10 Questions about the Saints
 

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Friday Football Forecast: 10 Questions about the Saints
08/05/2003

Friday Football Forecast


It is time people. Football is upon us. Sure the Hornets were a great way to pass the time and the Draft always fires us up but now it's time for business. Okay, we admit it's not Friday but the Saints just had the Black and Gold scrimmage and we here at the Forecast have questions. As you hear every media member and talk radio head ramble on about the keys to the season we figured we could at least match the hot air they're putting out.


After watching Saturday's scrimmage we have 10 questions that the boys in Black and Gold need to answer if they want to be playing in January. One note, we didn't include the question "Will they collapse in December faster than Liza Minneola's recent marriage?" because well we'll discuss that in um… December.


Will the Saints fix the 'Screen Door'?

If the scrimmage is any indication the answer looks promising. For once the Saints ran a screen and they didn't look like Larry, Curly, and Moe running into each other then pointing fingers at each other while rubbing their heads. Can the defense stop a screen from gaining 30 yards a pop? The first preseason game against Philly will be good test because Andy Reid runs a screen like every other play.


Will the Saints miss the 'Knight' life?

Jim Haslett basically swapped Sammy Knight, a safety who despite his lack of speed and quickness always seemed to find the ball and make plays, for Tebucky Jones, a guy with great speed and size that never seemed to live up to his athletic potential in New England. Bill Bellichek knows good defensive players and we doubt he would trade a good one but we'll see.


Will 'Wayne's' world be Awesome?

Turley and his mouth were sent packing and the Saints brought in ex-Steeler Wayne Gandy to play left tackle. We are betting Gandy will be a huge upgrade. Turley was an average left tackle at best, especially in the last month of the season. Against the Bengals Justin Smith schooled him and Mike Rucker of the Panthers did the same to finish the season. Turley's poor play got overlooked because of the Aaron Brooks situation. Gandy will be better.


Will Curtis Keaton play like Alex P. Keaton?

The Saints gave Cincy a fourth round pick for Keaton and he looked pitiful filling in for an injured Deuce last year. The coaches say he will be better with an off-season under his belt. He'd better be, because Deuce has a history of getting nicked up.


Is Donte ready to catch fire?

If Stallworth has solved his hamstring problem then the Saints offense could be traveling at warp speed. Donte missed three and a half games and still led the team with eight touchdown catches. He'll be a year wiser and the Saints think he'll explode.


Will New Orleans 'Ruff' up the opposition?

Haslett tabbed Orlando Ruff to play the middle linebacker spot. The Saints expect Ruff to sure up the run defense on first and second down and then bring in Darren Smith to play the pass on third down. How will Ruff look when teams throw on first down? Let's hope he can cover a tight end.


How much will the Saints drive their 'Ford?'

New Orleans signed Henry Ford of the Titans to give them depth at defensive tackle behind the guys they eventually think will start. If Ford is getting more playing time than Jonathan Sullivan and Kenny Smith in October then you know the Saints aren't getting what the expected from their number one draft choice.


Will somebody show him the money?

Just as Cuba said in Jerry McGuire, Darren Howard could be singing the same tune after this year. Howard is in the last year of his contract and if he has a big year he could get a big paycheck; a $30 million contract is only 12 or 13 sacks away. And if Howard gets 12 sacks then that means the Saints will have a pass rush and an improved defense so it's a win-win for everybody.


Will it be a happy homecoming?

Ashley Ambrose and Derrick Rodgers are both from New Orleans and are coming home to play for the hometown team. If the Saints defense is to improve than both must play well. However both are on the wrong side of thirty years old so good play is not a given. Haslett expects Rodgers to add veteran leadership and speed to his revamped linebacker corps, and Ambrose is expected to battle Fred Thomas and Dale Carter for a starting spot.


Will Saints fans and Aaron Brooks kiss and make up?

This one is the most interesting of all. Brooks was booed during pre-game introductions in the season finale against Carolina and then again at a restaurant during the off-season. We know that everybody loves Jake Delhomme and remembers the two Super Bowls he won for the Saints. Oh wait… Jake never won any Super Bowls with the Saints. Yes, Jake was a nice guy and maybe he should have played the last two games but he didn't. It will be very interesting to see how Saints fans great Mr. Brooks next Monday night against the Eagles


So there you have it. Ten questions for the upcoming season and don't worry fantasy nuts, we'll have everything you need to know for your upcoming drafts in the next 3 weeks.

10 Questions about the Saints
 

Clueless...
Mitchell takes over for Knight, not Jones.

Knight was burned alot, and got a bunch of trash pix. They talk about this guy like he was frickin\' Ronnie Lott. If we knew he\'d sign for about league minimum, he\'d still be here. Strange how an awesome stud like Knight got so few offers, and ended up settling for scratch.

New England franchised Jones (agreed to pay him top 5 money). You don\'t do this to a bust player. NE was overloaded at DB and could afford to let him go. They talk about this guy like he\'s Alex Molden.

10 Questions about the Saints
 

Sammy Knight was obviously a good player. Good enough to make it to the Pro-bowl.

Sammy needs to be in the right system to be effective though. As long as the D-line can generate a good pass rush, then Knight seems to be highly effective. It\'s when the D-line doesn\'t get pressure that his weakness(lack of speed) gets exposed.

Pat Swilling was a great pass rusher but when he was taken out of New Orleans and sent to Detroit-he was not the same player. Why? Because Swilling was made better by the players that we\'re around him in New Orleans. Swilling was not a Bruce Smith type player, who could do it on his on. He needed the supporting cast.


Bottom Line-is Sammy is a liability in pass coverage when left one-on-one. Given the right supporting cast he can be effective, but still, he will get beaten some because of his lack of speed. Nothing takes the place of speed. If savvy and intelligence were what it was all about, we would have a bunch of white guys from harvard playing.

10 Questions about the Saints
 

Where did this originate from? I saw this same post on the nola saints forum earlier. Is this originally from a journalist or is it just a fan opinion?

10 Questions about the Saints
 

Here\'s the link FWtex:


http://www.wwltv.com/sports/WWL08050....fc64ebc8.html