I figured out Fred Thomas' nickname today.
 

Fred "GameShow" Thomas.

Why?

He's always on TV giving away the big prize! :D

After the play to Burris, my brother called and asked what cornerbacks will be available in the late 1st round.

SFIAH

RE: I figured out Fred Thomas
 

Fred fell coming off of the line which is the reason Burris became so wide open, I didn't think Fred fell as bad as he did until I watched it on ESPN. he never had a chance in getting back to Burris, he had an ok game today besides that play on Burris because if I'm not mistaken that's the only catch Burris had today, good cover down field.
I know what you mean though, the Saints will have to go after another CB come this off season, either FA or way of the draft.
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RE: I figured out Fred Thomas
 

Hey, ease up on Fred. He slipped & fell, and also made up for it with a pick. After all, he might even still have a cast on his hand.

He did great, as did the rest of the defense. And they have been doing great for the last four games, none of the teams have gotten to 20 points, in those last four games.

Re: RE: I figured out Fred Thomas
 

The name is certainly not based on this single play. GameShow has given up the long ball in virtually every game this season. You see him tailing Ocho Cinco (x3). Terrell Owens. The guy from San Francisco. Moss from Washington (McKenzie was there too for that one).

And it's not all his fault. Clearly it's a type play that Gibbs is willing to live with. Bullocks should get the moniker "Ed McMahon" because he and Stotmire (sp) are both a sidekick and late to the GameShow.

Craft gets some of it too. He gave up the 40+ yard TD in the Pittsburg game.

I wonder how much of an impact Roman Harper (remember that guy?) really was.

I also wonder that is GameShow really the best option. We do have other CBs.

If not then we'll have to get someone else in.

SFIAH

Fred has certainly had his bad moments this year.

There is another side to all those big deep plays. Where is the safety help up top? We know Fred is not a shutdown corner and Mike hardly ever gets thrown at. Our safety play has been really bad since Harper went down. Too many big plays.

It's easy to single out CBs because they're on an island. You have to remember that safeties have a major role in supporting coverage on those deep routes.

No disagreement yasoon. That's why I made the Ed McMahon reference and asked about the impact of the loss of Harper. I repeat that it's a play that Gibbs and Payton seem to be willing to give up because they don't change the scheme to cover up the deficit that GameShow clearly has.

McKenzie gets thrown at also. The difference is that he seems to have a knack of closing right at the time the ball arrives. Also there have been a couple of drops. McKenzie has had some luck (and some skill) out there where GameShow has not.

Another flaw is that Gibbs plays each corner to a side, instead of having a corner guard a man. McKenzie is the #1 corner for the team. He's the better corner. Let him stick to the best receiver like glue. That's what Denver did yesterday against Cinncinati. Champ Bailey lined up over Ocho Cinco wherever he was. Left, right, slot, it didn't matter.

I just fear that the flaw will kill us in the playoffs. Chicago, Dallas, Philly, and Seattle all have deep threats at receiver. Let's not even talk about the AFC. The secondary gave up huge chunks of yardage to both Owens and Glenn in the Dallas game. The Giants have at least one receiver too, but we rattled Eli into making bad throws.

It may be too late to adjust the scheme. We may have to live with the threat of the big play. Bellamy and Bullocks are needed for run support. We can't switch to a cover-2 or something else like it now. But I worry.

SFIAH

Fred has been stinking the worse this year... We have been playing a lot more man coverage leaving them on an 'island', and that exposes the CB's weakness as well.

I'm not that much worried about Thomas. He's played well given that Gibbs' schemes leave him solo most of the time. I'm more worried about the line's inability to collapse holes in the running game.

Well the D did a good job against the run/Tiki... however you can't say that about Thomas.

I've really just resigned myself to the one 'gimme' deep play per game ealry in as the way the Beasts of the Bayou play. I don't like it, but they almost always bounce back once its out of the way. After they give up an early deep strike, for some reason, they tend to tighten up considerably. ( ie. Dallas- Julius Jones, NY Giants- Plexiglas, and others.)

I don't like it, but like so many things with this team, I learn to live with it. I just hope it doesn't kill us when its critical. I don't know about anyone else, but this team gives me ulcers sometimes. :ohno:

BTW, Shanlee and Fujita are animals! Get a nasty MLB to go with a healthy Harper and you just might see one of the most wicked run D's in the country.

The funny thing is that I believe we already have that MLB on staff. My brother has been calling for Danny Clark to hit the field for awhile.

SFIAH

LB's aren't the answer to the stopping the run problem... its on the line - where the problem is.