Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise

[billmatic]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise



FREE AGENCY

Here is a summary of the NFL free agency period.


Saints Signings

Pos	Player	Contract (yrs/total/bonus)
K	Sebastian Janikowski	5 years/5.70M/2.25M
DE	Will Overstreet	3 years/4.38M/570k
MLB	Nate Webster	3 years/9.09M/1.47M
CB	Nate Clemens	4 years/25.8M/9.56Mk

Major Signings Around the League

Pos	Player	New Team
QB	Billy Volek	Chiefs
QB	Josh McCown	Packers
QB	Quincy Carter	Packers
HB	Chris Brown	Browns
HB	Ricky Williams	Steelers
HB	Warrick Dunn	Steelers
HB	Reuben Droughns	Lions
HB	Travis Henry	Bucs
HB	Duce Staley	Rams
HB	Thomas Jones	Raiders
HB	Marshall Faulk	Raiders
HB	Stephen Davis	Browns
FB	Nick Luchey	Giants
WR	Brandon Lloyd	Jaguars
TE	Christian Fauria	Steelers
T	Orlando Pace	Seahawks
T	Kyle Turley	Lions
G	Larry Allen	Seahawks
G	Toniu Fonoti	Packers
G	Dan Neil	Patriots
G	Adam Timmerman	Seahawks
G	Rex Tucker	Chargers
C	Rich Braham	Jaguars
DE	Leonard Little	Ravens
DE	Greg Ellis	Bengals
DE	Ty Warren	Titans
DT	LaRoi Glover	Bengals
DT	Casey Hampton	Steelers
OLB	Mark Fields	Giants
OLB	Rosevelt Coleman	Chargers
MLB	Dat Nguyen	Lions
MLB	Anthony Simmons	Bengals
MLB	Ronald McKinnon	Jets
MLB	Rob Morris	Falcons
CB	Charles Woodson	Redskins
CB	Sam Madison	Giants
CB	Ken Lucas	Raiders
CB	Anthony Henry	Rams
FS	John Lynch	Ravens
FS	Adam Archuleta	49ers
SS	Corey Chavous	Bengals

[billmatic]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise

Why would Pittsburgh take Wali? They already have Willie Parker, they need another Bettis....take Michael Bush. Silly CPU.

Parker was a free agent (and was only rated 74 OVR anyway).

I take it Brady Quinn didn't come out of ND this year...

Quinn was drafted by the Raiders in the 3rd round.

[Macar91]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise

Wow, the Seahawks have a beastly O-Line with all of those signings. I would be scared to face them with Shaun Alexander.

[billmatic]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise

Wow, the Seahawks have a beastly O-Line with all of those signings. I would be scared to face them with Shaun Alexander.

yeah, that's one of the first things i noticed. Their O-line looks like this:

T Walter Jones - 98 OVR
T Orlando Pace - 97 OVR
G Steve Hutchinson - 96 OVR
G Larry Allen - 92 OVR
C Robie Tobeck - 87 OVR

Plus, then have Timmerman (91 OVR) on the bench!

a couple other things that stuck out...

- the Ravens adding Leonard Little and John Lynch to their defense

- the Bengals boosting their defense by signing Greg Ellis, Laroi Glover, Anthony Simmons, and Corey Chavous

- the Steelers, Raiders, and Browns each signing 2 top RB's

[billmatic]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise



More Veterans Shown the Door

The Saints released four veteran players today. Jon Stinchcomb, T.J. Slaughter, Jay Bellamy, and Ronald McKinnon were all told their services were no longer needed in New Orleans. Owner and GM Bill Matic promised a youth movement, and these appear to be the first victims. Through free agency and the draft, the Saints acquired several players that made them expendable. Stinchcomb and Slaughter might not have made the roster anyway, but Bellamy and McKinnon were starters last year.

Bellamy became expandable after the Saints used their first draft pick to select Darnell Bing out of USC. Bellamy was making too much money for a backup, so the Saints decided to let him go. Nate Webster will be the replacement for Ronald McKinnon. McKinnon had been asking for a long term contract, and New Orleans had no desire to give the 32 year old linebacker an extension.

It didn't take the duo long to find work, however. The Jets snatched up McKinnon with a 3 year deal worth more than $14 million, and the Chargers signed Bellamy, also to a 3 year deal, worth over $5 million.

[billmatic]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise



Meet The Rookies

Darnell Bing SS - USC	Orien Harris DT - Miami	Bruce Gradowski QB - Toledo	Dontrell Moore HB - New Mexico	Will Derting LB - Wash St.
Greg Lee WR - Pittsburgh	Garrett Mills TE - Tusla	Rocky McIntosh LB - Miami	Ashton Watson CB - Michigan St.	Travis Leffew T - Louisville

The Contracts

The Saints have now come to terms with all 10 of their draft picks. The effects of signing 10 rookies has already been seen, as several veterans have been cut in favor of the younger players.

Player	Contract (length/total/bonus)
Darnell Bing	3 years/5.94M/2.37M
Orien Harris	3 years/12.1M/2.52M
Bruce Gradowski	3 years/7.26M/1.29M
Dontrell Moore	3 years/5.70M/1.08M
Will Derting	3 years/5.94M/630kM
Greg Lee	4 years/9.00M/1.48M
Garrett Mills	6 years/6.00M/840k
Rocky McIntosh	3 years/2.88M/420k
Ashton Watson	2 years/2.76M/0
Travis Leffew	3 years/3.60M/540k

[LSUFan2004]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise

I sports news, the hiring of Ray Rhodes as the Head Coach of the Saints was met with skepticism by many area fans. Said one Baton Rouge season ticket holder "Rhodes wasn't a successfull Head Coach in Philadelphia or Green Bay, what makes management think things will be any different this time? It's hard to imagine this Matic guy being any worse than Benson, but this hire has left me scratching my head."

[billmatic]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise



All Rhodes Lead to New Orleans

The hiring of Ray Rhodes has been a topic of hot debate in New Orleans. Owner Bill Matic shocked fans when he called into a local sports radio talk show to voice his opinion on the matter.

"Rhodes is one of the best defensive coaches in the game. Since his time in Philadephia, he has earned another shot at a head coaching position. In Green Bay, he was never given that shot, being fired after one 8-8 season. In the meantime, he has revamped the Redskins, Broncos and Seahawks defenses, taking each from among the worst in the league to among the best.

Washington: 30th to 4th
Denver: 24th to 6th
Seattle: 28th to 7th

Ray brings the toughness that this team needs. He's brought in an energetic young staff, and we've brought in some great young players for him to work with. This is a very exciting time to be a Saints fan. And for those who don't believe, there's plenty of room left on the bandwagon when you feel like hopping aboard. We'll be waiting for you."

The new owner is clearly convinced that Rhodes is the man to turn that corner and take the Saints from perennial .500 team to title contender, while the fans' reactions remain mixed. The wait is almost over, however, as preseason is right around the corner.

[LSUFan2004]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise

Jury Still Out On Rhodes

While debate around New Orleans has been centered around the hiring of Ray Rhodes as new Saints coach, many have have decided to take a "wait and see" approach for now. Local sports radio commentator fan said "We are certianly willing to give him a chance, we were just expecting a bigger splash, we haven't really signed any big name free agents, so if he can improve the teams record anyway then maybe he is a pretty good coach." Many Saints fans have concerns about Rhodes' ability to run an organization and point to that as the reason for his previous failures, though nobody questions his knowledge of defense. His saving grace could be in new Defensive Coordinator Mike Singletary. Many had touted him as a potential candiate for the Head Coaching position before Rhodes was hired, and were suprised when he wasn't hired by someone this offseason. Then there was Brian Billick, whose organizational skills and proven track record made him the obvious choice. Nobody is quite sure how that deal did not come to fruition, though some wonder if the Saints were pressed by the NFL to interview a minority, and thus did not have the time to make him a serious offer before he was snatched up.

But when the local media hasn't been critical of the hiring practices, the focus has been on the offseason aquisitions. "A lot of people were hoping for a Chales Woodson-type signing, but Nate Clemens was a nice pick up i guess, and the draft class looks like it has some potential down the road."

The real underlying story here is that this hiring, along with a fairly low-key offseason, has ended the honeymoon Bill Matic has had since taking over for Tom Benson. "Certianly nobody is saying they want Benson back, he is Satan incarnate around here, but we were expecting a little more after all the talk we heard about trying to win the Super Bowl."

[billmatic]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise



...

Saints owner Bill Matic stuck around long enough to answer a few more questions from callers. Topics ranged from the coaching search that led to the hiring or Ray Rhodes to the free agent signings.

"Brian Billick was one of several candidates we interviewed. In fact, he was one of the top candidates. In the end, we decided that Rhodes was a better fit for the organization. Billick wanted general manager responsibilities, and a salary of $8 million a year. While we were impressed with Billick as a coach, we were not willing to meet those demands. Apparently, Baltimore was. In addition, Rhodes really impressed us in his interviews. We felt that he has the right vision for the future of this franchise and the ability to achieve it. A 'wait and see' approach is all I can ask of fans."

"As far as our offseason acquisitions go, we are ecstatic. The draft could not have gone better. We were able to draft virtually every player we were targeting, and managed to address several areas of need. We made it a priority to get each and every one of them signed early, so each one will be in camp from the start and should play key roles on this team. The fact that we only signed 4 free agents was no mistake. Nate Clements was the prize of this class, and was the number one player we were targeting. Not only was he the best cornerback on the market, he was one of the youngest as well. Just look at how he compares to the rest of the available corners:

Clements (Saints): 26 yo, 93 OVR
Woodson (Redskins): 29 yo, 89 OVR
Madison (Giants): 32 yo, 88 OVR
Lucas (Raiders): 27 yo, 86 OVR

It's no coincidence that the rest of those guys didn't get signed until after we snatched Clements up. Nate Webster was another great pickup for us. Also, 26 years old, he'll be able to step in and start for us. He should be able to hold down the middle of the field which will open things up for our great young outside backers, Harris and Beck. We were also happy to pick up Seabass. He's coming off a pro bowl year, and has the strongest leg in the league, which should be a big boost to our special teams on both field goals and kickoffs. Training camp is coming up and we can't wait to get this team on the field!"

[billmatic]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise

eh, this franchise may have fallen victim to the 360. tough to play xbox madden after playing 360 madden graphics-wise. then again i'm not a fan of the madden 360's stipped down franchise mode. it's too bad EA had to release such a half-assed game. i may wind up going back to this franchise still.

not sure what i'm gonna do for my next franchise. wanna do something besides madden, and there's about a million nba 2k6 ones already. maybe a college hoops or football one. i'm also thinking of doing a soccer one w/ PES 5 on the xbox. probably wouldn't be too much interest in it, but i think i'd have fun doing it.

[calcutta]

Re: Marching On... A New Orleans Saints Franchise

i'm also thinking of doing a soccer one w/ PES 5 on the xbox. probably wouldn't be too much interest in it, but i think i'd have fun doing it.

and i'd have fun reading it