Things Saints Fans and the Who Dat Nation Can Be Thankful For
By Bob Rose
Oct 27, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton reacts to a call during the second quarter of a game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Bills 35-17. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
STAYING AGGRESSIVE
The “braintrust” of the New Orleans Saints remains among the most aggressive in the league, both on the field and off.
Sean Payton, after whispered allegations of loosing his passion for the game, or having a message that went “stale”, seems very much rejuvenated by this young group of players.
Payton, GM Micky Loomis, and Assistant GM / Director of College Scouting Jeff Ireland have completely re-tooled this team since 2014.
Loomis has been criticized, and rightly so, for many of his free agent signings. Granted, while many in recent years have bordered on complete disasters, there have been some “under the radar” players that have been brought in that are major contributors to the current Saints team.
The fact that the front office has remained aggressive is a boast that some other franchises cannot claim. Jeff Ireland’s addition to the front office last season seemed to pay almost immediate dividends within both the draft and free agent acquisitions.
Despite the salary-cap maneuvering that Loomis has managed to pull off each season, the fact does remain however that it was a number of HIS transactions that caused the club to dip in its productivity in the first place.
Which then of course brings us to “the poster child” of these poor decisions…..