It has gotten to the point where I have stopped watching ESPN and NFL Network in fear of another breaking story is coming from the Saints' front-office. With the recent allegations of Mickey Loomis, I think these stories are beginning to pile up and causing an even bigger distraction than the bounty scandal. But it’s not just Loomis: Its Tom Benson and Rita Benson-Leblanc. I read a report on NOLA.com written by Jeff Duncan that Benson-Leblanc was placed on unofficial administrative leave. Duncan also said that Tom Benson has been open about his frustrations with her. She is known around the Saints front-office for always delaying projects and doing very poor reports on the team with false information. Tom Benson has also made it well known that he will have someone in the family take over after he steps down, and Benson-Leblanc is the only family member in the Saints that has everyday operations. She is the Vice President of the Saints as of right now. If she can’t run her VP duties, I am scared for the future of this team. no comments

Ralph thinks the latest Saints scandal involving Mickey Loomis feels different from all the others. Andrew Juge of The Saints Nation stops by to discuss if ESPN's report on Mickey Loomis wiretapping opposing teams coaches was well done or fair. (Hint: It wasn't). Did Joe Vitt's first press conference running the Saints give Ralph confidence he can pull it off? What does Rita Benson LeBlanc being on double secret probation mean for Tom Benson's long term succession plans?  The boys also review the Jabari Greer and John Kasey signings.  And what the hell is Sean Payton doing to pass the time off?

*** WARNING - EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AT TIMES ***

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Will the ridiculousness of this offseason ever stop? I just want the Saints to quietly go about their offseason with the general public showing little interest. Instead, the Saints are making national news what feels like every other day. Of course you've heard about the latest scandal that ESPN has concocted with "anonymous sources" alleging that Mickey Loomis is guilty of eavesdropping on other teams. I have no idea if this is true or false. But I have serious doubts ESPN, or anyone, will ever be able to prove this even if it were true. And I'm not at all convinced it is. If you follow Saints Nation on twitter you know by now how I feel about this. But one thing is clear to me about all this: ESPN is out for blood and they will stop at nothing to conjure up as many incriminating stories as they can possibly place on the Saints. Why? Because the Saints are fragile and ESPN preys on the weak, and they are desperate for web hits and ratings. Nothing boosts your listening crowd like a good old fashioned scandal.

Doesn't this timing feel the slightest bit odd to you? ESPN is the only one who will even TOUCH this story. Their anonymous "sources" won't reveal themselves for fear reprisals? Really? Are the Saints putting out hits on people now too? no comments

This season will kick off with a brand new look on defense for the New Orleans Saints. With suspensions being inevitable for MLB Jonathan Vilma, SS Roman Harper and DE Will Smith, a couple players stick out to me that need to step up in order to run a successful defense. Curtis Lofton will need to take a leadership role right from the get-go of training camp and OTA’s. One of the biggest leaders in Vilma will be gone for at least four games: Vilma expects a two to six game suspension, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him feel the wrath of Roger Goodell as Sean Payton has. Lofton needs to show that he can take control and run this defense as Vilma has done in the past seasons to get the players fully behind him. no comments

Jonathan Vilma and Jabari Greer have redone their deals to give the Saints some cap relief. This time the Saints needed the relief because Drew Brees' franchise offer went up from around $14 million to around $16.5 million. The Saints were ~500k under the cap before yesterday, but Brees' franchise offer hike would have put them ~$1 million over before these re-structures. Vilma's deal is just for straight up cap relief. While Greer's deal offers the Saints cap relief as well, his deal is an extension. He was entering the final year of his contract but the new contract he signed extends him for another 3 years in New Orleans. That's a great move as the Saints keep their top corner around for the next few years. He's been good, reliable and durable, so that move was a no brainer. His new contract is apparently worth $23 million.

No word on the player suspensions but it should happen any day. I do not foresee a Drew Brees deal being done until the player suspensions give the Saints further cap relief.  no comments

It's bad enough that Roger Goodell levied an extremely harsh sentence on Sean Payton, but the waiting game on player suspensions makes it even worse. We already know Goodell is going to punish the team even more by laying down players suspensions, but it's the delay of that inevitability that is starting to cause even more problems. If, God forbid, these suspensions get announced after the draft, it's even more of an issue for the Saints. Quite simply, the anticipation of what's to come and the uncertainty of how bad it will be make it extremely difficult to plan and cushion the blow.  no comments

If you've spent any time on this site in the past, then this man needs no introduction. We've got a nice little tradition going now where every year I catch up with NFL draft guru/expert and Bloguin cohort Kris Brauner to discuss the NFL draft. Below we'll talk Saints, draft prospects, and of course LSU. Brauner is the owner/writer of Saturday Night Slant, the LSU blog on Bloguin. If you've never been over there and you don't follow him on twitter, do it now. The guy is as good as there is, and he's got other terrific writers on staff. You cannot go to a better place if you're an LSU fan, especially to go get news on the recruiting front which is Kris' specialty. Kris also is a St. Paul's School alumnus, much like myself, so he clearly boasts a superior education. Many thanks again to Kris for really dealving into this stuff and helping Saints fans get a better picture of what to look forward to in the upcoming draft. This one is a MUST READ for Saints fans.

Here's my Q&A with Kris: no comments

The schedule is finally out and I have to say, overall, it's not bad. I have the whole schedule listed on the right side of the site to check out. The Saints have 4 prime time games: 2 Sunday night games, 1 Monday night game, and one Thursday game. As expected, the Falcons rivalry got a primetime slot and that will be the game in Atlanta on Thursday 11/29. The Sunday night games are Brees against his former team in the Chargers on 10/27 in New Orleans, and at Denver on 10/28 which pitts Brees against Peyton Manning. The Monday night game is randomly against the Eagles at home on 11/5. no comments

The Saints' top special teams gunner Courtney Roby, who has been on the roster as a very important part of the team's special teams for the last 4 years, has re-signed with the Saints. The deal is reported to be for one year. While Roby lost his kick returning duties to Darren Sproles last year, he still led the team in special teams tackles and enjoyed a productive year in kick coverage.

Presumably to make this deal fit within the cap, the Saints also released linebacker Jerimiha Hunter. Hunter was an undrafted rookie free agent last year and he spent the year on IR with an achilles injury.

Welcome back to the team #15! Glad to see you back with the team for a 5th year.

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Today marks the first day of Sean Payton's year long suspension as he will officially no longer be the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, at least for 2012. Today also marks the first day of offseason workouts for the players. You'll notice via twitter/facebook that a lot of the Saints are back in town for the workouts, many of who have bonuses hinging on their attendance. A noticeable absence will of course be Drew Brees... no comments