Saints need to make a move on Andre Carter before the Patriots
 

It’s no secret the New Orleans Saints need pass rushers, especially since Steve Spagnuolo took over the defense earlier this year.

Spagnuolo joins the Saints after three season as the St. Louis Rams head coach, and he brings with him a more complex defensive style that relies heavily on pressure from the defensive line.

Prior, the Saints defense was all blitz under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. A change in philosophy has been long overdue.

Currently the Saints are a little short of defensive linemen, moreover pass rush defensive ends.

Starting right defensive end Will Smith is supposed to begin serving a four-game suspension at the start of the season, his penalty for alleged involvement in Williams “bounty” program.

To make matters worse the team also lost promising defensive end Greg Romeus to a season ending knee injury during mini-camp a month ago.

Sure, there is still some talent at the position, with Turk McBride, Cameron Jordan, and converted linebacker Martez Wilson, but the Saints truly lack an elite game-changing defensive end.

Enter Andre Carter, currently a free agent, and former New England Patriot defensive end who totaled 10 sacks in 14 games last season.

Saints need to make a move on Andre Carter before the Patriots

Plus you could get him on the cheap coming of injury at the end of the Patriots season last year.

Trust in the Loomis ! And then in Spags

I could go for that.

I'm sorry but having your front four be pass rushers isn't exactly a more complex defensive scheme lol. With that being said, sure why not give the guy a shot.

This guy is no spring chicken, and coming off injury. I have no reason to believe he'll be effective. Older defensive linemen just don't recover well.

Even with limited play he still made the Pro Bowl. If he passes the physical do it. I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling with what we got right now.

I feel great about Martez and Junior's potential under Spag's guidance but it can never hurt to have some veteran influence around especially if Will Smith won't be around for the first four games.

And we do have some cash burning a hole in our pocket right now. -Especially if you-know-who makes you-know-who-else go home and stay there. Thirteen mil if that happens, is that right?

I mentioned getting Carter in a few other threads, but Finsaint brought up the point that un-used cap space can be rolled over to next year according to the new CBA. Also, he is coming off of a season ending injury and the team that he produced 10 sacks for last season is not sure about his health (or they would have signed him already).

This is a risky move if you consider the extra space in the cap we could have next year. Remember Jimmy G is going to want his paper.

We have young talent there. I am excited to see what they can accomplish.

Minnesota thought Darren sharper was old and couldn't contribute

10 ints and a Super Bowl later I beg to differ

Give the guy a shot, a one year deal can't hurt

Spags must like what he sees now that we haven't gone out and signed anyone or made a trade...

Carter would have been a good signing, a year ago...

The injury at age 30 - that's not a good combination...

Not impressed by Carter and I would prefer them to save the money, even if its vet minimum, and hopefully Spags can find a young recruit from the UDFA pool or from another team's PS if the need arises for more rotational players.

McBride, Galette, Jordan, and Wilson will be enough for the first four games, and then they'll get Smith back, also some of the younger "no-name" guys on the roster might surprise us, like Braylon Broughton.

Also, Hicks could move to the edge position temporarily if the need became dire, since he played that position in Canada along with being a DT - he would probably be out of place against NFL competition, but still...

Why does everyone seem to forget Junya?

Although its a long shot to expect production this season, I'm excited about Braylon Broughton.

I'm reading some more about him. Here's a profile that seems to be fairly common...

Quote:

Braylon Broughton School: TCU Position: OLB Bio: Started five games as a senior, posting 25 tackles/6 tackles for loss/2 sacks. Junior totals included 11/2/1. Positive: Athletic yet undeveloped defensive prospect with a high upside. Plays with good quickness, is fluid changing direction and stays on his feet. Easily makes plays in every direction of the field, works his hands to protect himself and plays with good lean. Effective out of a three-point stance or standing up over tackle. Negative: Does not play to his 40 time. Lacks balance, on the ground too much and easily blocked from the action. Minimally explosive. Analysis: Broughton is an outstanding athlete with elite size/speed numbers, but he was minimally productive and rarely consistent on the college field. He improved his game last season and is worth consideration on a practice squad as a developmental outside linebacker.

Late bloomer or a just a great athlete with great measurables?

His measurables sure do grab your attention though.

Being 8 Mill under the cap.. Bring them all in, who ever makes it makes it... Cut the rest until we are 2 mil under cap in case we need to cover for injuries.

It's one thing being $8M under the cap and a completely other to fit all the players under the 53 man roster limit.

I just don't see the benefit in spending money when it is not necessary, and I just can't see Carter being a difference maker worthy of spending money and a roster spot on him - and it seems that Spags agrees.

In Spags we trust..........okay, okay, in Spags we hope!

We have until the first week of the season to hit 53.... Thats 5 weeks....

Lets go fishing, keep all that are big enough, try and keep a few on the practice squad, throw the best back....

Not spending unless you keep them.... We can speculate all day as to who will preform... or put them on the field for a month and see who preforms.

I seriously doubt that Carter is willing to go for a try-out type of a deal - he'll want guaranteed money up front, and it'll all come from Mr. Benson's pocket who just spend boatloads to sign Brees.

Bringing in loads of guys could also be interpreted by the players themselves as a signal that the staff doesn't fully believe in their abilities, which could have a negative impact on their performances leading up to the preseason. I do fully support the notion of creating competition within the different positions to get the best out of the players, but if there already exists a sufficient level of competition... I don't see the point in bringing in more guys who are not familiar with the system the other guys have been getting familiar with for the past two months.

And, naturally, the argument can be made that players should understand that it's a business and that bringing in new guys to compete is part of the NFL business and not take it personally, but there are a lot of young guys on the roster who have not yet build up their confidences to the level they are with vets, so I'd be hesitant to introduce anything to the team that might jeopardize their state-of-mind, especially with the otherwise crazy offseason the Saints have already had.

Now, if we were talking about bringing in a true impact player, as in someone like Freeney, I'd be all ears, but we are talking about a rotational player at best, so it has to be a "no" on bringing him in, IMO.

Every player know that each spot is earned that year.... Warm bodies are brought in every year to motivate performance... They know they have to earn their seat at the table.

Remember the Beer Truck guy.. Micheal Lewis? Its common practice.
Those who don't want to meet the terms of preform to get a spot can refuse the offer.

No Body's that became somebody's.

Micheal Lewis
Kurt Warner
John Randel
Rod Smith
Priest Holmes
James Harrison
Antonio Gates
Wes Welker
Jeff Saturday


ALL un-drafted.. ALL unknowns.... that someone brought into camp to see what they could do.

I see your point. I don't think the "it's just business" attitude plays well with the "It's us against them" motivational aspect.

I like your thinking on this, I feel like Tez is a experiment, to me he needs to put on a few pounds and possibly will be eaten alive by a offensive lineman at the point of attack because of his weight, McBride should be fine, Junior is relentless in attack mode, and Jordan is still a question mark and may end up playing more of a DT than a DE so why not go fishing, upgrades are always welcome in my book thats why there is competition to see who is who and who is not. Bring him in and line him up and may the best man win. Smith is not what he use to be and possibly could get be out by someone that actually has something to prove.

Uhhmmmmm.......I hope you meant throw the rest back.lol;)

While fine examples of guys who made it against the odds, those guys really aren't valid comparables to the situation Carter is in right now. Like I said before, I'm not against bringing in a big ticket impact player at this point in the offseason or some young guys looking to prove themselves worthy of a roster spot - but I'm against bringing in a vet who had a horrendous injury late last season and who, while being really effective, played in a 3-4 scheme next to Vince Wilfork.

My issue is not with bringing in guys to take a look at, but it's with bringing in Carter and, IMO, wasting money on him. Naturally I could be dead wrong about him, but I just don't see him as a risk worthwhile taking.

WHOOP! Chris Berman style

Horrendous injury... Like ... ummm Drew Brees? How are you wasting money.... if he doesn't preform.. you CUT HIM.

Your comparisons aren't making a lot of sense to me. The players you named above were not coming off injury, nor were they in their 30's. And Drew Brees' injury was completely different. It wasn't good, but it wasn't the same as blowing out a knee. The only reason teams hesitated on signing Drew is because they didn't know for sure if he'd heal enough to warrant the money he was asking for. But Drew was still young. Carter is not. The guy has been a bust for all but one year, which was last year.

He was purely a system player. Aside from the 10 sacks he wasn't a consistent force. I'd rather a guy who plays every down and consistently pushes the pocket, then to have a guy who comes in on 3rd down. Martez Wilson is perfectly suited for that role right now, as is Gallette. Carter will not be effective for whomever he signs with, in my opinion.

Blowing out your throwing shoulder isn't like blowing a knee? If you are a QB it is, just ask Greg Cook!

From 2001 up until 2010, Carter had averaged 6.6 sacks per season in that 10 season timespan, while only having had double digit seasons thrice (2002, 2007, 2009). And with the 10 sacks from last season that average only increases to 6.9 sacks, so I wouldn't see it as realistic to think that with the injury rehab he'd be a shoe-in for a double digit sacks season if the Saints were to bring him in.

As a comparison, Will Smith has had an average of 7.7 sacks per season during his 8 seasons (2004-2011), while having had double digit seasons only twice in that timespan (2006, 2009). Also, Smith has about 5 tackles more overall per season than Carter. So, it would seem that while some have suggested Smith might be on his way out in New Orleans, his sack stats measure quite well against those of Carter's, who on the contrary some see as an improvement to the Saints' pass rushing game. And I might very well agree that he would be a nice addition as almost an equal to Smith's production, if it weren't for his injury late last season and the fact that he is 2 years older than Smith.

BTW, there aren't any significant differences in the amount of starts or games played both guys have had during their careers, so the numbers are quite comparable, at least in this limited instance.

He tore his labrum. That kind of thing generally heals much better, not faster, but better than tearing an ACL or MCL. In your knees you're dealing with cartilage, and when that cartilage starts to wear down the pain becomes unbearable for these guys to run on. A shoulder injury can be tricky, but if it heals at all, it heals 100%. People were worried about whether Drew would be able to throw again, and frankly I don't know why.

In baseball, pitchers tear labrums all the time, and they throw a lot more violently than quarterbacks, yet they come back.

Sign him he should b cheap

I tore my labrum 3 years ago and it still hurts from time to time.