Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

Marcus Ball’s most noticeable play against Cincinnati on Sunday was an offside penalty that turned a third-and-6 into a third-and-1 when he blitzed too early. He could be noticed more often next Monday against Baltimore because he might be starting.

Regular starting free safety Rafael Bush fractured his right fibula in the fourth quarter Sunday and could be out four-to-six weeks. Ball is one of only three healthy safeties on the roster along with starting strong safety Kenny Vaccaro and Jamarca Sanford, who signed last Wednesday.

Ball, who has six tackles in five games, played two seasons for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League before signing with the Saints last April.

“I would describe (Ball) as more of a strong safety type player,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “He’s played in some of the free safety groups for us. He had that early-season (hamstring) injury, and yet there’s some elements to his game that he needs to improve on as well. We’ll see where he’s at and how he factors in.”


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Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

Two SSs and a special teams guy is all we have. That's not good.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

Go get Pierre Warren back of the vikes practise squad. He knows the system

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

We better make a move.

Our next 6 games feature QBs who can sling it.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

What about moving White to FS and Robinson to starting CB? Does Corey have the range to cover it?

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

A banged up Lewis at CB and a struggling KV as the only healthy safety does not bode well for the Saints. Who knows? I'm tempted to say Ball can't do any worse. Then, Flacco puts 55 on them. Tough to watch.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I think KV might get moved to FS seen as we drafred him for his versatility

Ball will most likely play SS

Has anyone else noticed that Patrick Robinson has played better in the slot
Corey white is flat out terrible

I watch other teams cornerbacks stay with receivers and Corey is always 5-10 yards away.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I thought about that but Vaccaro's been struggling enough as a full-time strong safety this season and giving him a different set of responsibilities as a free safety might make his head explode Scanners-style. On the other hand, you're right that we drafted him for his versatility in coverage and maybe a change will do him some good.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

The bad thing for us is he was playing FS when he blew the coverage and let crabtree catch that 50 yard pass vs 9ers

Time for them all to man up and do their jobs.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

Yeah he's much more effective playing press man against slot receivers rather than deep zone. A Cover 2 play call doesn't put Vaccaro in a position where he's particularly effective. We'll bring someone in and just have to figure out who is best in coverage between that person and Ball/Sanford.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

Now more than ever, the front HAS to get consistant pressure or we will have to play four quarters of prevent D.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

right now it is a mess back there, a bunch of SS were kept.

rob did not see this as an issue when we made our final cuts? I did. this one lands in robs court as yet another bone head move on his part

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

..."and yet there’s some elements to his game that he needs to improve on as well."

Payton's code for: Don't be an idiot on a safety blitz.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I don't know if anyone would have predicted that you would lose your 1st and 2nd string free safety.

I would think that in our scheme....whatever the hell it is...the SS would be more likely to get hurt.

It's not like we had 4 SS and 2 FS...it was 3 against 2...

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I guess we'll hear more "can he play safety?"

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

nope; Drew will get all the blame though when the secondary can't stop anyone in the last minutes of the 4th quarter though... :rofl:

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

We are in trouble.... Plain and Simple

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

well it's not like the safety play has been spectacular so far... can't be too much of a drop-off...

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I was thinking the same thing. Our boys were playing like street free agents and back-ups already. Will it really hurt to play the actual back-ups and street free agents?

Not a whole lot of difference between and F-plus and an F-minus.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

True... Where is Jay Bellamy and Josh Bullocks anyone have a idea ? haha

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

For the " It can't get any worse" crowd, we kind of said the same thing about Gregg Williams. Then we got Spags.

I know it's apples/oranges but we should never ask the "How can it get any worse?" question.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I wish we would have kept Warren over Ball, now since we are depleted in the secondary I would love to see SJB at the SS spot, he has the size, speed, quickness, to cover and is a hitter, trail by fire but I could see this to be an advantage in the long run. Lewis, Robinson, White, SJB, Dixon, could work. More CB's than S.The way Vaccaro has played and is now running his head might get himself on a short leash quick.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I know there's better dbs sitting at home than what I've seen in Ball. i'm no coach but man are we in trouble. he looks like he doesn't have a clue most of the time. but then I was on the vacaro bandwagon before the season started and said he would be a pro bowler his second season. man was I seeing the same guy. whatever injury he had is still working on him. or is it the fines that he got tamed him a bit.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I think part of the issues with Vaccaro has been changing his role and trying tp adapt to playing with Byrd and then Bush and now whoever else. Plus the lingering effects of injury.

he will okay long term

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

And wtf does that have to do with anything? That has no correlation to the present situation :rolleyes:

You'd be better off to relate another teams safety problems to ours, and that makes absolutely no sense...

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

The Saints signed Pierre Warren off the Vikes practice squad.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

Well we all expect the worst now. Defense will take the field and we'll have dread every time Flacco drops back (reminds me of Reggie fielding a punt or Hartley kicking, lol).
But hey on the bright side, we may all be pleasantly surprised. AS LONG AS the front get pressure, otherwise it doesn't matter who is back there.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I think Pierre Warren is gonna make a statement

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

Gregg Williams ? really the guy was a genius given the players he had to work with. he got canned just when the youth movement was getting started. ego manaic or not i can not take that way from him

Spags? round peg - square hole dude. beat it all you want it aint going to fit. But to his credit he did have an eye for talent.

Rob Ryan? what a mass media con job. system failure for over a year with no repairs, draft picks? never mind do not get me started on him.

How can we get worse? keep wasting draft picks and throwing money at so few players as to eat up the cap so you have no room to move. well at the least two more years then there is a light at the end of the tunnel. then again without adjustments to the defense it is pointless. do not say injuries are the reason either.

Re: Notebook: Marcus Ball may get start at safety
 

I remember scratching my head at the amount of safeties we acquired in the off-season....who woulda guessed we would be in this predicament?