The Front Office: Adam Peters and Roster Construction

[skinsinparadise]

This may end up being annoying, because unless Pittman comes free there’s likely no “swing bigger” guy at WR but there’s potentially multiple at TE. Maybe Doubs, as the top of a bad market where lots of teams need WR and have money to spend. Juaun Jennings I would be a fan of but don’t consider a “big swing” that should prevent an equivalent (if not bigger) swing on a TE.

So we could miss out on all of them and then end up trying to convince ourselves that it’s actually okay that the best we could do was Bourne and Adam Trautman or something.

(I mean, I won’t be convincing myself that it’s okay, but I can see people doing it to themselves because they aren’t ready to give up on AP being the savior yet, which as I’ve talked about many times isn’t necessary anymore)

I think Doubs and Jennings end up close to 20 million so for a #2 its a big swing. I'd love Pittman. I am a bigger Jauan Jennings guy than most, it takes me back to the draft thread -- he was so physical, such a tone setter.

 

[Riggo44]

 

[Bulldog]

I think if anything else this is a lesson that you don't trade a bevy of draft picks for a player that is hurt and on the inactive list at the time of the trade.

You want to be acquiring a healthy asset when you are ceding this kind of draft capital.

 

[Chris]

Nor a player that had missed 17 games due to injury in the two previous seasons before the trade. Many thought the team was getting a player more like the 4x pro bowler that he was from ‘17-‘21 instead of the broken down/injury plagued version than he had become.

Many were wrong but the Saints weren’t.

 

[Bulldog]

Agree. I assumed Peters did his due diligence in reviewing Lattimore in 2022-24 and assuring the HC and owner that Marshon was still a top player at his position.

As it turns out it appears we were taking a major risk and throw of the dice and it came up craps.

That's one reason I still have a critical eye towards Peters until he shows he can run the show as the man in charge of the front office.

 

[KDawg]

I had thought Lattimore was a good get. Assumed Peter’s did homework and was positive that Lattimore was back in form despite appearances. I even think he had a relatively good run for us for a few games. But he fell off a cliff.

Lattimore was the beginning of me wondering about our FO decisions. One mistake isn’t destructive though. But I think we’ve been piling them up.

Before anyone comes in and says, “but you are a random poster on the internet. The GM obviously felt differently and you don’t know anything”

Yes. I know.

 

[method man]

I had thought Lattimore was a good get. Assumed Peter’s did homework and was positive that Lattimore was back in form despite appearances. I even think he had a relatively good run for us for a few games. But he fell off a cliff.

Lattimore was the beginning of me wondering about our FO decisions. One mistake isn’t destructive though. But I think we’ve been piling them up.

Before anyone comes in and says, “but you are a random poster on the internet. The GM obviously felt differently and you don’t know anything”

Yes. I know.

I liked it too at the time if the trade. While not playing like a Pro Bowler, he was playing at an above average level when he got traded here.

To your point, he was fine going against WR2s like Tim Patrick but he got smoked against every WR1 he went against.

Part of the issue is he is not what he used to be but perhaps a lot of it was going from a defense run by Dennis Allen to one run by Joe Whitt

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if a team with a good/great DC signs Latt on the cheap and be bounces back into an above average starter

 

[Primus Porcus]

I had thought Lattimore was a good get. Assumed Peter’s did homework and was positive that Lattimore was back in form despite appearances. I even think he had a relatively good run for us for a few games. But he fell off a cliff.

Lattimore was the beginning of me wondering about our FO decisions. One mistake isn’t destructive though. But I think we’ve been piling them up.

Before anyone comes in and says, “but you are a random poster on the internet. The GM obviously felt differently and you don’t know anything”

Yes. I know.

Regarding Lattimore, Exactly how I feel, and I tend to be one of those people you referenced in your post... not that I call people random posters, just I tend to let things fail, before I determine them as a failure. Perfect example is the Biadasz move.... I struggle to understand the details, but I'm not going to be critical until the result actually comes to fruition..

 

[Chris]

What in here from before he was traded would be considered above average? The 2 passes defended or the 0 interceptions? (Granted he did have 10 combined tackles vs Tampa when the NO defense gave up 51 points.)

 

[KDawg]

Regarding Lattimore, Exactly how I feel, and I tend to be one of those people you referenced in your post... not that I call people random posters, just I tend to let things fail, before I determine them as a failure. Perfect example is the Biadasz move.... I struggle to understand the details, but I'm not going to be critical until the result actually comes to fruition..

I base my feelings based on how I feel personally in conjunction with my confidence level of what has been going on.

In the Biadasz case, I don’t understand the move and I don’t particularly trust this front office.

So until I see otherwise, I think we likely have a plan but I’m not entirely sure we’re going to be able to execute that plan or have should have made the plan to begin with.

If we had a relatively good offseason last year and released Biadasz I’d be more in line with you.

I’m not pleased with the current direction and that shades my feelings.

 

[DWinzit]

I base my feelings based on how I feel personally in conjunction with my confidence level of what has been going on.

In the Biadasz case, I don’t understand the move and I don’t particularly trust this front office.

So until I see otherwise, I think we likely have a plan but I’m not entirely sure we’re going to be able to execute that plan or have should have made the plan to begin with.

If we had a relatively good offseason last year and released Biadasz I’d be more in line with you.

I’m not pleased with the current direction and that shades my feelings.

Can't blame you and am pretty much of the same sentiment. His seemingly abrupt release felt, well, wonky.

I am just sitting back with fingers crossed they come up with a bunch of good personnel decisions over the next week and half to remove some of my guarded feelings and thoughts

 

[Primus Porcus]

I base my feelings based on how I feel personally in conjunction with my confidence level of what has been going on.

In the Biadasz case, I don’t understand the move and I don’t particularly trust this front office.

So until I see otherwise, I think we likely have a plan but I’m not entirely sure we’re going to be able to execute that plan or have should have made the plan to begin with.

If we had a relatively good offseason last year and released Biadasz I’d be more in line with you.

I’m not pleased with the current direction and that shades my feelings.

I get it, and I'll admit a lot of my patience is based on the hope that we have the right guy. I simply am looking for him to be successful because I want the team to be successful. Maybe there's a level of shade with that, but i try to be as objective as I can within reason. Part of that is forcing myself to not let myself draw a conclusion on a move immediately, because i've done that (both positive and negative) too many times and been proven incorrect.

 

[Bulldog]

But then again think of all the times in this team's past that we have scratched our heads over moves and direction of coaching and player development and been told we are only fans or media and don't really know what is going on, only to later see a team go 3-13 or 6-10 and be shown to be correct.

Until we see a team with a stable coaching staff and a core of players that are growing together and building something of lasting value the questions are going to be there.

 

[KDawg]

I get it, and I'll admit a lot of my patience is based on the hope that we have the right guy. I simply am looking for him to be successful because I want the team to be successful. Maybe there's a level of shade with that, but i try to be as objective as I can within reason. Part of that is forcing myself to not let myself draw a conclusion on a move immediately, because i've done that (both positive and negative) too many times and been proven incorrect.

This is fair. But, it’s pretty impossible to understand if a decision worked or don’t work immediately and even then, it can fall apart of work my accident, too.

For instance (this is not happening, it’s just for a point) we release Lattimore. In the third round, Mansoor Delane is on the board and we draft him.

Now, by pure luck, without any other moves - we look great.

On the other hand, we release Biadasz and we get Linderbaum. Plan executed well, right? Well, what happens if Linderbaum gets hurt and misses 12 games.

Either way, things go haywire a bit.

We can really only judge things based on what we see as fans. Not the inner workings. Which will always make us flawed and unable to give a full scope.

But sometimes we get it right. And sometimes we are way off.

It’s why these forums exist.

I haven’t made a final decision on Biadasz because I don’t have all the info. But my initial decision is confusion.

 

[Riggo44]

 

[Bulldog]

I am not surprised. I expect to see Biadasz signed by another team we compete against and will face during the season. He will probably look good in that game too and people will ask why we got rid of him

 

[Boone]

I think where my mindset has changed in recent years is that I used to give decision-makers the benefit of the doubt (I was much closer to Primus Porcus line of thinking). Now my mindset is that none of these decision-makers has necessarily earned the full faith and benefit of the doubt of fans. Peters came in with a ton of goodwill, a good reputation, and the assumption he would be better than anyone we’ve had in that role since Bobby Beathard. I am not sure based on what I’ve seen so far that this will be the case. I will watch and I will hope but I am not ‘buying in’ until I see many more positive moves than what I’ve seen so far.

 

[Bulldog]

I think where my mindset has changed in recent years is that I used to give decision-makers the benefit of the doubt (I was much closer to Primus Porcus line of thinking). Now my mindset is that none of these decision-makers has necessarily earned the full faith and benefit of the doubt of fans. Peters came in with a ton of goodwill, a good reputation, and the assumption he would be better than anyone we’ve had in that role since Bobby Beathard. I am not sure based on what I’ve seen so far that this will be the case. I will watch and I will hope but I am not ‘buying in’ until I see many more positive moves than what I’ve seen so far.

Spot on.

And for me it was how the 2024 draft turned out and how we passed on some highly rated players to take guys like Sinnott and McCaffrey that were more developmental than one would expect from top 100 picks.

Here we are 2 years later and this draft is still largely Jayden Daniels and a number of question marks.

 

[Riggo44]

I am not surprised. I expect to see Biadasz signed by another team we compete against and will face during the season. He will probably look good in that game too and people will ask why we got rid of him

We don't play the Bears this year.

 

[Riggo44]

Peters came in with a ton of goodwill, a good reputation, and the assumption he would be better than anyone we’ve had in that role since Bobby Beathard. I am not sure based on what I’ve seen so far that this will be the case.

Let's hash this statement out. His competition post-Beathard are:
Charlie Casserly
Vinny Cerrato
Marty Schottenheimer (you could make the case for John Schneider, but Marty was in charge of personnel)
Vinny Cerrato II, Cerrato's Revenge (With some conglomeration of Gibbs and Cerrato in there)
Bruce Allen
Ron Rivera

I'm taking Peters still.