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07 Apr 2010

Saints Sign Alex Brown

The Saints have signed former Bears end Alex Brown to a two-year deal. No word yet on terms.

Posted by: Bill Barnwell on 07 Apr 2010

21 comments, Last at 08 Apr 2010, 10:28pm by IB

Comments

1
by commissionerleaf :: Wed, 04/07/2010 - 5:04pm

Sigh.

And the beat goes on. Good teams sign good players after bad teams drop them.

2
by Marko :: Wed, 04/07/2010 - 5:46pm

Saints fans will enjoy watching him play. He is a solid all-around DE who will also be a great teammate. Bears fans like me already miss him.

6
by Joseph :: Wed, 04/07/2010 - 10:33pm

Marko--any insight you can give on him? This Saints' fan doesn't know much about him. His stats looked ordinary (avg 6 sacks per year), which is prob. part of the reason why the Bears released him. He seems at least to be slated for top back-up DE behind Will Smith and Bobby McCray, although I suspect that the Saints would like him to start. This seems like to me at least a good depth signing, if not more.

7
by tuluse :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 12:32am

He's excellent against the run and very smart. You will almost never seen him out of position. He also grabs about one pick per year. He lacks top end athleticism to get to the QB but is very high-energy and won't stop going. He loves to work the crowd and get the fans into the game too.

10
by Marko :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 5:05am

I agree with tuluse's analysis - he made pretty much all of the points I was going to make. Brown is very smart and stays at home on reverses and end arounds. He also is good at sniffing out screens, which helps him get the occasional interception. He doesn't rack up huge sack totals, but he gets his share of QB pressures and QB hits.

As for getting the fans into the game, he was a Florida Gator, so he loves to do the Gator Chomp to celebrate a big play. I wonder how the fans in LSU country will react to that.

12
by Sophandros :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 9:26am

Those idiots--err--Tiger fans are fine with Bobby McCray doing the Gator Chomp, so that's not an issue.

I think that it's a great move. http://www.footballoutsiders.com/extra-points/2010/bears-release-alex-br...

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Sports talk radio and sports message boards are the killing fields of intellectual discourse.

14
by TomKelso :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 11:04am

Uh oh -- a bunch of Tah-guhs go splashing through your little green puddle again, Tulame?

(Seriously, if there is a "traditional" rivalry more one-sided than LSU-Tulane, I've never heard of it. Even when I was doing grad work at LSU, it was pretty much #10 in interest on the 11-game schedule -- because of the major mismatch. Arkansas has just about displaced the Green Froth in every way.)

But Brown's only issue with the Bears is that he was regarded as a little light for what they needed at DE. There certainly could be no complaint with his effort or his intelligence.

How much has this game changed? Alan Page is in the Hall as a DE -- today, there are safeties that play at his weight. Crazy.

16
by Marko :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 12:32pm

I've never seen Brown's weight mentioned as an issue for the Bears. The Bears under Lovie Smith like "undersized" DEs, and Mark Anderson, who is (stupidly) expected to replace him in the starting lineup, weighs less than Brown.

Alan Page played DT in the NFL, which makes even stronger your point about how much the game has changed.

17
by tuluse :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 3:07pm

I think they expect Idonije to take his place.

18
by Marko :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 3:29pm

Well, it's really going to be a combination of Idonije and Anderson. I have seen reports suggesting that Idonije would start, and I have seen others suggesting that Anderson will start. In any event, since Idonije is going to play primarily DE, he is working to come in at a lower weight this year. Which once again goes to my point: Brown's weight was never an issue because the Bears like their DEs on the lighter side.

20
by tuluse :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 9:09pm

Completely agree with you there.

3
by dmstorm22 :: Wed, 04/07/2010 - 6:59pm

I really wanted the Colts to get him. They need some DE depth. I guess the Saints do too. After an interesting offseason to say the least, it is good that the Saints finally added a nice, good player.

8
by tuluse :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 12:33am

He's not the Colt's kind of DE, unless Dungy leaving changed what they're looking for.

15
by JoeD (not verified) :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 11:41am

Since when have the Colts picked up a newsworthy free agent?

4
by MilkmanDanimal :: Wed, 04/07/2010 - 9:51pm

Damn, he was supposed to sign with Tampa.

5
by Raiderjoe :: Wed, 04/07/2010 - 10:11pm

why brown supposed to sign with Ta,mpa Bay? Was that rumor

9
by bubqr :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 4:46am

Unless I missed something, Charles Grant is still a FA ? We're talking about a player that used to be good enough that teams (Bucs ?) were willing to trade for him when he was a franchise player ?

I know he was far from stellar last week but still, when I see the amount of attention KVB received in FA, and the deal he signed...

13
by Sophandros :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 9:31am

Grant's play has been fading a bit, he has some off field issues, plus a possible 4 game suspension to start the year.

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Sports talk radio and sports message boards are the killing fields of intellectual discourse.

11
by dvdburns (not verified) :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 6:22am

Sad day for Bears fans. He will be missed. He came in the league with a reputation for not giving his best effort. In the end, all he did for the Bears was BRING IT with maximum effort at all times. He's not the most talented guy in the world, but he's very good. Good luck to him.

19
by etheone (not verified) :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 3:35pm

This was good move for the Saints... I knew about everything except his ability to stop the run - a Saint weakness - i think the league is in trouble trying to run on the Saints now! this has to be the biggest coup in free-agency, needwise, to date this off-season.

21
by IB (not verified) :: Thu, 04/08/2010 - 10:28pm

Brown's ability to "stop the run" at this point in his career is entirely predicated upon his complete inability to rush the passer in any meaningful sense. Look at it this way: Brown was the third best outside pass rusher on a team that was able to generate no outside pass rush whatsoever. That should tell you something. By getting stuck to the line, he is more often in position to play a de facto two gap assignment.

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