Gay a Good, But Not Great Pickup for Saints
Don’t get me wrong, I like Randall Gay. I’m an LSU Tiger fan; therefore I’m obligated to never say anything derisive about any member of the 2003 national championship team, on which he played.
So I won’t be negative about his signing with the Saints for almost $20 million, but that doesn’t mean I have to be gushingly positive.
For those of you Tiger fans who’ve lost track of Gay for the past four years, he’s been in New England playing for Bill Belicheck and chasing perfection.
For those of you who have been keeping track, you know already – Gay wasn’t exactly the most vital cog in the Patriots defense that kept them ultra-competitive over the recent past.
Despite collecting 11 solo tackles in the Patriots 2004 Super Bowl win, Gay has been relatively quiet as a playmaker over the course of his four years in Beantown.
Look at his career numbers: 86 tackles, five passes defended and five interceptions. For a guy who wasn’t even drafted coming out of college, those are great stats—especially since he was on injured reserve for the majority of the 2006 season.
Unfortunately, they aren’t the type of stats the Saints should be adding to a heavily underachieving secondary.
New Orleans needs a playmaker at cornerback. They need a guy who can strike fear into the opponent he lines up against. Gay’s a consistent performer, but he isn’t an intimidator.
With that said, I think Gay is a hundred times better than Jason David. That’s not really saying much because I think almost every cornerback in the NFL right now is at least a hundred times better than David, but still—an upgrade is an upgrade.
I just hope the Saints aren’t planning on settling with Gay as their starter. I hope he is being brought in to compete for a job with a few other decent players they might pickup in anticipation that someone competent will emerge from the pack.
If that’s the case though, would they really have paid him starter-level money?
The Saints said publically that they felt Gay was the best free agent option available at cornerback. I’m not so sure he was even the best free agent cornerback on the Patriots.
Nevertheless, I’m not exactly pulling my hair out over this signing like I usually do when the Saints bring in new players. For one, Gay does have championship pedigree on both the collegiate and professional levels. And he is a Louisiana native which means he’ll definitely be happy playing for the Saints.
I just hope he can become the player the Saints need him to be. Basically, if he’s not Jason David or Fred Thomas, that’s all New Orleans can hope for.
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13 Responses to “Gay a Good, But Not Great Pickup for Saints”
March 6th, 2008 at 10:29 am
You can’t have doubts like this about a guy who was mostly a nickel cornerback in a defense ripe with playmakers. Given the opportunity to start, he could be the shutdown corner the Saints have been lacking. But we won’t and can’t decipher that until the season is over. This could be just what the doctor ordered, a corner with good coverage skills who can play man to man. So let’s wait until we pass judgement shall we.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:41 am
whoa whoa whoa… hold on there, Andrew. “Shut Down Corner”? First off, there are maybe, just maybe, two “shut down corners” in the league. The term is too often over used, and it just doesn’t exist. With that said, I agree with you on the wait and see approach.
As for Gay expected to come in here and start, I don’t see that as the Saints’ intention. This money seems big, but with the structure of today’s free agent contracts, this is modest money. It is money that would be justified being a nickel back or starter. Now if Gay is terrible, then I will say bad signing. But don’t look at this as bringing in a starter; rather, this is a signing of depth and competition. Let’s wait till everything pans out before we jump any guns here.
March 6th, 2008 at 11:54 am
The draft is full of corners this year. The Saints will definitely bring in at least two through the draft. The Saints didn’t want to spend Asante money so what’s the next best thing. A good sound corner with experience and something else….Gay brings the “Championship Mentality” to the Saints.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Gay may not be a Champ Bailey, but he is better than every other corner we have on the team with the exception of Mike McKenzie - who is coming off a major knee injury, by the way. I look for the Saints to draft at least 1, and maybe 2 corners in this draft.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I am a diehard saints fan and no matter win or lose I will allways support them, But that being said the saints seem to allways go after the has beens or the not so good players. They have really never spent the BIG BUCKS to go after the best player such as an Asante Samuel. If the Saints want to compete for a Super Bowl they need to fork out some money otherwise its another offseason waiting for the NFL Draft to come!!!!
March 6th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
A bit early to judge a player who was a nickel with the Pats, in my opinion. And the dig about Gay maybe not being the best FA corner on the Pats was unnecessary. The writer doesn’t seem to grasp the idea that today, Gay’s contract is for a potential starter who is certainly good enough to make the team and contribute, and that signing Samuel would possibly make it a bit more than difficult to keep the players like Colston and Jahri Evans, not to mention Will Smith, who is better than McCray and definitely worth keeping. This sounds more like sour grapes that the Saints didn’t break the bank for Samuel, who sounded as if he would rather play for any other team than the Saints, when he was asked about a possible visit scheduled to New Orleans.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I have to agree with the author on this one but, when in the article he said the saints thought Randal Gay was the best option available at cb, I think the Saints office was implying the best “possible” option which excludes Samuel because we all know the Saints don’t go after “marque free-agents.” Either way, the options were very limited this off-season with tags put on Trufant and Asamouga (he’s from LA too wouldn’t that be nice to have him on our team). Good depth, but don’t expect Gay to be a shutdown corner.
March 6th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
It’s true that Saints GM Mickey Loomis likes to look for middle- to low-priced free agents as role players in order to give the team more flexibility in the draft, but the Saints did go after a marquee free agent two years ago and got him–Drew Brees. And that pickup has paid incredible dividends. They also spent big money to hold onto Charles Grant, arguably their best defensive player after Will Smith. Along with the trade for Vilma and the acquisition of McCray as a 3rd defensive end in their rotation, Gay will help revitalize the D. If the Saints can put a consistent defense on the field next year, with Brees and their offense they have a chance to contend again for the NFC Ship.
March 6th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I think Randall Gay is a very nice pick up. I do agree that the term “Shutdown Corner” is a little far fetch for any CB in the league…Cromartie, Samuels and Champ Bailey, did everyone see him get burned this past season? That’s no “shutdown corner” shutdown in my book!
With that said, I think Gay will do a nice job playing on a team he grew up a fan of. Does anyone remember what Michael Lewis did for his hometown team a few years back? I believe Randall will do the same on our D as Lewis did on special teams!
For him to have already played in the “Big Game” is just a plus!
Nice pick!
March 6th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
For those that would claim the Saints have been lacking in their free agent expenditures and not spending “big bucks” on name players, I raise you the Washington Redskins.
Big salaries don’t make a championship team. I like the Gay signing, as he will be an asset in the nickel defense, but it’s foolhardy to assume he will be the only addition to the secondary this offseason. I, for one, am glad that we opted out of the Asante sweepstakes. It was simply too much to spend.
Case and point: Nate Clements did little to reverse the 49ers fortunes last year. Solid contributors with reasonable salaries and the right defensive scheme will go a long way towards improving a woeful pass defense on the part of the Saints. I think the additions of Vilma, Mccray, and Gay are all steps in the right direction.
March 6th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I never realized why some fans think you have to spend big money on all sorts of players to be successful. You spend good money on your core guys and that should be it…Let’s look at Washington for example..They spend money like crazy, but they are not what I would call a top 5 franchise…You have to spend wisely…Let’s wait and see with Gay until after the season…
March 6th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Any addition to the secondary is better than what we had. I’ve always liked Jason Craft. He is not the greatest but when he stepped in he did better than Thomas and David as far as I’m concerned. I agree that waiting to see how Randall Gay does is a good idea. However, we need to draft a good CB like Rodgers-Cromartie or Mike Jenkins. That would spice it up a little. Competition for the starting role is always a good thing. Speaking of draft, Does anyone know anything about Robert Meachem?
March 7th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
I agree with you. Too much money to give to Gay. seems like desperation to me. But that is what happens when you screw up last year’s draft with no defense in the first two rounds.Jimbo says pay the bucks and get New England’s best FA corner. Oops! The Eagles already did. Second option draft corners in the first six rounds
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