re: Legit question: How will the Saints overcome cap problems?

Well obviously it hasn't happened yet because Drew is just entering the second year of his new contract (And because Brady's current pay structure is obviously timed how it has been timed).

thx for covering that baitman

As ya said, players don't restructure to their detriment unless they are in a restructure or get cut scenario. Restructures most frequently accommodate teams need for cap relief now at the cost of pushing some cap money forward through bonuses.

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that was one of the main reasons you guys slipped up this year

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just curious, which ones do ya have in mind specifically? I looked trying to find them...

Didn't think Grubbs from Nicks was a big loss and a was a big win cap-wise.

Meachem? 14 catches, 14.8ypc, 2 TDs in SD Joe Morgan 10 catches, 37.9ypc, 3 TDs

Porter? Even more dinged in Denver than he was here. Only started 4 games and lost his job to Chris Harris.

Can't mean Abrayo Franklin or Shaun Rogers fo sho. Hicks definitely has the upside in front of him.

Leigh torrence couldn't even catch on anywhere else

I found one maybe... Dunbar. He might have been a better filler when Lofton was injured. He had a solid year in STL at WLB. I don't think this would have even been one though if Hawthorne would have been healthy and played at WLB.

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I do. Nicks and Grubbs were a decent loss I thought. Take cap info out of it (which is the obvious reason it had to happen) but it's still a loss.

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We lost Nicks and gained Grubbs, who played really well this year. That's a push.

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Same with Porter - he always seemed to make INTs when needed. Same with Meachem. Obviously not your best but still pretty decent.

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I think Porter was a big loss. He might not play 16 games, but he was going to play 6-8 games and play well. Who knows, better coverage against Atlanta that second game or San Fran or Green Bay, and we don't lose those games and are in the hunt for a playoff spot.

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I hope y'alls dreams are crushed again by midseason next year as well!

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I hope y'all pay Matt Ryan $120 million dollars and it takes him another five years to get a playoff win.

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Those will get you close to the projected cap, maybe not even under though. I thought Loomis did great with what he had to work with last year- maybe his best ever. This year will be an even larger challenge though. Certainly the toughest cap situation since '06.

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That's pretty much what Jim Miller said. In fact, Miller said Loomis is the best in the business when it comes to managing the cap. The thing that hung in the air like a fart after a eating at a cabbage buffet was Miller's final comment: (paraphrasing) Loomis can roll some money forward and make some cuts but there's still going to be a shortfall somewhere down the road that will present major problems.

If the cap isn't increased (which isn't going to happen since there was a lockout to get it where it is), the Saints and every team paying their QB $15+ a year will have to be lucky in the draft to contend. The 49ers, Seahawks and Redskins are in great position to make a run the next few years...until their QB wants "Brees" type money or they get crippled (the Redskins may already fall in this category).

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there's still going to be a shortfall somewhere down the road that will present major problems.

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I think its pretty common knowledge at this point that every team has a three to four year window with a good cap number, one year of iffy cap numbers (last year for us) and one year of cap hell (this coming up year)

That's what I've seen most teams doing anyway.

were at $113mil pre 2012. But that was facing the Brees deal, Colston re-signing, a new guard needed, and MLB thumper addition.

Graham might have to be put off until after this year. The franchise tag is always available if need be. If the football gods shined on us Charles Brown would be our new LT. It could be but we haven't seen enough of him to think that. If no, it will take a Bushrod or other UFA OT deal or a 1st or 3rd Rd for a LT starter.

Loomis quote from other thread-

"Well, it's not a mess. ... It's tight, though. Let's not kid ourselves. It's tight, and we've got some work to do, but it's things that we could navigate through. We've navigated them before, not just here but when I was with the Seahawks. We have years when we have tight caps. And look, these caps, they run in cycles where you're right up against it and then you're not, particularly when you have a good team. So we're on the cycle where we're going to be up against it. We're not up against it, we're over it pretty significantly. So we've got some work to do."
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