"New Orleans Saints

Position: Outside Linebacker

The Players: Scott Shanle and Chris Chamberlain

The Battle: It’s fair to say that Gregg Williams’ defensive schemes have never really helped out his linebackers. In addition to whatever bounty-related mess he has got them into, his hyper-aggressive calls always led to linebackers being asked to do things they never had a prayer of successfully achieving. That being said, I’m not sure Scott Shanle would have come out of the past few seasons in any scheme looking good. His -14.0 grade from 2011 represented the fourth consecutive time he scored in negative double-digits for the season. Furthermore, he managed just a single sack and eight pressures despite being sent on the blitz a massive 198 times by Williams last year.

The Saints went on a major linebacker shopping spree this offseason, bringing in three of them during free agency. Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne figure to slot straight in as starters, but the third, Chris Chamberlain has a battle on his hands to topple Shanle from his spot on the depth chart. In truth, Chamberlain looks made for the two-down role in that defense. He scored well (+4.7) last season against the run, but struggled in coverage the 34 times he was targetted. Lofton and Hawthorne are both capable of playing on all three downs, so Chamberlain would be a logical upgrade against the run who would be pulled from the field when the Saints go to nickel packages.

The Verdict: For some reason the Saints don’t seem to be willing or able to sit Shanle down. Maybe he’s a great team guy, and a fantastic presence in practice and meeting rooms, but he just doesn’t play well enough to keep his job. Chamberlain earned a spot with his play last season and if this comes down to merit on the field and nothing else, the job should be his to lose."

Training Camp Battles: NFC South | ProFootballFocus.com

Go Chamberlain..
Chamberlain, as mentioned above, should get the start and I would love to see Casillas play his pass rushing roll in the given situations.

If Shanle does get the start so be it. However,it wont be due to his play on the field. Regardless of his ineffectiveness the Saints D should be much improved this year.

He has been below average since day 1. I think he overachieved a bit in the beginning. I seriously believe the only reason he has started these last few years is because he is giving (special treats) for playing time.

Atlantas secondary is starting to look scary. As much as I hate to admit it they seemed to have improved a great deal on paper over the offseason. They always play us tough, and with their beefed up secondary paired with a new D cord we have no film on they could give us fits.

Shanle is a hard worker. Skillwise, tapped out and has been since the day he entered the NFL. Agree with CM, average at best. If someone doesn't beat him out this year that would be disheartening knowing that's the best we got. I do however like Shanle in a backup role. He'll give you all he's got, stays in his lane and is great mentor.