This just in: the Saints’ front office really is fully invested in improving the team. No, really, it’s true. It’s kinda how they earn their living and stuff. They’re not the least bit interested in intentionally undermining the team’s success. Nor are they idiots. And perhaps most shocking of all, there’s a pretty good chance they’re working with juuuuuust a little more information than you are, Message Board Guy. Hard to believe, I know. But trust me, these things are true. Deal with it.

As if the days leading up to this draft haven’t already been strange enough, Pete Prisco is now reporting that the Saints may be dangling Jammal Brown out there in potential trade-up scenarios. And I expect that by the end of the day, there will be full-blown riots in the electronic streets of Douchebag City.

Brown good. You no trade. Stoopid. You trade Harper. Me no like Harper. He suck. Brown better. You keep. You trade, we burn you with fire. He help Drew. You trade Harper. Or Meachem. Or guy who can’t catch.

For as much nitpicking and overanalysis that goes on most of the time on message boards, it boggles the mind how people just go caveman on some issues. Brown’s good, therefore you do not trade him. Simple as that. Right? Wrong, asshole.

It’s never that simple. And considering how eager you are to trade every other good player on the team before it comes time to pay him (Will Smith ring a bell? LeCharles Bentley? Darren Howard?) it’s hilarious how apparently we’re all DOOOOOOMED if they trade him now. Because this time next year, Message Board Guy will be screaming that "you’ve GOT to get something for him before he bolts in free agency!!!"

Message Board Guy would be happy to pay for Brown’s plane ticket out of town if it were for about nine day 2 draft picks.

We could get ourselves four more Colstons, two special teams gunners and three punters!

Or if Brown were in his contract year. Or if he were to utter a single discouraging word to a reporter, or on a radio show.

Now, granted, he’s not about to be a free agent. And as far as we know (which is key) he’s not making noise about his contract. Yet. And I fully realize that I’m being a little hypocritical here, because I’m on record as being of the opinion that it’s ridiculous to consider trading Will Smith, who is going to be up for a fat contract soon, and has made noise about it. And surely a PRO BOWL(!!!!) left tackle is more important than a decent, not great, defensive end. Right? He protects Drew’s blind side, for crying out loud!

Maybe. But let me just point out one more time that it’s never that simple. You have to consider the state of our offensive line, and our offense as a whole, versus the state of our defensive line, and our defense as a whole. The offense is in a far better position to bear the brunt of a "one step back" kind of move for the sake of a "two steps forward" move on defense. The opposite isn’t true. Very few seemed to mind letting Faine walk in favor of Goodwin, who is about as "proven" as a starter on the Saints’ offensive line as Zach Strief is. Jermon Bushrod is another potential replacement.

And while I’m not going to sit here and tell you that Strief or Bushrod would be an upgrade over Brown, you can’t tell me that losing Brown instantly sends the left tackle position into the shitter and Drew will be in traction by week 3 either. We all have the same amount of information to judge these guys, and it’s a hell of a lot less information than Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis have.

Jammal Brown might very well be a spare part at this point. Will Smith isn’t, if only because the Saints can’t afford any downgrade on the defensive side of the ball. To the contrary, they still need all the help they can get. If you can take a hit of -2 on the offensive line for a +5 on the defensive line, is that not a net positive? Aren’t net positives what we all want?

I’m all for holding onto your best players, as a general rule. I’m in no hurry to push Brown out the door, and I doubt that the front office is either. But since when did this guy become untradeable? Today, Message Board Guy’s platitude du jour is "You don’t trade a Pro Bowl left tackle!" Funny, because yesterday, Message Board Guy wanted to move Brown back to right tackle.

Hey, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much if you move him back to right tackle, and then trade him. Would that make it a little easier to swallow there, chief? You could even bench Stinchcomb in the process, and how long have you been wanting to do that?

At the risk of coming off like I’m trying to pull stuff out of my ass to justify the move, should it happen, let me just remind you that the Saints would have won last year in week 3 vs. Carolina if a touchdown hadn’t been called back because Brown didn’t line up on the line of scrimmage, after having been warned a few plays earlier that he was gonna get flagged if he didn’t watch it, and it got him benched for a quarter. And a big part of the reason "The Reverse" became "The Reverse" rather than just a harmless brain fart on one play in the midst of a win is because Jammal Brown got absolutely blown up on that play.

None of us know much about the extent to which he’s any kind of "leader" on the field or off, or what his relationship might be to his coaches or teammates, or whether or not he intends to be here when his contract is up. Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis do. And while there’s been little to no indication to those of us on the outside that any of these things are a full-blown issue, or any issue at all, there hasn’t been much indication that any of these things are particularly strong points in his favor either.

He’s just a guy.

One town’s very like another when your head’s down over your pieces, brother.
It’s a drag, it’s a bore, it’s really such a pity to be looking at the board, not looking at the city.

Big picture, people. He’s just a guy.