And Kyle’s addition to the roster triggered the subtraction of longtime Saints long snapper Kevin Houser.
“Jason is a quality veteran player and we saw in him a chance to upgrade our kicking game,” Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement. “I’ve known him since we drafted him in Seattle and going up against him twice a year for the last eight seasons with Carolina, he has always been impressive. I’d also like to thank Kevin for nine seasons of excellent service to the Saints and wish him all the best in the future.”
Kyle, 37, had spent the past eight seasons with the Carolina Panthers and has played in the league for 14 years.
A former fourth-round draft pick with the Seattle Seahawks in 1995, Kyle has also had previous stints with the Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Rams, and San Francisco49ers.
Houser was drafted in the seventh round by the Saints in 2000, playing in every regular-season game over that span along with four playoff games.
Now, he’s out and Kyle is in.
Here is a little news. It looks like the Saints were serious about getting rid of him when they opened up a competition for that Spot.
“Jason is a quality veteran player and we saw in him a chance to upgrade our kicking game,”
uggghh??? Houser was great he was one of the most reliable players on the team, and how is this going to upgrade our kicking game? If we have one snap that drifts to high there going to regret this.
I agree. I think they are cleaning House, I think more people maybe going as well. At least if they were here before HC SP. I think they are getting rid off what is considered left overs from Haslet . Mike Karney had a couple of Blurbs about him as well , before He was released. I think he was and is a good FB. I really do not think Heath Evans is that much an improvement over him. Evans does well that will be great, but he will have to really produce to make it worth the Change. I mean as in the running game as well as blocking and recieving. I also believe that Karney and Houser were also more of money issues . Just my thoughts.
after reading comments from the people of nola.com, they all seemed pissed. these moves mean absolutely nothing. i love the fact that we stay aggressive.
I also believe that Karney and Houser were also more of money issues actually, Houser made only the league minimum whereas kyle makes about 200,000 more. This move bothers me though. Houser was always dependable, I hope this doesn't turn out to be John Carrney type move that will come back to bite us in the azz !
I honestly DO NOT understand this move. The Saints cut a nine-year veteran who is making the league minimum and sign a 14-year veteran who is making at least $200,000 more. Is there no loyalty? What can this new guy do that Houser couldn't? They say they signed this guy to help out in the kicking game. I don't recall Houser making any erroneous snaps, or at least ones that may have caused the Saints games. Did they let him go because he is not a product of Sean Payton? I am not trying to bash the Saints, but some of the things they do are mind baffling. Ity's a shame because Houser was about to break the record for most consecutive starts for the Saints. Hmmmmmm, I wonder if Jim Dombrowski (the owner of that record) had anything to do with this...lol.
Schneck we share the same concern. Long snapper is one of those positions you just dont mess with unless it's a problem. Houser was not. He was very dependable and as far as i could tell a good locker room guy. This feels like payton getting cute again just like he did with john Carney. Houser said:
"I'm not saying I've never had a bad snap, because I've been lucky enough to have some very good athletes behind me," he said. "But I can say with confidence that in nine years, I never had a snap that cost us anything in a game, and there was no reason to believe that wouldn't continue." Why would you cut a guy that has never cost us a game. im getting haunting images of the Giants49ers playoff game a few years back where the giants brought in a new long snapper and cost them a playoff game.
you guys know the old addage: if it aint broke dont fix it. i can honestly say that i dont remember ONE bad snap from Houser, ever! to get rid of this guy for an older, more expensive LS just does not make any sense to me.
Hmmmmmm, I wonder if Jim Dombrowski (the owner of that record) had anything to do with this...lol.
J. Dombrowski? really? i would have figured Stan Brock. anyway....
Okay, first off, I have to disagree NOS, I don't think Payton is on the hot seat, but I see where your coming from. We all know Benson is cheap, and with the new deal with the Saints and all that, switching coaches right now is not wise. True we missed the playoffs the last 2 years, but we have also have the best offense in the league 2 of the last 3 years and one of those years we ranked 3rd. It's also about steadily improving, and while we missed the playoffs we have become a better franchise. Our problem was that the improvement was only on one side. We are continuing to try to make improvements in all phases of the game.
Now I may not have liked dropping John Karney as the kicker back then, but I understood the reason. He was not great for distance, and not good on touchbacks on kickoffs. Payton wanted to upgrade that. Now it didn't work out, like we would have expected, but the fact remains that we did try to improve that aspect with a kicker known for touchbacks( Mare). We should have probably looked into his accuracy more but everything doesn't always work out. Melhaff didn't work out either, but Payton never gave up the search, and I think what Benson likes about payton, is the fact that he's not afraid to hit a roadblock, and keep going.
The Mike Karney release, at the time I wasn't really feeling that move, but Payton, and I think everyone can agree, since he has been here, has stressed versatility. Now I too don't think Evans is so much better than Karney, but I will say that he is definitly more versatile. You have to think about Sean Paytons philosophy of offense. He loves to utilize personnel matchups, and the more players he has on the field that can do more than one thing the better matchup problems he can create. Having more versatile players also has a benefit when it comes to the overall roster also. Like the case with Houser. One of things I have heard is that Kyle is also on some of the other special teams units.( not sure to what extent though) We know Ninkovinch can play end in a pinch and also contribute on special teams. So if he pans out as a long snapper( i know, big if) we just freed up another roster spot by eliminating a one dimensional guy in Houser. I understand the logic behind it. It's a tough decision. But a lot of NFL front office people, especially some of the more sucessful ones agree, " Better to let go of a player a little bit too soon, than a little bit too late" So here's to hoping that this move pans out for us a lot better than it did with us getting rid of John Karney
What bygkev said makes the most sense to me so far. The front office may be trying to find ways to conserve a roster spot -- maybe for an extra spot for the linebackers or defensive line. Even though people bag on our linebackers (outside of Vilma & Fujita), I like our young linebackers -- Evans, Water, Mitchell, Dunbar, Arnoux, Casillas. As for the d-line, with Smith & Grant out for 4 games, the extra roster spot would be really useful in case whoever plays replaces them ends up being spectacular.
So if he pans out as a long snapper( i know, big if) we just freed up another roster spot by eliminating a one dimensional guy in Houser. I understand the logic behind it. It's a tough decision.So why drop a one dimensional player for a slighty more expensive and older one dimensional player? Thats my question.
Hey Shade, Now I don't mean to be trying to put any words into bygkev's mouth that he didn't already have coming out in his earlier statement here but what I think he was trying to say which could have gotten lost in translation just a little bit the way he said it was that "...if he (Rob Ninkovich, not Jason Kyle) pans out as a long snapper, we just freed up another roster spot by eliminating a one dimensional guy in Houser." Maybe they want to light a fire under Ninkovich so that he really tries hard to make the team over this new guy who apparently not only snaps for punts and FG's, but has made special teams tackles and stops in every NFL season while he was playing the LS position (which is something that you never saw Houser doing with the Saints - he simply snapped the ball and had no other impact at all in making stops or tackles on the field afterward). In terms of all these things considered, it makes better sense to me now.
Putting myself in Sean Payton's shoes i understand the reasoning behind the move. Trying to gain a coveted roster spot always plays on the minds of a coach. Having said that, every team in the NFL has "specialists". You dont see linebackers punting and quarterbacks kicking field goals just to pull double duty. Long Snapper might seem like an easy position to play and you can plug anyone in there, but thats just not the case. it's an unsung position but the guys that are good at it play forever because teams know how much pressure comes with being a long snapper. It seems funny that we're debating who our long snapper should be but the fact of the matter is you dont think about them until you need one. i just hope were not talking about our damn long snapper during the season
after reading comments from the people of nola.com, they all seemed pissed. these moves mean absolutely nothing. i love the fact that we stay aggressive.
Do you remember when we agressively cut John Carney and signed Olindo Mare? That was as dumb as this could be. To get rid of a perfect long snapper to pick an older one. Why would you do this? This makes no sense whatsoever.
he simply snapped the ball and had no other impact at all in making stops or tackles on the field afterwardRHD, I'm just using your statement to make a point. so.... my thinking is exactly what RHD said and that is he was A PERFECT long snapper. I don't see ROB being perfect and as for the NEW guy he's more expensive.
