I like this quote by Sando"
"I love the position they're in this offseason," Sando said. "You're not staying up at night as a general manager and huddling with your owner trying to figure out what to do. I mean you can let the market come to you."
He mentions Kearse, Irvin, Lane and Okung. Of those, I think we hard to keep Lane and Irvin. No we won't break the bank for either of them, but Irvin is a really good player and we don't have anyone that can replace him on our team currently. He's great at rushing the passer, has become a very under rated run defender, and can turn around and cover 30 yards down field if needed. That's a versatility that can help you confuse an offense.
I think we need to work to keep Lane as well. Yup, we have that kid SJB from Nebraska, but he's unproven. I haven't seen anything from him at all. Anyone saying we should let Lane walk is a kind of superficial comment. What I mean is, none of us know what players like Tye Smith, SJB, Farmar and Seisay have really shown the coaching staff in practice. We don't know what the ceiling is for these guys, or what realistic chance they have of producing this year. If I'm the coaching staff, I have to be pretty sure at least one of these guys steps up before I'm willing to let Lane walk. We just played this game with the OL and it ended up costing us half a season.
It's no coincidence that once Lane got back and healthy, our defense turned around in the secondary.
Farmar is a kid that I can't see producing this year. He was a WR last year and wasn't even on a team anywhere. He's a project with physical measurables, and I can't see production out of him next year.
Seisay. I'm not sure what he's bringing to the table yet. We haven't seen enough.
Simon. You honestly can't count on him to stay healthy. He's a bonus if he produces. If the Hawks are in the business of retaining a guy and hoping he stays healthy and produces, I'd use the money to keep Okung, which I don't think they will. If he gets hurt in TC, I doubt he's on the team. And I doubt he makes it through TC without being hurt.
Smith has shown flashes and might be the one guy that an step up this year.
Stanley Jean-Baptiste. I know almost nothing about this guy. It bothers me a little that the Saints drafted him in the 2nd round and he's already been cut.