lumm0x

Since we all picked our dark horse, who will be the big bust on our team? Starter, projected starter, or draft choice.

My big bust of 2004:
Jonathan Sullivan
This is simply a gut feeling that this guy doesn't have the mental toughness to play in this league. Not just because of size issues, but the mind match of Norman Hand or Grady Jackson. Simply can't take his commitment to the next level. I predict a season of flashes of brilliance from this guy followed by multiple games of disappearing. By the late games of the season I can see us lining up with Young and Liesle at DT simply hoping their work ethic and hustle gets the job done.

GumboBC

Big Bust? Bust is a strong word. Big Bust is an even stronger statement.

I can\'t go out on that limb, lummOx.

But, if you want talk about who\'s going to have a disappointing season, then OK.

But, first let\'s address your comments on Sullivan \'cause I strongly disagree and I understand that\'s it\'s just a gut feeling of yours.

I won\'t bring up any stats of first year DT or how it takes a 2 or 3 years to really know how a DT will turn out. I\'ll stick to your questioning of his mental toughness and desire.

While there\'s no way to really know Sullivan\'s desire or commitment for the game, there is some evidence to make a good argument.

Negatives:

1. Sullivan Reports to camp out of shape.
This clearly shows that he\'s not commited enough. No player that is really serious about being the best he can be would come in over-weight.

That\'s really the only negative I can think of at this point.

Postives:

1. Sullivan told the coaches that he WOULD be in great shape by the time camp started and he\'s almost at his ideal playing weight now. Sure, he shouldn\'t have this problem but he\'s doing the right thing now.

2. John Pease is working Sullivan very hard in the practice sessions. How does Sullivan respond? He asks Pease for extra reps. Sounds like the guy has a desire to do the right things.

I\'d have to say Sullivan has some maturity issues. But, the guy came out as a jr. and it happens with young guys. I have my normal doubts about Sullivan, but with John Pease here, my confidence is way up for this guy and I think we\'ll see big things from him this year.


Now, for my disappointing player for this season:

Courtney Watson.

I say this because of all the hype surronding him. I think folks are buying into the \"hype\" coming from the coaches. I don\'t think he\'ll make much of an impact at all and I don\'t look for him to start at any point during the 2004 season.

Sorry for the long post. Just had to get it off my chest.

kenpersons

I don\'t know if Courtney Watson will be who disappoints, but the smart money is on the linebacker position producing a disappointment. That said, as long as that disappointment is offset by someone stepping up in their place, all should be well.

Furthermore, the biggest bust should be the Dome\'s walls and roof as the Saints march towards their first Super Bowl title.

JKool

The most disappointing player of this coming season. Let\'s see, picking such a player would require picking someone who will make the roster and someone who will play enough to be disappointing (i.e. not make it to expectations)... hhhmmmmm...

I say Cie Grant.

All I hear is how great he\'s gonna be. He was injured most of last season, and I haven\'t seen him do anything. I think that even if he is good, he\'ll be a disappointment - since so many think he is the shiznit for MLB or OLB.

saintfanatic

How about Stallworth as the biggest disappointment.
I know he has worked on correcting the issues that caused him to miss much of the last two seasons.
Sounds a lot like what we heard last year.
With all the hype he will have to have a monster year not to disappoint.
It might be unfair but so is being a Saint fan.

ami2kind4words

The Biggest Disappointment

\"Jon Stinchcomb\"

It still burn my a$$ that management pick this guy over Rashean Mathis

Rashean Mathis \"shutdown corner\" starter
Jon Stinchcomb back up reserve

whowatches

Did Rashean\'s momma pay you to write that? :P

GumboBC

I have no problem being negative when it\'s called for, Gator. I just can\'t force myself to go bashing for the sake of bashing.

But wacth how I can bash when it\'s called for:

Tebucky sucked at tackling last year.
The linebackers sucked last year.
The defensive line sucked last year.
Our receivers dropped way too many balls last year.
Brooks fumbled the ball way too much last year and cost us some games.
Our kicker cost us a game by missing an extra point.
Jim Haslett was an average coach last year that was reflected in the Saints 8-8 record.
Same for Venturi and McCarthy.

That\'s the truth as I know it, my man.

But, what good does it do to go around bashing just for the sake of bashing? I\'m a Saints fan, Gator. Why would I wanted to bash my team when it\'s not called for? Get back to me on that, will ya?



[Edited on 25/6/2004 by GumboBC]

Danno

My Bust for 2004 is Deuce McAllister.
He doesn\'t really work out much and usually that translates into injuries. I can see him getting banged up (again) and disappearing down the stretch (again).
Everyone complains about CB, if Thomas goes down we\'ll have Ambrose and Brown at CB.
Well if Deuce goes down we\'ll have Lamar Smith and Aaron Stecker.

I don\'t want to sound negative but the worst thing that could happen to this team is losing McAllister.

I get a bad feeling about Deuce this year. The one player we couldn\'t lose last year was Howard. We lost him 12 minutes into the season.

no_cloning

Will Smith.
Not unlike Sullivan he will have a hard time adjusting to life in the NFL. Not just are your opponents quicker and stronger, everything else speeds up as well: Traing sessions and schemes he\'s required to learn.
Rather than lifting some of the burden off Grant\'s and Howard\'s shoulders he will be used almost exclusively as a pass rusher - and even that with mixed results.

However, Howard will go to the Pro-Bowl and Grant will have a good year as well to make up for it.