Drew Brees Wants to Know: Should the Saints Sign LT?

Who exactly are we gonna get rid of to keep him? And would he even want to come here and be the 3rd or 4th RB? Doesn’t he realize that he would have to play in the preseason if he came here? In other words, eff that!!

Right now I say no.

After he spends two or three months on the market and can’t get any “good” offers, if he gets a real fire in his belly to be our 2010 equivalent of D# (comes in for low salary with a burning desire to prove himself), then maybe I’d reconsider giving him one last shot. And if he can beat out Bell and can be happy with that kind of role, great. But if not, sorry, Drew, I would do an-y-thing for you… but I won’t do that! No I won’t do that!.

AS LONG AS it doesn’t mean cutting anyone, and it doesn’t wreck team chemistry. If Pierre Thomas, for instance, winds up testing the free agent market because he’s freaked out that we signed LT, it isn’t worth it. But if everyone takes the attitude that Tomlinson is just another player who has to earn his spot in training camp…what’s the harm in it?

jk

We know that he’s old. As far as running backs go, he’s old and a ton of wear and tear on him. His productivity has suffered the last couple of years, but even though that isn’t entirely his fault, it definitely points to a decline in value.

So why do I think we should give him a shot? The highest not of the offseason last season (besides hiring GW) was singing the praises of and signing D-Sharp. He’s ancient in terms of cornerbacks, but he brought a skill set that fit well with our new defensive philosophy. We also got him on the cheap. I think the same can be said and done for LT. I don’t expect him to take a starting position, and would not get rid of either Pierre or Reggie for him, but I see no reason that we can’t bring him into camp and see how and if he can be incorporated into our offense.

With our offensive line, a guy that knows how to run North to South and follow his blockers should do well, especially if he has to prove himself worthy of being given the chance he’s given. I don’t expect him to run for 1200 yards or anything like that, especially with our timeshare and PT being the stud that he is, but can’t see how he’d be anything but an asset to our running game as long he realizes he’s a role player, not the leading actor (LT is a pretty humble guy, that may not be much of a stretch for him) and he signs on the cheap side. I think at the very least, he would give us much needed insurance in the case we lost PT for any amount of time. Who knows, he may have some remarkable upside when incorporated into our system with our personnel.

Those of us who scored 40+ on the Wunderlich would have picked “Hell No!”

In case you were wondering my answer.

only joking, Pierre’s the Man, if Reggie walks LT isn’t the answer, agree with stujo4, Westbrook would be good back-up for less $. I really like McCluster from Ole Miss, but trading down? LT maybe a Redskin? my guess.

What more does this guy have to do to prove he is the real deal at RB? The guy has been making chump change (somewhere in the low six figures a year I think) all this time and I truly hope he gets rewarded with a handsome contract this offseason. He deserves it. I can only hope that Drew talked to him before sending out this tweet to let him know that he values having him on the team. LT may have a little something left when he gets a solid O-line in front of him, but Pierre Thomas is the Saints running back, IMHO.

Can LT fill Mike Bell’s role in the offense? A three-headed monster of Bush, LT, and PT Cruiser may be one of the best ever, but they shouldn’t pay LT a huge contract at this stage in his career. It would seem like too much of a risk to me.

Imagine the 24 hour news cycle once training camp comes around:
“Who is the Saints RB?”
“Should Reggie feel slighted?
“Does LT still have it?”

I don’t know if we want our team to become the circus.

over Reggie/PT/Bell. Now if one of the three gets traded, leaves, or what have you, then yes, he could make sense *at the right price *. I know LT says he just wants to win, cliche enough, but will he really accept to be second fiddle to one and maybe two running backs in New Orleans? The dude is on a major steady decline. We’ve seen what happens to backs at this age, once they decline, they decline quickly and heavily. Look at Sean Alexander, look at Deuce, look at Eddie George etc… The list goes on. LT is done.

With the exception of Lynell Hamilton, every RB on the current roster was already on the roster when Loomis was actively pursuing Beanie Wells at the end of the first round last April. What exactly has changed since then? All three have shown flashes of productivity. All three have missed games due to injury.

For a 31 year old guy who is “done”, Tomlinson carried the ball 223 times in 2009, the fewest amount of carries in a season for his entire NFL career. Conversely, Mike Bell carried the ball 172 times, the most carries ever for ANY of the backs on the Saints roster in a season for their entire NFL careers. Basically, you have a so-called washed up player still doing what no one on this team has ever proven they can do.

On top of which, he wouldn’t be asked to do that here. He would still be part of a three back rotation, no matter who leaves. And let’s face it, there’s a very good chance one of the three will be gone, whether LT lands in New Orleans or not. I see no downside in the acquisition whatsoever.

The real question mark lies in who he would eventually replace on the roster and that won’t happen, unless he’s outperforming that player or they’re already gone. It could also be used as a form of leverage, in order to get Thomas and/or Bell extended. If they all intend on competing for a spot on the roster, there would be pressure to renegotiate their deals. The last man that signs could be the odd man out. Both the players and their agents know that. Even if it comes back to cutting LT, it’s a great way for Loomis to get it all done.

NO!!!!!

Stu really convinced me that can be no downside in the acquisition of Lt.

By the way, I’m a new buy. Help everyone

I meant that I am a new guy. And hello, not help. My phone has a tricky auto correct

… to prop up his shares and get him another job… like he did few months back with that radio interview… and LT got an extension few days later….. not gonna happen as much as Drew is influential within the organization…

He is a free agent and Eagles cut him ! The guy killed us for years.

One quick word of advice …

When a 31 year old franchise QB is asking his fan base for opinions on a potential 31 year old acquisition, the most refined approach probably shouldn’t include the phrases “washed up”, “too old” or “over the hill”.

Drew, if you’re reading this, why didn’t you make a push for Lorenzo Neal this past year, when we were going through fullbacks quicker than Braylen goes through a pack of Huggies? Don’t you love all your old Charger chums equally?

Can’t we just re-sign Troy Davis? I mean, LT is good and all, but he never had back-to-back 2000 yard seasons at TCU.

and replace Bell. I think LT is done.

If we do sign LT, and he doesn’t produce what we want, then what will Drew say when we cut him? It might cause a chemistry type problem

The thing I love about our team is that we have a lot of late rounders/unknowns and people
like Anthony Hargrove who are grateful to be here- That’s how you build a team, and there is an intangible unquantifiable value to the principle of having people whose identity is being a SAINT….If we have players who are into the money and into themselves more than
they want to a part of the family let them go…And that includes Sharper-

I remember a running back years ago I thought the world of. The Saints traded for and I was so excited about. He was a failure and it was rather embarising. Lets keep doing business the saintly way no LT I like the kid they brought in last year, will be another PT not in style but in performance.

LT did not have a line to run behind/through in San Diego. Why did he always run to his left? Was it out of habit, or perhaps because he had an All-Pro tackle to pave the way for him?

The Chargers are a passing team now. They do not commit to the run, nor does their line pull blocks well for the running game.

News flash: The Saints have the best offensive line in the NFL. Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks are the two best guards – they routinely maul people and break open huge holes.

A healthy LT could revitalize his career. I think he’s a step above Mike Bell, though my heart is still with Pierre getting the majority of the snaps.

Sign LT for little money and I’m down for it. Give the guy a chance to prove his doubters wrong. He’s still a great player in my opinion. With a healthy, strong offensive line that already has a potent running game, he could put up Pro Bowl numbers again.

LT probably has a good bit left in the tank, but not taking the majority of the carries. If he could split carries with Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush, chances are that the carries he would get would be productive because he would be fresh. However, I don’t think we need LT when we have quality depth like we do. Plus I rather PT over LT at this stage of their carreers.

He’d simply be another RB in the mix. A lot of people seem to be assuming that he’d take over as a feature back, but that would not necessarily be the case. Our coach plays the most effective players, not the biggest names. If we brought in LT, the only way he’d take carries from PT, Bell, or Bush is if there is some benefit from doing so, in which case we (the fans) would be the beneficiaries.

Bottom line, LT gets into the endzone. At worst, we provides veteran leadership for our relatively young RB committee while also providing competition and insurance for that group. At best, we could potentially have another steal of a deal for a great player that a lot of teams over look because the system he was in was not conducive to producing big numbers, sort of like D-Sharp last off-season. Besides, I’d rather have him backing up US than, say, Michael Turner…

Hence, Bell getting carries over Bush when PT was out. PT getting carries over Bush… this despite Bush being a #2 over-all draft pick and a bigger name than both. Don’t get me wrong, Bush has a skill set unmatched by anyone on our team, but PT and Bell were more effective for what we were trying to accomplish. Why wouldn’t we want LT to compete with these guys? If he can do a better job, we play him. If not, we don’t. If it’s a toss-up, then at the very least we have injury insurance. As long as we can get him cheap, what’s not to love about this?

Remember a few years ago when Deuce, Reggie, and Stecker all were injured? Injuries do happen, especially to RBs, and it could help to have him as a 4th back (over Hamilton). But only at a good price. Also, if we have to lose Bell to get LT, it’s iffy, and if we have to lose anyone else, then no.

I refuse to comment further.

Has there ever been an 7/8yr veteran, declining RUNNING BACK, change teams and then suddenly get back to their old form?

(I’m not saying it hasn’t happened; I’m genuinely curious if it’s ever happened.)

info from the link provided…

And, my math was wrong about the yards… so, TD’s went down by one, fumbles lost went up by ONE…

For someone with his number of attempts, that’s “slightly worse” numbers overall. Not horribly worse… SLIGHTLY worse.

—

If you are “declining”…. you have to be declining from something.

If you’re average or crap, and you get worse… you just suck. You have to have had some good years to decline from.

Walter Payton never switched teams (not sure why that’s even a factor), but declined in per game rushing production every year, from 1979-82. And yes, I realize 1982 was a strike shortened season. That’s why I specified “per game”. In 1983 (his 9th season), Payton’s per game numbers reverted back, as he put up four more consecutive 1,000 rushing seasons.

Granted, Payton started playing football at the age of 21, so he wasn’t as old as Tomlinson is now. Still, if he was capable of putting up seasons of 1551 and 1333 yards rushing 3047 carries into his career, why would it not be reasonable to expect at least 655 yards rushing (thereby bettering Bell’s 2009 production) 2880 carries into Tomlinson’s career?

On top of which, Tomlinson has scored 28 more career TDs than Payton. That equates to 28 less times tackled. Even more reason he should last slightly longer. There’s no guarantee of that obviously, as every player is built differently and can sustain different levels of punishment. Yet, you seem to get off on basing personnel decisions on precedence, not physics. So, there you go.