Saints Pick Akeim Hicks DT - Regina Canada

04-28-2012, 10:36 PM

Awesome. We got our own Suh!
He's a beast!

Euphoria · 04-28-2012, 11:51 PM

LMAO...

Ok that is the funniest thing I have heard in awhile... "READ THE FACTS".

Sorry I don't believe other people's crap on the internet. I tend to watch games and draw conclusions myself.

Euphoria · 04-28-2012, 11:52 PM

Originally Posted by burningmetal

That's what one source says, but others aren't saying anything about what happened at LSU, so that is up in the air as far as what character problems he may have. But it's the lack of hustle that bothers me.

Its not up in the air... that is the reason he wasn't allowed to play at LSU.

Euphoria · 04-28-2012, 11:53 PM

Originally Posted by lsutigerfan

Hey Metal, stop reading scouting reports and watch video on the kid. He looks pretty damn good and the guy is gonna get stronger. I love the fact that he looked great in the east/west shrine game practice.

EXACTLY.

Tobias-Reiper · 04-29-2012, 02:38 AM

Originally Posted by burningmetal

I think we can all agree that the Saints wanted him or they wouldn't have taken him. I am only giving my opinion on a pick that I did not personally care for. I think he has potential but I don't agree with the Saints grade on him.

I understand that we have a great offense, and I mentioned that in a reply to someone else on here. But we have already upgraded quite a bit through free agency on the defensive side of the ball, so I don't see a glaring need there. I do agree, of course, that we need more help on defense still, than we do on offense. But we have weak offensive tackles who almost got drew killed against the Rams, and forced the Saints to come up with a new blocking scheme to help those guys out. If anything happens to Drew, you can forget about the offense, so don't you want to keep him upright? I'm not saying we had to select Massie, but I thought he was more of a sure thing than Hicks. We upgraded at DT with Bunkley, and we could use some depth there, but what sort of depth do we have at OT?

If we had a pick in the first two rounds then absolutely we could have gotten a more proven impact defensive player, and that would have been great. But now we just have to hope that Hicks works out. Remember Jonathan Sullivan? Al Woods, Demario Pressley, Sedrick Ellis? The Saints have done a poor job drafting DT's and Ellis is the only guy who wasn't a complete flop. Then they sign Franklin and Rogers last year and that bombed.

So pardon me if I don't just bow to the Saints and automatically trust them when they Draft a guy like this. I love the Saints, and think they are brilliant with most things, but this is an area where I will be skeptical until given a reason not to be.

My response was directed to the comment you made about OT being a bigger need than defense. Yes, "serviceable" OTs, who are part of the best offense in football the last 6 years.

And yes, I remember the Sullivans, the Grants, the Dunbars, the Bates, the Kings... I remember a lot of players from waaaaaaayyy back. I'm old, you know?

And as for "flopping" on defensive picks, was it the players or the coaching?
Because Abrayo Franklin was damn good in SF, and Rodgers dominated games in Cleveland. And you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't say the Saints have done a bad job of choosing DTs on one sentence, then on the other say they have upgraded the line enough... how can they upgrade enough if they suck at picking DTs? If they are that bad at picking DT talent, better get as many as they can in there, no?

Anyway, you can be as skeptical as you want and make too much ado about draft picks like a great number of NFL fans, especially after reading some scouting reports and watching clips on youtube (because reallly, have you ever seen a complete game played by Hicks?).

Personally, I really don't care that much about the draft and all the hype that comes with it, who picks who on what round, the grades, winners and losers, etc...

And yes, bow down to Loomistofeles!

burningmetal · 04-29-2012, 04:10 AM

Originally Posted by Tobias-Reiper

My response was directed to the comment you made about OT being a bigger need than defense. Yes, "serviceable" OTs, who are part of the best offense in football the last 6 years.

And yes, I remember the Sullivans, the Grants, the Dunbars, the Bates, the Kings... I remember a lot of players from waaaaaaayyy back. I'm old, you know?

And as for "flopping" on defensive picks, was it the players or the coaching?
Because Abrayo Franklin was damn good in SF, and Rodgers dominated games in Cleveland. And you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't say the Saints have done a bad job of choosing DTs on one sentence, then on the other say they have upgraded the line enough... how can they upgrade enough if they suck at picking DTs? If they are that bad at picking DT talent, better get as many as they can in there, no?

Anyway, you can be as skeptical as you want and make too much ado about draft picks like a great number of NFL fans, especially after reading some scouting reports and watching clips on youtube (because reallly, have you ever seen a complete game played by Hicks?).

Personally, I really don't care that much about the draft and all the hype that comes with it, who picks who on what round, the grades, winners and losers, etc...

And yes, bow down to Loomistofeles!

You completely missed my point. Please read one of my one thousand replies to everyone who thinks I said we needed an offensive player more than defense. That is clearly NOT what I said. I said OT was a weak spot for the Saints and that I believed Bobby Massie, who was still available, would have been a better choice than taking a chance on a project guy. No player is a sure fire thing in the draft, but I didn't find DT to be such a great need that we had to pass on a very highly rated player like Massie. If there had been a DT who I thought was worthy of being picked over him, I would not have had a problem with that. And maybe Hicks will be great, but this is just my opinion based on what I've seen and heard so far.

And yes, I have seen film of him. I did read the scouting reports, and as I said in another reply to someone, I followed that up by watching footage of him, to see what they were talking about. What I saw was a guy who was talented but he did at times seem give up on plays a bit. It's not that I didn't want him at all, I just didn't like him in the 3rd. And yes, it is possible that they thought someone else would get him if they didn't select him right away, but I was really high on Massie at that point. Couldn't believe he was still on the board.

And I feel like Bunkley was a real upgrade because he is not only an established player, but he isn't a washed up project like Rogers was. And Franklin just didn't fit the system. Bunkley does. But the overwhelming majority of the time, the Saints have been bad at evaluating DT's.

And those offensive tackles have not been starters for the last 6 years. It was Jamaal Brown and Jon Stinchcomb for a good while. Now, when we go up against teams like the 49ers, Ravens, even the freaking Rams, our tackles struggle mightily and Drew is running for his life. Of course the Saints have a great offense, but for how long if Drew is getting blindsided?

burningmetal · 04-29-2012, 04:24 AM

Originally Posted by Euphoria

Its not up in the air... that is the reason he wasn't allowed to play at LSU.

Yes that is the reason he was ineligible at LSU, I know this very well.

I said it was up in the air as to what all character concerns he may have, as there haven't been many specifics other than a couple scouts mentioning the LSU episode. I don't know for sure what personal issues he has, if any, so I'll wait and see what he does. But as I've said countless times on here, I mainly don't like his lack of a consistent motor on the field. That goes beyond the skill aspect, and brings up the question of whether or not he'll have the drive to succeed against what will be astronomically better competition. That is all.

pherein · 04-29-2012, 09:57 AM

Its possible that Hicks could be a bust, but most drafts are anyways. I actually like this pick. All DL from college have no idea how to deal with a professional NFL OL. They all need to be built from the ground up again.
Hicks was rated high on the Saints draft board because of the possibility he possess. He was rated high on the patriots draft board also.
He has excellent size,speed, and arm strength.
If he listens , learns , and has discipline he could be one of the better DT's in the NFL. I mean smith was drafted high, and look what that got us. Smith is ok, but not for the money we are paying him. Playing against one of the better OL's in the NFL, Hicks is going to get a good workout.
He does seem to need to be in better shape, but I like the raw abilities he has. I doubt we will know what he can do until next season anyway.

Seer1 · 04-29-2012, 10:29 AM

I like his lateral movement. His frame looks like it could hold a few more pounds. I can't remember if Spags likes'em lean or not. Does seem to tend to tackle high. He'll really need to get to hatin' the green and playing football when the temp's above zero though.

Tobias-Reiper · 04-29-2012, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by burningmetal

I said OT was a weak spot for the Saints and that I believed Bobby Massie, who was still available, would have been a better choice than taking a chance on a project guy.

No, I got that. But the d-line and DT in particular is a much weaker spot than the o-line. The o-line, even with all the changes, has been very consistent the last 6 years: going off the top of my head, the o-line has gone through 4 centers, 4 LTs, 2 RT, 3 guards, and still, they produce. With all those changes, the Saints still fielded the best offense the last 6 years combined as reflected by points scored, number of sacks allowed, yards gained, etc; unlike the defense which, again, except for the one year when their trick was creating turnovers and giving the ball back to the best offense in football, have not been able to stop anyone.

What's the point of (debatable) "solidifying" the best offense in the business, if the defense still lets the likes of Alex Smith slice them and dice them for 4 consecutive drives in the 4th quarter of a playoff game?

If Drew goes down, all is lost? Ok. Sure. but with Drew at his best, the Saints still could not get past the divisional round of the playoffs because the defense could not stop anyone, and were a tad too close to letting Stafford and Megatron steal one in the Dome.

Is Hicks a "project"? Maybe. But maybe not. We'll see.

And you didn't watch "film". You watched a couple clips on youtube. Come on.

04-28-2012, 10:36 PM	#71
Threaded by SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 38,125 Blog Entries: 29 Rating: (0 votes - average) Awesome. We got our own Suh! He's a beast! Last edited by SmashMouth; 04-28-2012 at 11:19 PM..
Views: 15730

04-28-2012, 11:52 PM	#73
Euphoria 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 7,601 Blog Entries: 5	Originally Posted by burningmetal That's what one source says, but others aren't saying anything about what happened at LSU, so that is up in the air as far as what character problems he may have. But it's the lack of hustle that bothers me. Its not up in the air... that is the reason he wasn't allowed to play at LSU.

04-28-2012, 11:53 PM	#74
Euphoria 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 7,601 Blog Entries: 5	Originally Posted by lsutigerfan Hey Metal, stop reading scouting reports and watch video on the kid. He looks pretty damn good and the guy is gonna get stronger. I love the fact that he looked great in the east/west shrine game practice. EXACTLY.

04-29-2012, 02:38 AM	#75
Tobias-Reiper Merces Letifer Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 4,161	Originally Posted by burningmetal I think we can all agree that the Saints wanted him or they wouldn't have taken him. I am only giving my opinion on a pick that I did not personally care for. I think he has potential but I don't agree with the Saints grade on him. I understand that we have a great offense, and I mentioned that in a reply to someone else on here. But we have already upgraded quite a bit through free agency on the defensive side of the ball, so I don't see a glaring need there. I do agree, of course, that we need more help on defense still, than we do on offense. But we have weak offensive tackles who almost got drew killed against the Rams, and forced the Saints to come up with a new blocking scheme to help those guys out. If anything happens to Drew, you can forget about the offense, so don't you want to keep him upright? I'm not saying we had to select Massie, but I thought he was more of a sure thing than Hicks. We upgraded at DT with Bunkley, and we could use some depth there, but what sort of depth do we have at OT? If we had a pick in the first two rounds then absolutely we could have gotten a more proven impact defensive player, and that would have been great. But now we just have to hope that Hicks works out. Remember Jonathan Sullivan? Al Woods, Demario Pressley, Sedrick Ellis? The Saints have done a poor job drafting DT's and Ellis is the only guy who wasn't a complete flop. Then they sign Franklin and Rogers last year and that bombed. So pardon me if I don't just bow to the Saints and automatically trust them when they Draft a guy like this. I love the Saints, and think they are brilliant with most things, but this is an area where I will be skeptical until given a reason not to be. My response was directed to the comment you made about OT being a bigger need than defense. Yes, "serviceable" OTs, who are part of the best offense in football the last 6 years. And yes, I remember the Sullivans, the Grants, the Dunbars, the Bates, the Kings... I remember a lot of players from waaaaaaayyy back. I'm old, you know? And as for "flopping" on defensive picks, was it the players or the coaching? Because Abrayo Franklin was damn good in SF, and Rodgers dominated games in Cleveland. And you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't say the Saints have done a bad job of choosing DTs on one sentence, then on the other say they have upgraded the line enough... how can they upgrade enough if they suck at picking DTs? If they are that bad at picking DT talent, better get as many as they can in there, no? Anyway, you can be as skeptical as you want and make too much ado about draft picks like a great number of NFL fans, especially after reading some scouting reports and watching clips on youtube (because reallly, have you ever seen a complete game played by Hicks?). Personally, I really don't care that much about the draft and all the hype that comes with it, who picks who on what round, the grades, winners and losers, etc... And yes, bow down to Loomistofeles! iceshack149 likes this.
	'Cause the simple man pays the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill

04-29-2012, 04:10 AM	#76
burningmetal 1000 Posts + Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 3,923 Blog Entries: 3	Originally Posted by Tobias-Reiper My response was directed to the comment you made about OT being a bigger need than defense. Yes, "serviceable" OTs, who are part of the best offense in football the last 6 years. And yes, I remember the Sullivans, the Grants, the Dunbars, the Bates, the Kings... I remember a lot of players from waaaaaaayyy back. I'm old, you know? And as for "flopping" on defensive picks, was it the players or the coaching? Because Abrayo Franklin was damn good in SF, and Rodgers dominated games in Cleveland. And you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't say the Saints have done a bad job of choosing DTs on one sentence, then on the other say they have upgraded the line enough... how can they upgrade enough if they suck at picking DTs? If they are that bad at picking DT talent, better get as many as they can in there, no? Anyway, you can be as skeptical as you want and make too much ado about draft picks like a great number of NFL fans, especially after reading some scouting reports and watching clips on youtube (because reallly, have you ever seen a complete game played by Hicks?). Personally, I really don't care that much about the draft and all the hype that comes with it, who picks who on what round, the grades, winners and losers, etc... And yes, bow down to Loomistofeles! You completely missed my point. Please read one of my one thousand replies to everyone who thinks I said we needed an offensive player more than defense. That is clearly NOT what I said. I said OT was a weak spot for the Saints and that I believed Bobby Massie, who was still available, would have been a better choice than taking a chance on a project guy. No player is a sure fire thing in the draft, but I didn't find DT to be such a great need that we had to pass on a very highly rated player like Massie. If there had been a DT who I thought was worthy of being picked over him, I would not have had a problem with that. And maybe Hicks will be great, but this is just my opinion based on what I've seen and heard so far. And yes, I have seen film of him. I did read the scouting reports, and as I said in another reply to someone, I followed that up by watching footage of him, to see what they were talking about. What I saw was a guy who was talented but he did at times seem give up on plays a bit. It's not that I didn't want him at all, I just didn't like him in the 3rd. And yes, it is possible that they thought someone else would get him if they didn't select him right away, but I was really high on Massie at that point. Couldn't believe he was still on the board. And I feel like Bunkley was a real upgrade because he is not only an established player, but he isn't a washed up project like Rogers was. And Franklin just didn't fit the system. Bunkley does. But the overwhelming majority of the time, the Saints have been bad at evaluating DT's. And those offensive tackles have not been starters for the last 6 years. It was Jamaal Brown and Jon Stinchcomb for a good while. Now, when we go up against teams like the 49ers, Ravens, even the freaking Rams, our tackles struggle mightily and Drew is running for his life. Of course the Saints have a great offense, but for how long if Drew is getting blindsided?
	If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.

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04-28-2012, 11:51 PM	#72
Euphoria 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 7,601 Blog Entries: 5	LMAO... Ok that is the funniest thing I have heard in awhile... "READ THE FACTS". Sorry I don't believe other people's crap on the internet. I tend to watch games and draw conclusions myself.

04-29-2012, 04:24 AM	#77
burningmetal 1000 Posts + Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 3,923 Blog Entries: 3	Originally Posted by Euphoria Its not up in the air... that is the reason he wasn't allowed to play at LSU. Yes that is the reason he was ineligible at LSU, I know this very well. I said it was up in the air as to what all character concerns he may have, as there haven't been many specifics other than a couple scouts mentioning the LSU episode. I don't know for sure what personal issues he has, if any, so I'll wait and see what he does. But as I've said countless times on here, I mainly don't like his lack of a consistent motor on the field. That goes beyond the skill aspect, and brings up the question of whether or not he'll have the drive to succeed against what will be astronomically better competition. That is all.
	If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.

04-29-2012, 09:57 AM	#78
pherein failclownHunter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: N.O. and V.A. Posts: 2,260 Blog Entries: 3	Its possible that Hicks could be a bust, but most drafts are anyways. I actually like this pick. All DL from college have no idea how to deal with a professional NFL OL. They all need to be built from the ground up again. Hicks was rated high on the Saints draft board because of the possibility he possess. He was rated high on the patriots draft board also. He has excellent size,speed, and arm strength. If he listens , learns , and has discipline he could be one of the better DT's in the NFL. I mean smith was drafted high, and look what that got us. Smith is ok, but not for the money we are paying him. Playing against one of the better OL's in the NFL, Hicks is going to get a good workout. He does seem to need to be in better shape, but I like the raw abilities he has. I doubt we will know what he can do until next season anyway.
	Saints proved that pigs could fly in 2009. Now its time for another miracle SuperBowl and go where no pig has gone before.

04-29-2012, 10:29 AM	#79
Seer1 Site Donor Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bayou Bayfield CO Posts: 4,722	I like his lateral movement. His frame looks like it could hold a few more pounds. I can't remember if Spags likes'em lean or not. Does seem to tend to tackle high. He'll really need to get to hatin' the green and playing football when the temp's above zero though.

04-29-2012, 11:33 AM	#80
Tobias-Reiper Merces Letifer Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 4,161	Originally Posted by burningmetal I said OT was a weak spot for the Saints and that I believed Bobby Massie, who was still available, would have been a better choice than taking a chance on a project guy. No, I got that. But the d-line and DT in particular is a much weaker spot than the o-line. The o-line, even with all the changes, has been very consistent the last 6 years: going off the top of my head, the o-line has gone through 4 centers, 4 LTs, 2 RT, 3 guards, and still, they produce. With all those changes, the Saints still fielded the best offense the last 6 years combined as reflected by points scored, number of sacks allowed, yards gained, etc; unlike the defense which, again, except for the one year when their trick was creating turnovers and giving the ball back to the best offense in football, have not been able to stop anyone. What's the point of (debatable) "solidifying" the best offense in the business, if the defense still lets the likes of Alex Smith slice them and dice them for 4 consecutive drives in the 4th quarter of a playoff game? If Drew goes down, all is lost? Ok. Sure. but with Drew at his best, the Saints still could not get past the divisional round of the playoffs because the defense could not stop anyone, and were a tad too close to letting Stafford and Megatron steal one in the Dome. Is Hicks a "project"? Maybe. But maybe not. We'll see. And you didn't watch "film". You watched a couple clips on youtube. Come on.
	'Cause the simple man pays the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill

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