Miller can't block??????????
Miller was not brought in here for his receiving skills. Johnson is the one who was never known for his blocking. Miller is just a solid all around TE. Period. He does not excel at either but neither are a weakness. I would love to have another Miller on this team.

Johnson had a knee scoped, no biggie. So they will take it easy on him in camp but he be ok for the opener.

Most of the rest will work itself out on the field the more they play together. The saints are just starting to rebuild the defense this year. Give it time. Sure there will be up and downs but they WILL be greatly improved by the end of the season.

RB? do not know PT earned more playing time for now. It is his to loose. i would welcome a veteran presence but not a panic pricing.

Yes, but a good defense can make those fears go away.

Saints had one of the best D's in the league in the 80's, but it wasn't enough.
The Ravens have one of the best D's, but they have not returned to the SB.

Good D is not enough. Teams that consistently get to the playoffs and SB, have excellent running games, as well as good D.

To help your running game, you must have a passing threat, et cetera.

To have a perimeter running game but no bruiser up the middle, lets your opponent, focus on stopping screens and slants.

With no TE threat, DB's can smother the WR's, and so on.

The elite teams get this and configure their teams to be effective at all of the above.

Perimeter runners, between the tackles runners, receiving tight ends, blocking tight ends, all help to keep the opponents D honest.

I don't feel like we have all these bases covered at the moment.

no team has everything covered.. all teams have weaknesses..
the best way to combat this is to find ways to mask your weaknesses and play to your strengths

that being said...


if you want to talk about a lack of depth.. the only place you really need to look at is the QB position... if brees goes down.. our whole season goes with him..

our only other real weakness right now is the lack of a bruising running back incase deuce goes down.. that doesnt mean that we dont have good depth at the position..

we have several descent TEs and while i would like to have the position upgraded with a better receiving TE.. its still on par with much of the leagues depth at TE and even without that huge threat at TE, defenses still had trouble stopping our offense

another thing i think could use some more help is the secondary.. we have alot of really young players and alot of really old players.. i would have felt better about the position if they would have brought in another young vet corner around the same age as Gay to compete but that didnt happen.. that being said.. i dont think it will be as big of a factor as it was last year based solely on the presence of Ellis and and improved pass rush, which should help mask alot of the problems in our secondary...
its not going to be as bad as everyone thinks it will be...

Saints had one of the best D's in the league in the 80's, but it wasn't enough.
The Ravens have one of the best D's, but they have not returned to the SB.

Good D is not enough. Teams that consistently get to the playoffs and SB, have excellent running games, as well as good D.

To help your running game, you must have a passing threat, et cetera.

To have a perimeter running game but no bruiser up the middle, lets your opponent, focus on stopping screens and slants.

With no TE threat, DB's can smother the WR's, and so on.

The elite teams get this and configure their teams to be effective at all of the above.

Perimeter runners, between the tackles runners, receiving tight ends, blocking tight ends, all help to keep the opponents D honest.

I don't feel like we have all these bases covered at the moment.

The 06 Saints and the 07 Saints were very similar personnel-wise. However, the 06 Saints had a much better season.

The difference was the running game. Our O stayed on the field with good third down stats and kept our D and opponent's O on the sideline.

I don't see any 08 solutions to the 07 problems.

RB / TE / DB

If you have a defense that can shut down opponents, then that strategy is fine. While our defense will be improved, its success will hinge as much on the offense's ability to put up points in a hurry and make the opponent 1 dimensional. I agree that we could use some "meat" in the backfield, but both Stecker and PT are capable of taking carries between the tackles and I think you will see a more patient Reggie this year. Keep in mind that you do not have to be 230-240 lbs to effectively run the ball between the tackles. I think we have the things that you are looking for. Periement runners (Reggie), B/t the tackles (Deuce, PT, Stecker), Recieving TEs (Johnson, Miller), Blocking tight ends (Miller, Campbell). I hear you on the injury concerns but keep in mind that the ball will be spread around for the RBs as will the snaps for the TEs. We arent asking Deuce to pound the ball 25-30 times a game. We arent asking Johnson hold his blocking point of attack on a trick knee for 40 snaps a game. Our offense finished 4th in the league last season. We add some experience to PT and Reggie. We get a even somewhat healthy Deuce back. We get Meachem playing time. If we finished 4th last season, the pieces are in place for us to finish in the Top 5 again this year as we have all what we had last year plus more.

Also, our bad start last year was a result of more than an ineffective, between the tackle run game. Drew was not playing as well. Our defense forced our offense to play from behind, thus limiting our run game. And our schedule was not a cake walk by any means in the first 3 games.

id say our biggest problem in 08, is adding a better backup qb and finding another reciever to compliment colston...

We have to do more. RB / TE / DB still a weakness that teams will exploit.