Yeah, we've heard already. Drew Brees is a 100 percent shoe in to re-sign with the New Orleans Saints. I mean the Saints without Brees would be like New Orleans without Bourbon Street. It's a done deal right? Whether it s a done deal or not, i think it's downright disrespectful to the biggest icon in Louisiana sports history.
Take Saints GM Mickey Loomis for instance on a radio conference call when asked about the impending new contract for Drew Brees. "I think i'd be out of a job if Drew was not signed" quipped Loomis. Does that sound like a guy who is ready to let the MVP (well all know) of the NFL the past 6 years walk? Drew himself took it further on the Dan Patrick show during Superbowl week last week by saying, "There is no doubt in my mind, i will be a New Orleans Saint for the rest of my career". You can even ask Saints head coach Sean Payton what he thinks. Said Payton, "I would be stunned if Drew Brees is not back in a Saints uniform next year."
Ok, so what's the hold up? How long does it take for an organization to realize the accomplishments of Drew Brees? Let me list some of them for you, just to be on the same page as Mickey Loomis......

National Football League records

DREW BREES SUPERBOWL XLIV MVP

• Single season passing leader – 5,476 yards (2011)
• Most completions in a season – 468 (2011)
• Most 300+ yard passing games in a season – 13 (2011)
• Most consecutive 300+ yard passing games – 7 (2011) (Weeks 10,12,13,14,15,16,17; 2011)
• Most consecutive games with 350+ yards passing – 4 (Weeks 3,4,5,6; 2011)
• Highest completion percentage, season – 71.2% (2011)
• Highest post-season completion percentage, career – 66.7%
• Lowest post-season interception percentage, career – 0.70%
• Most completions in a Super Bowl – 32 (Super Bowl XLIV; tied with Tom Brady)
• Most consecutive seasons with 4000+ passing yards – 6 (2006-2011; tied with Peyton Manning)
• Most consecutive seasons with 4000+ passing yards and 30+ Touchdowns – 4, 2008-current
• Most games with 20+ completions, season – 16 (2010,2011)
• Most passing completions per game, career – 23.4 comp/game
• Most consecutive 350+ completion seasons, career – 6 (2006-2011)
• Most 400+ completion seasons, career – 4 (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
• Most passing yards per game, career – 263.7 yards/game
• Most passing attempts per game, career – 35.5 att/game
• Most completions in a playoff game – 39 (at Seattle, 1/8/2011)
• Most pass attempts in a playoff game with zero interceptions – 60 (at Seattle, 1/8/2011)
• Most consecutive pass attempts without an interception during the playoffs – 215 [2006 – 2011(*still in progress)]
• Most consecutive games with at least 20 completions – 36
• Most Seasons with 5000+ passing yards- 2 (2008 & 2011)
• Most Seasons with 20+ completions, season – 2 (2010 & 2011)

New Orleans Saints franchise records

• Most passing yards in a single season – 5,476 yards (2011)
• Consecutive games with at least 1 TD pass – 43 (2009–present) 2nd NFL all-time
• Highest Comp. %, Career (Min. 500 attempts) – 65.7%
• Highest Comp. %, Season (Min. 14 attempts/game) – 71.23% (2011)
• Highest YPA, Career (Min. 500 attempts) – 7.56
• Highest YPA, Season (Min. 14 attempts/game) – 8.5 (2009)
• Highest Passer Rating, Career (Min. 500 attempts) – 93.8
• Highest Passer Rating, Season (Min. 14 attempts/game) – 110.6 (2011)
• Most Completions, Season – 468 (2011)
• Most Completions, Game – 39 vs. Denver, 9/21/2008
• Most Consecutive Completions – 19 (12/27/09)
• Most Pass Attempts, Season – 658 (2010)
• Most Pass Attempts, Game – 60 (tied with Aaron Brooks)
• Most Passing Yards, Game – 510 vs. Cincinnati, 11/19/2006 (seventh highest in NFL history)
• Most 4000 Yard Passing Seasons – 6
• Most Consecutive 4000 Yard Passing Seasons – 6 (2006–11)
• Most Games w/300+ Yards Passing, Season – 13 (2011)
• Most Consecutive Games w/300+ Yards Passing – 7 (2011)
• Most Touchdown Passes, Season – 46 (2011)
• Most Touchdown Passes, Game – 6 (9/13/2009) (tied with Billy Kilmer)
• Most Touchdown Passes On Opening Day, 6 (2009)
• Most Touchdown Passes, Career – 201

Should i go further? I can dig a little deeper than this as well.......

Other notable accomplishments

• Second place with most consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass: (43)
• Second place with most consecutive uninterrupted games with at least one touchdown pass: (32)
• First quarterback in NFL History to surpass 3,000 passing yards by Week 9. (3,004 yards in 2011)
• First quarterback in NFL History to surpass 4,000 passing yards in the first 12 games. (4,031 yards in 2011)
• First player in NFL history to pass for 5,000 yards in a season twice (2008 & 2011)
• Led NFL in passing yards three times (2006, 2008, 2011)
• Led NFL in touchdown passes three times (2008, 2009, 2011)
• Led NFL in completion percentage three times (2009, 2010, 2011)
• Led NFL in passer rating in 2009 (109.6)

Do these look like the numbers of a quarterback that is not deserving of a nice fat contract? The point is Drew Brees is being vastly disrespected by the Saints organization. Everyone with knowledge of professional football these days knows the Top 3 quarterbacks in the game right now are Brady, Brees, and Rogers. Drew Brees is not even in the top 10 as far as highest paid quarterbacks go these days. For example.......New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was the highest paid QB in the league this year with a whopping salary of 17.5 Million....Michael Vick signed a 100 Million dollar contract extension in the middle of the season for the Philadelphia Eagles. Giants Superbowl MVP QB Eli Manning just signed a lucrative contract that will pay him 107 Million for the next 7 years. Does all of this make sense to you??
For weeks now it has been "guaranteed" by the media that Drew Brees will never leave New Orleans. Now that the Superbowl is over, the media are starving for some football attention. Here's the first headliner which came out on Monday.......from our good friend Plaxico Burress.... In the article Plaxico states he has a feeling that "Drew Brees is going to sign with the Redskins. Plaxico also hits it right on the head by saying, "I think he's done enough for that organization to where they should have signed him during the season." Tuesday morning, another jolt to the Saints front office when CBSSports.com Mike Freeman reported that an unnaimed Saints player said Drew Brees was becoming frustrated with not receiving a long term deal..

"Drew Brees feels baffled, if not worse about how long it's taking for him to receive a long-term contract extension, an unnamed Saints player told CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman. Brees has said several times that a deal should be struck before free agency opens, but Freeman reported that privately Brees is telling teammates that his frustrations are rising."

You can either believe the media or believe reality. This is not a question of whether Drew Brees is going to leave the Saints. It's a matter of respect. Do you think Drew Brees doesnt feel disrespected? I'd doubt that. The Saints know what they are going to pay him, and the rest of the league knows what they WOULD pay him. For Mickey Loomis and the front office, it's time to stop dragging your feet and get this deal done once and for all. Not only for Drew Brees, but also for the city of New Orleans. This guy has meant so much to everyone. The meaning Drew Brees has to New Orleanians goes beyond anything that cash can offer. Drew Brees is New Orleans. He's brought us back from one of the worst disasters this country has ever seen. I just wish the New Orleans Saints would realize what they have waiting for them and the future of this city. So to Tom Benson, Coach Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, and Rita Benson, let's get this done, and give Drew the deal of his lifetime. He's given us the same deal. I'll be waiting in the next couple of weeks, to see if the Saints brass feel the same way.........WHO DAT!

Poll

Is Drew Brees being disrespected by Saints Brass for not getting a contract done sooner?

• Yes
• No

  131 votes | Results

On to the 2012 season! On to the draft! Free agency! Mickey, sign Drew, Nicks, Colston!

But, can we overcome the Super Bowl hosting jinx? In the last 10 seasons, there's only been one host team that has had a winning season.

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So I was thinking as I kept reading these fan posts and kept on seeing comments about our loss this year hurting so bad, So I came up with a theory. Read more below the jump....

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I'm thinking if the Saints should have done what the Giants did (not sure if it was an accident or on purpose) against the Pats in the last 30 seconds.

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Who is everybody's No one Saint... Why it's # 9 of Course

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# 2 fan favorite has to be

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.

Our First NFL HOF'er...Ricky Jackson

And our Second HOF'er Willie Roaf

The Rest of the Dome Patrol...

Pat Swilling

via ts2.mm.bing.net

Vaughn Johnson

Sam Mills

via ts3.mm.bing.net

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via ts4.mm.bing.net

via ts4.mm.bing.net

So talk Your Favorite Saints players

Talk you favorite Coaches

Favorite Fans

Or just talk nonsense, it's all good here.

Let me stress the need to keep things civil, or this thread will soon go the way of other good intentions. I advise everyone to read all the rules. Particularly the ones involving profanity and treating each other with respect.

What's a Perpetually Open Thread? I'll tell you! This is a thread dedicated to all off topic conversations. If there's something that you want to talk about that isn't really relevant to Saints football, can be discussed here. Think about this as a bar/hangout place for people who just want to have some fun with other Saints/football fans.

The whole reason for this thread is to help bring people together and help them get to know other fans on a more personal basis. If this turns out to be a popular activity, we hope to continue this concept as long as possible. However, there are some rules/constraints we have to put on some conversations in order to make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience.

• The other SBN and CSC rules still apply. No racist, sexist, or personal attacks on anyone. It's vulgar in other venues, it's still vulgar here.
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Have fun!

The NFL today is considered a "passing" league. The aerial attack is more important than ever. Thus, it gives rise to the importance of skill positions like quarterback and wide receiver. How do wide receivers factor into an NFL offense nowadays?

via www.soraspy.com

This is a statistical analysis of data on the NFL, specifically each team’s run to pass play ratio, their usage of various amounts of wide receivers, and the comparison of these data to their divisions, either NFC or AFC. The "Who" we are studying are the NFL teams. The "What" we are studying is the play tendencies of each team in the NFL, whether they are run dominant, pass dominant, or balanced, and their frequency of various wide receiver usages. The categorical variables are team, division/conference, and offensive philosophy. The quantitative variables are run-pass ratio and the various WR usages. The "Why" is because we want to see if there are any correlations between any of these variables or if any conclusions can be made from them.

The data sets will be broken down and displayed in various ways. The quantitative data will be displayed with histograms in conjunction with box plots. There will be box plot comparison charts that break down run-pass ratios in terms of division and frequencies of WR usages by amount of receivers. The categorical data will feature three things: a contingency table that compares division against offensive philosophy, a pie chart that breaks down the NFL by offensive philosophy, and a comparative bar graph that breaks down the offensive philosophies by division.

The key data set is the WR usage frequencies. How often do teams use 0-1 WRs? What about 2 WRs? 3 WRs? 4-5 WRs? By using the data for WR usage, it will be easier to compare the WR usage against the offensive philosophies in the NFL.

Make the jump for the fun stuff!

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With the season coming to an end this Sunday following the Superbowl, it's time to focus on the offseason. There's been some talk about who we should re-sign, who we should pursue in FA, and what we should do in the draft. I'm going to take a look at all of this and give my opinion (for what it's worth) on each subject.

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I'm obviously an Eagles fan, DeSean Jackson probably isn't coming back (good riddance) which means the Eagles need a WR. I've been looking at free agent wide-receivers and one guy that I keep coming back to is Robert Meachem. I'm looking at Robert Meachem and my impression is that he doesn't lack any physical talent and that he has produced whenever he's gotten on the field. He's been reliable and dynamic. He probably doesn't have outrageous contract demands. And when you look at his situational stats, his splits and his advanced statistics, they're all stellar.

So, I'm looking at this and I'm wondering what the problem is. Why didn't Meachem see more consistent playing time? Was he a locker-room problem? Does he not prepare the way Sean Payton expects him to? What's the story on this guy. The reason I ask is because I'm weary , he looks fantastic on the surface of things but I figure I must be missing something because I think signing Meachem would be a slam dunk.

Well, it's that time of year again when the tough decisions must be made rather we like it or not. Players come and players go. I always try not to get too emotionally attached to an individual player and look at what is best for the team. It makes it much easier to hold players accountable in that regard and to not defend them for past accomplishments alone. This holds even more true if their recent contributions might be less than positive or maybe an outright liability to the team. So with that in mind, I ask you.....Who is currently expendable on the roster?

Some could make a case for quite a few of our players who might not deserve a roster spot or that we could easily "upgrade." Some players could be used as "trade bait" to try and move up in the draft while others might feel they are worth more money than we will be willing to offer them. First, I'd like to look at players whose roster spot might not be "set in stone"......

Expendable

David Thomas (TE) I like David Thomas and he is a good tight end. He signed a 3-year 5.5 million dollar deal in 2011 and it seemed as he would be around for the foreseeable future. Sadly he dealt with concussion problems all year long and 2011 was pretty much a lost season for him. Seeing that our depth at TE was tested this season, I wouldn't be surprised if the Saints target a TE in the later rounds of the draft. Thomas could find himself having some competition as the number two tight end.

Devery Henderson (WR) Another sub-par season for Devery and I think I have seen enough. His long yardage catch every 4 or 5 games does not justify him having a roster spot and I think we could definitely upgrade at his spot. Devery disappears for large portions of the season and it seems like right around the time everyone has forgotten about him, he makes a long yardage catch to remind us that he does exist. He is coming into a contract year in 2012.

Scott Shanle (LB) What can I say about Mr. Shanle that hasn't already been said? He knows the system and that is about the only good thing I can say. He is slow, non-athletic and should have been given his walking papers before this season even started......he was given a two year contract instead. His contributions might be the most easily replaced out of any player on this list.

Trade Bait

We need to move up in the draft. It makes me sick to start picking at the end of the second round. There are a lot of players that aren't gonna be on the board that we could utilize greatly. We dont even have to trade back into the first round but we need to start our draft higher than where we currently sit. Also, I don't like the idea of trading second round picks with someone so I didn't even consider that scenario. I think we need to keep our current pick and add a higher one. So, I now introduce my picks for trade bait.......

Pierre Thomas (RB) Pierre is our number one player who fits the "trade bait" label. I love PT and I really don't want to see him go anywhere but I want to do what is best for the team overall. Losing PT will hurt us but with our depth at running back.....it won't hurt us a greatly as losing a player at another position. We are 4 deep at running back and I think Ivory did more than enough to get the job done late in the season. Ivory isn't gonna have much trade potential due to his injury history. PT could be the number one running back on quite a few teams and I have no doubt that someone would give up a second round pick for him. Spending that first round pick on Ingram made it clear that he was the future at RB and sadly....made PT expendable.

Sedrick Ellis (DT) Ellis has never lived up to his 7th overall draft pick status. He has not proven anything other than being an average DT at the least and a "solid" performer at best. I think we could find someone else to replace him and get similar production at possibly a cheaper cost. I don't think a team would give up a second round pick for him unless they were completely desperate. Although I can definitely see him being used as "trade bait" if another team would be willing to give up to a second rounder in a packaged deal that also includes one of our later picks or another player. As long as we would be able to keep our current second round pick....I would be okay with that scenario.

Roman Harper (SS) I don't have a problem with Harper like some other fans do. I think he is what he is and I don't know why people get upset when he fails at doing something that he was never good at to begin with. It isn't his fault that he was constantly put into position to cover someone man to man. The guy is a hard hitter, a run stuffer, and is pretty good at getting to the quarterback. I think he has more trade value than some people might think. I think he can have success if you don't put him in the position to fail. I really don't want to to trade him because we really don't have anyone else that can take his place. Yeah, we probably could sign a better cover SS in FA but we would be losing all the other things he is good at which I mentioned above. I could see someone giving up to a second round pick for him in a packaged deal.

Free Agents

So now we are left with players whose contracts are up and I feel like we shouldn't resign. I'm tempted to put Colston on this list just because I think spending the amount of money he is gonna want would do more harm to the team than good. I do not want to lose him and I am fine with overpaying for him a little as long as it is realistic. It is really up to him and the ball is squarely in his court. Before I am chased with pitchforks for even mentioning letting Colston walk, in my defense, I am just being realistic. A bad team will offer him more money than we will.

Robert Meachem (WR) You all know I don't like him and I feel like we could've used that first round pick on a LB (Posluszny was available). He hasn't lived up to expectations and he has been outplayed by UDFA Lance Moore. He disappears for weeks at a time and might be good for 1 or 2 games a year. He doesn't fight for yardage, is scared to take a hit, and constantly runs out of bounds. Just like Devery, he reappears just when everyone forgot he existed. We can find an upgrade at his spot and might already have someone on the team that can do what we ask of him and might even do it better (Joe Morgan). Let another team overpay him for his speed and "veteran" status.

Tracy Porter (CB) He will always be a Saints legend. I doubt I would get any argument from anyone about that. I have several newspaper pictures of his 09 interceptions framed and hung on the wall in my living room. The guy "used" to be a great corner and I would have called you crazy two years ago if you told me in the near future I would be arguing not to resign him. But he has regressed dramatically and I now label him as a liability. He is not the same cornerback he was two years ago and I'm just guessing that his frequent injuries has something to do with it. Could he make a comeback? Of course he could but it is too risky in my opinion seeing that he has missed a total of 21 games in his 4 year career.

Shaun Rodgers and Abrayo Franklin (DT) Well.....I guess you could say they both didn't exactly "wow" anyone and you would figure they would be playing at their highest level seeing that they only signed one year deals. They were on a good team, playing for a title all year long, and this was a great chance for them both to audition for a long term deal either with us or another team. I know they both made a play on occasion but the one thing that jumps out in my mind is the monster hit that Rodgers put on Matt Stafford, which I guess you could say was meaningless in the bigger picture, but it was pretty fun to watch. I would not complain if we decided not to resign either of them but I would be okay with resigning one of them to another short deal. Maybe our new DC could work some magic.

So that's my thoughts. I hate to see players go but we all know it is inevitable and apart of the business of football. Sometimes the positive of losing a player far outweighs the negative. I hate to argue the release of a beloved player but it is necessary in some cases. I wish it didn't feel like betrayal though.

More options we can start discussing for the Draft. I'll list some draft prospects For DT/DE. Some of these are listed as 1st or 2nd round draft prospects.Some are 3rd round or later. Let the conversation be whether or not, they will available at our 2nd round pick or later, as well as should they be considered. I used NFL DRAFT SCOUT to get this list. Also list and discuss any others you feel may be available, that we should target. For this post let's keep it to the Defensive side of the field. Went a little further in round projections with this post, because I'm hoping LB'er is a higher priority.

DT:

Brando Thompson, DT Clemson projected 2nd Round

Josh Chapman DT Alabama projected 2nd round

Kendal Reeves DT Connecticut projected 2nd/3rd round

DaJohn HarrisDT So Cal projected 3rd round

Kheeston Randall DT Texas projected 3rd round

Alameda Ta"amu DT Washington projected 3rd/4th round

Mike Martin DT Michigan projected 4th round

Derek Wolfe DT Cincinnati projected 5th/6th round

Mike Daniels DT Iowa projected 6th round

Jaye Howard DT Florida projected 6th/7th round

Nicolas Jean-Baptiste DT Baylor projected 7th Round

DE

Andre Branch DE Clemson projected 1st/2nd round

Jared Crick DE Nebraska projected 2nd round injury concerns...out 2011 Pectorial, coming off knee injury

Billy Winn Boise St. projected 2nd round

Chandler Jones DE Syracuse projected 2nd round

Vinny Curry DE Marshall projected 2nd/3rd round limited last 4 games with knee injury

Cam johnson DE Virginia projected 2nd/3rd round also played LB'er in 3-4 scheme

Trevor Guyton DE California projected 3rd round

Malik Jackson DE Tennessee projected 3rd/4th round

Shea McClellin DE Boise St. projected 4th round

Jake Bequette DE Arkansas projected 4th/5th round

Jack Crawford DE Penn St. projected 5th round