Da Chronic's Got Talent: Our First Candidate

Makes good points and informative
Now for the points in the article
I dont want Plexico or VJ on our team
I do want another big possesion body type reciever like Plexico just not him

1) In house, I really can’t agree with the idea that Adrian Arrington could step up and replace a talent line Colston. He hasn’t even been able to get on the field in previous seasons and we’re talking about him coming in and replacing our top WR? Color me very skeptical. Forgetting about Arrington, nobody we have on the roster right now is going to cut the mustard as a WR1. I also tend to think that Roby is going to be gone next season after fumbling away a kickoff return that led to a gimme touchdown in a playoff game.

2) Free agency wise, I don’t see much chance that the likes of a Vincent or DeSean Jackson will come any cheaper than Colston would. I think it’s more likely that either of those guys would instead cost more than Quiet Storm. We’re probably going to have to look a level or such down from that, but we do need to get somebody with a big enough frame to come in and be that reliable possession receiver. I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to be a popular opinion, but I’d be looking at Terrell Owens or Randy Moss to come in and serve as a stopgap for a season or two until we have more cap room clear up or can lock down a replacement in the draft. Plaxico would also work, as the OP stated, provided he doesn’t attract much attention on the market. With our limited resources, we’re not winning a bidding war with anyone for a top free agent wideout.

I think the points are valid and well thought out. I guess I don’t want any of those guys but if I had to take one it would be Plaxico because he would be cheap and expendable if he didn’t work out.

The article didn’t have a natural flow. While in school I can remember writing papers and while I kept adding and subtracting statements and thoughts that the paper would lose a little flow. That’s probably what happened to this writer. The more writing the better that would get. Nice job for first print however!

Though as to replacing Colston (should he leave), I think the Saints could look at using an early pick in the draft, depending on how free agency plays out. A guy like B.J. Cunningham (6-2, 210 lbs) could be available at the end of round 3. He’s good route runner, with nice hands, but isn’t fastest guy around, so he’s is a slightly smaller version of Colston, in my opinion. Then again, I’m not so sure the Saints should be spending a day 2 pick on a WR under any circumstances, but it was just a thought.

I enjoyed the article, but I’m left wondering what effect Holy Water would have on our receiving corps. For example, is it too late to add HW to the Gatorade cooler and make Colston want to stay? Since money is the root of all evil and Vincent Jackson held out for more money, would HW scald his esophagus? Preston wasn’t afraid to tackle the controversial HW factor. Why does this beat writer seem to be shying away from it?

As to the content:

I’d much rather the Saints do their darndest to keep Colston (although locking up Brees and Nicks remains the prime objective), but if he has to leave, then I’d take a Vincent Jackson as a stop gap replacement.

DeSean Jackson?? Ahhhh…no. Not only a headcase and a character issue, but unless he’s going to replace Sproles in kickoff and punt returns, his vertical speed wouldn’t quite mesh with the style of the Saints O. Henderson and Meacham already do that job for far less, and with less headaches.

Plexiglass?? HELL TO THE NO. Even worse of a thug than DJ, with half the talent.

TO?? As much as I’ve knocked Owens, I really do think that he’d be a better fit now for the Saints, since a year from football has made him a bit more hungry.

Well written and researched. I don’t agree that Colston is that likely to go elsewhere and the three replacement free agent WRs suggested would seem to be more trouble than they’d be worth (especially D-Jax). But, that’s OK because his/her post will stimulate a lively discussion and that’s important. Posts that most everyone agrees with don’t usually draw a lot of comments and tend to get looked at once and then forgotten. This post already has people challenging the premise and offering up why they disagree. Again, this is a good thing.

He was having a great camp until he got hurt. Could be a diamond in the rough and an opportunity for him to repace Colston if he decides to leave. Remember Joe Horn was the third receiver for KC before the Saint turn him loose.

What Adrian Arrington has done to inspire so much confidence that he could take over Colstons role. IMO Arrington would not last one game taking the types of hits Colston takes catching the ball over the middle… As far as the column goes, structurally it was great, a nice easy read, but I did have issues with some of the presumptions made in the content….My grade, meh, need to see more.

The subject depresses me immensely. See screenname. I will survive and endure any challange the Saints throw my way however, up to and including needing to let my favorite player walk.

Well thought out. Spell checked and everything!

I did think it got a tad long winded when mentioning all the other teams that might be interested.

Aside from that it did generate lively discussion, as mentioned above.

Agree with your assessment.

but knowing it isn’t worth top 5 receiver money. It will depend on Colston and he many take just a couple of million more because they are all chasing retirement money and legacies. How can Colston legacy get much better here? More winning, but moreso playoff and Superbowl winning. He’s seen two opportunties in the recent playoffs slip away and how hard it is to get back he may take his one SB ring, all that he’s enjoyed as a Saint, and just move on to something else, if it’s just a couple more million or a chance to make an even bigger differnce somewhere else or a surprising chance to be right where they all want to be in hunt for another Superbowl.

And if so, I’ll root for his success somewhere else.

What Colston does better than any of our receivers is use his body to block out corners and go up and get the ball on high back shoulder passes. Arrington has shown exactly ZERO ability to use his size to block out receivers. Not to mention the difference in route running is night and day.

Some good points were made of course, and it’s a worth while read. However, in comparisons like that in the future, one should delve a little deeper than simply basing things on comparitive sizes of the targets. Arrington is a tall WR…however, he’s incredibly lithe and does not have the body type to add the type of lbs you’re talking about a still be competitive. That’s no fault of Arrington’s of course…it’s simply genetics.

Overall, like I said, a good opening effort. It seemed, however, to gloss over a few things without delving deeper into WR comparisons and what exactly it is that makes Colston tick over the other WRs on the team or those coming in to possibly replace him.

I think the writer would be a nice add to the mix a couple times a month. It’s not as easy as it looks, and I see a lot of upside. And I have a BA in Journalism, so I can at least claim to have an educated opinion.

I’ve talked AA in past comments, and do agree on the bulking up. It was pretty apparent on Colstons’ TD in SF, AA ran down near the end zone to congratulate him. And AA is pretty lean next to Marques. Then again he’s been with the Saints a few yrs, and the coaches are aware of his weight, too narrow to play ST so he’s got to get on the field w/the Off. We see him get open/catch the ball, Got to step up, or step aside.

The article was fine.
My suggestion to Dave is that for front page status, these new writers are assigned to some sort of recurring, regularly scheduled programming/theme/format.
For instance, the way Stuart used to do a recurring stat breakdown to predict games, or Banks used to do a compilation of NFC South news.
If someone is just going to write about a random topic twice a month, why not just put it in a fanpost and move it to front page if it’s good enough?

So does that mean thumbs up or thumbs down?

Seems to me like most of the “regular” contributors have periodic “theme” pieces, and I would think “try-outs” should include the candidate’s ideas for same. Maybe a “Politics in Football” column. Or selecting the most appropriate Saint for each game (like maybe Thomas Aquinas when we play the Patriots and the “Hoodie”, as a thinking man’s game, or Saint Doofus for the Rams.

The more the merrier.

Other names that could pop up – Braylon Edwards, Donte Stallworth, and Reggie Wayne.

quadruple yuck

A bit long indeed, but definitely shows promises!!!

As far as the argument on finding a replacement for Colston, I’m actually thinking late rounds of the draft for a replacement! We have nobody on the WR roster right now that is as big a target for those back shoulder throws Drew loves so much!

As far as free agency is concerned, only Vincent Jackson would fit the “mold”, but he might indeed command an even heftier price!

Couldn’t PayLoo just find a way to keep Marques???