Curtis Lofton is now a Saint. I am obligated to hate him, even though there will always be a small soft spot in my heart for The Police. Except when he plays against us. Then it's 100% hate. Maybe 105%.
Mike Nolan was convinced that Lofton was only a two-down linebacker, and I'm not going to pretend I know better than him or Spags in this situation.
However, let's assume Nolan is correct. The Saints have just thrown a 5 year deal at an LB who is lacking in coverage. While Lofton made many-a-tackle for us, he didn't do a whole lot that stood out. He was a solid player. He won't lose the game for you by any stretch, but he's not the first guy you'd think of in terms of an LB who can do it all, like a Patrick Willis.
Now, if Nolan is correct about Lofton, we can immediately exploit it every time we play the Saints for the next few years, so long as he continues to get the majority of snaps at some LB position for them. This might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but if Dirk Koetter is anything like some Jags fans have said, then he'll know exactly what to do to exploit it.
To most teams, perhaps this means nothing. I'm not saying Lofton is a bad player, he'll certainly be a quality linebacker for the Saints, but I doubt he was brought in to just be a run-stopper. We had a Spoon to help The Police out in pass coverage. I don't know who the Saints have, but I don't know that they have a Spoon to help The Police, so to speak.
There were some good and interesting opinions on the blog last night when FalconsDan (thanks for that!) broke the news. I'm just getting around to sharing a potential blessing I thought about! Feel free to discuss, be sad, or be however.