yes.. blackandgold taken

I can't and won't disagree with the fact that Juniah is the best pure pass rusher on the Saints' D at the moment, but like the article very nicely put it, he has some very serious deficiencies when it comes to run defense.

On the other hand, Jordan was very good against the run while not as good rushing the passer, so these two might be subbing each other in and out according to the particular situation, come next season.

Gallette's size is the biggest obstacle for him to get over in becoming a true starter, but that is not to say that he can't do it - especially under the correct guidance, which GW clearly wasn't.

Romeus consequently has really good size and probably is closest to the prototypical DE pass rusher that Spags is looking for, but again there are numerous question marks hanging above his head - we really don't know how well he has been able to rehab from his surgeries and what such a long time away from the game, at such an important time in his career, has done to his development and overall ability to perform at the NFL level. So, I would caution against projecting him to be a starter - he'll be limited at best in the beginning of the season while under the watchful eyes of the coaches.

Bottom line is that the Saints can hardly go to the next season with the DEs they have at the moment, and hope that there'll be some miraculous change in their production simply because Spags is the new DC. They need to get some need blood from either the FA pool or the draft, and preferably from both.

Dwight Freeney was considered under-sized. How did that work out?

Agree. Heart and Desire trump size.

junior will get better and better. in spag we trust

I'm not sure if he (JR) has serious deficiencies in the run game, I'm not saying he is a stud vs the run but is he really that awful against a running game? I don't think so. I would like to see JR given the opportunity to test his ability to hold the edge and push running backs inside. It may not be fair to say he is bad against the run when he hasn't been on the field in running situations.

I realize JR needs to grow as a player and refine skills he has to be the monster I believe he can be, but he needs to be on the field first. Also, as the article mentions I would like to see him add 5-10 lbs and stay around 270lbs.

I believe our defensive starters are on the roster already (exception being DT).
Sometimes the best way to groom raw-talented players is to let them play.

Junior is bigger than Freeney.

Junior got up to about 270, 275 this past offseason. 6-2, 275 is just fine for a speed rushing RDE.

So was Muggsy Bogues in the NBA, and I don't know what that has to do with anything?

Both of the Colts' "bookends" Freeney & Mathis are undersized, granted they've been good DEs for quite some time, but they're not as perfect as sometimes people think.

Mathis was tied at #18 in sacks last season, and Freeney was #26 - both are very respectable positions, but not as dominating as one might think. Now, it seems that these "undersized" DEs are able to get to the QB quite well... as is the case with JG also. But, if we look at the Colts' run defense from last season, we find them at #29, which seems to corroborate the whole theory of smaller DEs not being as good in run defense than rushing the passer.

Of course I'm not saying that these two DEs are the reason why Colts' run defense was so bad this season - and most of the previous seasons as well - but only that the stats seem to point towards that fact. I mean, Freeney, for example, played in all of the 16 regular season games, but was only able to get 19 tackles during that span.

Now, my point was not that because of Gallette's size he can never be a starter in the NFL, but that his size - especially his height (he was the shortest DE in the roster last season) - is one of the biggest obstacles he has to climb over in order to become a true starter.

disclaimer: I accidentally counted in the LBs as well, even though I didn't mean to, but it's early and I'm too tired to fix that right now, and the LBs were smaller than the DEs, so the average probably would go up if LBs were taken out. And in the end 3-4 OLBs are pretty much like 4-3 DEs.
If we look at the Top 10 pass rushing DEs from last season, in regards to their sack totals - Allen, Ware, Babin, Pierre-Paul, Aldon Smith, Suggs, Chris Long, Hali, Barwin, Von Miller, and Avril - we come up with the average physical traits of 6-4 and 264 lbs. In my mind that is substantial, because none of the guys were as tall or shorter than JG. And if we are saying that JG should raise his weight to around 270 lbs, it would mean that he would be much heavier than any of these top guys, especially in relation to his height. 6-2 and 275 lbs DE is in light of the above comparisons is a short and overweight pass rusher - and naturally I'm being overtly harsh here for sure. And it is not only about the weight, greater height gives a pass rusher leverage to either push of or bull rush an offensive linesman - just ask Jarred Allen (6-6, 270) how that works.

I know that it might not be fair to compare the top guys of the NFL against an undrafted 2nd year guy, but I was only trying to make a point, and don't we ultimately want our starting DEs to be up there among the best in the NFL?

I was speaking in relative terms, but I admit that I probably shouldn't have used an adjective like "serious," because it does make it sound like he can't defend against the run at all. How about, "run defense is the weakest part of his overall game at the moment?"

I find it hard to believe that he wasn't given a chance show what he can do in a running down, before the coaching staff made the assessment that there was a better option for them on the roster to those given situations. I do remember him being pushed back at times with the run blocks, and being unable to set the edge. But I admit that I wasn't paying it that much attention during the season, and there probably were times where he played the run very well.

That is a good perspective on the situation, but unfortunately a player usually has to show the coaches something on the practice field as well before he is given the chance to show his worth on a game day - at least that was my experience playing sports when I was younger.

It all goes back to the old saying that "you have to earn it, don't expect it to be given." There were rumors that GW and JG didn't see eye-to-eye on some things and that was why he didn't get as much time on the field as he may have deserved to, but that dynamic has changed with Spags being the new DC, and it will be interesting to see how JG will develop under Spags.

And, finally, I really hope you're wrong about that last statement!

OK, so I had to recalculate the top 10 pass rushing DEs' average physical attributes, and they are as follows:

Allen, Babin, Pierre-Paul, Chris Long, Avril, Clemons, Trent Cole, Peppers, Mark Anderson, and Andre Carter.

That's an average of 6-4 and 267 lbs, while the height average didn't seem to increase it actually did by .04, but still it came down as the same 6-4.