TE RB and DB Still an issue for Saints

hagan714 · 05-18-2008, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by 504Highlander

I don't feel your sense of urgency in your remarks. There is a window of opportunity for teams and I don't want it to close before Brees is past his prime.

The time is now and we are nowhere near ready to take on the elite teams, given injuries, lack of depth and mediocre players at key positions.

No it is not urgency as much a accepting facts. 3 years of draft and FA have upgraded a lot of positions but there still some areas that need to be addressed. You listed some. They will come. maybe this yrar we can see an improvement in TE production with the group we have or we may add a player before the season starts to help out. As for the TE position I would love to have draft one but the trade in the first killed that idea. I had my eyes on
Martellus Bennett , Texas A&M Decent route runner..Above average blocker..serious raw talent ...considerable upside
I was hoping the third but he never made it out of the second. besides after the trades we never had a shoot any of them. By the time the fifth round came around all the good TE were done. Oh well so be it. I like the trade and the pick and the in the second. So that position will have to wait. Same goes for RB and FS. So we took the players we could and made the most of those picks. We used the day two pick on players that could produce on the field and not go with alot of projects. Good job all in all.
So we have to wait and see what may come available from now till kick off and then we may see a new face or two. If not next year will have to be the year to make the move. So be it. Year 3 of rebuilding is off to a good start.The window will be open for a few more years yet. No reason to panic now.

BRSaintsFan · 05-18-2008, 10:46 PM

The moves we made on defense certainly DO give us the chance to play with elite teams. Watch a replay of the Super Bowl to see what a consistent pass rush can do against an elite team. Outside of breaking the bank for Asante Samuel (who some call a Cover 2 scheme CB as well), you are not going to get an instant upgrade at the CB position. We signed a consistent player at the position (Gay), a craft veteran (Glenn), and drafted a rookie with a ton of upside (Porter). And you give David and Young another year in the system plus a better pass rush which can make mediocre corners (Giants) into quality defenders. Not to mention you draft Ellis and sign Vilma which upgrades your run stopping defense allowing your safeties to play less in the box and not as susceptible to biting on play action.

Enough said about the RBs. We are fine. Unless you took Stewart and maybe Mendenhall in the first round, there was not a surplus of bruising backs. I love Matt Forte and he will be a great player but you make a very simple mistake in equating 220 to a powerful runner. It takes a lot more than bulk to be able to run through the tackles (See TJ Duckett).

Again, what player in the draft would you have taken at TE that could come in and be a consistent blocker and receiver in the offense from day 1. NO ONE. The best TE in the draft was Keller and he has several years of development ahead of him to refine his blocking skills.

dasaints26 · 05-18-2008, 11:08 PM

Originally Posted by 504Highlander

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

It really is hard to give any blame for last year on the offense. After our starting RB, then our #2 rb, then our #3 RB goes down we finish the year as the 4th best offense in the league. The reason Brees now has the record for most attempts and completions in a year is due to our defense as much as anything.

The comment about 3rd down stats caused me to check out some stats.
2006 ranked 3rd on 3rd down percentage

2007 tied with 2 others at 4th on 3rd down percentage

Well that might be a huge issue for the Saints and might cause some concern if not for the fact that we got better in 2007 compared to 2006.
2006 converted on 45% of 3rd down attempts

2007 converted on 46% of 3rd down attempts

504Highlander · 05-19-2008, 12:46 AM

I started this thread with a question about the team's lack of depth at RB, TE and DB.

Starting RB: Deuce ( 2 ACL, 1 Microfracture surgery )
Starting TE: Eric Johnson ( Knee )
Starting CB: McKenzie ( ACL )

IMO, the Saints are scary thin at these key positions and the failure to address the problem in Free Agency and the Draft, will be a major factor in 08.

The competition we will face this year is very strong.

I am a big Saints fan, believe it or not and I sincerely hope that I am wrong and that those of you who disagreed with me are right.

504Highlander · 05-19-2008, 01:44 AM