The face of a quitter. At least he admitted it.

if he realizes he is a downgrade from his backup, step the hell aside. Thanks for not favre’ing up our O line anymore Olin.

If not for Jason David, I’d say it was their worst move ever. They should have kept Jonathan Goodwin. He’s now with the 49ers and they’re doing pretty well, not that Goodwin is the main reason for that. If it wasn’t broke before, why fix it? I thought Goodwin did well for us and this makes me even more upset that they let him walk.

Running game seemed far superior with De La Puenta.

not just mid-season but mid-week (late week) no less. It’s like Terry Bowden

 Talk about putting your teammates in a bind.

 Maybe he wasn’t playing effectively but sheesh. Be a pro.

 That said, de la Puenta should do fine, but he needs a nickname

Saints run for over 650 yards vs the Colts, shattering the previous NFL record at a staggering 24yds pc…. . DLP gets the game ball….

In other news…. Jay Cutler still gets sacked 28 times in the London game….

How come I cant feel devastated about this…

Perhaps he and his agent were informed by Loomis that the club wanted to part ways, and this was a mutually acceptable arrangement.

Leaving his team SOL. He signed a contact, and ought to live up to it.

We liked having him on our team, and what he represents and what he’s done throughout his career," Loomis said. “It’s unfortunate that he won’t be here. But, look, we’re better for having had Olin Kreutz here.”

Really Mickey…do you honestly believe that?

miketripletttp Mike Triplett
RT

@ProFootbalFocus: Kreutz walks away citing lack of desire for game. He is our 31st-rated center. Getting beat weekly prob didn’t help.

I salute Olin Kreutz for knowing when to call it quit! The game has become too
tenuous for him and instead of just getting paid for doing nothing (like most players
and even most everyday people would do) he decides to leave. Kudos to him!!!

Also, Brian De la Puente (not De la Puenta) is a very capable backup (now starter) as we’ve all seen, and as Olin knew himself; so he is not leaving the Saints in a dire situation at the center position!

The man has been a consumate pro for 13-14 years in the NFL, I wish him nothing but the
best in his future endeavors and thanks for giving the Saints all he had left in the tank!!!

From John Clayton

Saints center Olin Kreutz has left the team because he has lost his passion for the game of football, leaving a hole in middle of New Orleans’ offensive line.

Clayton obviously hasn’t watched much Saints game film on Kreutz. We’re probably better off without him. Here’s more on how the decision went down:

“He called me on Monday and Tuesday and said, ‘I don’t know if I can keep on doing this,’” Bartelstein said on “The Waddle and Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. “Went in and talked to (coach) Sean Payton and (general manager) Mickey Loomis and expressed it to them. They tried to talk him out of it. They wanted him to stay and he actually thought he was going to give it another whirl and called yesterday and said, ‘I just know, it’s not in my heart. I’m not going to keep collecting a check if I know deep inside me I can’t bring what I need to bring to play every week.’”

“I think there’s probably some correlation to [how things went down with the Bears],” Bartelstein said. “It hurt him a lot the way it went down with the Bears. He wanted to finish his career with the Bears, so I think there’s a part of it. But how much, it’s hard to say.”

Bartelstein said that Kreutz will not retire immediately.

“We’re not going to file anything right now,” he said. “I just never think it makes sense to do that right away. He’s going to step back and spend time with his family. My guess is I’m not sure he’ll play again, but we’ll see. The Saints made it clear that if he changed his mind, they’d love to have him come back. But knowing Olin and the way he handles himself, I don’t think that’s going to happen, but we’ll see.”

Could the Bears bring him back?

Stu gave him the final push

Anybody that’s watched him play this year can see he hasn’t “had a passion” for what he’s doing, but this is just plain baffling. If you are getting paid $2M a year, you better find a way to give a damn about your job. My first thought was more of a “WTF man, you couldn’t have had this revelation before the team planned its season around having you play to your full capacity?”

I guess I’m glad he walked away if he wasn’t able/willing to give it his all.

So could this be the key offensive player who will be out for Sunday? Or is there still someone else we’ll be missing?

Solves the roster spot problem for Ivory.

Nate:

anyone who lives in chicago wishes he’d done this two years ago before he became the middle of the bear’s revolving door offensive line. it was obvious to us he quit playing back then.

he may have helped them significantly in a short time. I have mixed feelings- happy that we may have a better O-Line now (although not as much depth), but upset that Kreutz didn’t pan out to be AT LEAST a better than average center for a year.

It would seem DLP is ready now. Tenant- maybe. Perhaps DLP would not have been ready Sept 9 and the first few games could have been a disaster and we could have beem 0-3 at that juncture. Kreutz did play well enough to help us to 3 wins I think.

Perhaps DLP would not have been ready Sept 9 and the first few games could have been a disaster and we could have beem 0-3 at that juncture. Kreutz did play well enough to help us to 3 wins I think.

0-3 based on the difference three weeks of practice against the second team defense + standing around observing on the sidelines made? At the center position? We went 2-1 without him. When was the last time you saw a team lose two consecutive games based on poor interior center play? Don’t bogart that joint, Philip.

he also stated the OK has been suffering with a MCL injury (didn’t elaborate what exactly the injury was) but it contributed to his leaving.

just wanted to be able to say he was a saint. Got no ill will toward him.

Bushrod:
“It was a shock. Definitely a shock. You know, he was a good dude. Learned a lot from him… He’s moved on to another chapter in his life.”

I know that INTs and fumble recoveries and TDs and 53 yd fgs at the buzzer get the headlines, but it is in the trenches that the games are often always won. That being said, if DLP starts opening day and doesn’t pick up a blitz and Brees gets plastered and injured, everything is different. Also, DLP didn’t go up against the second team defense every play of preseason nor stand around 100% of the other time. He was brought along to be ready for this moment and I dare say he probably was a lot more prepared two weeks ago than 5 weeks ago. And we had the luxury to do that since we had a veteran to fill in temporarily and not subject an inexperienced player to opening day and the first few weeks that could have been a disaster. If you don’t believe me, reference the Jets playing games without Mangold which clearly had a large difference, reference the Eagles last year when their starting center went down and they plunked, and witness the Eagles this year with a patchwork line that is still in flux. One guy anywhere on the field can make things turn south real fast. And that player doesn’t have to be a QB or a CB or any particular position. So, I think Kreutz helped . And if Stujo is accurate, and if Bushrod learned something, I am sure Tenant and DLP did also.

I wonder if the Saints will get to keep his million dollars, since he doesn’t want to just collect a paycheck. That’s all he’d be doing, now that he’s retired. I’m sure he’s a better man than that.

Everyone in the Saints org. and in the media surrounding the team has nothing but good things to say about Olin and everyone on this site is bashing him left and right. He’s a hall of famer, simple as that, and he’s made a life decision. It’s not like he’s holding the team hostage, all they have to do is waive him because I’m fairly sure his contract isn’t guaranteed.

Plus, he’s had a hard life, cut him some slack.

Really? You can’t come to work for millions of dollars? I get off my ass every day for a lot less. Look at this crap:

rotoworld.com

:The Chicago Tribune reports the Saints shopped C Olin Kreutz ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. New Orleans reportedly “liked what it saw of” backup C Brian De la Puente when Kreutz missed time with a sprained knee, and may have been planning to start him going forward regardless of whether or not Kreutz walked away. Kreutz has not officially retired, and has returned to his native Hawaii to “see where he’s at.” He will be placed on the “did not report” list in New Orleans, voiding the remainder of his $2 million salary.

Knew he was losing his starting job and THEN quit.

there is no point to just hang on for a paycheck if the fun has left the game.

PFT:

Despite swirling rumors that Kreutz’s exit was preceded by a scuffle of some type with offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, the reality is that Kreutz and the team made a mutual decision to part ways after a review of the film indicated that Brian de la Puente was the better option.

Kromer: Well, you’ve lost your starting job to a journeyman Portuguese kid. Whaddya think they’re gonna say about that back in Honolulu?