About today's QOTD: My unsolicited, unwanted advice to the Saints is a two-pronged plan to get Drew Brees signed.
1) Ask him what he wants
2) Give it to him
There. No charge. It really IS that simple.
For what it's worth, maybe, just maybe, if Roger Goodell, Mike Florio, Peter King, Ashley Fox, Pat Yasinskas, et al and the kookaburras on the various blogs and message boards hadn't made such a mountain out of the "Bountygate" molehill, there would be no scandal. There would be a rule violation, involving chump change, where no one got seriously injured. Not saying it should have been swept under the rug but people (Read juries and former players seeking rewards) are seeing right through this PR nonsense. Not only did the commissioner's public lynching of the Saints not ward off lawsuits, it spawned new ones. Former players are now citing Bountygate in their lawsuits as a sign of the NFL culture. Nice going, commissioner.
R.I.P., Dick Clark. 82? I would have thought much older.
139 days until football season ...
5 song iTunes shuffle:
- Maggie May - Rod Stewart - Songs of 1971
- Because The Night - The Patti Smith Group - Easter
- Turbo Lover - Judas Priest - Living After Midnight
- The Last Song - Elton John - The One
- All Over You - Live - Throwing Copper
Quote of the Day
Until Brees last season, we'd never seen a guy throw for more than 5,400 yards. Until Brees in 2011, we'd never seen a guy notch a second 5,000-yard passing season. Six Pro Bowls, top 10 or damn close in career passing touchdowns (ninth), passer rating (seventh), yards per game (first) and yards overall (11th)? Obviously in the prime of his career, since his best season was 2011? Outlier. We've never seen a guy like this seeking a new deal.
Gregg Doyel, CBSSports.com National Columnist
Blog of the day is here.
Quote from said blog: "Oliver said he plans to major in marketing at Siena and said he looks forward to having an impact in the community."
Different Saints. -Rob
From what I've heard, Brees and the Saints are about $5 million per year apart. Is that correct? I haven't kept up with the details beyond that really. How much of the difference is in guaranteed money, incentives, length of contract etc.?
I lean toward your position on giving Brees what he wants, but what about protecting the franchise? If Brees were to suffer a season ending or career ending injury in the first game, how badly would the Saints be screwed and for how long?
My understanding is they're not as far apart on the money as they are on the structure of the deal. Brees wants the contract frontloaded like Peyton Manning's. The Saints want it more evenly dispersed.
I think this is one of those times where his intangibles should trump good business sense and good salary cap sense. The Saints are elite with him and almost nothing without him.