Saints Pick Akeim Hicks DT - Regina Canada

Tobias-Reiper · 04-29-2012, 01:38 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!

04-29-2012, 01:38 AM	#10
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

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