The Saints are getting the band back together! I suppose it bears mentioning that the band only broke up after failing to strike gold, but the instrumental pieces are in place for this sequel to be one of the few that defies disappointment. Unfortunately, as if you needed anymore evidence, this is thee most official of admissions that the Coby Fleener signing was a huge mistake. The Saints let a 34 year old walk and spent a bunch of money trying to reinforce his vacated role with youth and potential only to find themselves happy to bring back that same player in the same role at 37 years old. As much as that's a credit to the ageless athleticism of Ben Watson, it's just as much of an indictment of the person whose subpar performance made for a rekindling with the NFL equivalent of a senior citizen. In essence, nothing says "I royally fucked up" quite like sandwiching a defunct marriage to a younger women with relationships featuring the same damn person. Now, normally I would temper my expectations regarding the addition of a skill position player who is so far on the wrong side of thirty that he can barely even see the right side of thirty in his rearview, but there's something to be said for Ben Watson having already proved the exception to that generalization. That's not to say I foresee flashes of '15 when he was padding stats like a poor man's Jimmy Graham, but I do expect him to at least match the numbers he put up in a much less proficient offense last season. As sobering as the following piece of information may be, doing so would somehow exceed all the contributions that Sean Payton got from a position that he has an undeniable affinity for this past year...
I fully expect them to look for a long term solution in the draft, but bringing a friendly face into a familiar formula turns a "must" into a want in the short term, and does so at quite the discount to what it would have cost them to add that other former tight end.
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