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Sproles to NO (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter cobalt_27
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saintsfan1977
Footballguy
Good pick up indeed!!! 
baconisgood
Footballguy
Given Bush's injury history this is an upgrade.
sihaokills
Footballguy
Great move
sihaokills
Footballguy
I think Sproles will play a 3rd down role and receive the ball a lot... Great returner and speedy on the edges
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Downgrade Lance Moore.
sspunisher
Footballguy
Ugh yea, I thought the same thing. That lasted a whole two or three days. Since Sproles is better at running between the tackles than Bush, hopefully they'll motion him to the slot a bit less than they did Bush. Wishful thinking maybe...
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UnknownCoach
Footballguy
Not much cheaper than Bush's deal with Phins. Sproles is capable in the capacity the Saints used Bush though so I understand the signing.
PlasmaDogPlasma
Footballguy
Are we sure Ivory is the odd man out and not Thomas?
Sudoku_in_the_Bathtub
Footballguy
What?I think so, but I'm really not sure what's going on with this backfield now. Could be a full blown RBBC.
Sinrman
Footballguy
Ivory is definitely the fill-in guy in case Ingram or Thomas gets hurt. They didn't draft Ingram high to have on the bench. They didn't re-sign Thomas to a decent-sizedcontract to have him on the bench either. So barring injury, I don't see Ivory getting too much.
Defending Champs
Footballguy
Correct, Ivory should be the back up plan, and going on Thomas' injury history, Ivory will get his carries, he just has to wait until someone gets hurt.
Tanner9919
Footballguy
great pickup!means very bad things for those targeting the N.O. backfield...good luck sorting this out...this hurts Ingram's value tremendously, now a full-blown 3 headed RBBC....
saintfool
Dead sexy
this is shaping up to be the same RBBC that was used to win a superbowl. ingram/thomas/sproles 2011 = thomas/bell/bush 2009. draft accordingly.great pickup!means very bad things for those targeting the N.O. backfield...good luck sorting this out...this hurts Ingram's value tremendously, now a full-blown 3 headed RBBC....
Grahamburn
Footballguy
If the Chargers sit tight at RB Ryan Mathews is going to catch a lot of passes.
sihaokills
Footballguy
I agree 100% with this. I think this move hurts Thomas MUCH more than it hurts Ingram. I believe the Saints had a plan for Ingram when they drafted him and I don't think that's changed. percent of rushes in 2011:Ingram: 60%Thomas: 20%Sproles: 15%Everyone else: 5%This was a great pickup! He fills the KR/PR and 3rd down role. The Saints now have two of the best screen backs in the league with Thomas and Sprolesaytonrubshands:
On Ivory I worry about his rehab from surgery since he did not have access to the Saints medical care or facility's. Does not help that while Ivory made a nice living last year he sure did not get rich so it's not as if he has the financial means to simply surround himself with the best medical care money can buy. So that concerns me with him as it's a pretty big injury he is trying to return from.On Thomas. I knew his contract was not huge but after Sproles signed it caused me to go back and examine his contract some more. It was much worse than I thought. Much worse than the deal Sproles got. Only $1.5 million in guaranteed salary with no signing bonus. This means they can trade him with no financial hit. He does have a $2.7 million roster bonus this season he gets paid if he makes the team. So if the Saints released him they would be on the hook for his base salary for this season and next ($1.5 million total) but save the $2.7 million in roster bonus. I'm not saying the Saints are going to cut or trade Thomas. I've not heard any type of substantive source to suggest the Saints letting PT go but financially it's an option.It may not be relevant to his production but I've got to wonder what PT's frame of mind is about now? He signs that contract before they draft Ingram probably thinking he'd have a shot at being the primary runner. Not a bell cow but the primary back. Than he see's them draft Ingram and bring in a 3rd down back they gave 4 times the amount of guaranteed money to that he got.
saintfool
Dead sexy
2009 might be a good model to follow. they were in the top 10 for attempts that year. 2009 had thomas at 147 attempts, bell at 174, reggie had 70 and hamilton had 35.I agree 100% with this. I think this move hurts Thomas MUCH more than it hurts Ingram. I believe the Saints had a plan for Ingram when they drafted him and I don't think that's changed. percent of rushes in 2011:Ingram: 60%Thomas: 20%Sproles: 15%Everyone else: 5%This was a great pickup! He fills the KR/PR and 3rd down role. The Saints now have two of the best screen backs in the league with Thomas and Sproles
fruity pebbles
Footballguy
Agree with this as well. Sproles wont have more than 50 carries. He'll battle Thomas for receptions and be the return man.I agree 100% with this. I think this move hurts Thomas MUCH more than it hurts Ingram. I believe the Saints had a plan for Ingram when they drafted him and I don't think that's changed. percent of rushes in 2011:Ingram: 60%Thomas: 20%Sproles: 15%Everyone else: 5%This was a great pickup! He fills the KR/PR and 3rd down role. The Saints now have two of the best screen backs in the league with Thomas and Sproles
baconisgood
Footballguy
He signed that contract after missing 10 games while already having a reputation as injury prone. He wasn't going to get more than a few mil guaranteed from any team.
Oh I don't know. Reggie seemed to get an alright bonus despite being injury prone.
Mighty Mice
Footballguy
baconisgood
Footballguy
Sproles averaged 67 carries a year in SD and had 50 last year with Matthews and Tolbert in the mix. Bush averaged >4.5 carries a game the past two years while being banged up and got 9-13 the three years before that. 60-70 carries is a healthy Sproles floor the way they split time and roles in NO and more like 80-90 is realistic with 40-50 receptions.Agree with this as well. Sproles wont have more than 50 carries. He'll battle Thomas for receptions and be the return man.I agree 100% with this. I think this move hurts Thomas MUCH more than it hurts Ingram. I believe the Saints had a plan for Ingram when they drafted him and I don't think that's changed. percent of rushes in 2011:Ingram: 60%Thomas: 20%Sproles: 15%Everyone else: 5%This was a great pickup! He fills the KR/PR and 3rd down role. The Saints now have two of the best screen backs in the league with Thomas and Sproles
tommyGunZ
Footballguy
wow...Sproles with a HUGE paycut. Further proof that the Bolts were severely overpaying for his services the past 2 years.
Breesisdaman
Footballguy
Sproles is probably the closest player in the league to the skillset that Reggie Bush has. I believe the Saints wanted to retain Bush at his actual value to the team but Bush wanted a chance to be the man somewhere else. Sproles will be far more willing to accept his role in the offense and could match reggie in that regard under the coaching staff he has with the Saints. This is a front office that knows what they want and goes out and gets it done. Good luck to Reggie Bush but I am glad the Saints have wasted no time in moving on.
Also on Ivory, Sean Payton said he is not ready. He will likely be on the PUP list but it could be worse than that. Lisfranc injuries are no joke. I wouldn't be surprised if he missed the season.
Also on Ivory, Sean Payton said he is not ready. He will likely be on the PUP list but it could be worse than that. Lisfranc injuries are no joke. I wouldn't be surprised if he missed the season.
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Doug B
Footballguy
If Hamilton is good (fingers crossed), there's no need at all to rush Ivory back anyway.
Breesisdaman
Footballguy
Hamilton was great on special teams and was a big bruiser with good vision. He has been out of football a long time though. Either way this Sproles move at least insures that the abomination of Julius Jones and Deshawn Wynn never happened again. Much less in a playoff game. The Saints are stacked at RB this year.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
The general assumption around here this offseason has been that Payton has always really wanted a feature back, but just didn't have one, and he'll be using Ingram in that role now that he does.
I wonder if this doesn't hit that that was all just the blind speculation that it really is. Where did the idea that Payton wants one feature guy come from? Was there something he said that hinted towards that this offseason?
I understand that Sproles is being brought in to fill a niche role that Ingram doesn't particularly excel at, but the idea that they were letting Bush walk was supposed to be one of the signs of them switching to a more featured back oriented running game. Bush definitely had more of a role in N.O. than just purely "3rd down back", I wonder if Sproles will fill that same role and they wanted to keep those plays in the playbook.
I wonder if this doesn't hit that that was all just the blind speculation that it really is. Where did the idea that Payton wants one feature guy come from? Was there something he said that hinted towards that this offseason?
I understand that Sproles is being brought in to fill a niche role that Ingram doesn't particularly excel at, but the idea that they were letting Bush walk was supposed to be one of the signs of them switching to a more featured back oriented running game. Bush definitely had more of a role in N.O. than just purely "3rd down back", I wonder if Sproles will fill that same role and they wanted to keep those plays in the playbook.
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Doug B
Footballguy
A team can still employ a feature-back oriented running game with a deep stable of backs (ask Mike Shanahan). All that really means for the Saints is that one guy (Ingram) can hopefully coalesce the two roles filled by Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell in 2009. If you have one guy that can handle those roles, you can scale down your #2 tailback's workload.However. One of the gems of conventional wisdom in the 21st Century NFL is that feature backs just burn out too darn quick. For every Emmitt Smith or Ladanian Tomlinson, there are too many Shaun Alexanders and Terrell Davises. I think Payton, like so many coaches, holds to that to an extent.
sihaokills
Footballguy
How many receptions do you guys see Sproles get?
the next level
Footballguy
With this backfield and assuming good health, you have to assume the pass/run mix in New Orleans will change. In 2010 it was 63/37, which is very similar to their numbers from lackluster 2007-2008 campaigns. But in 2009 the mix was 54/46, and we all know what happened that year. Payton likely has fond memories of '09 and wants to get back to that formula. If he's successful with changing the ratio then there's fantasy implications for Brees, the WRs, and a defense which notionally wouldn't be on the field as much.
Manster
Footballguy
I've always liked Sproles. He's always a threat when he has the ball. He's an upgrade over Reggie's Bush for sure.
Great return guy obviously. The Saints have a very good offense and will move the ball no matter who's out there. This means Sproles will have qualtiy touches. These touches will go up and down depending on injuries in the backfield.
I wouldnt reach for him, but if he's there at value, I'll take him. He will make a good flex play most weeks
Great return guy obviously. The Saints have a very good offense and will move the ball no matter who's out there. This means Sproles will have qualtiy touches. These touches will go up and down depending on injuries in the backfield.
I wouldnt reach for him, but if he's there at value, I'll take him. He will make a good flex play most weeks
Mark Wimer
Moderator
I added the emphasis above - it seems to me that Brees thinks that Sproles is more versatile than Bush and will give the Saints an added dimension above-and-beyond what they had with Bush in the lineup. I agree with the notion that at this stage of their careers, Sproles is probably an upgrade over Bush.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
It just so happens Brees worked out in the offseason in San Diego with Sproles. I suspect Brees saw this coming and saw a great opporunity.
It might be a bad euphamism, "scatback", but really how many good small, fast, pass catching, kick returning halfbacks are there in the league? Bush, Sproles, Leon Washington (who maybe after last year does not belong on that list anymore even), it's not a long list is it?
I think Sproles has maybe missed 2 games since 2005, maybe one each in 05 and 06? Bush had some great moments with the Saints, and he was indeed valuable nad had some big important scores, but there were almost none last year and maybe his greatest flaw was his constant tendency to get hurt.
The Saints never needed him more than in that Seahawks game and he flopped, starting with his dropped sure TD pass at the beginning of the game that would have been a huge advantage to his getting injured in the middle or end. Julius Jones got the rock over Bush throughout; that says a lot right there.
It might be a bad euphamism, "scatback", but really how many good small, fast, pass catching, kick returning halfbacks are there in the league? Bush, Sproles, Leon Washington (who maybe after last year does not belong on that list anymore even), it's not a long list is it?
I think Sproles has maybe missed 2 games since 2005, maybe one each in 05 and 06? Bush had some great moments with the Saints, and he was indeed valuable nad had some big important scores, but there were almost none last year and maybe his greatest flaw was his constant tendency to get hurt.
The Saints never needed him more than in that Seahawks game and he flopped, starting with his dropped sure TD pass at the beginning of the game that would have been a huge advantage to his getting injured in the middle or end. Julius Jones got the rock over Bush throughout; that says a lot right there.
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