Jeff Ireland Appreciation Thread

[ckoz24]

Ok, so a lot has gone on in the past 2 weeks where an appreciation thread should be going out to players. Drew hitting the best pass % completion in a game or breaking the TD record and lets not forget about Can't Guard Mike hitting the single season reception record.  For me though, my true passion comes in how a team improves as a whole. Drafting a players on draft day to see what you get, the development you see though each of the weeks on the field or through reports, not to mention trading players to see who got the better outcome. On the other side, it hurts when you get a bust of a player, see poor development that leads to untimely trades, cuts or poor on-field product.

A lot of my posts come in the form of praising Ireland and hoping when the time comes, Loomis would hand the reins to him, before someone else snatches him up. Surprisingly, I learned a bit from wikipedia about him (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Ireland) , which may hamper that from happening. It may be that he is an expert at his current role and not a great fit going one step up (peter principle for anyone who is interested https://en.wikip wedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle). With that being said, I would give him more $ to keep him here for awhile or groom him for the job, dependent on his values.

2019

The Saints only had five picks in 2019 and only two in the first 5 rounds (2nd and a 4th).... Let that sink in for a second. I'm not going to bother with talking about the 6th and two 7th rounds picks, but with the 2nd and 4th, think about what we got with them. In the 2nd round we traded up to get Erik McCoy and lets face it, when Unger retired, we all thought what was going to happen with our O-line. Now the steal of the draft for me has been Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, at least for where he was drafted. He is a BEAST and it feels like his name is being said every second play.

2018

This might have been Ireland's weakest draft for our team. I can still remember when trade announcement came in, everyone was saying Lamar, but then we hear Davenports name. Now he's raw and developing, but I think we knew that Cam is getting older and Davenport was going to be a project. Well, I feel Davenport has been instrumental in our pass rush and we are starting to see what happens when he isn't on the field. Tre'quan hasn't really developed like we wanted him to, but he's on the field, which says something, I guess.  The rest have been, what they are. I'm also going to say that the whole class looks a bit weak, but you can let me know if I'm wrong... I don't really keep tabs on the rest of the league. 

2017

Not much to say here. OROY, DROY, maybe the best Right Tackle in the game, Marcus Williams, Alex Anzalone, Trey Hendrickson. I guess he did ok.

2016

Rankins is underrated in my opinion, plus his shoulder waggle is my favourite sack celebration! Lets not forget about Can't Guard Mike who just broke a record recently, I think. Vonn Bell who's been contributing and David Onyemata who has taken a few steps too. 

 

I have no doubts that this team under the current coaching staff and front office is going to be a legitimate contender, regardless of the names on the back of the jersey. As a fan of other teams, in other leagues (Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL), I know what it's like when the head office doesn't give you confidence. We got a special group in NOLA and I hope this feeling never changes. 

[Baldbob]

He will get another chance to run a club. He does a great job with talent Evaluation. A lot of experts have him on short list to go other clubs. We all love Mickey the way he moves the money around but he lets Ireland do a lot of the football player stuff. 

[Forge]

Imagine the reaction of FF posters from 2010 - 2013 if they knew this would be a thread in 2019. What a time to be alive. 

Really great bounce back for Ireland.