http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/26/colston-wont-be-giving-the-saints-a-discount/ It would be nice if we were the highest bidder, long shot I know, but maybe Reggie can whisper into his ear a little bit.
Too similar to Marshall, and too injury prone. I would prefer someone like Meachum more than Colston, but I don't think we end up with either.
If we're going to throw money at a WR this offseason, I'd prefer to target DeSean Jackson. He fills a missing niche on this roster; Colston doesn't. That said, I think we should worry about areas besides WR.
If Miami's going to look at a Saints FA receivers, I'd rather take a look at Robert Meachem. Size, speed, and probably cheaper. That said, I'm with Desides, there's other areas to focus on than receiver.
I'd love Colston. Even if he's similar to Marshall, he's still damn good. Two dominant 6'3"/6'4" wrs would not be a bad thing.
Colston has bum knees fellas, they have given him problems for yrs. And let me point out that it would be better to develop our own 7th rd wr then to pay big money to someone elses.
I agree. Jackson is a more explosive big play wr but hes been concussed a few times already. Plus there is a character issue involved with Jackson. I've met Colston when he played at Hofstra which is for all intents and purposes around the corner from where I grew up. He's a legit dude who would never pull the type of stuff that Jackson is in Philly where he spent much of the year ripping apart the Eagles locker room and taking criticism from coaches and teammates for his lack of effort all due to his contract status which he has wanted reworked for a year and change now. On top of that Colston is a legit WR. Hes caught 66/86 targets for 76% catch rate and the 4th highest percentage in the league where as Jackson is just 54/89/60.7% catch rate. Jackson also short arms passes as evidenced by the fact that 7 passes he has had thrown at him have been picked off. While that alone is not evidence if you watch the Eagles play, you know exactly what I mean. The man doesn't like the middle of the field since Dunta Robinson blew him up last year and again this year. Jackson has dropped 9 passes this year on just 89 targets, one of the worst drop rates in the league. Its different than Marshall because Marshall sees a lot more targets (131 to 89 in just 39 more total snaps for the season). Additionally, I have to question whether Jackson is even the same player he was just a year ago. Jackson has only 1 Missed Tackle by Pro Football Focus' measure where as Colston has 2 and has only played 591 snaps this year to Jacksons 815. These are considered tackles either broken or avoided. My point here isn't that Colston is some kind of burner. He doesn't have that potential as hes a long strider and a guy who makes a lot of plays off the jump balls and back shoulder fades but he is reliable and not a headache. The point here is that Jackson may be slowing down already as players who rely on speed typically do not see the career spans other players at the WR position do thoug of course there are exceptions. When Jackson's legs slow down on his next contract which you can be sure they will, will he be able to adapt and change his game? I highly doubt it. In any given year Jackson is a low catch % player. There is a lot of explosion and big play ability in his game but really that is all he brings. Just last year he caught just 47 of 92 targets for a 51% catch rate which was the second lowest in the league for any WR with 40 or more catches above only Nate Washington. Drops are a routine for him with 11 last year. People complain about Marshall but Marshall sees more targets and has a much higher catch rate so I better not see anyone who slams Marshall advocating Jackson if that is your beef. Jackson brings a great Yards Per Catch Average with him but the fact is that he brings that because he needs to be in large amounts of space in 1-1 matchups. I cant see him being a factor in a game against Baltimore or Pittsburgh or hell even the Jets when physical defenses, playing zones are just lining up the guy to knock his head off. Like I said, he plays scared and Im not sure I really want to have that on this team. Colston gets hurt but he doesnt play scared. He run blocks willingly and he is not afraid of contact which is part of the reason for his injuries. Give me Colston and Luck and call it an off-season
And how many 7th round receivers turn out to be as good as Colston? There is no reason to think of him as a 7th round pick anymore. He has established himself as one of the better receivers in the league.
While I'd rather sign DeSean Jackson (lower cost, better compliment to Marshall), I would certainly welcome Marques Colston with open arms.
Former Saints players do seem to excel over here... everyone is loving Reggie. You guys need to focus on getting Brees that long-term deal. Loved his game speech at the end, there's absolutely no way he'll end his career as anything but a Saint.
Sure they do, you just have to find them and then *gasp* play them. Look at it this way, we could not make a go of it with Ted Ginn, the #9 overall, how would we do better with a 7th rd pick?
Uhm, no, I'm not, here is the reality of the salary cap, the teams that can identify and develop the best low acquisition cost/low dollar contract players, who perform at the highest level, will be the most competitive, that is the reality of the salary cap. To pick up another team's 7th rd pick that they developed for a huge free agency contract is a sign of those in charge do not know what they are doing.
So if the Saints re-sign their former 7th round pick to a huge free agency contract does that also show they don't know what they are doing? In either case the former 7th rd pick is getting a huge contract.
No, the Saints aren't going to pay mkt rate for him, they just will plug someone else into their Wr corps. Colston said he won't take a hometown discount, which is fine, Saints aren't going to offer one, that is how talent building works in the cap era.
How would that be any different than if Brady became a FA? He's a 6th rounder who the Pats developed.
You "get it" maynard, cheap talent development is what seperates the sharks from the guppies in the NFL, dummy teams trade a lot for what another team has developed, the sharks develop the talent and in a best case scenario, trade it off for more picks, but they never overpay to retain that talent, they trust in their developmental systems and approach.
Using your logic the Pats and every other organization in the league are incompetent since they've all spent money in free agency. I guess the Saints would have been a better team if they didn't sign Brees and just drafted a QB in the 7th round.
After Aldarious Thomas flammed out in NE, who was the last FA they signed to a 20 million dollar deal? No one, in fact they rarely do anything but resign their own players in FA, or make small deals like Ocho's. They are sharks, happens in every pro sports leauge, there are sharks and there are guppies, only 8 sharks or less in every large pro sports league, the top 20-25%, the rest are bait fish.