Sean Payton on Long Leash?

First of all, Florio hasn’t been paying the close attention he implies. Plenty of people have been criticizing not just Payton, but also Loomis and the entire coaching staff. But since very few national readers are familiar with what local writers—or the fan base—have to say, Florio will skate in exactly the same way he claims for Payton.

Second, he obviously doesn’t understand the details of the Shockey or Vilma trades.

If ex-Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma participates in 85 percent of the defensive snaps (he has started all 14 games) and if the Saints sign him to a contract extension, the Saints would have to send to the Jets the second-round pick currently earmarked for the Giants.

Only if they’re stupid enough to extend Vilma before he reaches free agency. Trust me, the Saints pay attention to contract details—they’re not going to re-sign Vilma on Tuesday if they know that by waiting until Thursday they pay less for him.

Thirdly, he entirely misses the important point about Shockey, the one that explains his (relatively) low production: his injury history. He hasn’t been a chronic malcontent in New Orleans so far; he hasn’t been a locker-room cancer, and he certainly hasn’t—and in fact, has never in his career—made Plaxico Burress look good by comparison. He’s simply missed a lot of game time, and that’s why he has only 45 catches. But you know what? If he plays the next two games, and makes his average thus far, he’ll end up with 53 catches on the year. His career average is 59. The Shockey trade may indeed have been a bad one (I think it was, because of his injury history), but people need to stop blaming Shockey for it.

Then there’s the curious case of Robert Meachem. I agree that he was a strange draft choice, given the team’s other needs. He looks to be heading the way of another highly-touted Tennessee receiver who just never seemed to pan out: Donte Stallworth (although Stallworth got a lot more playing time to prove himself before being sent packing). But to suggest that a team in dire need of secondary and linebacker help should have taken a tight end instead of a wide receiver suggests that Florio is trying more to polish his indictment of the Shockey trade than construct a reasonable winning scenario for the Saints. Thank God we have Payton instead of Florio in charge.

And lastly, Florio gives Payton (or Loomis) no credit for what’s been done right. And that includes: signing Drew Brees, the best signing in Saints history; finding Marques Colston in the seventh round, Jahri Evans in the fourth, Pierre Thomas and Lance Moore as free agents; and for turning Billy Miller into the equivalent of Jeremy Shockey in the offense (another reason the Shockey trade was bad—it was unnecessary). And, of course, signing Vilma, who is worth a first-rounder.

Florio, like almost every journalist, wants you to believe he knows something you can’t know simply by virtue of his profession. That way, you have to rely on his judgment. But don’t. We know a hell of a lot more about all this than he does.