius of Sean Payton and the rest of the Saints management.

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So they want to increase the value of the franchise but not increase the value of the franchise. And no, they very, very likely wouldn't be paying taxes on the increase in value. That's the whole point in establishing the trust.

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Here you demonstrate your ignorance. The purpose of creating the trusts was to freeze the value of the 60% interest in the Saints for estate tax purposes. The value at the date of contribution to the trust establishes the trusts' bases in the shares they own. Any increase in value will be subject to income tax upon sale of the shares.

Winning the Super Bowl may result in a temporary spike in the value of the franchise with a subsequent decline as the value of the franchise regresses to the mean. Would you like to defend yourself as the fiduciary for not selling when the franchise was at a maximum value?

You'd think when you invest a high first round pick in a tackle that he would be capable of beating out Strief for the right tackle spot. If that was the case, LT, RT and C would have been set and they would have just had to worry about guard.

Nope. Now Strief retains his tackle spot and Peat is left floundering between guard positions. At this point I don't even blame him, I blame Loomis and the position coaches.