SycoSurfer

Agree with you on most things here.

Brooks gets an A yesterday B on the year still making alot of mistakes he shouldn\'t be making in his 2nd full year as a starter.

Agree with you on the Oline
Agree with you on Deuce

I think the DL needs an interior rush. We have solid DEs and we have 2 run stopping DTs. The DTs dont put a great pass rush on. Grant is a rookie and having a solid season and Howard was matched up on McKinnie yesterday so I can understand him being quiet. Hand and Jackson stuffed the run for the most part, but when you go off tackle or QB draw and the DL is spread out like they were you arent gonna stop a 260 lbs guy.

Our LBs have speed. Hodge and Allen are 4.5 guys. Did you see Hodge step for step with Moss on that 35 yard TD? I think the scheme might be a problem. We are talking about switching to a 3-4 Hand will be gone and We can rush Our Lbs. Clemmons is a pass rusher Hodge and Allen with their speed can be too. We need a Run Stopping MLB.
WE have speed just need to tackle better.

CBs are good and more pressure on QB could make them look better. Safeties is where my concern is. I know Sammy Knight is \"all pro\" but is he really that good? Seems to me he leads this team in tackles and stuff cause he misses some reads and lets them make catches right in front of him and then tries to light them up. He can hit no doubt about that but he seems a lil slow on some plays just a step behind. Same with Bellamy. Knight gets 6 Ints a year but when you get 3 in 1 game that doesnt look as good.

Special teams is ok at best. Carney is getting older and older still very consistent but older and losing leg power. Gowin is ok but not a spectacular. Lewis is great, but he is 30+ so he might not be able to play forever. How long before he loses his speed. I think we have to think about that in the offseason.

whodatsaintsfan26

As far as Culpeppers yards I saw Howard have atleast 5 opportunities to either sack him or keep him near the line of scrimmage. He missed all 5 off them. Culpepper didnt do anything special yesterday, the defense just missed a lot of tackles on him.

SycoSurfer

Well it is Culpepper and he is 260 plus. I mean look at QBs that are 200 and then look at QBs 225 and then at QBs at 250 or more. Jonathan Lorenzen from Kentucky I mean he can make alot of plays while wrapped up cause he dont go down easy. Jerome Bettis breaks more tackles than Amos Zeroe you know. So its like expected for ppl to not be able to take Culpepper down. If Dorsey or someone makes plays on us like that then we are in trouble. He is 6\'5 like 200 a human twig for a QB in the NFL. Im not really worried about not being able to tackle Culpepper.

subguy

Did you give our DB\'s a higher grade because of Dale Carter? Carter was good at reading the name Moss on the back of his jersey. We have not improved because of him.
I was hoping he would be more.

billyh1026

Syco are you friggin nuts?? \"Im not really worried about not being able to tackle Culpepper.\"???? How can you say that??? You should be worried. He killed us running!!! Right up the gut of the D!!!! Our tackling just plain sucks!! Forget the coaches game planning for next week. They need to break out the tackling dummies and teach these guys some fundamentals.

WhoDat

Gator - I have to mostly agree with you. However, I have two comments.

First, I think the secondary is better than you give them credit for. Carter and Thomas are probably in the top five, at least the top 10 starting tandems in the league. Knight is a stud and Bellamy is average. We do lack depth. Irvin is not good. Hawthorne isn\'t either. Craver will be, but isn\'t yet. Still, like you said, any NFL receiver will get open when you give a QB 5 seconds to throw the ball. You put the (league leading) pass rush this team has had over the last three seasons on this team, and our secondary looks like they should all go to the Pro Bowl.

Second, and this is the important one - Red Zone efficiency. We were great in the beginning of the season. All of a sudden we can\'t score when we get inside the 20. I fully realize how crazy it sounds to criticize a team that scores 30 points a game.

However, our defense is TERRIBLE. We win with offense. Every knows that. The Saints cannot have three drives of 50 plus yard that result in field goals, as they did against the Vikings. I mean, if Jake Reed doesn\'t make a great play that\'s 4 squandered opportunites. They cannot afford to squander the field position that the special teams gave them on the opening drive. Our offense has to score touchdowns 75% of the time it gets in the red zone, b/c our defense will give up 20 points. Period. That\'s more like 30 points against high powered offenses.

That\'s a coordinator\'s problem... but there\'s another forum for that. McCarthy is a good coach, overall.

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

SycoSurfer

Hey BillyH Im not saying we shouldnt be worried that we cant tackle Culpepper cause he did kill us but not many ppl can tackle him. He isnt by any means normal. I know we have to work on tackling, but If you practice on Culpepper you are crazy cause he is a freak. We should see how we do on a smaller less mobile QB. Then if we cant tackle be very worried. I didnt mean it like it sounded. When we miss easy tackles we should have made yes Im upset but when its a 240 lbs LB against 260 + Culpepper coming with a head of steam I cant blame him for getting run over cause not many win that battle.

JOESAM2002

Good posts guys. We do need to learn to tackle. We also need to learn to fill gaps with a linebacker. I think if you think back to games where the QB is a threat to run, they killed us up the middle. I just don\'t see how you can leave the middle that wide open. That tells me someone is not covering his area. Good post Gatorman.

subguy

Gatorman, my comments are based on what we have seen right now,also. Obviously a guy doesn\'t get to 4 Pro Bowls by being a slouch. Moss is a good athlete. I won\'t hold my comments on Carter until I see a 4 time Pro Bowler. Granted he missed half of this season,on his own accord. Our defensive woes have gotten into our teams heads. They need the mental toughness they showed against Tampa Bay,the second time.

Do any old Saints fan remember a day when our defense was the only thing feared about us. We brought pressure, and pressure causes QB mistakes. Maybe we don\'t have the talent to bring it like that,but we have the speed. We are giving alot of these QB\'s far too much time to throw. Gatorman,you say Moss is just that good. Is he any better than Horn? Granted at 6\'4\" he provides nightmare matchups. Brooks is being pressured,fortunatelyhe has matured immensly. But if you don\'t pressure Daunte,he will find Moss each time.

Don't want em to get your goat don't show em where it's hid.

WhoDat

Gator - agreed.

Sub - The problem this year is the front seven. For once the Saints have the secondary to blitz every single down and be alright. The problem is that if we sent the house, I\'m not sure we could get to the QB more than half the time. Then you\'ve got a bunch of corners with no help and a QB who can sit in the pocket and throw.

Also, in the Wilks, Warren, Martin, Swilling, Johnson, Mills, Jackson days our front three could get pressure without sending anyone else. Now, it takes 5 or more players blitzing to get pressure. In fact, it\'s usually a corner fire that gets pressure. Our front 4 are not good against the pass. Only Howard is worth a damn rushing the passer. Grant will be good, but he isn\'t there yet. That\'s why we can\'t pressure the QB.

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"