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New Orleans Saints wide receiver Joe Morgan looked like he had a clear shot at the No. 3 spot when the team entered training camp last summer.

Morgan's rookie season in 2011 was derailed by a knee injury. In 2012 he caught only 10 passes but three went for touchdowns. He averaged 37.9 yards per catch.

Morgan's quickness was an asset it looked like the Saints could utilize more in 2013.

However, he didn't get that chance. Morgan did not make it to the first preseason game. During the Black & Gold Scrimmage in August, a routine tackle by rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro resulted in a freak accident.

Morgan's knee buckled when he hit the turf, and he had to be assisted off the field by trainers. He would be diagnosed with a partial ACL and meniscus tear that immediately landed him on injured reserve, the second time in his three-year career that he'd miss a season due to a knee injury.


"It was just one of those unfortunate things where I got hurt," Morgan said. "It wasn't anybody's fault. That's part of the game, what happens."

The Saints moved on, putting rookie Kenny Stills into what essentially would have been Morgan's spot. They still finished No. 2 overall in passing offense, averaging 307.4 yards, down only slightly from 2012's No. 1 passing offense of 312.3 yards. In 2011 they averaged 334.2 passing yards.

It didn't help that the Saints lost two deep-threat receivers in Morgan and Devery Henderson, who they released in the offseason.

Henderson's production declined in 2012, but he still made several big catches.

Morgan's highlight reel in 2012 was limited, but included several eye-catching plays, such as a 48-yard touchdown reception where he was able to get open deep downfield, throw a defender off his back and juke past another to get in the end zone.

So with his potential in mind, it was with much disappointment from fans when Morgan went down in August. The Saints re-signed Robert Meachem after he was cut by the San Diego Chargers.

And Stills certainly stepped up in his place, catching 32 passes for a league-leading 20 yards-per-catch. Henderson is the only other receiver in franchise history to match or better that average with the same amount of receptions.

"I think we definitely have guys on the roster that can play in that role," said wide receiver Marques Colston. "You saw the Tampa game. You saw Kenny Stills with his 76-yard touchdown. Meachem had a couple of big plays (against the Seattle Seahawks). We're definitely confident with those guys moving forward."

But the sentiment persisted all season that the Saints still lacked a consistent deep threat.

Quarterback Drew Brees didn't disagree with the assessment that the Saints were below average in that respect. But he said he felt like the deep threat was still there.

"I felt like we made our fair share of plays I would say maybe a few went over that (final) six- or seven-game span we were a little below our big-play average, our scoring average or what have you," Brees said. "I don't sit here and necessarily attribute it to one thing or another. We still dialed up our shots, we still called them, we still attempted them, but maybe for whatever reason we didn't get as many as we normally have."


Read more: New Orleans Saints' deep-threat options were limited without Joe Morgan | NOLA.com

Exxcalibur

Forgot about this guy...

This is a great breakdown of the TD vs Tampa.The language evades me, but the diagrams work

Bro KV

Another under thrown ball

TheOak

Morgan can not stay healthy... Another Ivory.

We have deep threats but they are useless if they can not get off the line. A deep strike from Drew Brees is not all about his arm, a lot of it has to do with the receiver getting a free release and burning the defender off the line. A QB can have a cannon for an arm but if the defender is right there with the receiver it will be jump ball.

Danno

I think its two-fold.

I'm convinced that this year, Drew has less time to let deep routes develop, and cannot step up into the pocket as well as he could in previous years.

Some more speed at WR can certainly help.

A perfect solution is better play from the O-line and some more speed at WR. I'll bet we address both this off-season.

alleycat_126

Who though, because for me that draft ( at least the first two rounds ) is for us to keep improving our d..... The First pick for me a corner or fs with ball hawking qualities..... Maybe if we are lucky Justin Gilbert.... Defense, and kick returning....

halloween 65

Morgans got talent but he has to stay healthy, AA couldn't stay healthy either and we finally moved on this is Morgans do or die season I think.

TheOak

I wouldn't burn our first two draft picks on a #4 in yards and points/game (#2 passing/ #19 rushing) defense that would have been better if healthy. We did that with a number of injuries to starters.

Not when our starting offense was 10th in scoring.

The defense is fine and did its job. Offense needs to be addressed with an injection of youth.

Added: I do believe that going into our last draft... We had no clue what we had on defense and the picture is a lot clearer and brighter now.

lee909

The defence has a couple of leaky holes the offense needs the roof replaced

TheOak

Precisely. The holes have plugs already, they just need to be healthy.