Saints Draft History
 

From neworleanssaints.com:

http://www.neworleanssaints.com/stor...?story_id=3205

Saints recent Draft successes: A recap

The Saints have made the most of their draft choices over the last three years since the arrival of Coach Jim Haslett. The club has selected quality players throughout the draft, and the players picked over the last three years now represent the foundation of the club on both sides of the ball. It’s also worth noting the Saints traded their third-round choice in 2001 for QB Aaron Brooks. A look back:

2000
Round 2: DE Darren Howard – Left without a first- and third-round picks because of the trade for RB Ricky Williams the year before, the Saints still struck gold with the selection of Howard at 33rd overall. Howard went on to earn NFL All-Rookie honors by posting a Saints rookie-record 11 sacks. No player in club history has recorded more than Howard’s 25 sacks after three seasons with the Saints.

Round 4: FB Terrelle Smith – The former college linebacker has started 26 of 44 games since being selected 96th overall. He has emerged as one of the NFL’s top blocking backs over the last three seasons.

Round 6b: CB Michael Hawthorne – A quick cornerback with the size that NFL scouts are looking for, Hawthorne has played in 28 games in his career. He started four contests in 2002 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Round 7: LS Kevin Houser – Picked 228th overall, Houser has become one of the league’s most consistent long-snappers. He has been a cog on the special teams units.

2001
Round 1: RB Deuce McAllister – After a year serving as the club’s kick returner, McAllister left no doubt in his second season that he was primed to become the Saints’ featured back in 2002. He posted eight 100-yard games last season while rushing for an NFC-high 1,388 yards and added 47 catches for 352 yards. He scored 16 touchdowns and was voted a starter in the Pro Bowl.

Round 3a: LB Sedrick Hodge – The speedy defender started all 16 games in 2002 and posted a career-high 88 tackles and eight passes defensed.
Round 3b: DT Kenny Smith – Picked 81st overall, the young lineman emerged as a contributor in 2002, posting a career-high 3.5 sacks.

2002
Round 1a: WR Donte’ Stallworth – Selected 13th overall, Stallworth supplied immediate impact by hauling in an NFL rookie-high eight touchdowns, which was also a team record for rookies. Two of his scoring grabs were game-winners late in the fourth quarter as he posted 42 catches for 594 yards (14.1 yards per catch).

Round 1b: DE Charles Grant – The Saints’ second first-round pick (25th overall) finished second on the club and among NFC rookies with seven sacks. He started six games and played in all 16. Grant added four forced fumbles and scooped up a loose ball at Carolina and rumbled 34 yards for a touchdown.

Round 2: G LeCharles Bentley – Became the first rookie offensive lineman to start opening day for New Orleans. Named to several All-Rookie teams and picked as NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

Round 3: LB James Allen – Oregon State product expected to vie for starting spot at outside linebacker in 2003. Solid special teams performer scored a game-winning touchdown on an interception in opener at Tampa Bay.

Round 4: CB Keyuo Craver – Rookie defensive back was a cog in pass defense before injury forced him to miss six games. Had a fumble return for touchdown, one of four rookies to score TDs in 2002.

Round 5: S Mel Mitchell – Lanky defender was one of the Saints’ best special teams performers last season, posting 25 tackles. Cover skills and speed make him a player to watch at safety in the future.

Round 6a: QB J.T. O’Sullivan – Spent the year learning at third quarterback position, but has impressed coaching staff with quick mind and savvy in the pocket.

I hope that next year we'll be able to look back on this years draft and be just as pleased.

Saints Draft History
 

Ice, today you are THE man with your posts. Kepp\'em coming.

Saints Draft History
 

I\'ve got to question the part about Hodge in that article. I know he started in those games, but that doesn\'t mean he played NFL caliber.

I\'ve noticed the Saints official site often details positive items, but holds back on the negatives. Things that could have a negative slant rarely seem to get posted there.

Regardless, it was a good post. It shows clearly how little Haz has had to work with since taking over for Ditka. One thing you\'ve got to give him - we\'re in a helluva lot better shape than we were when Ditka had the reins.

Kudo\'s to Haz if for nothing more than that alone.

Saints Draft History
 

What\'s amazing about that is that you\'re looking at ten starters at their positions and another three guys who have significant playing time in 14 picks. Only O\'Sullivan doesn\'t see the field normally (or at least is scheduled to this season).

That can be looked at one of two ways. Way one - that Haslett and Co. are great talent evaluators and we should expect nothing but good things from this draft.

The other way to look at it is that the Saints have let all of their experienced and proven talent go and have been forced to turn to young, unproven, possibly questionable players.

Let\'s hope the Saints are right about these guys and the ones we drafted this year.

Saints Draft History
 

Amen. I guess it\'s kinda like an optimist and a pessimist. Half full or half empty. We\'ll know soon enough I guess.

Saints Draft History
 

Hear hear. My point with Hodge exactly.

Saints Draft History
 

This means Randy Mueller was a great evaluator of talent. If Haslett and Loomis are....that remains to be seen. I believe that everyone of these players will be excellent contributors on this team. I just have to shake my head a bit at how we got them and what was passed over. I do know that all of you are right about what \"we laymen\" want compared to what the professionals know. It\'s just hard not to set your sights on certain players you feel are \"needs\" for this team and watch them get ignored.

Saints Draft History
 

WhoDAT. you said that one possible reason the Saints picks have seen significant playing time is because they have let their expereienced or proven players go. I thought it would be fun to see who on the roster they replaced. I think you will agree that this possibility is not a reality.
Draft picks and who they replaced.

Darren Howard - Jared Tomich (Ditka loved the fact that his motor was always running but unfortunatly he didn\'t have any wheels)
Terrell Smith - Aaron Craver/Wilmont Perry (WILMONT PERRY! I Don\'t need to say more.. Just his name makes me laugh)
Michael Hawthorne - Tyrone Drakeford/Earl Little (We might as well have played William \"Dirty\" Strong)
Deuce Mcallister - Ricky Williams (I am not touching this one)
Sedrick Hodge - Mark Fields (OKAY, he can chase down Isaac Bruce but can he chase down another job? The last 3 years he failed miserably with the Saints, Rams, and Panthers)
Donte\' Stallworth - Albert Connell (HEY! Has anybody seen my wallett?)
Charles Grant - Joe Johnson (I will be amazed if his knees hold up for 2 more years and don\'t forget he only played what... 1 game last year!)
LeCharles Bentley - Chris Neaoli (Did I spell that right? 3rd round talent at best wrapped into a 1st round coconut bust)
James Allen - Keith Mitchell (He will be lucky to keep his job with the expansion Texans if he already hasn\'t been cut)
Keyuo Craver - Fred Weary (I love Fred Weary but he will never be the same after that injury)
Mel Mitchell - Sammy Knight (Mel has the physical tools we always wished Sammy had. Lets just hope that Mel has the smarts that Sammy has.)

I hope you will agree, whodat, that these draft picks are simply better than the bums they replaced.

Saints Draft History
 

F.B. Wiz I don\'t agree in all cases. Also bums is kinda harsh for the likes of Ricky Williams,Joe Johnson,Mark Fields,Sammy Knight. Just because someone has \"failed\" miserably, in your opinion, for the last 3 years does not make them a bum any more than the fact their name makes you laugh. We have let some key experienced players go without replacing them with at least equal experience. We have done a horrible job in Free Agency this year. With the exception of Conwell and probably Jones. If you really look at our past you will see,we have a tendency to let developed players go. I think alot of this has to do with $$$. You draft a player,then you sit him for a year or two,then you let him have a good year and then either he wants too much money or is not happy and wants to leave. You must look at \"all\" of the intangibles.

Saints Draft History
 

Sorry FB - I can\'t agree with you. I\'m thinking about our defense from a few years back versus now. Let\'s just look at the starting lineup from Ditka\'s last year... which, I don\'t think anyone will argue was a GOOD year.

DL - Joe Johnson, La\'Roi Glover, Wayne Martin, Brady Smith - we also had Whitehead in reserve. OK - I understand that Martin was old, but this group is potentially ALL pro bowlers. Our defensive line now is the BEST part of our defense today and while they may grow into being players of this caliber, they certainly are not there now.

I can\'t remember our linebackers exactly, but I think we had the Mitchell bros. playing... Kevin Mitchell, Keith Mitchell, and Mark Fields. Let\'s just take the two I know were there and compare them to the two most experienced players on our LB corp. Who is better? Mark Fields and Keith Mitchell or Orlando Ruff and Sedrick Hodge? Not to mention we added Clemons the next year, I believe. If they had held on to Fields we would have had him playing next to Clemons... a guy who led the team in tackles and sacks.

At corner in 1999... sound familiar... Ashley Ambrose... and Fred Weary. Assuming Carter can play up to par we are probably better off now, but who knows by how much. Consider the starters last season... who do you take? Hawthorne and Thomas or Weary and Ambrose?

Finally, safety. In 1999 you\'re looking at Sammy Knight and I believe Rob Kelly. It\'s going to be really hard to make an evaluation on this year\'s safeties vs. 1999\'s. I personally like Kelly a lot. I love Knight. Then again, I understand the knock on him and like the prospects that Jones and Mitchell bring.

My point is, that the defense on a, what, 3-13 team was better, at least talent wise, than it is today. You really don\'t know if the guys playing now are playing b/c they are actually BETTER players (which I doubt in many cases), or b/c they have to b/c we let good players leave. In any case, the problem remains that the defense is not very talented. We have one last shot to try to help that, but I fear little will be done. I think this team might be better this year, but it will have the same problems it had last year. A QB whose play is inconsistent... injuries have the potential to destroy us again... and a defense that will get chewed up and spit out. Let\'s just hope that there\'s not another collapse.

Saints Draft History
 

All this negative talk reminds me of a story Jerry Clower used to tell. It seems when Jerry was playing for Mississippi State, seems he wasn\'t real good playing defense. He heard his uncle Versi Ledbetter was gravely ill. So Jerry being a good christian boy went to see him. His uncle Versi had seen Jerry play on many occasions. At the end of the visit, Jerry sadly said to his uncle, Uncle Versi I sure hope you get better. With that the old man looked up at Jerry with tired , sick eyes and said. \" Jerry I sure hope you do too.\"
May be with time our young players will get better too. There\'s always hope. We can always go visit them on Sundays.

Saints Draft History
 

Hey guys, thank for the reply.. I love good banter.
Okay first of al I wasn\'t addressing the defense as a whole. i was talking about the particular guys that our recent draft picks have replaced. I think overall they have been upgrades. Like I said I am not touching the Ricky Williams think because I can\'t necessarily make that case. But look at these guys who we replaced. TOMICH< FIELDS< CRAVER< NAEOLI<MITCHELL.. They were terrible. Joe Johnson was a great player but his knees are so bad. Do you people have any idea how bad his knees are? They are not going to hold up long and we would had to pay him a bundle of money. We were better off drafting a young studd like Charles Grant. WHo among you would rather have Joe Johnson right now rather than Charles Grant?
Secondly, you have to understand the concept of rebuilding. Sure you would like to replace a player with another of equal experience and ability but thats not always reality. Most of the time rebuilding means you have to get a young guy and develope him and be patient while he learns the game. What I will say oveall too is that the guys we have drafted are physically much more talented than who they replaced. Keith Mitchell was slow and undersized. I\'ll take the big and fast potential of Sedrick Hodge any day over Mitchells lack of ability AND production.
ALso somebody mentioned Wayne Martin.. What do you want to do.. keep a guy around who can barely walk just because he was a good player once.. You have to replace him. I am not happy with Norman Hand the last couple years any more than you are but Wayne Martin was OLD.
ONE MORE THING; MArk Fields.. You have got to be kidding me.. He never tackled and was always out of position. He had 5 years and never produced.
Remember guys, I only addressed the recent draft picks and who they replaced. I think we have done great overall. I wasn\'t comparing this defence to the defence three years ago. Don\'t jump to these conclusions if I don\'t say it. I wasn\'t talking about Orlano Ruff or Dale Carter or any of that. But since YOU brought them up let me say that I am not sold on Orlando Ruff at all. But Charlie Clemons was God Awefull last year and every morning I pray that Dale Carter doesn\'t have a drink.

Saints Draft History
 

F.B., Most of what you say is true. Yes we all want our young players to step up and be Pro Bowl caliber. To the best of my knowledge Craver is still with us. In my opinion he will be a big producer in the very near future. As for Ruff, the guy has the potentail to be a very good player. I hope he pans out.Your question about who would we rather have right at this moment between Johnson and Grant is a no brainer. With Johnson hurt, who would take him right this very minute. However, if this guy heals he is still very good. Now on to Charlie Clemons, If he were allowed to play his natural position (outside linebacker) who knows what he could do. Seems to me that when he was allowed to play that position he was very good. Last but not least Wayne Martin, yes he was old. I for one wanted to keep him on knowing he couldn\'t play to his full potential but i\'m a very loyal Martin fan. It seems that we all might have our own favorite players that we\'d like to keep with the Saints for life. We do however know that this is not possible. But we can wish for a Saints retirement home. :)

Saints Draft History
 

SUbguy, I did not mean to offend you with the use of the word bum. I will henceforth refer to all football players of that caliber as \"Underachieving ogres.\"
Thank You

Saints Draft History
 

Who me pissed? wrong? NEVER! LOL :P
You know me, I\'m to old and slow to be wrong or pissed. LOL
As for me being busted, for an old fat man their not bad but Playboy will never want a picture of them. LOL

[Edited on 28/4/2003 by JOESAM2002]

Saints Draft History
 

Wait a second, wait a second. The 3-13 defense was MORE TALENTED. Absolutely. FB brought up examples of new guys we brought in to replace old guys. I simply compared the 1999 starting defense to the 2003 projected starting defense. From where I stand, the talent comparision is a push. You cannot tell me that the d-line in \'02, for example, was better than Johnson, Glover, Martin, and Brady Smith in \'99. You cannot tell me that our linebackers were better last year than any group of linebackers that we\'ve ever had before. Our secondary was basically the same, so I don\'t know how you make an argument that the \'02 team was so much better.

But let\'s make things easy. If we\'ve gotten so much better on defense. If we\'ve replaced these \"bums\" with these young talented players, why was our defense ranked worse last year than it had been in any of the previous 10 years?

Saints Draft History
 

Hey guys, thanks for defending me a little bit.. I haven\'t posted messages on a football website for a long time and I forgot how fun it is.
WHodat, You have to understand one thing. I am not necessarily saying that our defense now is the best ever. In fact, I don\'t think its very good. Im not sold on Sedrick Hodge, James Allen, Orlando Ruff and a number of other players. What I am saying is that when a guy fails to produce you have to replace him. Example: Mark Fields failed to produce and he had to go. Sedrick Hodge might fail too. If he does he has to go. But we are better off with a guy you MIGHT fail than a guy who HAS failed. I particularly love the optimism that Joesam dispayes in many of his posts because he understands that we may not always agree with the players the Saints get but that they do have to purge lack of production and at least try to replace them. It doesn\'t matter if its a player that we all like (joe Johnson, Wayne Martin, Buford Jordon).
And the most recent example, Normand Hand. I was elated when we signed him three years ago but he took ten million dollars of Saints money and it went right to his belly. I hope those chicken wings were good.
Oh, and I am sorry but Joe Johnson wasn\'t worh keeping then and he certainly isn\'t worth having now. By the way.. Im not exactly going out on a limb here but if the Saints can manage to find any decent tackle on the market then Grady Jackson will be next.

Saints Draft History
 

By the way, Joesam.. When I referred to Craver earlier as a negative I was talking about former fullback Aaron Craver. Keyou Craver was an absolute steal in the 4th round last year and I believe that he is a future starter.

Saints Draft History
 

OK - I get your point and I don\'t disagree. I think the difference in opinion is that you believe that a lot of these players weren\'t worth keeping. I think they were. Fields, for example, was not run out of New Orleans. If I remember correctly, he left b/c we couldn\'t pay him what he wanted. The same was true of Johnson, who left in part due to money, and in part b/c he felt Mueller and the organization was screwing him. Who else would you like to bring up that has recently departed from the defense? Clemons? He is a better OLB than any guy we have on the team right now. He had something like 100 tackles and 13.5 sacks in \'01. One bad year at MLB, a position the Saints forced him to play, and now he\'s not worth keeping? Sammy Knight, a Pro Bowler in \'01, has a bad year in \'02 b/c our middle was softer than melted butter, and he becomes a throw away? Glover was \"too small\" and \"couldn\'t stop the run\". Well apparently neither could his replacements. Isn\'t Glover a fast guy who can put pressure on the QB? Isn\'t that what we\'re looking for at DT now? Were we better against the Run with Johnson and Glover or without? Was Bellamy a step up over Rob Kelly or Chad Cota? Nope. Was Thomas better than Ambrose? Not really, considering Ambrose just came back and will likely start over Thomas. I\'m not sure, but I\'ll bet you Keith Mitchell\'s numbers his last year as a Saint were better than Hodge\'s were last year.

I get what you\'re trying to say FB. In theory you\'re right. In practice however, the story is completely different. You can even talk about the offense if you really want to... Was Turley better than Roaf? Nope. Is Gandy expected to be better on the field than Turley? Nope. Did Pathon or Stallworth produce as much as Wille Jackson? Not even close. Were Deuce\'s numbers better than Ricky\'s - a little if you compare Ricky\'s \'01 to Deuce\'s \'02. But Ricky\'s \'02 blew Deuce\'s away. Look - I\'m not saying all of these moves were bad. I like almost all of the moves they made on the offensive side of the ball. However, I can honestly say that Tebucky Jones is the first guy that they have brought in on defense in three years who looks like he will be a definite step up over his predecesor (Jay Bellamy).

Saints Draft History
 

I love your posts Whodat and I glad that we can respectfully disagree. You make some god points.
With regards to Charlie Clemons, I might be a little confused. I don\'t remember him ever playing OLB. He was always a MLB. Since I wasn\'t sure I found at least 6 different old 2001 depth charts to support my sometimes faulty memory and they all had Charlie Clemons as our MLB with D Smith OLB and MItchell or Hodge at the other OLB. SO, I will proceed as though he was an MLB because thats what the Rams played him at and we signed him as. His best year in 2001 he only has 93 tackles. Thats only 5.8 a game. Pretty substandard for a starting MLB. Before you jump on me NO I DON\"T LIKE ORLANDO RUFF. The Texans project him as an OLB this year so I guess we will see.
Also, concerning many of the other players (particularly Sammy Knight) you must understand what defence Haslett wants to run. Its not that Knight is a bad player its that he doesn\'t fit into the system the Saints are trying to run.
this is the system.
inside defensive lineman and MLB stop the run while the ends rush the passer. The outside linebackers will be expected to provide coverage of tight ends and running backs or blitz depending on the defensive call (hence the need for speedster linebackers.
The secondary will be expected to do a lot of one on one coverage and basically cover the field when the linebackers blitz. Thats why we need speed and coverage ability in the secondary and thats why Sammy Knight doesn\'t fit in.
Glover couldn\'t stop the run.. thats why he is gone. Jackson and Hand could not stop the run last year BUT they were expected to.. THEY FAILED Hand is gone and Jackson will soon follow.
Its not that Knight and Glover and some others you mentioned were bad players its that they didn\'t fit into the system...
Incidentally its almost the exact same system run by the Philadelphia eagles..

Saints Draft History
 

Ok I\'m confused? The Texans are projecting Orlando Ruff to start as an OLB? One other little thing Even as bad as my memory is Clemons did play OLB. Something like 10 1/2 sacks. But you are right about some players not fitting a system.

Saints Draft History
 

JOESAM. The Texans are projecting Clemons as OLB. also Clemons had 13 sacks that year.. but I am still pretty sure he was a MLB. I remember him blitzing up the middle a ton of times..
and hey, I might be wrong.. he might have played OLB that year but i don\'t think so.. Like I said.. everywhere I looked I saw him listed MLB and NOwhere was he listed at OLB

Saints Draft History
 

okay, I just found out.. We are all right and wrong.. I found an article that indicates that Clemons was a MLB but states that on obvious passing downs he lined up as an end. SO>> perhaps WHODAT you are right.. Maybe Clemons should be moved to OLB. Maybe that would have been a good idea.. I can only surmise that the coaching staff felt he couldn\'t play OLB because he has trouble in pass protection. Too bad we will never know for sure what he could do as an OLB for the Saints but we can see him play OLB with the Texans.
Thought you guys might want to know that

Saints Draft History
 

OK - not to harp too much on one guy, b/c that\'s not what this is about, but... I just wanted to show you that I do know what I\'m talking about. From NFL.com... in Clemons\' bio section....

2001
Started 15 games at middle linebacker (did not start in Week 4 because team opened in dime package) and led Saints with 123 tackles and 13.5 sacks for minus-96 yards ... had one interception (Oct. 14 vs. Carolina), five passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery on the year ... 13.5 sacks ranked fourth in the NFL ... set career-highs with eight tackles and three sacks Sept. 30 at the New York Giants ... Clemons later topped that career-best tackle number with 15 stops, Jan. 6 vs. San Francisco. He also had two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in that contest.


OK - FB - as to a couple other comments you made. You described our system as one in which the Ends rush the passer, the DTs and MLBs are there to stop the run, the OLBs play pass coverage or blitz, and the corners and safeties play coverage. Thank you - you just described the base defense that EVERY team in the NFL plays.

The defense last year used fewer blitz packages, and less exotic ones at that. So if a guy like Knight doesn\'t fit an \"attacking\" defense (which is what I think you were trying to describe), then why was he a Pro Bowler on a defense that did exactly that.

Knight had a bad year last year for a plethora of reasons, very little of which, in my mind, was his fault. First of all, he had no one to sto pthe run in front of him. Our DTs and LBs put him in a position where he constantly had to come up and make plays. Our secondary was bogged down with injuries, and with the lack of talent, I suspect he was often put in a position where he had to choose to cover one of a number of open receivers. Finally, and probably most importantly, Venturi\'s system had him out of position all of the time. The BIGGEST problem with our defense has nothing to do with the players. It has everything to do with Venturi. Just llok at the difference between what Zook did in \'01 versus what Venturi did last year. Knight\'s play didn\'t decline. I doubt Clemons\' play did either. But they are the scapegoats for a system that often had the out of position - a situation that was only made worse by the lask of talent around them.

Saints Draft History
 

I don\'t know WHODAT. I just looked on Espn statistics for 2001 and it listed Clemons as 95 tackles 76 solo and 19 assissts. I also saw his bio on NFL.com and it DID say 123 tackles. I don\'t know which website is correct. I guess we are just not going to agree about clemons. I think he should have been let go you think he should have stayed and played OLB. I guess we can agree to disagree.
It does amaze me that you continually defend Sammy Lnights lack of physical ability. I realize he can hit and tackle but he was just a liability in coverage. ITS A FACT. We got beat on intermediate and deep routes all last year. He and especialy Bellamy SUCKED. The trend on B&G today seems to be to rip on Rick Venturi.. Deservidly so.. I am not convinced of Rick Venturi either. However, people seem to be blaming Venturi for guys being out of position. MAybe its the other way around. Maybe no matter what position they were in they couldn\'t get the job done.
Oh, another thing.. You hit the nail on the head for me when you said that the blitz packages became less exotic and fewer and farther in between. THATS MY POINT. We couldn\'t do the blitzing we wanted to because we did not have a secondary. PARTICULARLY SAFETIES who could handle their assignments if we did blitz.
THEY WERE TO SLOW>>> TOOOOO SLOWWWWWWW

Saints Draft History
 

has every one forgotten last years end to the minnesota game where knight lost moss in the end zone? how do you lose moss? you know he\'s gettin the ball, moss made the touchdown with knights back to him and knight staring of into space, i\'ll never forget that picture, our safeties were a huge liability last year, part of the blame might be picking up slack for the corners but in a league that is going more and more towards speedy players, knight and bellamy suck, if knight is so fantastic why hasn\'t he signed with anyone?

clemons should have never played the middle, houston has him listed as OLB and the style of 3-4 they play all four LB\'s play an OLB type role, i wish we had kept clemons and moved him to the outside and hunted for a MLB cuz hodge sucks in my opinion

another problem we have d is the amount man on man we play, we don\'t have the talent to play strictly man on man, this also might account for our late season break downs, it takes a lot more out of you to play man than it does zone, knight and bellamy got stuck in a lot of man situations last year where their lack speed was uncovered, with all the speed we have d we should be playing more zone, all i\'ve heard about our young d is how well they move to the ball how well they sniff out the play, you don\'t do these things while playing man

so maybe it is venturi

[Edited on 29/4/2003 by rusta]

Saints Draft History
 

i have to agree with whodat on this one, and its not often i do but on this one i do.... no one was complaining about sammy not having speed when he was in the probowl 2 years ago, when he led the team in ints, fumble recoveries and forced fumbles... and even if he isnt the fastest safety.. his play was hampered by having no pressure from the rest of the Defense upfront... meaning he had to play up in the box most of the time to help stop the run and even the occasional blitz... here is another reason for the decline in sammys play... the loss of ron zook.... remember he was here when sammy was a probowler, and when he left for florida, sammys play declined.. if u can really call it that, he still had 5 ints and several fumble recoveries... i believe with more pass rush upfront it would have helped sammy out, considering he was the defensive MVP last year even with no pass rush at all

Saints Draft History
 

The secondary CANNOT be entirely blamed for the lack of blitzes the defense used last year. One of your primary positions in getting a good pass rush starts right in the middle.....DEFENSIVE TACKLE. BOOYAH! Hand and Grady? They got so overly rotund by the end of the year, they had to get other people to tie their shoelaces. They were slow off the snap all season, even at the beginning when they were at their \"listed weight\". I do agree that Sammy is not a blazer on his feet, but he plays smart. More often than not, those smarts get you into a position where you can make the play. As for saying he sucked last year? I don\'t see that. He was constantly playing more of a linebacker position than safety, because the DT\'s and the linebackers couldn\'t stop the run. The reason why the linebackers couldn\'t stop it, is because they were trying to hold their positions WHILE backing up the non-tackling dummies at DT. With Sammy helping more on the run than on the pass last year, that leaves really 3 members of your secondary to cover the rest of the field. And people wonder why our defense was so bad? Because the run killed us so much, so did the play-action pass. Everyone ran to defend then run (i.e. Knight, Clemons), and left the field wide open. Screen passes killed us because no one focused on the backs coming out of the backfield. I\'m positive because it was out of shock that the opposing team wasn\'t running the ball on them, that they focused on the WR\'s and forgot about the other members of the offense. Sure the Saints didn\'t have the most elite secondary in the NFL, but they sure aren\'t the ones to lay the blame on. It all starts in the middle.

Saints Draft History
 

and it doens\'t look like we\'re gonna have an increase in pass rush this year so why should we have kept knight?

Saints Draft History
 

Two names: Jonathan Sullivan and Kenny Smith. Both of those guys will rush the passer MUCH better than Norman Hand. They are big, but not fat. They are strong, but fast. They have TONS more athleticism that Norman Hand. I\'m still not sold on Grady, either. If we had a starting D-line of Grant, Sullivan, Smith, and Howard, I would be more excited about their ability to rush the QB AND stop the run. That would then let the rest of the bunch STAY AT HOME in their positions. If they get this type of production from the D-line, you could very well see Tebucky or even one of these young linebackers in the Pro Bowl, because they are able to play the postitions they\'re supposed to play. I know I may be stretching it on the linebackers making the Pro Bowl, but I\'m kinda like that kid on Angels in the Outfield. It could happen! :D

Saints Draft History
 

boy you are expecting a lot from a very young and unexperienced line, and don\'t forget our schedule, one of the toughest in the league, you think these rooks can do all that? i hope so, you have more faith in them than i do

still gonna make the playoffs though, hehe

Saints Draft History
 

I\'m not expecting the world out of the D-line. I am aware they are young and inexperienced, but I think they all have what it takes to be a dominating D-line. I do, however expect them to be better than last year\'s line. By the way, I\'m always optimistic about a new season. Normally because I\'ve put the last wasted season behind me, and new horizons bring new attitude. I always have faith in the Saints. The main reason there is because if they played with their heads out of the asses the last few games of the year, we\'d be perrenial Super Bowl contenders.

Saints Draft History
 

D it up.. You raise a great point. The interior was softer than norman\'s belly. I hope we get rid of Jakcson soon as well. Problem is I am not sure who we can sign to replace hime. There aren\'t any f.A. DTs out there. Pray for a June 1st cut. I still say Sammy needed to move on though.

Saints Draft History
 

I\'m not going to raise the bar if Sammy should\'ve stayed or left. All I am saying is that he and Clemons were the scapegoats of the defense last year and didn\'t deserve it. As far as loyalty, I would\'ve liked to see Sammy stay. I was, and still am a huge fan of his. I hope he does well whereever he ends up. Then again, I\'m excited about all the change the teams are making on defense. There will already be 5-7 new starters on defense. Jones, Sullivan, Ruff, Allen, Mitchell or Green, possibly Ambrose, and MAYBE Kenny Smith. Is it a step up from last year? Time will only tell. I\'ve said it before on my posts, and I\'ll say it again. We won\'t know ANYTHING until they step on the field.

Saints Draft History
 

Lawd, Lawd,Lawd the world is coming to an end. Whodat,Pak and me all agreeing on the same subject. New guy\'s remember this day well, it may never happen again. Player wise,our defensive problems started with the defensive line. There were times last season when I thought I could run between our tackles. When these guys can catch a cold it purs more pressure on everyone else. You\'ve got to feel bad for Darren Howard and Grant, because the play of Hand and Jackson made them look bad too.Can you imagine if hand and Jackson would have played ever 25% harder what might have happened?

Saints Draft History
 

Joe - It\'s like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters man. If Gator wanders in here and agrees the world may just come to an end! ;)

And thanks to Pak for reminding me of something I can\'t believe I had forgotten. Who here thinks Sammy\'s play was bad in \'01 when he went to the Pro Bowl?!? Well, last year he had MORE tackles, and one less INT than the year before. Apparently that ONE INT changed him from being a Pro Bowler to a no good bum. I don\'t know guys. Sammy played more like a linebacker most of the year than a safety. I like our prospects at safety this year, but letting Knight leave may wind up being a mistake.

Saints Draft History
 

thats Y i dont understand Y everyone attacks sammy, he had a hell of a year last year... he made more tackles than anyone on the team b/c he was pretty much the only one around the ball, we should have resigned him and played him next to TJ, now that would have been killer, let Sammy run all over teh field and TJ run everyone down

Saints Draft History
 

I agree also kenny smith should start, and i believe he will. kenny will earn DT spot in camp, i am certain bout that.

Saints Draft History
 

Rod, I agree with you on Kenny Smith, I just hope he plays up to expectation this year. It seems to me the knock on him out of college was he tended to take plays off. That won\'t get it done if he does.
I have a GREAT IDEA, let\'s start a bring Sammy back campaign. I still love the guy for his guts and ball hawk skills.

Saints Draft History
 

Won\'t happen if there\'s any truth to this Victor Green story.