What in the (heck) is going on with the New Orleans Saints?!
I've lost count of how many times I received some variation of that question this week. The only time I heard it more during my 10 years of covering this team was during the course of last year's disastrous 7-9 season.
Are the Saints being proactive or reactive? Bold or reckless? Shrewd or desperate?
The answer: all of the above.
I'm not sold on a few of the moves they made this week. Why spend so much on C.J. Spiller when you've deemed fellow playmakers such as Darren Sproles, Jimmy Graham, Pierre Thomas and Kenny Stills expendable over the past two years? And I think it's awfully risky to tinker with a passing offense that has made this team so special over the years.
But the Saints certainly have a conviction about what they're doing.
To dismiss this overhaul as "throwing in the towel" on the 2015 season is off base. It's not just a salary-cap dump, either. For every player heading out the door, the Saints are spending decent money on newcomers such as Spiller, Brandon Browner, Max Unger and Dannell Ellerbe. And now they've loaded up with five of the top 80 picks in this year's draft.
Is that a sign that the Saints lacked conviction in their previous plan -- or flat-out invested poorly in some of their free agents and draft picks over the years? Those are absolutely fair critiques -- as fair as they were three months ago when the Saints blew a chance to win the dreadful NFC South.
Pile on this team all you want, because the Saints earned it on the field last year.
But in the here and now, as I've written often this week, the Saints have permission to try something drastically new. They especially needed to inject some life into their defense and interior offensive line.
Of course, you have to wonder how quarterback Drew Brees feels about watching two of his top targets being stripped away in the trades of Graham and Stills. It sure seems like a dynamic, go-to tight end like Graham would be the ideal weapon for a 36-year-old quarterback who relies heavily on short-range and midrange passes. (Scratch that: Graham is an ideal weapon for any offense.)
But then again, Brees' two biggest enemies last year were inconsistent pass protection up the middle and a porous defense that hardly ever allowed Brees to play with a lead. Brees pressed too much -- a big reason why he turned the ball over 20 times. And he wasn't able to get the ball downfield to Graham consistently enough, with only one TD connection in the last five weeks.
The general philosophy the Saints seem to be working under is that they can manufacture an offense that is still very good, while they need resources such as draft picks and future salary-cap space to improve their defense. General manager Mickey Loomis specifically mentioned that as a reason for the Graham trade, while also saying that Brees is capable of "throwing guys open" when talking about filling in at the tight-end position.
No, the Saints aren't going to find someone of Graham's caliber in free agency or the draft. But it's not lost on the Saints that they won a Super Bowl before Graham, Sproles or Stills arrived.
Trading Stills was a head-scratcher because he's young, cheap and on the rise. But he should be replaceable. The Saints still have veteran receiver Marques Colston and last year's first-round pick, Brandin Cooks. They're high on Brandon Coleman and Seantavius Jones, their undrafted young receivers from last year. And maybe the Saints will even use one of those top picks on another young, cheap receiver.
Meanwhile, by the time the Saints get through this offseason makeover, Brees should be working with a better offensive line, a better run game and a better defense.
Just how much better can that defense be? That's probably the biggest key to making this whole experiment work.
It can't be much worse than last year, when the Saints finished 31st in yards allowed and dead last in overall efficiency, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Saints have several young players who underachieved last year and should improve in 2015 (Jairus Byrd, Cameron Jordan, Akiem Hicks and Kenny Vaccaro among them). They're bound to inject some much-needed athleticism to their front seven with that stockpile of draft picks. And I think they addressed the most glaring need on the entire team by adding a physical, press-coverage corner in Browner, who should also add some veteran leadership and toughness.
Still, I'm not going to overhype the acquisitions of Browner or Ellerbe (who seems like an even trade for Curtis Lofton at best) -- especially after getting this lukewarm feedback from ESPN scouting insider Matt Williamson:
"Can't say I am super excited about either. Browner is obviously huge. He is best in man coverage and beating WRs up at the line of scrimmage. But he takes a ton of penalties and doesn't have the makeup speed if he is initially beaten. As for Ellerbe, he was a huge flop in Miami and I would say he is a slight downgrade, especially vs. the run, from Lofton."
So that's my long answer to the most popular question of the week: What the (heck) are the Saints doing?!
As for the more important question: Will it work?
Sorry, I can't help you there.