Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

The New Orleans Saints made their assistant coaches available for the first time this offseason in pre-draft interviews with WWL radio and the team website last week. I already detailed the highlights from the Dennis Allen interviews in this post and Rob Ryan interviews in this post.

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Here are some more notables from assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Vitt and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr.:

Exhaustive pre-draft work: Vitt stressed the importance of the Saints’ 2015 draft class, citing a number of reasons: their total of nine picks overall; the fact that they’re in a “semi-transition” after releasing so many longtime veteran leaders over the past two years; and the fact that “we don’t ever want to pick (as high as) 13th again.”

“Our coaching staff, our scouts, we’ve seen more players in person on the road, interviewed more players, watched more film, did more cross-checks on players this year than any time I’ve been here, and maybe any time in 37 years in the National Football League,” Vitt said. “We have left no stone uncovered this year. We know the importance of this draft. ...

“These players are gonna be part of the foundation.”

Vitt on pass-rushers: The Saints have been hard to please when it comes to drafting edge rushers and linebackers throughout the Sean Payton era. They had never drafted any in Rounds 1 or 2 in Vitt’s tenure until this year, when they drafted inside linebacker Stephone Anthony in Round 1 and outside linebacker Hau'oli Kikaha in Round 2.

Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into 2015 NFL draft class - New Orleans Saints Blog - ESPN

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

That was both encouraging and depressing to read at the same time. Encouraging that we put so much time and effort into this draft and depressing that we didn't as much for all the previous ones.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

I think he meant we had more picks and not just low round picks either. A lot more to sift through. I don't believe we previously were just going through the motions in other drafts. This draft could also be a complete bust as well. All that extra effort may not even pan out.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Please keep Anthony and Kikaha away from Vitt as much as possible, why am I am already having bad dreams of Vitt derailing these guys careers

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

I don't have a problem picking 13th or higher. Trade up, get picks... get up there and get one.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

My thoughts exactly. Maybe that's the problem with our "D". It appears that they follow the lead and don't put the maximum effort every week.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

I realize that it costs more money to do more research. But come on, Why haven't we put this much effort into it before? Aren't we the team that always seems to find small school gems? I thought our pre draft research was better than anyone else.:dunce:

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

What kind of backwards world do you live in...

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

He's the guy that has to find something that no one else has thought about. He makes things up based solely on opinion (his), then tries to blow people away with his theories, even though they are not supported by factual evidence and are completely insignificant.

All his theories are completely off base, but there is a reason behind them. He wants to be right about something that everyone else thought was wrong. That way he can say "I told you so."

Basically, he'd argue that an orange isn't orange and that its a mix between red and yellow.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

What?

So losing seasons are palatable now?

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

The best draft we ever had in the history of the Saints went nowhere. For as good as that class was we never achieved anything. Most of our best all time players were not in the draft or we didn't draft them. Having bad / poor drafts, you have to admit, it has kinda worked out big picture.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Dude are you ill? Our offense has been ranked a top offense for years. Defense is our only problem the rest sean payton will find a way.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

I got teddy on my ignore list so I haven't seen his "theories" in a while, and I thought I came up with some against the grain stuff every now and then. I don't hold a candle to him

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Goody-goody gumdrops. Depressing to read that. Just reminded me the ENTIRE organization lost their focus and took their eye off the ball. We couldn't win the NFCSOUTH for crying out loud last year when the winner won it at 7-8-1!

New Orleans Saints | Season Schedule

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

We really haven't been a successful team for that long in the grand scheme of things and part of being successful is knowing how to handle success. We learned that lesson last year. Guys just showed up expecting to win our home games because we always win those nowadays.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Parcells, Walsh, Belichick... I'm sure it took each time to learn how to handle success. I see Payton starting to do those things now

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Yeah, that ignore list comes in handy at times.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Those comments from Vitt are not very reassuring...

If fact, it's pretty f***ing depressing...

Keep asking the same question:

Can you name one linebacker Joe Vitt has developed in the time he's been with the Saints?!?

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Can you name one time we've actually invested high draft picks in good, smart LB's in Vitt's time? The LB's we have drafted didn't exactly sign elsewhere and light it up for a different coach.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

That's a hard one.

Vitt's tenure with the Saints has been one of FA LBs as starters. Simoneau, Fujita, Shanle, Vilma, Lofton, Hawthorne, etc.

I guess you could make the argument that he's been able to get the most out of these guys - while I'm maybe on the fence with the latter two - but he hasn't been able to develop any difference makers from the Saints' draftees.

Now, you could also argue that the FO hasn't really given him a lot to work with - since the same guys haven't blossomed elsewhere either - but it would seem that he's more of a cultivator than a developer when it comes to LBs.

Also, it would seem he's more comfortable in getting the most out of the blue-collar type players while raw talent and athleticism seems to dumbfound him.

But those are all just uninformed guesses, since none of us know what really goes on behind the curtain.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Can anyone name a LB that improved elsewhere when he left New Orleans?

Can anyone name a FA LB that got worse under Vitt?

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Jo Lonn Dunbar, Jonathan Casillas, which only proves he really hasn't had much to work with.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Neither of those guys got any better with their new teams. They were the same player as they were with us.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

He asked someone to name one, I named two. Dunbar is a middle LB on one of the best defenses in the NFL. He must be doing okay because the Rams haven't seen fit to draft another one. Casillas just signed a contract with the Giants. He can cover and is a good tackler. They were both UDFAs. Just how much better do you need them to get?

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Any response jeanpierre? Plenty of arguments being presented that Vitt isn't the problem. No high draft picks spent on good, smart LB's and no LB's who actually were drafted and went on to improve and have success elsewhere.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Dunbar had 36 combined tackles in 16 games(starting 10) last year, that's horrible in a 4-3 defense...

Casillas is nothing more than a back-up LB every where he has been; the most tackles he's had in a season is 43 in 2011 with the Saints...

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

He hasn't

but he's one of Payton's drinking buddies so he gets to do nothing but tell stories and get paid. Must be nice?

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

As I said, they aren't any better with their new teams.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Wait, our QB threw about 50 yards short of breaking 5000 yards for the 5th time... Our RBs were around 5th or 6th in the league in YPC and TDs scored, we had the #1 overall offense...

Calling that "lackluster" is a bit of a stretch. It isn't a unit that will take a major overhaul to fix.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Drinking buddies? Paid to tell stories? Link?

Ridiculous.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

We don't suck at developing LB's

We suck at drafting LB's.

Hopefully that's changed this year.

Joe Vitt is just a scapegoat for the woefully uninformed.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

LB Draft in Payton Era. Purposely left off FA and DE. May add that next.

2006 - 0
2007 - 7th Marvin Mitchell
2008 - 0
2009 - Stanley Arnoux
2010 - 0
2011 - 3rd Martez Wilson, 7th Nate Bussey
2012 - 0
2013 - 6th Rufus Johnson
2014 - 4th Khairi Fortt, 5th Ronald Powell

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Bingo... Except Rufus Johnson played DE in college so he doesn't even count; making the list even more pathetic. I don't see how Vitt had any chance to develop LB's with that list.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

I was going to add UD and true FA's to the list but damn that's some hard seraching and I am hungry.

Quickly off the top of my head ones that at least I remember. Probably forgetting 20 that came and went.

Fujita
Shanle
Simeneaux
Vilma
Lofton
Harlson

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Should the same be said of Bill Johnson - maybe to a higher degree since the Saints have spent higher draft picks on D-linemen without much success in developing them to be "the best they could be?!"

Granted there are some success stories there, but the effort and money spent on the D-line hasn't really produced significant returns on the field.

I've read some articles which claim that BJ is considered one of the better D-line coaches in the league by his peers, but I don't see why. Are the D-coordinators making it impossible for him to get the most out of the players in forcing schemes upon him that are not conducive to success?! There were some good times with GW and the season before last was a good one too, but there's just no real consistency in development or on-the-field success.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Felt this about Junior most of last season

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Interesting point FinSaint... I hadn't thought about that. I was fed up with Vitt before I realized that we haven't given him a single young LB worth a damn. Bill Johnson though, I don't know... Interesting to think about that.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

Junior was one of our only defensive players trying last season. Hate on his use of social media and his struggles against the run, but the guy was one of the few who showed up last year.

Re: Joe Vitt: Saints put more work than ever into this draft class
 

You mean the same Junior who got dominated by a 3rd string LT week 1? Or the Junior who more than once just stood there instead of rushing the QB?

Everyone played like hot garbage last year on defense, no one gets a pass