He's officially Bad
 

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I wonder what' the Saints' staff has been thinking for the last couple of years? Can it be possible that fielding Shanle is better than fielding NOBODY? Based on their analysis, 10 men are the same as 11!

Yikes.

Thank the Lord... I thought I was going crazy thinking he was bad.

I may have been wrong about Shanle. I thought he was merely mediocre to slightly below average. He may be worse than I thought, which means the rest of our OLB's reallly really suck.

I'm curious as to how much we pay the guy? He may be cheap filler for a position we haven't restaffed.

He's just helping us stay under the radar.....:wink:

"Bad against the pass, bad against the run"... Sums up Shanle perfectly.

Spotrac has Shanle making a base salary of $1.05M + half of his $1M signing bonus as in $500K + $500K roster bonus & $200K workout bonus, so Shanle will be making $2.25M for next season.

As for the other LBs Rotoworld has Casillas making $480K in 2012; Herring signed a deal averaging $2M for each of the 3 seasons he signed for, but he has some escalators worth additional $1.5M; Wilson is making whatever a 3rd round #72 overall pick makes; Bussey is making whatever a #243 overall pick makes; and Vilma will be making $6.6M ($5.4M base + $1.2M signing bonus).

Humber and Dunbar are UFA.

So, basically Shanle and Herring are making pretty much the same money upwards of $2M for next season, but other than Vilma's big contract, the Saints have very little money tight down on the LB corps, which probably explains why they've been so bad.

Really?? You just realizing this? Lmfao... I guess it takes more than stats to convince you huh?

Where are the Shanle lovers at?

I certainly don't think he's as bad as some say.

He was voted defensive MVP by his teammates last year. I guess the Shanle lovers are currently on the 53 man roster.

He's a salary cap starter.

say what you want buddy...with Vilma making 6 + milli i wouldnt be surprised if Dunbar is your starter next year. Vilma had a really bad year. I would like to see his stat comparison from previous years. I think he lost a step and could be falling off.

Bad against the pass, bad against the run, and has not even rushed the passer for Gregg Williams.

Dam the truth hurts.

Actually I think that was 2008.

Go see them here:

Jonathan Vilma, MLB for the New Orleans Saints at NFL.com

2008 and 2009 were really good years for him - his production dropped off a little last year, but as we can remember he was banged up also at the end 2010 season - then this season his production was way down and he only played in 11 games.

Unfortunately, those stats don't reveal anything about the quality of his decision making as the signal caller for the defensive unit, which is something some people here on these boards have brought into question.

Even with the injuries, I still believe he is a quality player with an above average intelligence on and off the field. If he was given better OLBs than Herring and Shanle he would undoubtedly play better, and the Saints' front 4 have to take some of the blame for the bad LB play.

Vilma has a big contract, but he will be hard to move with his recent troubles with his health. If Spags thinks he can work with him, I think he can have a real comeback year next season - provided he has some better supporting cast around him and better overall defensive schemes inside of which to work in.

Will Smith's and Sedrick Ellis' big contracts are the ones that worry me more than Vilma's.

I think it was. This was a banner year for Scott. He had his second highest tackles of his career with 87. He also had 2 sacks and a FF. MVP MVP MVP!!!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/o...al/garbage.jpg

Certainly not a Shanle lover, but definitely a Shanle supporter... especially when he's on the field.

I think we all can and have agreed he's not a starting LB for our team... better suited as a 4th/5th LB. With that said, as much as people value Fujita's leadership skills and football IQ, Shanle brings the same to the table imo. I find that as a fan base we like to make Shanle our scapegoat... it's not his fault no one can beat him out for a job.

Put shanle on special teams and have Vilma/dunbar in the middle, whoever plays the best in camp
Martez on one side, maybe casillas on the other depending on if he can stay healthy.
I'd draft a young LB to take casillas spot, him constantly getting injured is what keeps letting shanle back in the starting lineup

Not sure if the Saints are even going to bring Dunbar back. Because the Saints' will still play predominantly from the base 4-3, so having two strict MLBs won't cut it, and Dunbar wasn't nearly as effective when he wasn't playing from the center.

And Dunbar would probably want at least Shanle/Herring money, so maybe they'll create more depth with some young LB from some other team's PS or from the draft.

I guess the whole LB corps situation is determined by what decisions they make regarding Vilma and his future with the Saints, because that'll determine who they have to get and how much they can spend getting them.

What I know is; we won't know until we KNOW! LOL

Alaska

SpagNOLA will decide.

Vilma may be like great pizza dough.... Make it cover too much area and it will have problems.... Lets put talent around Vilma since he seems to be the most intelligent option.

Vilma needs to go, to light to play the middle in a 4/3 scheme. Way overrated if you ask me and over paid also. Spags D will be new to him just like every Saints player thats here now, don't be to surprised if Vilma is gone this year, I'll be surprised if he stays. We need a thumper in the middle, with some weight and speed. I see Wilson starting in the middle this year.

Dude what are you smoking... because I sure want not part of that.

Look at his stats and field play for the last 2 dreadful years, and I only smoke the best!! How about you!!!

I don't think 2010 was that bad for Vilma and we have to remember that he was playing injured for the latter part of that season, and he played injured all through this season.

Assuming he has healed from those past injuries and that he stays injury free this next coming season - working within much better defensive schemes and with an improved LB corps as a whole - he might have a couple of really good seasons left in him.

Based on the 2009 season, he isn't being over-payed, but based on the last two he is, so who knows what they'll do with his contract, but I'm pretty sure he'll be back next season playing in the black and gold.

Agreed. His play has dropped off significantly the last two years because of his knees.

If he can get back to 100%, he's obviously a keeper. But can he?

His game is speed and quickness. Both have dropped off. Are his knees shot?

Yes exactly, only the physios and trainers of the Saints know what his situation is, and I'm confident that the organization will make a decision based on that information, which will be both the right one for the organization and for the player going forward.

If his knees are in a similar state to what f.e. Lofa Tatupu's were - it's hard to see Vilma himself wanting to play anymore and risk being forced to live out the rest of his life with decreased mobility because if it.