It didn't really hit me how reasonable / low the rookie wage scale was until I heard that Ingram's contract was $7.41 million over four years.  That seems like really low price considering that we just signed Sproles, an arguably less complete back, for $14 million over four years.  That got me thinking...this disparity in cost structure definitely lends to a chance to use the system to one's advantage.

What do I mean?

Well, the more players on your team that have draft-pick contracts, the better the team should be (theoretically) because a comparable team with many players without draft-pick contracts will not have the salary cap space to sign or retain better free agent players.

But how could one manipulate this to one's advantage?  Easy: Do what the Patriots are doing and get as many draft picks as possible.

It makes a lot of sense.  It changes how much draft picks are worth, showing that Atlanta probably over-spent on draft picks to get Julio Jones.

So what should the Saints do?  They should probably start looking to trade current players, even those with reasonable contracts, for draft picks.  I love almost all of the players on this team, and I'd be sad to see anyone go, but in the long run, it might make a lot of sense.

This year, there might not be a lot of possibilities for trades.  But, guys to think about trading in the future include Lance Moore, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas, Jon Stinchcomb, Tracy Porter, and perhaps others.  I'm not saying that the Saints have to trade these players, or that they should trade all of these players, but it might make a lot of sense for the future.  Just something to think about.

What do y'all think?

Assuming that the lockout continues for at least another month or two but not actually destroy next year's football season, what do you think the effect on the quality of play will be?  Significant?  Barely noticeable?  Vary by team?

Make the Jump for more.

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I'm sorta getting fed up with talking about the lockout and arguing about the value of the Ingram pick trade, so I decided to write about fun stuff instead.  And by fun stuff, I mean the type of exciting plays that SP might draw up next season to combat/exploit various formations that they see.

 
Make the Jump if you're interested.

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This will definitely get me in some hot water with a few guys on the this site, but sometimes it's nice to play devil's advocate.  I'm going to try to convince people that the Saints should not draft Ingram--not because of the defensive talent that could be picked in the 1st round, but because he isn't worth a first round pick for the Saints.

Please make the

jump.

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Hey everyone, I was going through a few blogs and found these scouting reports for the 2011 NFL Draft.  To make things easy for Saints fans, I went ahead and only included links to those who are LB, DE, DT, or RB prospects (though it is quite easy to navigate from one to another once on a page, if you want to see the other prospects).  They are in order of ranking, according to these reports.  Enjoy!

LBs (including 3-4 LBs)

Von Miller http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-5-Von-Miller-OLB-Texas-A-?urn=nfl-324801

Aldon Smith http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-14-Aldon-Smith-OLB-Missour?urn=nfl-323963

Akeem Ayers http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-27-Akeem-Ayers-OLB-UCLA?urn=nfl-321763

Justin Houston http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-41-Justin-Houston-OLB-?urn=nfl-330462

Martez Wilson http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-46-Martez-Wilson-ILB-?urn=nfl-wp163

Brooks Reed http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-52-8212-Brooks-Reed-?urn=nfl-wp739

Sam Acho http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-55-DE-OLB-Sam-Acho-T?urn=nfl-wp759

Quan Sturdivant  http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-61-Quan-Sturdivant-L?urn=nfl-wp1009

DEs (not including the several OLB/DE tweeners listed above)

Da'Quan Bowers http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-3-DaQuan-Bowers-DE-Clemson?urn=nfl-325034

Robert Quinn http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-6-Robert-Quinn-DE-North-Ca?urn=nfl-324735

Cameron Jordan http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-11-Cameron-Jordan-DL-Cal?urn=nfl-324299

Adrian Clayborn http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-16-Adrian-Clayborn-DE-Iowa?urn=nfl-323844

Ryan Kerrigan http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-18-Ryan-Kerrigan-DE-Purdue?urn=nfl-323714

J. J. Watt http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-22-J-J-Watt-DE-Wisconsin?urn=nfl-323037

Cameron Heyward http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-28-Cameron-Heyward-DE-Ohio?urn=nfl-321701

Muhammad Wilkerson http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-42-Muhammad-Wilkerson-?urn=nfl-330651

Jabaal Sheard http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-50-Jabaal-Sheard-DE-?urn=nfl-wp405

Christian Ballard http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-51-8211-Christian-Ba?urn=nfl-wp733

DTs

Nick Fairley http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-2-Nick-Fairley-DT-Auburn?urn=nfl-325074

Marcell Dareus http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-7-Marcel-Dareus-DT-Alabama?urn=nfl-324650

Corey Liuget http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-21-Corey-Liuget-DT-Illinoi?urn=nfl-323336

Stephen Paea http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-34-Stephen-Paea-DT-Oregon?urn=nfl-320197

Phil Taylor http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-38-Phil-Taylor-DT-Baylor?urn=nfl-319265

Marvin Austin http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-48-Marvin-Austin-DT-N?urn=nfl-wp370

Drake Nevis http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-60-8212-Drake-Nevis-?urn=nfl-wp999

RBs

Mark Ingram http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-17-Mark-Ingram-RB-Alabama?urn=nfl-323797

Mikel Leshoure http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-40-29-Mikel-Leshoure-RB-Illin?urn=nfl-321225

Ryan Williams http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Second-Shutdown-40-44-Ryan-Williams-RB-V?urn=nfl-330803

So instead of trying think about the best possible pick that the Saints could get, let's spin this around: what are the picks that you absolutely do not want the other teams in the NFC South to make?  That is, who do you think will be very good and you don't want playing against the Saints twice a year?

With Carolina having the first pick, it makes the question somewhat easier.  Who is the one guy that you absolutely don't want to see lining up across from the men in Black and Gold next year?

For Carolina, I absolutely do not want to see Patrick Peterson.  I'm admittedly an LSU homer, but that guy is a freakish athlete.  He could be a shutdown corner, someone who could take a part of the passing game completely away; to make matters worse, he's a great punt returner, and the Saints have had some pretty shoddy special teams coverage units.

For the Bucs, it's considerably harder, but I don't want to see them pick up Kerrigan or any other (good) DE.  Giving the Bucs two stud DTs (remember last year's draft, assuming they progress) and a stud DE could seriously threaten Drew Brees' time in the pocket.  Winning in the trenches goes a long way to winning the game.

For the Falcons, again, it's harder to project a pick.  I'm actually completely unsure who I wouldn't want them to get; most scouts project them getting an offensive lineman.  I think a stud WR would be the worst that they could get, but there really isn't a stud WR that projects to fall to them, so I would hate to see the Falcons get a mauling OG who could help destroy the Saints' front seven.

What do y'all think?  Comment below.

So unless you've been living under a rock, you might have noticed that there's a bit of a rivalry between the two fanbases.  It's gotten ugly on multiple occasions and on multiple sites.  I don't have to link them; seriously, go scroll down the Fanshots at CSC or DN and you'll find plenty.  It'll probably be the ones with the most comments.

We need to stop this.  We wouldn't tolerate our own behavior, and by that I mean that some CSC members have made comments on DN that if a DN member made, we'd be angry about it.  Let's resist making personal attacks.  And that goes for BOTH sites--we shouldn't be attacking their members on our site either.  Maybe we should call ourselves out on it.

Some people are naturally vitriolic.  Some people have short fuses.  And, on the internet, you never know the people you're fighting.  Maybe they got fired that day.  Maybe a family member died.  Maybe their dog pissed on their foot that morning, and everything's been going downhill.  Sometimes people just need a little space to vent and cool down.  Sports are a great way to get out of the real world for a few minutes and indulge in pure fantasy, where we're happy and perpetually optimistic, even if it's about "the next game" and "next year" and "our draft picks."  It's a way to keep up our spirits when the real world sucks.  I realized that after Katrina, as did many of us on this website.  Let's all try to keep that in mind.  People get angry and lose their tempers online.  It happens, especially on websites which are meant to be a place for colored thinking (of the Black and Gold variety, and the like).  We have to accept that and not continue bitter responses.  Flame wars are worthless.

We need to keep things in perspective.  Darren Sharper is not your mother.  If someone calls him a dirty, no-good cheat, that's OK.  He can take it.  Heck, maybe they're right; I can't say because I don't have access to his inner thoughts and intentions.  Don't take it personally.  And don't attack others personally either.  You might think one blogger is wrong because he's mad and banned you, but he isn't the Anti-Christ.  Don't get baited into attacks.

Also, and I would recommend others to take this up, I'm going to try my hardest to write ONLY football on others' sites.  That's it.  I'll color my opinions here; they're more welcome and constructively criticized.  I understand that it can be annoying when that "other guy" comes around talking about a little bit more than football, so I'm not going to do it.  Anything more than football invites escalation. 

Lastly, I'd like to specifically point out "Jepp the Viking," "Frost," "Ted Simmons Speed Camp," "puddnhead," and "ArizonaVikingsFan" for being even-keeled and classy on DN.  I'd also like to acknowledge Dave for being a great moderator on this site.  Let's try to imitate these guys.

And I'm not talking about baseball.  IF, and this is still an IF, Vilma misses a game or two or more, what should the Saints do to replace him?  Marvin Mitchell is an overall OK MLB, but Vilma is an All-Pro.  The drop-off might be huge.  Would you recommend keeping the 4-3 base defense, and hope that the subs fill in?  Or switch the defense around?

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So I just saw some ESPN highlights, and the Packers dropped 59 points on the Colts.  OK, it's preseason, but still, dropping 59 points on anyone, at any time, is tough to do.  And they held the Colts to 24 points.  Are the Packers all that?  Should we be worried?

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Let's do a thought experiment here.  Imagine that Favre doesn't return to the Vikings and retires for the third time.  Also imagine (God Forbid) that about three games into the season, Drew Brees gets a season ending injury.  Also imagine (I know, this is a lot) that Brett Favre throws out the notion that he'd come back to play for the Saints to get a ring.  Would you, as Sean Payton, put him in a Saints jersey to get the Saints through the season?

You know what's really funny?  If aTm joins the SEC, there are two things I'm looking forward to.  It's not recruiting better in Texas.  It's not more money for the SEC.  It's not getting another team to get to 14.

It's two things.

It's recreating a historically awesome rivalry with a fan base as great as any in the country.

And it's watching aTm beat UT.  I'm confident that this will happen in the first 5 years of playing in the SEC.

And I'm not sure which one I want more.