Danno

Every team has weaknesses heading into the upcoming season. Most of us know exactly what our weaknesses are. Lets look at each unit to see what kind of shape we're in.

QB-Solid. AB isn't great, but he's a lot better than what most teams have. McPherson is a very promising exciting youngster.
Weakness-After AB there is only undeveloped potential. But that potential looks quite appetizing. But an early injury to Brooks would kill us.

RB-Solid. Good back-ups and an up and coming FB.
Weakness...Can't think of one unless Deuce comes into camp fat and out of shape again.

TE-Average. Mier is a relative unknown but looks as good as any we currently have.
Weakness-Boo looks to be an underachiever, Conwell is aging, and Hilton is an unknown.

O-Line-Solid. May be the best line we've had in years.
Weakness...An aging Gandy may not have much left in the tank, and his back-up is an unknown.

WR-Solid. We have as many speed-burners as anyone. Top to bottom looks as good as anyone
Weakness...Henderson is still a questionmark despite early reports of drastic improvements.

D-line-Good. Three outta four studs ain't bad. A-plus pass defense.
Weakness...The 2-gap DT we need hasn't stepped up yet and the run defense willl remain a mystery until one does.

LB-Below average. VERY young group with a lot of promise. but they are average until they show their improvements. But MLB-Covered. WLB-Covered. SLB-???
Weakness...Our youth and inexperience will get us burned time to time. To me, SLB (Allen/Hodge) is still the biggest risk heading into 2005.

CB-Solid. I can't remember when we've had such a good looking unit.
Weakness...A disgruntled starter making 1/4th what his backups make is a recipe for disaster.

S-Solid. Good mix of young and old.
Weakness...If Bellamy goes down early we may have to throw the rookie in before he's polished.

K-Excellent
Weakness...Age is robbing his distance

ST-Excellent
Weakness...Can't think of one single weakness.

WhoDat

So in your opinion the Saints only weakness is at LB - from a personnel standpoint? Am I reading that right?

ScottyRo

Saints beggest weakness (outside of coaching): cohesiveness. I don't care how good they look on paper. They haven't played up to that potential yet. I want to see them become a team better than the sum of its parts.

Danno

I listed weaknesses for every unit. ????

DIRTYSAINTZ

I agree every team has a weakness but here is what I see for this coming season and how we look on paper is very promising but that dont mean a thing unless we can get it done on the feild..

QB= Solid.. AB is a good QB better then most teams have in the league. And A Mac is a damn good back up

RB= Great... Probrably the most stacked position we have on the team. Deuce, Stecker, Smith, Karney,,, WOW

WR= Very Good.. Not quiet great but very stacked with lots of speed. Joe Horn... DONT NEED TO COMMENT.. D. Stallworth big time playmaker ability just hope he's healthy. D Henderson Blazing speed but still a ? Michael Lewis Still got some wheels on him but is getting older.

TE= GOOD .. Lots of Dept at this Position

OL= GREAT Lots of Dept here and filled the key holes that we needed to in offseason

DL= Good.. Still has a question mark in the middle but the outside looks very very nice

LB's SORRY... Man we are still hurting here and there is still good ones out there that would be a great step up from what we have

DB's BAD.. Other than Mckenzie we have NO ONE.. Im sorry but Fakir Brown??????????????? Come on people he is slow and is not even that good... I say let Jason Craft have a shot

S Good.. Smith was a big upgrade from Tebucky and can hit...Bellamy is still a playmaker and we still have Mitchell.. Bullocks will be a good one

K..OK... He does not have the distance and i still hate him for missing that extra point in Jacksonville

ST Michael Lewis has lost a step but Stecker and Henderson will be back there some this year..

This is my opion just let me know what u guys think. I think we can make the playoffs and do well.. I predict 11-5

WhoDat

But you only listed one unit - the LBs - as less than "solid." So as I see that, you're saying that the team is average or better at every spot but LB.

Is "solid" above, below, or the same as "average?"

I'm not criticizing, I'm clarifying.

If your response is that you think the LBs are the only unit that is realistically below average, I will disagree with that.

Danno

OK I'll stand by that.
But I'm including above average DE's with below average DT's.
If you want to break it out further than OK
DT and LB (specifically SLB) are the only two units I see as below average.

"I said it once before but it bears repeating now"-
This team's has the talent to win, and it has for a few years now.

ScottyRo

Ok, so if the team has the talent...what's the problem? I can't blame it entirely on Haslet. I think it must be something else.

I think they have good talent. Some sports broadcasters think they have good talent. Their record does not bear this out. There's a problem somewhere, if they truly have the talent we think they do.

Danno, is your sig trying to tell us that you come here after you've had a few?

JKool

I think Danno's analysis of our 'talent on paper' is pretty accurate. Dirty seems to more or less agree except on our kicker (but I think that may be more of an emotional thing) and our DBs.

I think that one high quality CB and S are all a good secondary needs. Granted we haven't seen Smith in a Saints uni yet, but I think we have a pretty good idea of his skills. Sure our second safety is an aging Bellamy and the back ups are unkown, but at CB we'll have a healthy Thomas back, Fakir looked pretty damn good to me (when I got to see him play), and Smith can play CB if needed. I agree that Craft isn't anything special, but did anyone really think he'd be more than a nickle corner?

Scotty, I'm inclined to agree it is the non-measurables that are key to why our team isn't living up to its potential. Coaching has been an issue. I also think that a sense of "team" has been lacking - certainly as the season wears on that is the sort of thing that can decrease productivity and motivation. Finally, experience seems to be missing in key areas - our DL is very young, our DBs are quite young (other than Bellamy), and our LBs are all sophomores or guys who haven't seen a full season on the field. Experience does matter - not just for leadership, but for proper professionalism, accurate goal setting, and so on.

On offense, our experience is getting there now, so we may come into our own. Brooks will be in his 6th season, our line has Gandy and Mayberry, Horn, Conwell, and now Duece is coming into his own in terms of maturity. We looking pretty good here, IMO.

I am becoming more optimistic by the day!

"... I was beating them with my eyes the whole game..." - Aaron Brooks

TheDeuce

Let me give this a shot......

QB: Average. My reason for saying this is that we have a superbly mediocre quarterback, a guy who can throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns in one game and then throw the ball to a lineman in another. AB has so much talent, and I really do think he can be one of the best in the NFL, but realistically he just hasn't proved it yet. Also, the depth at quarterback is a big issue. After AB we don't have much.

RB: Great. Possibly one of the best positions for our team. When healthy, Deuce is an absolute beast. It is rare to find a man so big with such good speed. I see him having a great year. Also, depth at the position is solid. Antowain Smith started for the Super Bowl champs and is a very good backup, while Aaron Stecker showed flashes of brilliance last year. I also believe Mike Karney is going to turn out to be one of the premier FBs in the league.

WR: Good. Perhaps the reason that I give the Saints such a grade in this category is because of pure talent. I don't think you can find 3 WRs on one team in the NFL that have as much God-given ability as Joe Horn, Donte Stallworth, and Devery Henderson. Donte and Devery have somewhere around 4.3 speed, and Joe Horn can still blaze. However, despite Joe Horn's amazing athleticism and fairly reliable hands, the other two's talent has yet to make that big of a difference. Donte shows flashes of brilliance in some games when he gets into the open field (I'll never forget the Saints/Bears game a couple years ago when Donte took that pass down the sideline and turned around while he was running into the endzone and taunted the Chicago DB). However, his lack of concentration and poor route running have cost him, and Devery Henderson has yet to do anything at the Pro level, but they have a lot of promise.

TE: Below Average. Our TEs were awful last year. Ernie is an old, slow turd who tries real hard but just can't get it done. Boo has tons of talents but has just fallen apart since his break out season two years ago. Shad Meier could come in to be our starting TE this season. Shad who?

OL: Great. The addition of Jermaine Mayberry and Jammal Brown to the right side of our line should instantly make our OL one of the best in the NFL. Along with Bentley in the middle, Deuce should see plenty of holes and AB should get more protection than last year. The left side, although not filled with quite as many studs has a lot of promise. If Stinchcomb can finally step up and be the player we hoped he would be when we drafted him, then the Saints would have a complete, solid core that would scare the crap out of opposing defenses.

DL: Average. I should really split this up into two categories: DEs (Great) and DTs (Poor). Our set of DEs are some of the best in the league. I absolutely love watching Charles Grant play, and we have an up and coming stud in Will Smith, not to mention proven veteran Darren Howard (even if he is overpaid and most likely on his way out sometime in the next year). Our DTs on the other hand are absolutely awful. Sullivan is fat and lazy and has never lived up to his potential. He is a waste of talent, but I am hoping that these "reports" that we all keep hearing about his weight are true (I heard an interview on neworleanssaints.com about a week ago in which Sully said he weighed 325). Brian Young is small and overpaid. He has a big motor, but that just doesn't get it done.

LB: Poor. Until they prove something, which they haven't yet (proof is last year's defensive statistics), then they will be to me the weakest position on our team. Courtney Watson will never be a superstar. He could be a good player, but never anything more than that. Lots of people on this board seem to really like Colby Bockwoldt. I don't know if it's because he's small and kind of like a "Rudy" or something, but he hasn't shown me anything yet. He'll have a great chance to prove me wrong this season and I hope he does. Overall, our linebackers are awful. Alfred Fincher could be a good player, I like his work ethic, but who knows.

DB: Above Average. The addition of Dwight Smith should be a huge boost to our secondary. He is a ballhawk who always seems to be around the ball. He plays the ball well in the air and is a great guy for interceptions. Jay Bellamy is old, but I have always enjoyed watching him play. At this point in his career, he doesn't have to make huge plays in our secondary anymore, he just needs to not give up big plays and make sure he wraps up when he tackles. Mike McKenzie is an underrated CB who is great in coverage (except against Randy Moss), and also plays the run fairly well. Fakhir Brown had a pretty good season last year, and I hope he can repeat that performance, but I doubt somewhat that he will ever be much better than what he was last season.

K: Average. Carney can still kick, but I will never forgive him for missing that EP in Jacksonville. He also seems to suck under pressure now (not a good thing for a kicker).

P: Great. We punted a lot last year, so Berger got plenty of practice and he did very well. Easily one of the top 5 punters in the NFL.

ST: Above Average. If only Michael Lewis could return to his 2002 form.

Coaching: Poor. The reason for this is because when you look at how much talent our team has, then you look at how they perform on Sundays, you have to see bad coaching and player development as one of the biggest reasons.

Overall: Above Average. Talent wise, we are top 5 or 6 in the NFL. Results wise we are in the middle of the pack. Hopefully our results will catch up with our talent this year.