How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

I thought it would be a good time to revisit this thread before we go into post season play. Earlier this season I asked how people felt about Bushrod protecting Drew Brees' blind side. I'm curious as to what ya'll think after a full season under his belt as our starting left tackle? How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?:cool:

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

I thought he played very good at times, but very inconsistent at others. Overall I am not sold on him at this time, still needs a lot of work. He could still be a good starter in the NFL. Right now, I do not like what I see. The way teams are beating him has caused the Saints to go to more of a quick passing game, very hard to give Brees time to launch the ball down field on a consistent basis. The Saints really need to consider lining up a TE on his side or have a FB ready to help.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

I'd give Jammal Brown a blank check.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

#74 played admirably filling in for a pro bowl LT

however.....he is a terrible tackle, could maybe play inside the tackles at guard but he is not fast enough to play offensive tackle

his first step is terrible and is one of the worst ive seen in a long time.....sometimes he shortens his step so the DE will rush outside and he can force him outside to make a pocket.......LIKE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO

but when he does that he gets beat on the outside

so to compensate he makes a bigger step backwards to prevent the outside rush.....and the DE cuts inside or catches him off balance and bull rushes him back to the QB

i have never seen a tackle so reliant on his strength and lacking that much speed start in the NFL......never

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

Capable starter but I want my Pro Bowl LT. If Brown is retained, we'll have very good line depth for the foreseeable future. Coming off injury, one would think his asking price should be reasonable for his services.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

Canton- you are probably right, he may be better suited inside.

Danno- Yes, Jammal Brown should be given a blank check, he was sorely missed. Hopefully, he is 100% for next year.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

I quite pleased with his performance. He has played like a rookie and that pretty much what he is in regards to playingtime. Just like Canton says he has a lot of things that needs improvement but he should continue beeing a really good backup once Brown gets back.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

He's what we have. Just make sure he has help when he needs it.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

Well we have to ride him to the superbowl ...so we have to like him... he's gonna need help with the speedy D ends...or Brees is going to get killed

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

was he getting more help early in the year? it actually seemed like he played better mid season, but has fallen off lately.

Might be bc Shockey is out?

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

I think if we have to play Dallas again. We're going to see tight ends on that side.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

Never was sold on him. But I have to say he played much better than I feared. First year out I say he did ok.

I can see Nicks kicking out to help Bushrod out during the playoffs.

Strief and Bushrod both seem to round out a pretty solid duo as back ups.

Will Brown return in an uncapped year? Who knows.

Stinch to the pro bowl? Still trying to wrap my mind around that one. Congrats anyways

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

This has been my thought. Shockey presence has been missed. He is an underrated blocker. Add to that the fact that with Shockey out David Thomas has been forced to fill the role of the pass catching TE and has not been in there at his other position of FB. Thomas can clean up after Bushrod and protect Brees' back.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

He's not the fastest tackle I've seen .... Sean better keep someone in to help chip on whoever he's blocking or Drew is going to get killed out there

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

He has done a good job until lately. His body of work throughout the season has been commendable. Brees hasn't suffered until lately, and that's the problem. Let a tight end help as a bumper or use a back for chipping and a safety valve, and dump a few over the top to that side to slow the charge, delayed draw, middle screens, run to that side to make them play fair and give Bushrod some push against his matchup. Even if Bushrod is getting beat on that side, there are things that can be done to prevent the whole house from collapsing.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

If we exclude the animal in Dallas called Ware he seemed to do ok. I said ok; not brilliant, not bad.
He didn't seem to be such a liability earlier so I think he is missing something - like someone (Shockey suggested), like some technique (maybe many games fatigue has set in), like fitness (maybe he has a tweek here or there and he is overcompensating).

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

I'll feel better when the shock comes back. His fall off seems to have directly coincided with the Shock not being in the lineup- no way that is pure coincidence.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

With Shockey back, Bushrod will play better. The Cardinals and Panthers both slowed Jerred Allen down by doubling him up with a tight end or a chip from a running back. I see the Saints doing the same thing in the playoffs to help Bushrod no matter who lines up against him cause with out Drew, the Saints go nowhere

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

I give him a B-. I agree on his lack of quickness, and also his footwork needing more coaching. He seems to lumber alot, not really getting off the line as quick as he needs too. Brees works at his best inside the pocket, so his protection is essential at all costs.

I know I'm going to get yelled at, but I also think that Brees should be a little more prone to running for it, than he has been. In that Dallas game I saw a couple of plays where the middle of the lines opened up, and he could have scrambled for at least ten yards. I'm not saying get himself hurt mind you, but it IS an option. Just slide in for it...

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

Bushrod played great the first half of the season, but has noticeably dropped off in the last few games. I hope that if we face elite pass rushers in the postseason that we'll a) have Shockey back to help block, and/or b) give Bushrod some extra help.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

With people saying that Bushrod played well early on but has dropped off the last few games, I think that could be said for the team.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

The Saints cruised through the first two thirds of the season operating like a finely tuned engine. Right about the time of the Miami game the Saints lost a cylinder or two. While the rest of the machine was intact, the missing components adversely affected the total operation. Over the final third of the season the Saints had a series of "cylinder losses" as fast as they could get the earlier ones back up and running. In week 17 Payton finally shut the whole thing down and put it in the shop to get everything back into sync.

What we will see on the 16th in New Orleans will be a fully operational machine running once again on all cylinders. Oh, and don't worry about the loss of Grant ... he was basically tail light. Not integral to the running and easily replaced.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

Right on with most here ... With the benefit of the first round bye, it should give us the opportunity to get healthy, thereby getting help for Bushrod when needed. Getting Eckel back was a help as well. We are missing Heath Evans more then we think also.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

Absolutely, which is why losing Shock hurt our offense soooo much those two weeks (Dallas, Tampa), cause Thomas has to play FB, and when Shock isn't there....???...

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

fwiw.....brown doesnt need the extra help all the time

sean payton must've been reading these boards because he actually started believing that #74 could handle the pass rush by himself.......little did he know that watching actual game footage was the better way to judge how a player is playing

we shouldnt have to help a starting LT in the NFL every single play...but against the cowboys we had to and we didnt

its amazing that we are still talking about the cowboys and not mentioning the beatdown that the buccs gave us or how carolina whooped on us

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

You're dead on the money here Saintpaul25. Just one or two scrambles for first down can make all the difference in freezing guys a second or two to keep them honest, instead of them pinning their ears back and going for broke.

Bushrod: He was a wall during that Patriots drubbing, but he needs Shockey or the FB of the day to help him out.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

I've seen Brees run for it on first down and make a nifty move, but I believe that he will always be a QB that is only thinking about passing the ball. With that said he is pretty evasive in the pocket when he gets pressure on him. He is very accurate on the move, that's why I like him on the roll out.

Re: How comfortable are you with Bushrod now?
 

You can thank DeMarcus Ware for shaking up his confidence.