As a fan of the New Orleans Saints, I will always associate Ricky Williams with the trade that likely stalled significant franchise progress for years. In 1999, Saints head coach Mike Ditka, hoping to find the next Walter Payton, traded away eight draft picks for the opportunity to…
Forum: Saints News
Posted By: mvtrucking
Post Time: 02-11-2012 at 09:45 AM
Read more of this Saints News post via SaintsReport.com - 11,22,23,24
Forum: Saints News
Posted By: mvtrucking
Post Time: 02-11-2012 at 09:55 AM
Read more of this Saints News post via SaintsReport.com - 11,22,23,24
The New Orleans Saints face one of the most significant lists of pending free agents in the NFL this year.
Read more of this Saints News post via New Orleans Saints News
OK, the dreaded time is finally here. There is absolutely no NFL game of any sort coming on this weekend, so it’s now officially the 2012 NFL Offseason.
Can I get a “GAAAAAAAA!”? I feel better now. Not much, but some.
Our minds, bodies, and souls must shift into a whole different mode of operation. Instead of a daily and weekly pattern of happenings and events, it’s a much more drawn out framework that instead unfolds over weeks and months at a glacial pace.
Make the jump to dig into this some more with me…
During the glorious days of wine and roses in the regular season, every single day of the week has a special significance. Monday is Who Dat Say!?! day and consists of the absorption of all post-game coverage. Tuesday is the day Jeff Duncan’s Film Study column usually appears on nola.com. Wednesday is the first official injury report day, while Thursday is Podcast day, and Friday is Prediction Friday. Saturday is college football games (Tiger BAIT!!!), and Sunday is gameday, of course, which became all the more enjoyable this season with the advent of HansDat’s Hot Reads.
But it’s a whole different flow from February through September, and things slow down dramatically, and maddeningly so. February is Scouting Combine Month, and March is Free Agency Month. April is Draft Month, and then May and June are OTA and mini-camp months. July is dead, and then Training Camps open at the end of July and early in August. The opening night for the NFL 2012 regular season is waaaaaaaaaaay far off (September 6).
Here’s how the offseason calendar rounds into shape (these are all the specific dates I could find):
- February 20 - Teams may apply franchise and transition designations to players starting now.
- February 22-28 - NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, IN, with regional player combines being held now through late March around the country.
- March 5 - Final deadline to apply franchise and transition designations to players.
- March 13 - Free agency begins.
- April 26-28 - NFL Draft, New York, NY.
- May/June - Individual team mini-camps and OTAs.
- July - big lotta nothin’
- August - Training camp!!
- September 6 - not the Saints playing anywhere day (hopefully).
* * *
So, that’s the 2012 offseason in a nutshell, and now I want to hear from you. How active will you be in this offseason? What will you do to beat the Offseason Blues?
Are you a mock draft connoisseur or do you just mock them? Do you scout the combine or are you clueless about the Wonderlic? Are you a free agency freak, or do you not give a flip? Are you sick of these dichotomous questions or are you starving for more?
Read more of this Saints News post via Canal Street Chronicles
Detroit Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson runs with the ball as New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter tries to make the tackle Cornerback Tracy Porter is set to become a free agent soon.A As of right now, his future with the New Orleans Saints is only a question mark.A Will he leave or stay?A If he does leave, who will take over his position … (more)
Read more of this Saints News post via New Orleans Saints News
Today in Washington D.C. the three leading GOP candidates for President are addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference .
Read more of this Saints News post via New Orleans Saints News
Thirteen years ago on a sugar white sand bar along Mississippi’s Black Creek, I watched as a miracle for New Orleans began unfolding.
Read more of this Saints News post via New Orleans Saints News
It doesn’t take long to get to the big issues for Saints officials as they prepare to embark on a 2 1/2-month period that will be critical for an offensive unit that shattered the NFL record for total yards in 2011.
Most front-office executives would love to have the “issues” a team that won 14 games has going into the offseason, but the Saints know that keeping the core of that productive offense intact won’t be easy—not by any stretch of the imagination.
The top priority, of course, is getting quarterback Drew Brees re-signed after he completed the six-year, $60 million contract he received from the team in March 2006. In this case, it was money well spent as Brees helped deliver four playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title.
The cost of doing business…
