More comments from Saints fans on losing Bushrod: Well as of now it seems like we can't bring in someone to replace Bushrod, we don't have the cap space to make any signings. Left tackle not as crucial to Drew Brees as most other QBs, due to his outstanding pocket awareness. That's why you don't overpay an average LT like Bushrod. At least some good news...if true. This time I applaud M Loomis for not overpaying for a below average OT. Brees' quick decision making makes the Saints lineman seem better than actually are. Cutler will still get his bell rung. This. We always ask why we can protect the QB but can't run the ball, this is why. Drew makes the line look better than it is. How much OL personnel have we let walk to under perform on a bloated contract? Quite a few. Our ends are generally helped out by the RB and Graham as they chip them on their way out on a route. We've no cap space for him anyway. Not surprised. I liked JB, but we had to help him way too much. I wish him luc in Chitown, and I hope (for Cutler's sake) the bears don't expect Bushrod to block Jared Allen and Clay Mathews by himself. can't say that i am too hurt to see him gone. he was an average LT We will continue to make an average LT look good in this offense with Brees at QB. LT is important, but not as important with Drew and his need for a strong interior line Bushrod was a slightly above average LT, but not a guy who you would break the bank to keep. As far as Brees goes, yes the guards are more important for passing lanes, but the tackles are also important. Brees was pressured more and hit more from the tackle positions more than I have ever seen last season. He's also 34 I believe so at some time the legs will not always be as quick as they were to escape trouble. He needs a good left tacke and an above average right tackle. (at this point the money the Bears agreed to pay Bushrod was reported) WOW. thats a lot Whoa, he is way overpaid. And as much as Drew Brees is the best QB at pocket awareness, Jay Cutler is on the other end of that stick. Good luck on your blind side. That's not really that much. We, here (or at least thought) that he would go for 6-7.5 mill a year. He went for what 7.1 mill a year. Disregard the guarantee...this just shows that we were not going to pay him but 4-5-6 mill a year, or so. He did not get over paid. Good luck to Bushrod next year, he did what was best for him He wasn't overpaid AT ALL. Those numbers are square in the center that a team need to be ready to pay a guy of his credentials. The reason we are saying that he is overpaid is because he is not the player his credentials make him out to be. Yeah he is a 2 time probowler, but would he be that if it weren't for Brees and our offense? No. He was routinely graded as our worst OL. This. Harper is a two time pro bowler too. We over pay him. Pro bowl is a joke. They put him in it because he played on the a great over all line. Wow. $7.2M per year! I would have went NUTS if we paid Bushrod that much. Bears will regret that, especially with Cutler back there. Bushrod is a solid player who benefits greatly from playing with Brees. Cutler is not Brees. Was he overpaid? Probably a bit, but it's the Bears so i don't care lol. He was a solid Tackle, but he had serious issues with good speed and power rushers. I liked Bushrod but I will admit the Bears got hosed. SB line down to one Evans? Goody, Stinch, Nicks, & and now Bushrod gone. Wow. All those guys but Goody were Saints draft picks. Not only was he overpaid, he was GROSSLY overpaid. Bushrod benefits greatly from Brees' play. I would have loved to keep him, but not for $17 million guaranteed.
ESPN's Pat Yasinskas Saints can get by without Jermon Bushrod ... I don’t want to diminish the loss of Bushrod, who made it to two Pro Bowls with the Saints. But this isn’t the end of the world for the Saints because they put their offensive line together differently than most teams. The Saints build from the inside out. They paid huge money to guard Jahri Evans and good money to fellow guard Ben Grubbs . As long as the Saints are strong at the two guard positions, their philosophy is that they can get by with average guys at the other spots on the offensive line. There’s precedent there. In recent years, the Saints let right tackle Jon Stinchcomb and left tackle Jammal Brown leave. They replaced them with Zach Strief and Bushrod. That worked out all right. Maybe now is the time for Charles Brown to step up. Or maybe it’s time for the Saints to bring in some marginal guy from outside. Either way, history has shown that playing with strong guards in New Orleans can make a tackle look good.
He'd better learn and remember the snap count. IIRC, he's the king of false starts. EDIT: I may be thinking of Jamaal Brown.
Right, I think it was Jamaal who had trouble with snap counts. Charles hasn't done anything to impress me yet. But Peyton and co. have show great ability to find quality o-lineman in the mid to lower rounds, and in free agency (Olin Kreutz being the exception). They'll find another, preferable a free agent. I wouldn't want to count on finding a LT in the 4th round.
Pro Football Talk.com saying Saints are interested in Nnamdi Asomugha. He played for Ryan in Oakland. Did not know that he was from Lafayette.
Yeah, NFL channel saying he'd be a good fit in Ryan's defense. His strength is press man to man, which is prevalent in Ryan's schemes. I just wish the Saints would hurry up and do something. I see all these other teams making moves and, as usual, we wait. I realize the longer they wait, the less they have to pay, but it also gives other teams the chance of scooping up the best players.
GOT HIM! Per Sports Illustrated: Lewis, arguably the top cornerback available in this year’s free-agent class, led the league with 16 pass break-ups last season, out of the Steelers’ secondary. He’ll add a much-needed defensive weapon to a Saints’ defense that finished 31st against the pass last season. ... The Steelers would have loved to keep Lewis around, but they continue to find themselves in a very difficult salary cap situation. The Saints were a natural fit for Lewis in a lot of ways, not the least of which being that he’s a New Orleans native (he went to O.P. Walker High School, same high school as Anthony "Freak" Johnson, Craig "Buster" Davis, Herb Tyler, etc) Grade: A. Nothing about the financial aspect of this deal stands out in a negative light — Lewis landed right in line with the CB signings of the past 24 hours, and he might be better than any other defensive back to sign in that time.
Per PPF: "in 2012, Lewis led the NFL with 16 passes defensed and passers throwing at him had a rating of only 80.7 despite going after him to the tune of 112 targets on the season."
tweets from Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun Times: 22 min ago --Know this: CB Keenan Lewis passed up significant money to play for his hometown team, the Saints... 36 min ago --Keenan Lewis is going home, and he turned down a bigger offer from another undisclosed team, source says. Love homecoming stories! 37 min ago --CB Keenan Lewis will sign a five-year, $26 million, including $11 million guaranteed, with the Saints, a source says.
