TE RB and DB Still an issue for Saints

JKool · 05-19-2008, 10:39 AM

Wow, that was a lot to read. You guys have been busy!

I think 504 does raise some interesting points, even if he expresses them at "DefCon1" (I liked that).

Here are some related points:

(1) Every team improves in the offseason, so we must improve more than simple improvement. Strictly speaking, I think that is false. Every year people say this after FA and the draft, like we were supposed to do something other teams can't? It is safe to say that the draft has to address areas of weakness from the previous year, loss of vetrans through FA, and the deterioration of current players. The goal is to get a team that is a little better than the competition and one that fits with the coaching goals/strategies, nothing more.

(2) There is a bit to much hatin' on Reggie. Look, if Reggie Bush isn't a quality backup in the NFL, then who is? No, he is not a Duece, but so what?

(3) This stuff about the TE is starting to dizzy me. Teams can run without a TE on the field. Also, with a good short passing game a ton of pressure can be taken off the running game. I mean, hasn't anyone heard of a three WR set? Also, I'm sure everyone has seen teams send in an OL to play TE at the goal line. Simply put: a great TE would be a nice upgrade, but gosh do you have to have a great player at every position to win a SB? No. Remember David was a starter on a SB team, and no one around here wouldn't like an upgrade at his position.

(4) As a thought experiment, try this: imagine we had two star players at every position, would you then be concerned that we don't have three at every position? If the answer is yes, then how can anyone make you feel better about what we have on the field? If the answer is no, then consider the idea that teams in the NFL exhibit a lot of parity - the challenge is to come up with strategies to defeat your opponents, not simply have more "elite" players (not that that hurts). Consider when Payton finally figured out how to neutralize Vick (send the nickle blitz!) - we did that with some pretty bad CBs, but we set the standard for taking Vick's "game changing ability" out of the equation. Not great players - great coaching.

05-19-2008, 10:39 AM	#31
JKool 1000 Posts + Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,423	Re: TE RB and DB Still an issue for Saints Wow, that was a lot to read. You guys have been busy! I think 504 does raise some interesting points, even if he expresses them at "DefCon1" (I liked that). Here are some related points: (1) Every team improves in the offseason, so we must improve more than simple improvement. Strictly speaking, I think that is false. Every year people say this after FA and the draft, like we were supposed to do something other teams can't? It is safe to say that the draft has to address areas of weakness from the previous year, loss of vetrans through FA, and the deterioration of current players. The goal is to get a team that is a little better than the competition and one that fits with the coaching goals/strategies, nothing more. (2) There is a bit to much hatin' on Reggie. Look, if Reggie Bush isn't a quality backup in the NFL, then who is? No, he is not a Duece, but so what? (3) This stuff about the TE is starting to dizzy me. Teams can run without a TE on the field. Also, with a good short passing game a ton of pressure can be taken off the running game. I mean, hasn't anyone heard of a three WR set? Also, I'm sure everyone has seen teams send in an OL to play TE at the goal line. Simply put: a great TE would be a nice upgrade, but gosh do you have to have a great player at every position to win a SB? No. Remember David was a starter on a SB team, and no one around here wouldn't like an upgrade at his position. (4) As a thought experiment, try this: imagine we had two star players at every position, would you then be concerned that we don't have three at every position? If the answer is yes, then how can anyone make you feel better about what we have on the field? If the answer is no, then consider the idea that teams in the NFL exhibit a lot of parity - the challenge is to come up with strategies to defeat your opponents, not simply have more "elite" players (not that that hurts). Consider when Payton finally figured out how to neutralize Vick (send the nickle blitz!) - we did that with some pretty bad CBs, but we set the standard for taking Vick's "game changing ability" out of the equation. Not great players - great coaching.
	"... I was beating them with my eyes the whole game..." - Aaron Brooks