Totally, yep they're paying Jimmy Graham too (and Galette, Lewis..). Yeah where the Raiders used to be is actually the comparison being made to the Saints current situation on the Saints forums, sad state of affairs.
You're right, it absolutely falls on Payton/Loomis, they've had some horrible drafts from 2012-14 and are frankly paying the price for that now. It's also not helping that some of the young D studs they've picked up lately (Breaux, this year's 1st round pick DT Rankins, Swann, Kikaha) keep suffering long-term injuries, it's so frustrating. Payton pulled a Sutter for a few years, ending up with only 3 or 4 person drafts where they were basically all duds, it's bad.
And yes the clock on Brees is definitely throwing a wrench in things. Payton has never been shy about wanting to emulate the "Patriot model", I think he's trying to do a quick reboot of the roster around him - a la the Pats around Brady - and get them back in contention before it's too late. I'm actually impressed at how well the OL held up on Sunday, as long as it does that young offence looks lethal. But as always, it's the D holding things back. It's been the story of Payton's tenure, they just can't fix it no matter what they try or how much turnover there is. Hopefully guys like Breaux, Rankins and Kikaha can stay on the field in future seasons.
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