i think i found the reason for what some say was a bad draft.........
 

New Orleans Saints:
The Vice President of Common Sense was led out of the Saints’ war room by an Asian hooker that Payton hired. A team that needed one clear thing: speed and talent on the defense, and they really failed to address that. Meachem and Alleman are high talent/upside guys who might contribute to the Saints, but they let way too many defenders who would contribute more pass. If the Saints regress, this draft will always be blamed.
Best Pick: Usama Young Cb Kent State
Worst Pick: Antonio Pittman RB Ohio State
Grade: D+
http://draftacademy.blogspot.com/

of course, there are those who disagree.........



Round 4 - (Best Value) Tampa Bay #106 CB Tanard Jackson...#107 New Orleans HB Antonio Pittman

(Worst Value) Baltimore #137 FB Le'Ron McClain


http://www.eastcoastsportsnews.com/2007draft.html

This guy is a 49er fan, and whats worse than a 49er fan, a cowboy fan.

and another........

New Orleans Saints: C-. Meachem will turn out to be a nice pick-up here, but he doesn’t look thrilled to be a part of the Saints. They’re definitely going to put some points up on the board this season. However, with their next selection they went with the first player not to be invited to the combine to be drafted in Usama Young. It’s understood that teams don’t want to invite players because they don’t want their name to be thrown out there, but in the third round it seems a bit high for Young. Also Andy Alleman is a very nice addition in the third. Antonio Pittman? What? This kid probably won’t even breathe the field for the Saints in the coming years.

http://www.saturdays2sundays.com/Index/?p=7

i kinda lean toward the asian hooker, myself..................smitty

i love these people....they feel that just b/c they've never heard of a guy, he must not be any good....honestly, i don't know much about Young or David Jones, but the staff must have seen something in these two guys to feel like they can contribute to this team...so i'm all for it...:cool:

Well there odds of getting something right is a lot highter by bashing a team/pick. Now if they get a dark horse right once in a great while I'd actually care what they have to say... Lets see Payton drafted -COLSTON. I am going with Payton.

This is really irresponsible journalism and just not doing your homework. The tape delay from the draft had something to do with the look on Meachem's face

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfAPiUO7Mlg

Or the fact that he just got picked later than he thought and was relieved as hell that it was us and not somewhere with a crappy QB (like Chicago)

You know as far as everyone else, they can have their opinion about our draft. Only time will tell. Keep an eye on those who seemed to have the best draft of the year (Pats, Flacons, Bucs, Vikings) and see what happens over the next 5 years. (if you have that kind of time ):)

There's a reason these guys run blogs from their house.... Stabbing in the dark.

BTW, watch the tape of this guy on that youtube link. He runs well after the catch. He doesn't surcumb(sp) to arm tackles. Looks like he's fast and strong. I'm pretty sure I read where he played RB at one time. I'm glad he's aboard.

I'm seeing a bunch of new names on the board and just want to say welcome aboard to them all.

I love it. once again the saints have gone about there buisness without alot of fan fair, from the media that is. Just like last year. We may not have rolled over the starting line up like last year but we have added some nice additions to the units. I looking for a big improvement from special teams play this year. Last year it killed us. I will go out on a limb and say the defense was an issue but the special team was just as big of an issue. The FAs and draft leads me to belive it was a key issue for the saints and they wanted to address this year. That is a good thing. Remeber Dallas. When an on side kick gets you the same results as a kick off you got big problems. If the Saints can get into the top 10 in special teams play that will get us at least 2 more victories next year. The old timers know all about special teams play. There were years that was all we had. Next year we will probly go for impact players on the defense and special teams if we prove we have built a solid core first. That seeems to be Shawns' MO.

this draft is possibly a+
or d-,the training camps ,injuries,and attitudes will tell.the small school signee's are as athletic as the majors and may have enough attitude to go farther than some more famous ones.trust our coachs which are the best since mora's staff(with exception of carl smith)

You can't force the draft. When you draft for need you set yourself up for a bust (see Lions, Detroit). I honestly think that the FO didn't see a lot of later round defensive guys that they thought would make an impact and it would be silly to think that 3rd, 4th and later round rookies are going to get you over the hump to the SB. Colston was a great pick, but it was still a fluke. Always draft the BPA regardless. There are more seasons to worry about than the next one.

On a side note, it looks like we have the best UDFA class in the league.

I have to believe that the coaching staff has seen these guys work and they might possibly know more than we do about who should be good and whose not. I'll leave it to them.

Thanks!

Just a couple of things regarding the last couple of points made by the previous posters.

BPA - Not as prevelant in the later rounds. It's great to put yourself in position to draft the BPA and in the 1st round you hope to always be able to draft the BPA, to a point. Let me first say that I agree with the Meachem pick on the grounds of being the BPA according to our board. I wouldn't go so far as to say that you 'always' draft the BPA however. Common sense has to come into play. For example, it wouldn't have been a good decision for us to draft a QB at 27 this year regardless of BPA. Also, as the rounds go by, there probably has to be a certain gap between the BPA and the BPA at a position of need. As a basic philosophy, the BPA is a good one but even the teams that believe in it probably stray from it as the rounds go on if the gap between BPA and players of need is not significant.

And secondly
U Young and D Jones were 4 yr starters or close to it on their respective teams. This means there was a lot of film on these guys. I'm sure the Saints did factor in the level of competition and chose them anyway. Not being invited to the combine becomes somewhat insignificant because Young got everyone's attention with his workout but didn't climb the charts on that alone. There was plenty film out there to make a determination on both of these guys. Add to that, both players are believed to have exceptionally high character, and there's reason to feel good about these picks.

Coaches also have the luxury of meeting and talking to the players which you don't.

My gracious, he will look mighty glee enough when the team goes deep this upcoming year. Meach will be a household name if he wants to contribute, be sure of it.

Pittman will replace Deuce, after this season.

I think Reggie will carry the load, after this year. And Pittman will back him up.

He did. He came to Tennessee as a running back, they switched him.

Actually, Jonathan Wade and Usama Young have nearly identical measurables, but Wade flopped back and forth between football and track and didn't do anything until his senior year, his only as a full-time starter. Even then, lots of scouts said he was just a track guy in pads. Young was a four-year starter, which is a huge edge at any position, and Payton seems to prefer guys who are football players first as opposed to great athletes with dazzling numbers, the way Haslett always did. See Harper, Roman for the perfect example of this (another head scratcher to most everyone at the time, too, and now one of our up and comers).

Also, I'm pretty sure that David Jones got the nod over Tarell Brown due to better versatility as a kick returner or even receiver, as well as Brown having a few character issues hanging over his head. A few scouts said David Jones was the best small school corner last year, which ain't too shabby.

I told you guys the week before the draft that the Saints didnt like Wade. They were turned off by him when they saw the way he handled himself at the combine and thought he would be a distraction in the locker room. Tarell Brown has already been arrested 3 times...does that seem like someone that fits in here?? Didnt think so.

wonder what these ex-perts graded us last year after reggie. probably nothing.we took some players that will be back-up's,special teams and eventually(we hope) good starters. since most positions are filled,(except for exceptional play or a fall-off from last year)that's exactly what was needed

You think if our 5th round draft pick doesnt work out for us that it will doom the franchise? Thats crazy. The Saints FO was able to sit down with all these guys and they picked the ones they liked better. Simple as that. After last year, why are you so quick to second guess them? Brown was available in the 5th round, so that means every other team passed up on him too. Are they all doomed too if their fifth round pick doesnt work out?