The 5 most important players in '05.
 

For all the problems the Saints have had over the past few years ... no problem has been bigger than the defense. Of course ... Aaron Brooks has taken the majority of the blame for the team not making the playoffs, but it's really the defense that has let this team down.

It's hard to imagine any defense that's been worse than the Saints over the past 4 years. Then again ... I say that every year!! But last year's defensive performace proved to me that things can always get worse.

Is it possible that the Saints' defense could be even worse in '05? Let's hope not!!

I think if the Saints are to go anywhere in '05 that the run defense must hold opponents to under 100-yards rushing. That's a tall task for a defense who finished 32nd the previous year.

Still, it's possible that the defense can turn it around. But, that improvement is going to have to come from with-in the current group of players. Players such as Brian Young and Howard Green must play better at the DT position this year if we are going to stop the run. While you hear terms like "high motor" and "good character" about both players, the simple truth is neither player perfomed very well in '04.

Even if Brian Young and Howard Green step their game up to another level this year, there are still big question marks at all the linebacker positions.

This is another area where the current group of players must take their game to another level. Most of the pressure, however, is going to be placed on 2nd year MLB Courtney Watson. While you hear terms like "smart"," instinctive", and "intelligent" when Watson is mentioned ... what you don't hear are terms such as: "proven" and "play-maker." The same thing can be said for all of the linebackers.

Unless another defensive player is picked up, the 5 most important players on the team this year will be:

1. Howard Green.
2. Brian Young.
3. Courtney Watson.
4. James Allen.
5. Colby Bockwoldt.

Let's hope all 5 guys can step it up this year or we might be in for another very disappointing season.

Of course, the wild card in all of this is Jonathan Sullivan. Well, that and the possible Darren Howard trade. I think getting a proven MLB and sliding Watson to the outside would make all the difference. But as it stands right now, it's not looking very good.


[Edited on 26/3/2005 by GumboBC]

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

I\'m really hoping that Dwight Smith, and Will Smith both have big years...

The LB\'s are so ...up in the air right now, anything could happen with the guys we have right now...I\'m no more certain now, than I was last year about who is going to be our starting LB\'s coming inot the season...It needs to be addressed, in a big way...I\'m really hoping the draft lands us Thomas Davis..and IF He can play LB, like alot of teams are projecting him to do...Then I will really begin to get excited about the potentila of our revamped Defense...

But..Venturi...I thought there was absolutley no hope for him to be employed by us again...I was convinced that He would HAVE to be fired for the poor performance last year...

People who\'s decisions matter though, Think He is a commodity, and that He has alot to give in terms of coaching a good Defense....

Overall, We have improved on the Defensive side of the ball..But, I\'m wondering as of now, what the draft will bring, and, will it be enough?

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

The continuous development of Jonathan Sullivan, Courtney Watson, and Will Smith. The health of Deuce McAllister and ability of Aaron Brooks to run a new offense. I would have included Charles Grant because he is the leader of the defense, but he\'s always been solid.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

If you\'re talking strictly about the defensive side of the ball, I actually like Billy\'s list. I\'d have to agree. Our secondary and ends will be good or better. The keys to success for the Saints in 2005 lie right up the middle of the defense. DT and LB. On offense I say Deuce, Aaron, and the Tackles are key. Stallworth and either Gardner, Henderson, or a TE has got to step it up too.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

our lb\'s are an obvious look. how much does our d this year depend on them playing as well as they did the last 4 games of last year.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

If all of those players that Gumbo mentioned play great this year, we could still have a non-playoff year. I think there are players on offense who hold more importance than 4 of those players. Courtney Watson is the only one I agree with. As bad as the defense was, it wasn\'t like they were underacheiving. If you sign bad players you will get substandard results. That is not the case for the offense. You have what many consider to be one of the most talented offenses in the entire NFL, definitely more talented than the Patriots or Falcons, just to nema a couple of teams.

I say Duece is number one. How can you not say that this team begins and ends with Duece? If he returns back to form, we are immediately a better team. The passing game improves, and the D is not on the field as much. No way would I say that Howard Green, a backup DT, is near the top of the list. Deuce is THE focal point of the team.

I would put Courtney Watson at 2. The MLB, like the RB on offense, is a position where a good player will make everyone else around them better. A good field general would be responsible for line and formation shifts, coverage changes and the like. He has the intelligence to get the job done and he will get it done, in my opinion. He just needs time.

Three would be Jonathan Sullivan. He\'s probably the main player(and I use the word player loosely) that is underacheiving. I believe that his rejuvenation would rub off on the rest of the offense. Having a true two gapper like him would allow Will Smith and Charles Grant to reak havoc on any QB that we faced. But this is the player who I\'m expecting to let the team down again.

Donte Stallworth is another one that needs to step it up. Like Sullivan, we\'ve been waiting for Stallworth to reach his potential. He was poised for one hell of a rookie season in \'02 before he got injured....I think he had like 5 TDs in his first 5 games. He still has the game breaking speed. Let\'s hope he can stay healthy and provide a reliable alternative to Horn, or stiep up even more and prove that he can handle the number 1 reciever\'s spot.

Aaron Brooks is on here too. I know people(Gumbo mainly) say that this season wasn\'t his fault, and it wasn\'t. However, the QB HAS to shoulder some of the blame in an underacheiving offense. It\'s been that way always and it will continue to be that way. The QB gets all of the credit for the wins and all of the blame for the losses. Believe me, if we were winning 13 games a year, AB would be God here. We don\'t need(nor am I expecting)AB to have a pro bowl season. We just need him to hold on to the ball and make less bonehead decisions. Putting his foot up someone azz instead of smiling after messing up wouldn\'t hurt either. In short, just don\'t LOSE the game for us.

[Edited on 27/3/2005 by GoldenTomb]

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

GT, you say that Deuce is the focal point of our offense, and you may be right about that...but it shouldn\'t be that way. If people stack-up for the run, then we have to be able to exploit that, and make them move some people off the line. If we can\'t do that, we will never be able to move the ball successfully. If the offense is struggling early, and the defense can\'t stop anyone, that makes for a pretty dismal set of options for the remainder of the game. If we are continually playing from behind, then the running game will be abandoned early, and we have to be able to pass.

So, what am I saying. I don\'t know. I guess I\'m saying that Gumbo is correct when he says that we have to depend on our defense to be able to stop people until the offense can get it in gear. If the offense could force defenses out of their game plan and exploit their weaknesses, then our defense wouldn\'t be so pressured, but, until we can do that, we darn sure better be better ourselves defensively or we are going to be in for a long season.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

I think WhoDat got what I was saying. I don\'t think some did, however.

The point I was trying to make is this:

1. Our defense has been the main problem.
2. If our defense is to truly improve much is going to depend on the 5 players I mentioned.

We know what we\'ve got in players like Charles Grant and Mike McKenize. Or course, I don\'t think any of the 5 players I mentioned are more important that our \"star\" players, but their improvement is \"KEY\" to our \'05 season.

If no more players are aquired, then I really feel much of our season will be dependent on those 5 players. If those players \"step it up\", we\'re probably looking at playoffs. If not, it looks just like the past to me....



[Edited on 27/3/2005 by GumboBC]

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

How much do those guys have to \"step it up\"? I know this is kind of a nit-picky point, but merely having Green, Bockwoldt, and Allen start improved our defense. Look at our total yards allowed for those games and tell me they weren\'t better than the average of the other games. Merely their being on the field more improved our defense.

I agree that improving the defense is KEY to our success next season, I\'ve been saying that for awhile now. However, it isn\'t clear that those guys aforementioned need to get any better to improve our D, they merely need to be on the field! Granted, we would improve MUCH MORE if they also improved as players.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

LB, for the first time, maybe ever, I am gonna disagree with you. I have to go with GT. Deuce is the focal point of the offense. Just because teams may gear to stop him, doesn\'t mean he isn\'t the focal point. It just means the other team KNOWS he is the focal point. It is the players\' around him\'s job to make sure they get it done. Think teams don\'t know Priest Holmes is the focal point? Jamal Lewis? LT? Yes those players still get it done, and you don\'t get more one dimensional then Baltimore. Statements like is not fair to the defense. How long do they have to stop people until the offense gets in gear? This year it was pretty much every first quarter and close to a half, not to mention turnovers by the offense WHILE they weren\'t scoring. I agree with GT\'s list. Don\'t get me wrong, the D NEEDS to step up, but if we see the offense scoring earlier and more often than they did last year, the D becomes less important, but again I will say it is still HUGE for them to improve.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

Once.

The offense should get a score at least every other drive. There are usually two or three drives in the first quarter. So, if they don\'t score once, and they had two chances (roughly), that is the offenses fault.

However, the first quarter is a bit different from the rest of the game, since it is where teams are \"feeling each other out\". If a team doesn\'t score on its opening drive, that can largely be attributed to poor game planning. On the second and third drives of the game, it is harder to pin the blame, but by the fourth drive, it has to be on the players (since by then the coaches should have made the adjustments). While these are sweeping generalizations, it has been my experience that they hold pretty well.

This means that the defense\'s real job is to stop the first drive - they must react and play better than the game plan set up to beat them. If they do this, they have done something impressive. If they don\'t, it is their fault. After the openning drive, it is on both the coaches and the players as far as the defense goes.

This stuff about feild position and defensive blame has recently become interesting to me. It is obviously the defense\'s job to stop the opposing team from scoring. Some times feild position is so bad that there is no hope of stopping a FG - in that case, the FG is not the defenses fault. As a rule, the defense should be given roughly 15-20 yards of leeway to stop a opposing offense, so if the O gives the ball away in the redzone, that score can\'t really be the defenses fault. HOWEVER, if the opposing team gets the ball on their own 40 or deeper, the score, whether a FG or TD is the defenses fault, IMO. Just some thoughts.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

saintwhodi --

It\'s not fair to the defense? Excuse me, but I have a very hard time feeling sorry for the defense.

Is it asking to much for them to finish 15th in the NFL regardless of how our offense plays?



[Edited on 27/3/2005 by GumboBC]

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

five most impt. on offense might be the whole O-Line!!!!!!!!!

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

FV,

That is a good point. Our team would improve dramatically with the improvement of our OLine!

I think though, that as big a problem as our OLine was, our Defense could really use some serious help.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

\'\'The offense should get a score at least every other drive. \'\'


If only ...

That would make us the Greatest Offense EVER ...and is a bit of a stretch at this point..haha

If we could get..minimum..2 first downs on average every possesion..it would be stellar for our production..and give the D plenty of time to rest...of course even that is a stretch...

The main thing is..this Offense has got to learn to play harder when the stakes get higher...Red Zone...making points on turnovers...Big Plays...If we can just take advantage of our opportunities better..the Production will follow..And we will be a contender to make the Playoffs again...I truley believe that...

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

See what I think happened in this post was using the Defense as a scapegoat to avoid blaming the offense, namely Aaron Brooks.

Gumbo figures if he opens enough topics based on the defense, people will forget how futile the offense was. To be sure, the Defense was HORRIBLE, but they had a lot of help from the countless 3 and outs that our offense produced. You think that maybe if the offense was able to sustain those drives, the inferior D might not be so tired, and might actually feel inspired that the offense is trying to keep them off the field as long as possible???

Funny how people talk about bad D....Indianapolis\'s D is definitely worse than New Orleans, but they were able to play better due to their offense being efficient. How does an efficient D help an offense play better??? Hmmmmmmmm????

I think certain people are just trying to protect their certain favorite players from criticism.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

Shadow, I meant that to be a general point. I agree our offense isn\'t meeting that standard. You\'re probably right though, it is probably more like 1 out of 3 drives - it is probably between 33% and 50% for a well functioning offense, in my experience. At any rate, when I coached that was our goal - a score on every other drive. Granted we never got it, but we came close in games where everything was working reasonably well.

I also agree that our red-zone production is completely unacceptable.

As another general point (and I do mean it generally, not directed at anyone person), regardless of Gumbo\'s psychological motivations for starting this thread (which I\'m not going to guess at), isn\'t it an interesting question? I guess, speaking losely, I\'m not sure why everyone is so concerned about why Gumbo has started a post - even if it were for some horrible reason, couldn\'t the topic still be worth discussing?

GT, a good defense can help the offense by getting the ball back in a timely manner (and, yes, ours did that many times) and with good field position. This is only one of the ways a defense can help the offense. Certainly, you\'ll agree with that, right?

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

that\'s a start..honestly if the line holds up..our offense should..and I repeat..should be more effecient in the redzone.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

Absolutely. What I don\'t agree with is when the D is made to appear more at fault than any other part of the team. Why can\'t it be agreed that the TEAM did not play well and everyone should share in the blame??? What I got from this post is that the D is horrendous and they need to step it up until the O gets it into gear. People(no names) condemn the D and make excuses for the offense.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

no only one poster faults the defense for the offenses struggles.

our d isn\'t great..but I don\'t think it was the main cause of our 8-8 record.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

Yes I think it\'s worth discussing, otherwise I wouldn\'t have replied. I was just surprised at the spin that was put on the subject and I had to comment on it.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

I suppose I could be spinning things? But, I\'m not!

What\'s utterly amazing to me is how some fans cannot seperate actual production from potential. This is not to knock anyone, it\'s just to point out how some look at things and others see something different.

I really think all of us would be better served looking at actual production rather than potential. Because when we talk about potential, I think we start to overrate certain players.

All potential means is: \"They haven\'t done it yet\". Is that spin? I think not...

A classsic example of looking at potential instead of actual production is Donte\' Stallworth. Based on potential, Stallworth is an elite receiver. Based on production, however, Stallworth has been very inconsistent in his NFL career. Before last season, folks were calling Stallworth a BUST. Last year Stallworth managed to silence some of his critics, but he hardly lived up to his \"hype\" nor did he live up to his first round draft status.

Boo Williams is another one! The coverted WR has shown flashes. But, like Stallworth, he\'s been very inconsistent. Are there actually fans who think Boo is the answer at TE? Based on what? Potential?!

Wayne Gandy is another one. In fact ... Gandy is probably one of the most inconsistent players on the team. Between his false starts and his \"questionable\" blocking, he has really been inconsistent.

I\'ve only listed a few players who are very questionable. There are many more ...

Here are some players that have been counted on very heavily at one time or another:

1. Victor Riley.
2. Ernie Conwell.
3 Derrick Rodgers
4. James Allen
5. Sedrick Hodge.
6. Ashely Ambrose.
7. Fred Thomas
8. Mel Mitchell
9. Jonathan Sullivan.

Just take a look at all of the players I\'ve listed. It\'s not hard to figure out why this team has struggled. No, talent is not the only thing that\'s been the problem. But, it\'s hard to say that this team is overly talented.

Now, as far as the defense goes. Not taking any blame off of the offense, but to say our defesne hasn\'t been the BIGGEST problem is a little mis-guided, IMHO.










[Edited on 28/3/2005 by GumboBC]

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

dude you spin stuff more than clinton\'s campaign team....

true but the same could be said about other players who have been playing for five years...for the saints..

they\'re not questionable..they are either old or just plain suck.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

By most important I assume you are referring to the guys who must step up over what they did last year. AB and Deuce are more important to this team than any other positions I can think of. Charles Grant/Darren Howard/Will Smith are extremely important to the defense, but if they play just like they did last year I\'m not worried about them.

So I\'ll just compose my list by which guys I think need to step it up the most for us to avoid a repeat of the worst defense I have ever seen in my life, as well as an inconsistent offense.

1. Howard Green. Or whoever wins the job next to Bryan Young. That DT spot is THE main reason teams ran right through us.At times Green looked good. At other times not so good. I have high hopes for someone to step it up. Leisle, Bryant, Sullivan, Whitehead, Smith. I don\'t care who. Of all our DT\'s I\'m least worried about Brian Young. He was easily our most consistent DT.

2. James Allen. His back-up is Sedrick Hodge. I think he\'s pretty important.

3. Colby Bockwoldt. His knock is he can get overpowered pretty easily unless he gets much stronger. Teams are gonna exploit this in 2005. He\'d better be ready because there ain\'t jact-shik behind him.

4. Courtney Watson. He performed exactly as many thought he would last year. Hopefully he won\'t experience a sophomore slump. I personally don\'t think he\'s the kind of guy to have one. He seems highly motivated, intelligent, and has all the physical skills you\'d like as a MLB. If he progresses like most 2nd year players we\'ll be OK. If not we could be in trouble.

5. Dwight Smith. new player, new system. I think we\'ve all seen what happens when quality players from other teams come here. Most regress, stagnate, or just flat stink it up. Sloan, Conwell, Connell, Carter, Jackson, Carter, Hand, Nesbit, Ford, etc. While its obvious Dwight Smith is a better player than Bellamy and Jones it remains to be seen if this staff can utilize him properly.

But the most important position going into 2005 isn\'t a player. Its Jim Haslett, and his staff.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

baronm --

I really know better than to respond to your comments. But I\'ve been noticing quite a few from you lately.

First ... You seem to want to turn this thread into something personal. This thread is not about \"GumboBC\". This thread is about GumboBC\'s opinions.

I see you have a different opinion. Great ! How about you tell us why it differs instead of specualting why I post my opinions.

If you want to point out where I\'m wrong .. I welcome that. If you want to make it personal ... then you need to cut it out.

And, no, it\'s not your opinion. Well, it is your opinion, but you\'re going places that you shouldn\'t .. ;)

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

dude you are saying the same thing over and over...it\'s not a debate it\'s like it\'s getting pounded into our head..and it\'s boring lets move on. --look I\'m sorry..I\'m just getting tired of the same old same old..
Ok-opinions:

Smith is an upgrade on t-bucky..but I think that we need a SS..I don\'t think bellemy is going to cut it...I think that\'s what the team thinks too and they will look at davis in the draft. but I don\'t think he will be there (i think the chiefs will snag him).

MLB-I think watson is better than anyone we have...he has the skills to be very productive..but without a defensive line in front of him, what can he really do? he\'s got to fight guardsthat were supposed to be blocked by the tackles..in that light i think he did very well. I do think that the saints are looking at moving him to outside linebacker...which would upgrade our linebacking core-if the mlb were near as instinctive as watson seems to be.


WLB: I think allen is much better than his backup, though I\'m not sure if that\'s a good thing or not-i really think he is a backup as well. Most analyst seem to think that he is pretty good..but then that is comparing him to hodge (who should never have been brought back). .colby-not sure..he played better than anyone on defense and as a weakside linebacker he did fine..heck-he intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown (that is making plays, IMO). TO me-OLB is our first or second biggest weakness (together with D-line).

{ btw colby is rated # 62, allen is 82, and watson is 171..based on production...so that might mean that watson WOULD be better served moving outside..however he does have the most tackles and sacks on our linebacker group in less games played than anyone but colby..so take from that what you will}I am not sold on Davis...which is why I really think that }the saints are going to go elsewhere..just have that feeling..and move watson to outside linebacker...however-if we could get blackstock-he would be an upgrade over colby and/or allen...but your right-this is an area of need.

DL- sully was a bust..the running game killed us which was the result of having a pathetic d-tackles. I\'m really scared that the saints will draft a player like travis johnson who has inconsistent written all over him. we need guys that can keep the guards off of our linebackers so they can be productive. THe ends played great, but the tackles were far from good

cb-I think we are fine..for the first time in ages...but that started when mckenzie came to play and ambrose was taken out or got hurt. I really think that MM, craft and brown are a PDG cb group..and other than getting youth don\'t see many draft prospects that excite me.

Defense as a whole: I think it was 1. having to be on the feild for a long time, and 2. venturi...not so much talent. I think this d has the talent, but no d is going to be that great if the offense doesn\'t help it out.

we as a team cannot keep relying on retreads and must improve the accountability and climate of our team..otherwise no matter who we have on paper-we will stay 8-8. THat is why I keep suggesting players that are of a little higher caliber character and intelligence wise...ala castillo and Ruud (both of whom would make this defense significantly better).



[Edited on 28/3/2005 by baronm]

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

baronm -

First, I read your last post and I think you did a very good job of evaluating our defense. Good job.

But, look ....

it\'s not your place to decide what is a valid topic and what isn\'t. Hell, I\'m sick of all the \"mock\" draft threads. But, I just don\'t read \'em or post in them.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

thing is-we can\'t do anything about last year..we can only improve..

I want to fix alot of things on this team..and right now the only way to do that is thru the draft or Free agency.

smith was a great pickup unless he starts smoking what\'s being passed around. I don\'t think he will.


other than that-the two players I want for our D: Ruud and castillo..wouldn\'t be too upset if davis was picked as well..but I am leery of him.

I think that moving watson outside with say ruud and davis or ruud and blackstock or even blackstock, davis and watson would give us a great linebacking core...allen and colby as backups.

I think that castillo is a great run stopper and would save us if sully never finds the light.

I do wish we had gotten compensation for t-bucky..

anyway-we know what\'s wrong..now let\'s fix it...we need DT and Linebackers.

quality linebackers will be gone early1-2. DT\'s...is there even any real stud DT? Most of the ones that I like seem to be going 2-4...

so let\'s hope we pick up some upgrades..other than that...lets forget last season except to talk about how we can get better...not laying the blame.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

Thank you both Gumbo and Baron, for defusing what could have become another thread I\'d have to edit. I too get tired of somethings posted for what seems like the umpteenth time but most of the time at least the poster tries to come from a different slant. I have the idea that if I don\'t like what\'s in a thread I don\'t have to (a) read it and (b) post to it. What I do get tired of(since I have to read every single post to every single thread) is when a poster chooses to belittle another member because he dosen\'t like the post. That I will edit! We are here to talk Saints football and NFL football and that\'s it.

So thanks again guys for trying to make our job easier.

See, I don\'t play favorites, I even edit myself! ;)

[Edited on 28/3/2005 by JOESAM2002]

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

Does that work both ways? Are certain players * cough * Horn * cough * underrated based on what they actually do on the field?

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

Ooooh, thats a good point.

And take the draft. Since not one single player has proven themselves on the NFL level, should we ignore their potential? Is Derrick Johnson over-rated? Alex Smith? Aaron Rogers? Ronnie Brown? After all all they have is potential, they haven\'t proven squat.

The fact is every year, every team designs its team based on what they think each player can do for you in the upcoming season.

You can\'t separate potential from the equation. Joe Horn has potential in 2005. He has potential to let his age catch up to him and regress, but he also has the potential to have an even better 2005 than 2004. The only difference is some players have a history in the NFL that allows teams to more accurately predict his potential for the upcoming year.

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

well to be honest-it wasn\'t personal..but I have had it done to me where I felt it was...but moving on....

I think the difference-let\'s take watson who is in his 2nd year...he hasn\'t had the chance whereas someone like t-bucky had three years.


what i want to make clear is that just like when looking at the QB and the O-line (no, i\'mnot going there) the linebackers generally must have good production from the D-line to perform..yet watson lead all linebackers statistically..even with a piss poor d-line.

that says something about him.

tommorrow or tonight..i want to quote a passage from sporting news\' draft index about watson...it said something like-he overcame lack of hieght and athletism to be one of our best linebackers and a gem for the future--my paraphrase...

so here\'s my question (which I\'ve been asking)..what is worse: watson as a MLB or allen and colby as OLB and 2. can watson play OLB if we bring in dat/Ruud/thurman/mCune/mike singletaries clone....

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

If Mike Singletary\'s clone becomes available, we should definitely get him and move Watson to WLB.

I don\'t have a real problem with Watson at MLB; I think as Green progresses (or if we get a real DT), Watson can only be benefited (as you point out).

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

It\'s been discussed - at great length - that the performance of our secondary is negligable if the opposing team is never forced to throw the ball. Therefore, the interior line and linebackers are naturally the area where the most improvement is necessary. If a safety manages to lead the team in tackles again next year, obviously the improvements will not have been made.

I remain doubtful that we\'ll see a \"new\" Johnathan Sullivan next season, but I\'ll be pleasantly surprised if he steps up. An improvement from Sullivan would also free Brian Young up to make more plays. Coupled with solid play from the ends (barring injury), the d-line has almost nowhere to go but up.

The defense obviously improved the last four games of last season, but I\'m not sure we\'re condemned to Watson, Allen and Bockwoldt. Orlando Ruff is still a big hitter and is capable against the run. If he could make some mental improvements, I think he could be a servicable starter (at least on 1st and 2nd down). He\'s not my first choice, but we might as well use what\'s there.

Levar Fisher was a starter in Arizona. Chronic injuries have left his future in serious doubt, but he\'s young and could hopefully surprise. Otherwise, I guess we signed another Cie Grant...

Nobody\'s gonna argue that improvements must be made on defense. The good news is, they\'re gonna have a hard time being any worse... :casstet:

The 5 most important players in '05.
 

It is too bad Ruff\'s coverage skills aren\'t so good; I bet he\'d make a good (or at least serviceable) SLB.

Fisher is kind of an x-factor, isn\'t he? Good point, Mutey.

I with you on Sully.