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Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

I think we will be better overall. With no character issues, and some improved dept in some areas of the defense, we should get this defense over the hump. Plus, I believe that they still may get some more secondary help in here yet.

Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

007, I have to respectfully disagree on a few things with your post. Specifically this

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the LB core last year was solid, not great, but solid non the less.

I mean seriously, what other teams would Shanle and Simoneau be starting for? Which few? Any? The LB corp has been below average at best for years. Maybe I saw 16 different games then you last year lol.

You say that injuries are just speculation, but your entire post really is speculation as well. We have no way of knowing whether Gay, Vilma, McCray, or Ellis will have a major impact or how MM and Grant come back from their injuries until September 7th. In fact most of our posts here, from now until the season starts, will really be speculation and a lot of hopes and prayers. We obviously all would love to see all our free agents and draft picks and even undrafted free agents make an impact. I hate to burst bubbles but I can easily garauntee they all will not. It's usually why I'm fairly quiet during the offseason. I'd rather not fill my head with what-ifs long before we even start.

this board does rock though, i love B&G

Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

Health concern... no crap, It made me ill just watching them every week last year. LOL.

Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

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Originally Posted by jewagr007 (Post 166474)

1) C. Grant (ankle)- Not much talk about him going on right now so it is either the tipical team keeping it out of the press because he is fine ( I call this the "sleeper" tactic) or he is worse then we thought. It is hard to say right now how he is doing. We addressed this with McCray and I feel he will do better than avaerage as a bzckup till Grant is ready (if he is not right now).

"Grant, who said the injury was diagnosed a few days after it occurred, said renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery Jan. 15, reattaching the ligament and cleaning out bone chips. Grant has not run since the 2007 season ended.

"I've done cardio and run in the pool," Grant said. "I work out and lift. But by OTAs (spring camp), I'll be able to run. I'll pretty much get myself back in the groove. You can't really run on it because of the place it is, in the front. You just take your time with it. I think April 12 they're going to release me to start running."

this is from an article in February.. if Grant was right about his release date then he should be ready to go by minicamps

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2) MM (knee)- Story on Mike right now is he is doing back peddle drills and seems to be coming along better than expected with his rehab. Will he be ready for camp? Doubt it! Will he be ready for preseason? Maybe! I think he will be ready for the season and even if he is 80% he is still better than the rest of the crew. If he can't go by seasons start we addressed that in picking up Gay. With Gay starting and Young on the other side I feeel we will be ok till his return. The reason I say this directly ties to #3 and #4...read below.

to come back from a torn ACL 4 months a head of schedule would be an incredible feat.. i dont know if it can be done.. im just hoping that he will be ready by week 5 or 6.. if even that happens i will be pretty happy..

one other thing... usama young wont be starting at corner... you can just forget that right now.. he isnt far enough along in his development to even be considered for the starting gig... david will be starting and Gay most likely will be the other..

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3) J. Vilma (knee)- Will he be ready to step in and take over in the middle for our "D" ???? If he is not ready are we really hurting at the LB position? I say no! The LB core last year was solid, not great, but solid non the less. Will Vilma be a great addition if he returns to full health? Absolutly!

“We are aware and comfortable with his (Vilma) progress in returning from the injury,” Loomis said in announcing the acquisition. “We’ve consulted with our medical staff and spent time investigating the particulars surrounding the injury, and we’re confident he will return to the standard of play that he set through the first 3 years of his career.”

As for his health, Vilma says he should be fine short-term and long-term. Last season, neither Vilma nor the Jets made any details about his knee injury public.

"The knee is actually doing very well," he said. "I had the surgery in November, so it's about four months since the operation and it's feeling very good. I started jogging two weeks ago and I've been doing leg curls. I'm trying to take it easy."

Vilma passed all the medical tests administered by the Saints before the trade was in place.

"The knee shouldn't be a problem long-term," he said. "I just have to take care of it. There was a dead piece of bone in my knee. In the Cincinnati game, it decided to fall [away]. Unfortunately, I've never had a season-ending injury before. I'm just glad the knee is taken care of."

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4) "D" Line - Other than Grant, whom we are not sure of right now but have addressed that position already, no other injuries to speak of. So why am I bringing it up again you ask? PASS RUSH!!!!!! Why did the Colts nor the Patriots win the SB? PASS RUSH!!!!! We had no pass rush last year. Give any NFL Quarterback more than 3 seconds to look down field and find targets he will find one and he will KILL you! What do we need to better our "D" all around. You guessed it..PASS RUSH!!!!!! Did we address this? Ladies and Gentlemen...I give you S.Ellis! Those of you that have not, I beg of you, go find and watch film on this guy. He is a quarterbacks nightmare! Pass Rush is what he does! Can he stop the run...yes...but his forte' is the pass rush. I can't wait to see him lined up next to Young. And if we get Grant back healthy I believe we double our sack total and shave over 2ypc off of last years numbers. That is a huge improvement and will also help to improve our secondary. i will not even go into the depth but they are not to shabby either.

we have beat this subject to death since about 3 months before the draft.. ur a lil late to the pass rush party.. just sayin..

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Jason David...aka "you want some butter with that toast"

david should be much better this year after playing the previous 3 years in a zone heavy defense... now if we could just get bullocks to start playing up to his potential...

Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

nice post pak but coach payton is very optimistic about josh bullocks...hes said over and over that he is pleased with the play and youth of our safeties...if he likes bullocks then i guess i do too but like many of the ppl on this forum i am a bit skeptical because of his play last season....also i think usama has the potential if he shows up at training camp and performs well to start this season..not at first but he can rotate in i believe....simply because he has good speed he will be a valuable asset to our multiple corner sets such as nickel and dime....i dont know if we run ne other pass sets than those but if we do im sure he will be out there on them and be our gunner on ST

Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

..find me a team in the NFL that's 100% healthy.

Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

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Originally Posted by Tobias-Reiper (Post 166481)

..find me a team in the NFL that's 100% healthy.

alright then find me a contender that has so many starters down

Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

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Originally Posted by CantonLegend (Post 166482)

alright then find me a contender that has so many starters down

the colts

Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

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Originally Posted by pakowitz (Post 166483)

the colts

lol the saints

Re: Saints' defense loaded with health concerns

High risk / high reward yes...for this year. Even if some of the parts don't hold up this year, or are not at 100%, you have to think they will be the following season. I know the window of opportunity is small but I think Vilma will be a long time fixture in our defense so I say the risk is worth it. Morgan is short term anyway and Grant will eventually be fine. If we can secure WS to a new deal we have the makings of a very good front seven for years to come. We may not get the hoped for results this year but the future of our defense looks very bright.