Saints Gab

The Saints are going nowhere, as finally after a full year of talks, the team has announced they have reached a tentative agreement with the state of Louisiana to stay at the Superdome through 2025. The agreement states that the team will not need a new stadium to stay in the state, but the Superdome will be upgraded and the state will resurrect an abandoned section of the Central Business District with a refurbished office tower and a new sports entertainment district.

The NO Times-Picayune reports that the sides are expected to formally announce the deal at a press conference later today. The deal reportedly could save the state $281 million when compared with the current agreement that pays the Saints $23 million in subsidies, the state would make $85 million in improvements to the Dome, and Saints owner Tom Benson and his family would buy the vacant Dominion Tower and New Orleans Centre and lease office space back to the state.

“Our community is coming back slowly, and I think this is going to be the shot in the arm that’s going to keep it going in that direction, ” Benson said Wednesday. “I really believe that this is going to be something that is going to be very sound for our community.”

The agreement to approve $85 million in upgrades to the Superdome will need approval from the Legislature. The article says that the money to make the improvements will come from the state’s surplus. “There was a lot of excitement about the savings to the state, ” Superdome Chairman Ron Forman said. “There were still concerns because this is a tough fiscal year. But we also believe that if we are going to have professional sports in New Orleans, this is so much better than what we had before. And when we show the savings to the legislators, we think we will get whatever we need.”

The Saints have released defensive tackle Hollis Thomas, his agent Michael Bauer confirmed. Thomas, 35, was scheduled to earn $1.4 million this season. He started 30 games in his three years with the Saints, including the playoffs, 123 tackles and 6.5 sacks.

The release of DT Brian Young took place just a few hours ago, but already Mike Triplett of The Times-Picayune got a hold of Young, who says that despite being disappointed about being let go, he does plan on playing in 2009 or possibly 2010, and would like it to be for the Saints. Young had a major left knee injury that kept him from playing half of last season. “It’s hard to deal with right now because I’ve been playing this game for 20 years and I’ve loved every minute of it,” Young told Triplett. He said that he has no issues with the Saints, and they went “above and beyond” to give him a chance to come back this offseason.

The Saints made a tough decision today, as they released defensive tackle Brian Young. The team announced the release of the nine-year veteran earlier today.

“This was a very difficult decision to make,” G.M. Mickey Loomis said in a team-issued release. “Brian is one of the hardest working individuals I have ever met and I have as much respect for him as any player I have ever been associated with. We will miss his passion for the game.

“He has been a key contributor to our defense for a number of years and has also brought a lot to our organization as a high character individual. He has not received as much recognition and credit as he deserves for what he has brought to our team and this community. He will always be welcome in our building.”

Young played only half of last season because of problems with his left knee that lingered into the current offseason. He appeared in eight games in 2008, with 13 tackles, including one sack. In 2006, the last season the Saints went to the playoffs, Young started all 16 regular season games, finishing with 46 tackles, including 5.5 sacks.

Young was due to earn only $745,000 in base salary this season.

One day after the draft, the Saints have come to terms with no less than 10 undrafted free agents. Here’s the list:

CB Danny Gorrer (Texas A&M)
OG Cedric Dockery (Texas)
WR Chris Vaughn (Louisville)
LB Jonathan Casillas (Wisconsin)
CB Reggie Jones (Portland State)
G/T Augustus Parrish (Kent State)
C Alex Fletcher (Stanford)
QB Patrick Cowan (UCLA)
WR Kenneth Harris (Georgia)
RB Herb Donaldson (Western Illinois)

The Saints have selected a safety/CB in the first round, going with Ohio State hitter Malcolm Jenkins with the #13 pick. New Orleans has been looking to upgrade the secondary for sometime, and now they have a player that can step in and have an impact.

Here is the lowdown on Jenkins from Draft Countdown:

Strengths:

Terrific size and bulk with long arms…Smooth and athletic…Great hands and ball skills…Good strength…Solid instincts and is quick to react…Has a powerful punch and gets a good jam at the line…Reliable tackler…Very physical and will happily support the run…Extremely confident…Tough and durable…Hard worker and team leader with excellent intangibles…Offers some positional versatility…Has a lot of experience against top competition … Outstanding program pedigree.

Weaknesses:

Does not have great speed or quickness…Lacks a burst to close and recover…Has some trouble flipping his hips and transitioning…Just average feet…Gambler who will take some chances…Will struggle to turn and run with speedy pro wideouts deep … Bit of a CB / S ‘tweener.

Notes:

Also being looked at as a free safety prospect…Probably would have been a first round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft had he come out after his junior season…A three-year starter in the Big Ten…Helped lead his high school team to three consecutive state titles…Was named 1st Team All-Big Ten as a sophomore, junior and senior…Missed the final two games of the regular season with a knee injury as a true freshman but was otherwise healthy…Will attempt to follow in the footsteps of former Buckeyes cornerbacks who have found great success in the NFL like Shawn Springs, Antoine Winfield, Ahmed Plummer, Nate Clements and Chris Gamble…Will likely begin his pro career at corner but if that doesn’t work out he still has Pro Bowl potential as a safety…Best fit may come in a zone scheme where he can press…Eerily reminiscent of Antrel Rolle coming out of college and carries a similar pro grade…Not an elite shut-down cover guy but could be a #1 corner

The New Orleans Times Picayune reports that Saints wide receiver Lance Moore and guard Jahri Evans have signed their tendered one-year contract offers, General Manager Mickey Loomis said Friday. Evans agreed to a one-year, $2.792 million contract and Moore a one-year deal worth $1.545 million. Both were restricted free agents

The changes to the NFL Draft that owners agreed to in March are the first step to improve a broken system. By adopting rules that say no team that makes the playoffs will draft ahead of non-playoff teams, the NFL clearly wants to create parity on every level. However, more changes should be made.

This year’s draft features two unfair instances in its order. When the first round begins on April 25, the San Diego Chargers, who won the AFC West and earned a berth in the playoffs will pick 16th, ahead of five teams who did not play in the post-season. Also, New England, who did not make the playoffs, have the 23rd pick this year because they finished with an 11-5 record, better than three playoff teams.

These disparities occurred because the old ordering system placed teams by their final record, unless they reached their conference championship games.

In the new system, playoff teams will be seeded in the draft in the order in which they are eliminated and each group of losing teams will be ordered by their record. Under this system, the Patriots would draft 20th and the Chargers would draft 25th.

Even though the NFL Competition Committee recommended the changes that will be implemented next year to ensure this does not happen again, the league should go a step further by taking a page from the way teams’ opponents are scheduled.

The schedule’s basis rests in each team’s standing in their division at the end of the season, so the draft should reflect teams’ divisional results as well.

For example, the last place teams in each division, who play the other last place teams in their conference the following year, should receive the top eight picks in the draft. Their overall record would determine those teams’ draft order.

The third place teams would follow in picks nine through 16 and the seeds for playoff teams would mirror the new plan. As for the playoff teams, wildcard teams should pick before division winners, unless they go to the Super Bowl.

These changes could help the NFL ensure parity not only through the league as a whole, but also bring equality to each division by helping weaker teams with higher draft picks. By ensuring teams have the best chance to improve yearly, the NFL gives fans of underachieving teams hope and a reason to buy tickets for the following season.

When it comes to the backup QB spot for the Saints, Pro Football Weekly reports that Mark Brunell is the leader right now for the position over Joey Harrington. Here’s the report:

Sources say Mark Brunell is still ahead of Joey Harrington on the Saints’ depth chart at quarterback. New Orleans re-signed Harrington in late March, but head coach Sean Payton still has more confidence in Brunell, should he need to go to a backup if Drew Brees were to suffer an injury that kept him out for a few games. Word is the Saints view Brunell as a near-perfect fit as a primary backup — he doesn’t have great arm strength, but he is known as a sound decision maker, which is a trait Payton values.