SAINTS’ DE FOURSOME BEST IN NFL

Everyone has their own opinion on which players or groups of players are the best in the NFL, but I can say that if I had a team that had to line up tomorrow, I would want the New Orleans Saints’ defensive ends.

I know that the Saints have some question marks at linebacker and at least one defensive tackle position, but if I lined up for a game tomorrow I would want Charles Grant, Will Smith, Darren Howard and Tony Bryant on my squad. As a tandem you could make a pretty good argument that the Carolina Panther duo of Mike Rucker and Julius Peppers are better than any two Saints defensive end-tandem, but as a foursome this Saints’ unit is as good as it gets.

While the Saints will probably only have Darren Howard on the squad for one more season due to his very high salary figure and the emergence of the young duo of Grant and Smith, Saints fans will really get a treat this season watching these four get after it on the field, provided everyone stays healthy.

If this unit can stay healthy, it should really put up some big numbers in the sack category and provide the secondary with a number of opportunities to make big plays in the interception business. The Saints under Jim Haslett have always been a good pressure-type team in the pass rush category and this season it should be the best it has ever been since 2000 in that category.

Last season the foursome of Saints defensive ends recorded 31 sacks. That is a pretty high number considering the fact that they finished last in overall defense and because the defense as a whole was getting pounded in the running department by other teams early in the season.

If the Saints offense can steal a page from what the Carolina Panthers did in 2003 and what the Atlanta Falcons did in 2004 (control the clock with a strong running game and get points on the board quickly) it could turn out to be a very interesting season for a defense that loves to put pressure on the quarterback.

I have to be honest, for the first time since the 2001 offseason I am going to predict that the Saints will have a winning season and make the playoffs in 2005.

No, it’s not April Fools Day, either.

For a link to this article, click here: Mike D. .http://www.houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs....1103/SPORTS02.