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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Yes but who will replace Chunky Chase?

Handwerger gives the Saints solid marks in free agency to this point.

I'm inclined to agree. The #BringKeenanLewisHome campaign wasn't quite as loud as the similar one in favor of Ed Reed, but the signing is likely to be more rewarding. Ben Watson replacing Founder of Wendy's figures to be a lateral move. And even if it fails, fans can amuse themselves all season by asking, "Where's the beef?"

Meanwhile, Courtney Roby is back. Chris Ivory will probably be back. I happen to think hanging on to Vilma was the right thing to do. So not too much to complain about.

Except Bushrod, if you're the sort to miss Bushrod anyway.  Yes, he made the Pro Bowl. Being on this offense helps one do that. Mostly, though, he's been the guy who got plugged in to fill the void after Jammal Brown passed his expiration date. And now he's been dumped too.

Not that this isn't something to be concerned with. It's just also not anything to panic over. Obviously the Saints need a left tackle now. And, no, Charlie Brown is not the answer. But there will be one.  Maybe it would make some sense to hold back some of that money, they're threatening to waste on Nnamdi Asomugah and spend it on whichever one of these highly thought of right tackles is best suited to move to the other side. Or, of course, Jarmarcus Russell is looking for work. Might try him in that spot.

At the same time, the Saints would still do well to look for a receiver, or somebody who can add a new threat to the offense. (No, not Randy Moss.) Handwerger argues that the 2009 Super Bowl champion Saints were built out of an offseason of non-spectacular moves.

Go back to 2009.

New Orleans didn’t make a splash in free agency. Sure, after-the-fact, Darren Sharper appeared to be a coup. But no one hailed him as the guy who would change the team.  He was at the tail end of his career and few knew exactly what he had left in his tank.

They signed Jabari Greer, Anthony Hargrove and Heath Evans. All important players, sure, but none were names who would lead off any of the national TV programs.

I don't think people were as low on Sharper at the time as he's implying here, but I'll accept that. But I don't think 2009 is the year to look to as a model.  That team may have won a championship, but the best team the Saints fielded during the Payton era played in 2011.  That year brought some big changes, particularly on offense where Darren Sproles replaced Reggie Bush and Jimmy Graham became a full time starter in place of the jettisoned Jeremey Shockey.  They set some sort of record that season, I think.

The 2011 Saints also went big in the free agent market on defense bringing in Sean Rodgers, Aubrayo Franklin and Turk McBride. That worked less well but it didn't matter because the offense was so dominant and the team as a whole was more confident and seemingly indestructible than 2009's comeback and escape artists appeared to be.

This isn't a hard and fast rule, but no matter how good you think your roster is, success comes to teams that manage change the best year-to-year. And when this is true, which is often, it is more true with regard to the offense. If the Saints are looking to get the most return for their money, they'd do best to invest some of it on that side of the ball.

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