So, it's been six weeks now since… *ahem*… THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS WON THE SUPER BOWL! Is it too soon yet to start wondering when we're gonna get some good news for a change?

Yeah, probably too soon. Oh sure, we all knew that at best this was probably gonna be the most boring, uneventful offseason in recent memory, if not ever. Best we could really have hoped for was keeping the team intact, a few long term contracts for core players, and the draft. And the NFL had already announced that they were gonna go ahead and fuck up what had been the single most fun, exciting, "gameday-esque" event of the excruciatingly-long offseason. So, yeah, we all knew it was gonna suck regardless.

But man, has this sucked. Surely it's not gonna be like this for the next five months, right. RIGHT???

The shame of it all is that it's not really like the Saints are at fault here on most of this stuff. We all knew that some hard decisions were gonna have to be made, and we knew that the Saints were gonna have one hand tied behind their back in free agency. Signing core players to long-term contracts without just irresponsibly "making it rain" and screwing yourself over in the process isn't exactly child's play. With one notable exception, it's not like the Saints could reasonably have been expected to do anything other than what they've done.

But this isn't about reason. It's about emotion.

It's about the fact that regardless of how aware you are that you've gotta come down eventually, it still sucks.

It's about the fact that even when you know that the correct answer to "What have you done for me lately?" is "Uh… we won the fuckin' Super Bowl, asshole!" damned if you can help but to ask it anyway.

Should the Saints have kept Charles Grant? No. Probably not, anyway. Yeah, pretty sure the correct answer is no. Not on that contract, anyway. Better to go ahead and get out from under it now while the gettin's good in the uncapped year. And for the most part, this one didn't sting too much because his popularity rating wasn't exactly through the roof. He still has a 4 game suspension looming, and there's always the draft, right?

Should the Saints have given Scott Fujita $14MM over 3 years? No. Probably not, anyway. Even in an uncapped year, which, contrary to popular opinion, does not give you a license to print money. This one stings a little more because Scotty Badass is the very definition of fan favorite. (That is, as long as you're willing to overlook his support of all the baby killing and buttsecks and other such abominations to the Lord.) But there's always Stanley Arnoux (4th round pick who spent his entire rookie season on IR) and JoLonn Dunbar (UDFA who ended last year on IR) and Marvin Mitchell (who by all indications sucks.) And there's always the draft, right?

Should the Saints have set the stage for Tony Hargrove to be visiting Detroit, and very likely signing an offer sheet any minute now? Probably. How about letting Kendrick Clancy (who ended last season on IR) become a UFA? Yeah, probably. I mean, there's always TheMario Pressley. (We'll pause for a second while you try to remember who TheMario Pressley is.) Oh, and of course there's always the draft.

But hey, no problem, right? I mean, all they've gotta do is come up 3 for 3 on a DT, DE and OLB with the last pick in each of the first three rounds, all of whom are capable of starting from day one. High five! I mean, so what if the entire left side of your front 7 are rookies? What, me worry?

Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Pressley, Bobby McCray, Jeff Charleston, Arnoux, Dunbar and Mitchell are chumps or anything. I'm just saying that there's been very little indication so far that they aren't.

(And, yeah, I'm the guy who was telling you last year that one or both of the Starcaps guys were gonna get Wally Pipped by Charleston and/or McCray last year. Oops. Yeah, uh, let's never speak of that again, okay?)

Meantime, two released veteran DTs the Saints have showed some degree of interest in (Jamal Williams, Ma'ake Kemoeatu) have already signed elsewhere without even bothering to partake of a free meal at Emeril's first. Surely Tony Bourdain had something to do with that. Because after all, aren't the Saints supposed to be some kind of "destination" for free agents these days? DAMN YOU, BAD TONY!!!

Should the Saints have not allowed Mike Bell to leave, which will surely be the case by Wednesday? No. I mean, does anyone really give a shit about that?

Should the Saints ante up for Sharper? Trick question. The thing is, that's precisely what they've been trying to do. Clearly it's Sharper who's being the douche here. And yeah, all indications so far are that it's all about the money. Still, don't you have to wonder just a little bit why a 13 year veteran who just had the best year of his career in his first year on a new team, at age 34, who just got his first Super Bowl ring thanks in no small part to the rest of the aforementioned new team, and who currently can't fly to any FA visits because he's on fuckin' crutches, continues to turn his nose up at 3 years / $11 million?

Sure, it's probably mostly because he's being a douche. But douchebaggery aside, Moe, if this doesn't work out, all of a sudden you've got either a 2nd year guy in his first year as converted corner playing free safety, or a fourth rookie starter in what now has to be the best single-team draft class of all time, or Usama Young. Shit.

Hey, if it makes you feel better to call me Chicken Little here, then by all means. I'm a big boy, I can handle it. Meantime, I'm not saying that the Saints should have done anything differently. What I am saying is that despite "doing all the right things" so far, it sure does look to me like they might be in a world of trouble here.

And that's a bummer.

Does it really matter at this point that not a single "core player" has been signed to a long-term contract yet? No, probably not. Assuming everything's cool behind the scenes, that is. Fingers crossed.

Should the Saints not have raised ticket prices? No, that's perfectly justified. They haven't done that in several years, there's been a waiting list for season tix since 2006, and Saints tickets are still among the cheapest in the league despite their having JUST WON THE FUCKIN' SUPER BOWL!

It's just that, when you throw all these things into a big pile, it doesn't exactly add up to a particularly "fan-friendly" offseason. Especially when there ain't jack shit so far in the other pile.

And now they're kicking some 1500 season ticket holders completely out of the Dome? Really?

Hey Saints, thanks again for the ring. It's lovely, it really is. Thing is, just so you know, that doesn't mean you can just stop shaving and showering now. We still expect you to tell us you love us every now and then. And mean it. Think you might throw us a bone sometime soon?