SaintNik

Pat Kirwan, senior analyst at NFL.com, writes in his 06/04/2004 article what he defines as DEPTH required on an NFL roster to go deep into the post season. He lists 12 areas required. He also states " A successful NFL season is a combination of talent, luck and depth". Does anyone want to open up the LUCK thread debate again? For now, let's look at his 12 area spots and see how our Saints look (fyi...He did not list Saints as a team having it)

"With depth in mind, lets look at the NFL from two perspectives: One, the teams with enough quality depth to have an advantage when the injuries start to hit the rosters in August; and two, the most vulnerable situations in the NFL.

When I look at the quality of depth, the criteria is narrow. Veterans -- not rookies -- who can come in and perform with limited practice time are very important. Here's what constitutes excellent depth on offense:

A backup quarterback with a proven record of winning.
A third wide receiver who can play well in the three-receiver package and step into the lineup as the starter for a month and be productive.
A second tight end who can create personnel grouping problems for opposing defenses and has the ability to bring an extra dimension to the offense that the starter (Ernie Conwell) doesn't have.
At least two veteran offensive linemen with no less than 10 career starts each under their belt.
A backup running back who can give you 80 to 100 yards a week until the starter returns. I like a guy who has done it before at least once or twice.
On defense:

A pass rush specialist or third defensive end.
A third defensive tackle so the starters can rotate.
An excellent third corner to play nickel defense.
A third safety to get into dime defenses.
A backup "mike" (middle) linebacker to call the defenses and line people up.
A special teams difference maker.
And throw in at least one assistant coach with head coaching experience to help the boss.
Great depth is having a quality player at all 12 spots. To get into late January, most teams will have to tap into all 12 to make it."

For the complete article: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/7397758

IMO we have Talent and Depth and hopefully this year we will be blessed with a lot of Luck!

DEPTH:

Offense

1. Our backup quarterback has seen very limited playing time thus far in his career but has shined when he was called on to start for a then injured Daunte Culpepper as a Viking.

2. We have an experienced 3rd wide receiver or two who can play well in the 3 WR package and if called on to do so, as a #2, (Pathon and Crowell) and can do so (as they both have in the past) for at least a month.

3. We have a 2nd TE (Eddie "Boo" Williams) and maybe even a 3RD TE (Zach "Pear-Ass" Hilton) who can create personnel grouping problems for opposing defenses and has the ability to bring an extra dimension to the offense that the starter doesn't have.

4. You need at least 2 veteran offensive linemen with no less than 10 career starts under their belts. At least 3 linemen easily fit that descripition (Fontenot, Folau, and Nesbit)

5. A veteran backup running back who can give you 80 to 100 yards per week until your starter comes back, a guy that has done it at least once or twice (Lamar Smith).

Defense

6. A pass rush specialist or 3rd defensive end (after starters Darren Howard and Charles Grant we have the following players at DE: Willie Whitehead, Melvin Williams, and rookie Will Smith).

7. A third defensive tackle so the starters can rotate (Kenny Smith, Kendrick Allen, and rookie Rodney Leisle).

8. An excellent 3rd corner to play nickel (Ashley Ambrose - he's been getting some knocks lately from fans who want an upgrade but keep in mind that AA has found the starting lineup his entire career on every team he has played on).

9. A third safety to get into the dime defenses. The Saints have already said they intend on playing a third safety (Jay Bellamy) in the dime package.

10. A backup "mike" middle linebacker to call defenses and line people up (Orlando Ruff and Darin Smith).

11. A special teams difference maker ( M. Lewis).

12. Here's the wild card.....Throw in at least one assistant coach with head coaching experience (Rick Venturi) to help the boss.

Forget January. Here's looking forward to next February!