504Highlander

While the Bears took Tulane RB Matt Forte and TE Kellen Davis and Chiefs took TE Brad Cottam, the Saints opted for CB Tracy Porter in the 2nd round.

In time, I am optimistic that Porter will develop into a good NFL corner.

Meanwhile the Saints have three BIG problems RIGHT NOW:

No starting-caliber RB behind Deuce (2ACL's and a Microfracture surgery)
No starting-caliber TE period.
A lot of 'junk' at CB and S ( Aged and injured vets, unproven rookies, and safeties who get lost )

Anyone else think these are urgent problems to address?

CantonLegend

i think that all of those positions arent necessarily need positions to fill ne more....just luxury to help them out...i think next year we will have to address them but nothing urgent....no last minute trades or ne thing....i think that we spent a lot of money on our CBs this offseason and they are hoping we are set for years to come now....i hope so too but i dont see it....i think its still our biggest weakness....TE could've been addressed easily by drafting one but we picked a CB mostly because we still needed one....i think eric johnson can hold it down for this year..thats if he gets better....as far as running back goes...im not gonna try it cuz ne time nebody says something about PT u get bombed with his supporters....i think next year we need to think about it..but not a need..Yet

"deal with it or you can go play the saints and get trounced by 30 and you won't have to worry about it."-colin cowherd

Donuts32

Well I think Reggie will have a breakout year if he doesnt PT may be capable of carrying the load. As for the TE position Billy Miller to me is better than E.Johnson. As for Porter I cant judge him yet because preseason hasnt started yet. I could probably see Young getting better this year. As fot the other free agent Cb we picked up I dont know much about them we will just have to wait till the preseason starts. Im still a little iffy with some of the safties IMO.

504Highlander

'Just a luxury'??? You must be joking!

We don't have McKenzie ( Maybe by mid-season )
Deuce is not ready ( He should recuperate for a year )
Eric Johnson just had a knee scoped.
Miller can't block
Porter is a rookie
Glenn is ancient
Usama needs veteran coaching ( gets lost out on the field )
Jason David was a very big mistake ( Cover 2 corner with safety support )
Bullocks and Harper need better coaching ( they tend to be out of position )

I do like PT ( he is our Westbrook ) But even Westbrook is not a bruiser.
So we have 2 Westbrook's, Reggie and PT.
We need a beast who can stay on the field to run out the clock once we get a lead in the 4th quarter. ( See Eagles/Saints 06 )
We need a bruiser on 1st and goal to punch it in ( See Eagles/Saints 07 )

A beast can't be a beast on 2 bad knees just a couple of months after major surgery. This micro-fracture procedure requires substantial time to heal. One or two years to heal completely.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

CantonLegend

mike will not be ready but i have faith in randal gay and jason david stepping up...i think gay will start at least at #2 if not #1....i think david will start at #1 and be a lot better this year knowing now what he is expected to do..and with fear of losing his starting job

duece will be ready to start according to the FO and from his own mouth....he may not be the guy we've had for the past few seasons but our depth at RB allows him to run up the gut and then take him out....he can be our pounder when we need it....otherwise our playcalling allows for trickery and we dont necessarily hafta run up the middle to score on the goalline


Eric johnson had a setback in his knee recovery but our tight ends havent really been a problem the past few seasons....its obvious they could be upgraded but they havent been a big issue....miller doesnt need to block because most of our blocking schemes dont require the tight end to do too much....we pull a guard or the FB to help out the tight end....they can both catch pretty well and with a healthy johnson i think we could have a solid enough TE tandum....dont get me started on the shockey thing

i dont like the porter pick and ive been vocal about it but everybody including the saints FO and coaching staff loves him....he will fit our system in the future but for this year i think he will play mostly dime and ST....maybe gunner or PR....this kids a stud....i hope he pans out....Glenn will get little playing time i think but he will help out when/if jason david fails us again....usama was a rookie last year....of course hes goin to blow some coverages...i look for a big season in nickel or dime from him this year...he could be a surprise this year


Harper and Bullocks are both young....however...Payton is in love with them...idk y...i think we could replace bullocks....if our head coach has that much faith in them then i gotta give him props for seeing something in them that we dont....with an upgraded secondary i think they will get a lot better this year....especially with the veterans at CB coming in....maybe Glenn will move back to safety....maybe KK will play...who knows...we have a lot of depth in the secondary now


i dont think either one of them are a westbrook....he is more compact and still has the same speed to burn the defense....reggie doesnt have the build that westbrook does and PT is more of a younger stecker....he doesnt do ne one thing great....he can do ne thing ok....he is a jack of all traits....but he doesnt have that one ability that jumps out to u.....i think with duece back in the lineup we will be allowed to rotate in our RBs at will....we'll do what we do best....pass and have a solid run game compliment it....im looking for a big season this year

"deal with it or you can go play the saints and get trounced by 30 and you won't have to worry about it."-colin cowherd

bobad

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

504Highlander

Almost every NFL team has upgraded their rosters in 08. Saints will have to be better than they were in 07 to compete.

To be effective you must have:

Starting-caliber, healthy players, who have been in the scheme and playbook throughout training camp. And have depth at key positions to overcome injuries.

Or you risk a bad start to the season ( See Saints 07, 0-4 )

I am concerned that the 08 Saints are not going to be able to compete at the highest level from Game 1, with the current roster and with current key injuries.

CantonLegend

with an upgraded defense this year i think we will be back to our '06 form....i think our defense is even better than it was in '06.....i was kinda hoping we would get sammy knight back since he was available this offseason....i have more than a man-crush on him lol....he could've helped our safeties....as far as injuries go...i think we have enough starters on our team to make up for the ppl who are injured....Gay started on the pats behind asante samuel and hes a beast....easily the best DB in the league now...without samuel, gay would've started...now hes on our team and he will do what he does best.....david can move into nickel if need be....and our LBs are really the only health concern for defense....we still have our starters from last year so we have that to fall back on....we can only get better when vilma and morgan step on the field....our TEs have always been hurt and weve done fine with them.....no big deal yet...YET.......duece is the only big concern for the team...without him i have no doubt we will address the RB position...if he is healthy tho....we can pull off a great season

"deal with it or you can go play the saints and get trounced by 30 and you won't have to worry about it."-colin cowherd

CantonLegend

dont get me wrong tho....i think ne of these positions could be upgraded....i just dont see a fleeting need for it asap....we can have a great season without addressing those positions specifically

504Highlander

I completely agree with you on Sammy Knight. He is still a stud ( Lucky NYG )

I too was hoping he could come back to help Harper and Bullocks progress.

Draft Daddy shows S Mike Doss and CB Ty Law, still available. I believe that our secondary problems are more to do with poor coaching as well as no effective veteran mentoring or guidance.

We need a couple of talented vets to help compensate for the crappy Saints secondary coaching staff, since that position likely will not be upgraded.