ThePaSaint

i just want to see a better defense. we have an awesome offense already but too much depth at running back. Lets go boys strengthen that defense and let deuce produce. thats why yeah pay em

Euphoria

well they can't turn him lose if no one is blocking for him...

papz

Huh? Too much depth? Are you serious? 3 backs and a fullback is perfect. That's pretty much what every team has these days. Deuce, Smith, Stecker, and Karney is perfect. I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

Look at Green Bay with Green, Davenport, Fisher, Henderson... go down every NFL roster and you will see 4 or 5 running backs on every depth chart. Nothing is wrong with that... look at how many Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, Houston, etc... carried last year. If one goes down, you would want another guy with talent filling in wouldn't you? If you go down our roster, we have depth at every single position. You can never have enough depth that's why there is even a practice squad. That's the least thing anyone should worry about in having lots of depth.

Besides, the running game helps out the defense tremendously. A good rushing attack will allow the defense to get extra rest and it will burn time off the clock. I say it runs hand and hand.

Anyways, welcome to the boards.

TheDeuce

I don't know if you can ever say that you have too much depth at a position in today's NFL, especially when you consider the injury rate is consistently rising every season. But I do agree that going and getting Antowain Smith shouldn't have been as big of a priority as improving the defense.

tiggerpolice

i disagree.......the better we are at RB better we control the ball and keep our D fresh & off the field......deuce is a great RB but he can't do it all by his self....we can use a good dependable backup RB......besides that ....you can have the best D in the NFL but if u can't control the ball they will eventually tire out......

papz

Classic example... Baltimore. Running game complements defense, vice versa.

Antowain Smith is going to be paid less that 1 mil this year. It was a great move to solidify our back field. Would you rather have Fred McAfee, Lamar Smith, or KiJana Carter back there than Smith? It's not like he was a high profiled free agent that we broke the bank for... which is no where near the case.

WhoDat

Amen to that.

TheDeuce

Are you kidding me?????? Baltimore has, IMO the best defense in the NFL, and they would be the best in the NFL even without Jamal Lewis, which they proved last year when he was out. No way you can compare a scary intimidating defense like Baltimore to the Saints, that's just ridiculous.

No, but I would rather had us use the 665,000 that we payed Smith for to try and get somebody for our defense. Besides, I think Aaron Stecker is a good backup (he averaged more than 4.0 yards per carry last season). I am happy that our backfield is solid and very deep now, but I question whether or not we should have spent 665,000 on another RB instead of on a defensive player.

papz

Huh? Are you really reading anything? When and where did I compare the Saints defense to Baltimore's? This must be a classic example of skimming real fast which I was so prone to do. If you go back and read carefully, you will see that I'm giving an good example of how a RUNNING game can COMPLEMENT a DEFENSE. There is no where in any of the post in this thread have I compared Saints defense to Baltimore's. Baltimore's defense is 4 to 5 times, heck 10 times better than the Saints if you want me to compare them for you.

What high profiled free agent would you like us to sign with the 665,00 dollars we are paying Smith? Tell me I would like to sign him too. He cost the pretty much the same than Carter and McAfee... well maybe a little more. Wow, big deal. We used a good amount of money this off-season addressing our defense... retaining Howard, signing Dwight Smith, resigning Bellamy, Fisher, Jimmy Williams, bring back Hodge and Craft, etc... and made like 3 offensive acquistions. Mayberry, Poole, and Smith... looks like we did spend more money on defense than offense didn't we...

Oh yea... Lamar Smith is gone and so is KiJana Carter. Hey let's not sign another running back to back up Deuce, who's coming off of injury, and Stecker. Deuce, Stecker, and Karney... that doesn't sound to smart to me.

JKool

Don't you think we'll probably keep McAfee too - for special teams anyway? Either way, most teams do have 4-6 RBs (including FBs) on the roster), so it isn't a big problem. Although, we may be looking at keeping 4 active TE's, so the extra spot will have to come from somewhere (perhaps WR?).

I don't see a problem with A. Smith's salary - that is good for a good backup. It isn't preventing us from signing anyone, as papz points out, since there isn't anyone to sign.

I am in agreement though with the general theme - why haven't we seen an answer at DT and LB yet. Sure we made some moves, but it looks like developing our young guys is the plan - in the last few years that hasn't worked. I guess, I'll cross my fingers?

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