New Orleans SAINTS official thread 2014-15

[treeduck]

These are the cuts that took the Saints roster to 75:

 

Jeron Hamm

Tim Flanders

Tobias Palmer

Chidera Uzo-Dirbe

Ty Nsekhe

Ty Zimmerman

Travis Bekum

Andy Tanner

Rod Sweeting

Kevin Reddick

Victor Butler

Rufus Johnson Jr

Logan Kilgore

George Uko

[Principled Man]

These are the cuts that took the Saints roster to 75:

 

Jeron Hamm

Tim Flanders

Tobias Palmer

Chidera Uzo-Dirbe

Ty Nsekhe

Ty Zimmerman

Travis Bekum

Andy Tanner

Rod Sweeting

Kevin Reddick

Victor Butler

Rufus Johnson Jr

Logan Kilgore

George Uko

 

Cooks actually has a shot to make the team? No way.....

[troutman]

Yeah I quite like Dan Fouts as a commentator.

 

He's a fu***** idiot! :boo hiss: :P

[treeduck]

These are the cuts that took the Saints roster to 75:

 

Jeron Hamm

Tim Flanders

Tobias Palmer

Chidera Uzo-Dirbe

Ty Nsekhe

Ty Zimmerman

Travis Bekum

Andy Tanner

Rod Sweeting

Kevin Reddick

Victor Butler

Rufus Johnson Jr

Logan Kilgore

George Uko

 

Cooks actually has a shot to make the team? No way.....

Did you want the Packers to make a swoop for him? :D-13:

[treeduck]

Yeah I quite like Dan Fouts as a commentator.

 

He's a fu***** idiot! :boo hiss: :P

[Principled Man]

These are the cuts that took the Saints roster to 75:

 

Jeron Hamm

Tim Flanders

Tobias Palmer

Chidera Uzo-Dirbe

Ty Nsekhe

Ty Zimmerman

Travis Bekum

Andy Tanner

Rod Sweeting

Kevin Reddick

Victor Butler

Rufus Johnson Jr

Logan Kilgore

George Uko

 

Cooks actually has a shot to make the team? No way.....

Did you want the Packers to make a swoop for him? :D-13:

 

Trade ya BJ Raji for Cooks.....and I'll even throw in a practice squad d-back.....;)

[treeduck]

These are the cuts that took the Saints roster to 75:

 

Jeron Hamm

Tim Flanders

Tobias Palmer

Chidera Uzo-Dirbe

Ty Nsekhe

Ty Zimmerman

Travis Bekum

Andy Tanner

Rod Sweeting

Kevin Reddick

Victor Butler

Rufus Johnson Jr

Logan Kilgore

George Uko

 

Cooks actually has a shot to make the team? No way.....

Did you want the Packers to make a swoop for him? :D-13:

 

Trade ya BJ Raji for Cooks.....and I'll even throw in a practice squad d-back..... ;)

He's injured isn't he? :codger:

[treeduck]

Do you want Jimmy Graham too? ;)

[Principled Man]

Do you want Jimmy Graham too? ;)

 

Nah...he'll get too many flags for dunking the football.....and he costs too much......

 

 

Cooks should do well for the Saints, but the Packers have their own secret weapon in 7th round pick Jeff Janis, a Division II speedster, who now has the nickname of "V-12".....cause he's FAST.....

Edited August 26, 2014 by Principled Man

[treeduck]

Do you want Jimmy Graham too? ;)

 

Nah...he'll get too many flags for dunking the football.....and he costs too much......

 

 

Cooks should do well for the Saints, but the Packers have their own secret weapon in 7th round pick Jeff Janis, a Division II speedster, who now has the nickname of "V-12".....cause he's FAST.....

Didn't you draft 3 receivers this year? One is injured but the other guy Davante Adams is pretty good too isn't he?

 

Keenan Lewis named Cooks "Lightning" during training camp.

Edited August 26, 2014 by treeduck

[Principled Man]

Do you want Jimmy Graham too? ;)

 

Nah...he'll get too many flags for dunking the football.....and he costs too much......

 

 

Cooks should do well for the Saints, but the Packers have their own secret weapon in 7th round pick Jeff Janis, a Division II speedster, who now has the nickname of "V-12".....cause he's FAST.....

 

Didn't you draft 3 receivers this year? One is injured but the other guy Davante Adams is pretty good too isn't he?

 

Keenan Lewis named Cooks "Lightning" during training camp.

 

Davante Adams (2nd round) - Great hands, coming along nicely..... :)

Jared Abbrederis (5th round) - Torn ACL.... :boohoo:

Jeff Janis (7th round) - Came down with shingles :o during pre-season.....but he's all better now. :ebert:

[treeduck]

Do you want Jimmy Graham too? ;)

 

Nah...he'll get too many flags for dunking the football.....and he costs too much......

 

 

Cooks should do well for the Saints, but the Packers have their own secret weapon in 7th round pick Jeff Janis, a Division II speedster, who now has the nickname of "V-12".....cause he's FAST.....

 

Didn't you draft 3 receivers this year? One is injured but the other guy Davante Adams is pretty good too isn't he?

 

Keenan Lewis named Cooks "Lightning" during training camp.

 

Davante Adams (2nd round) - Great hands, coming along nicely..... :)

Jared Abbrederis (5th round) - Torn ACL.... :boohoo:

Jeff Janis (7th round) - Came down with shingles :o during pre-season.....but he's all better now. :ebert:

And you've already got those other guys, your starters Randall "Tex" Cobb (he must be getting old now, that Larry Holmes fight was ages ago), Nelson and Jones.

[treeduck]

New Orleans Saints had no choice but to move on without linebacker Victor Butler

 

http://imgick.nola.com/home/nola-media/width620/img/tpphotos/photo/2014/08/25/15700300-mmmain.jpg

 

The New Orleans Saints had every intention of making linebacker Victor Butler a starter in Rob Ryan's revamped defense when they won the recruiting battle among a few teams during free agency in 2013.

 

Hopes were so high for Butler that the former Cowboys linebacker stood ahead of Junior Galette on the depth chart at outside linebacker during organized team activities a year ago.

 

It could have been Butler with a breakout season. Instead, it was Galette.

 

Galette now enters the 2014 season as one part of a potent pass-rushing duo along with Cam Jordan. As for Butler, he never played a single snap in either a preseason or regular-season game for the Saints.

 

The Saints released Butler during the team's first round of training camp cuts Tuesday, ending Butler's tenure before it ever really started.

 

"You go out and sign a player like him, and you have a role that you envision," Saints coach Sean Payton said, "and it didn't work out."

 

Butler missed the 2013 season after sustaining a torn ACL during the last week of organized team activities after what appeared to be an innocent collision with Mark Ingram along the sideline.

 

Butler fought his way back to health and fully participated with the Saints during the early offseason program and during the first portion of training camp in West Virginia. Then an ankle injury sidelined him for a few weeks.

 

A wickedly cruel twist of fate.

 

Butler returned to practice for the first time since the injury on a very limited basis Monday. By then, the Saints had already moved on as Payton broke the news to Butler after Monday's practice that he would be released.

 

It's hard to blame the Saints for moving in a different direction.

 

The team moved on without Butler for the entire 2013 season and discovered Galette was the real deal. The Saints also re-signed Parys Haralson, whom they traded for during last year's training camp after Will Smith sustained a torn ACL.

 

Haralson stood as the incumbent. The Saints listed Keyunta Dawson as the No. 2 outside linebacker and Butler sat third on the team's "unofficial" depth chart. Butler was going to have to prove he could play again.

 

Butler's body wouldn't let him.

 

Now he's looking for employment elsewhere, though Payton said he feels Butler still has a future in the league.

 

"The challenge was the reps and not having the reps needed to evaluate," Payton said. "We had a long talk yesterday. Look, he's frustrated, I'm sure, just because of the early injury and the setback in training camp this year after the rehab. It's always difficult, especially when a player doesn't really have a chance to put his best foot forward."

 

Butler's most memorable moment with the Saints never occurred on the practice field. It happened last May during Ben Grubbs' annual charity softball game at Zephyr Field when Butler was asked about the state of the Saints defense:

 

"Yeah, they were the worst defense (in 2012). But you look at the players, we don't have the worst defensive players. These are guys who are Super Bowl champions, Pro Bowls at one point. These are great teammates. These are great football players.

 

"You get a guy like Rob, you get a guy like Keenan Lewis and you add him to the secondary, you get a guy like me who can come in and help guys pick up this defense, and you're going to see a hell of a defense. That's what I'm expecting. A hell of a defense.

 

"We've already got the players to be the No. 1 defense. You get a defensive coordinator in there, a guy who's going to be passionate and convey that passion to the players, I wouldn't be surprised if we were the No. 1 defense in all categories next year."

 

Some openly chuckled as Butler continued his rallying cry. Butler turned out to be almost completely accurate as the defense underwent an amazing turnaround a year after it gave up the most yards in a single season in NFL history.

 

Butler brought hope with him to the Saints with his potential for change and gregarious personality. Unfortunately for him and the team, that's all he was able to produce.

[laughedatbytime]

New Orleans Saints had no choice but to move on without linebacker Victor Butler

 

http://imgick.nola.com/home/nola-media/width620/img/tpphotos/photo/2014/08/25/15700300-mmmain.jpg

 

The New Orleans Saints had every intention of making linebacker Victor Butler a starter in Rob Ryan's revamped defense when they won the recruiting battle among a few teams during free agency in 2013.

 

Hopes were so high for Butler that the former Cowboys linebacker stood ahead of Junior Galette on the depth chart at outside linebacker during organized team activities a year ago.

 

It could have been Butler with a breakout season. Instead, it was Galette.

 

Galette now enters the 2014 season as one part of a potent pass-rushing duo along with Cam Jordan. As for Butler, he never played a single snap in either a preseason or regular-season game for the Saints.

 

The Saints released Butler during the team's first round of training camp cuts Tuesday, ending Butler's tenure before it ever really started.

 

"You go out and sign a player like him, and you have a role that you envision," Saints coach Sean Payton said, "and it didn't work out."

 

Butler missed the 2013 season after sustaining a torn ACL during the last week of organized team activities after what appeared to be an innocent collision with Mark Ingram along the sideline.

 

Butler fought his way back to health and fully participated with the Saints during the early offseason program and during the first portion of training camp in West Virginia. Then an ankle injury sidelined him for a few weeks.

 

A wickedly cruel twist of fate.

 

Butler returned to practice for the first time since the injury on a very limited basis Monday. By then, the Saints had already moved on as Payton broke the news to Butler after Monday's practice that he would be released.

 

It's hard to blame the Saints for moving in a different direction.

 

The team moved on without Butler for the entire 2013 season and discovered Galette was the real deal. The Saints also re-signed Parys Haralson, whom they traded for during last year's training camp after Will Smith sustained a torn ACL.

 

Haralson stood as the incumbent. The Saints listed Keyunta Dawson as the No. 2 outside linebacker and Butler sat third on the team's "unofficial" depth chart. Butler was going to have to prove he could play again.

 

Butler's body wouldn't let him.

 

Now he's looking for employment elsewhere, though Payton said he feels Butler still has a future in the league.

 

"The challenge was the reps and not having the reps needed to evaluate," Payton said. "We had a long talk yesterday. Look, he's frustrated, I'm sure, just because of the early injury and the setback in training camp this year after the rehab. It's always difficult, especially when a player doesn't really have a chance to put his best foot forward."

 

Butler's most memorable moment with the Saints never occurred on the practice field. It happened last May during Ben Grubbs' annual charity softball game at Zephyr Field when Butler was asked about the state of the Saints defense:

 

"Yeah, they were the worst defense (in 2012). But you look at the players, we don't have the worst defensive players. These are guys who are Super Bowl champions, Pro Bowls at one point. These are great teammates. These are great football players.

 

"You get a guy like Rob, you get a guy like Keenan Lewis and you add him to the secondary, you get a guy like me who can come in and help guys pick up this defense, and you're going to see a hell of a defense. That's what I'm expecting. A hell of a defense.

 

"We've already got the players to be the No. 1 defense. You get a defensive coordinator in there, a guy who's going to be passionate and convey that passion to the players, I wouldn't be surprised if we were the No. 1 defense in all categories next year."

 

Some openly chuckled as Butler continued his rallying cry. Butler turned out to be almost completely accurate as the defense underwent an amazing turnaround a year after it gave up the most yards in a single season in NFL history.

 

Butler brought hope with him to the Saints with his potential for change and gregarious personality. Unfortunately for him and the team, that's all he was able to produce.

Heartless bastards.

[treeduck]

‘I want people to say, Man, I would have loved to play with that guy.’

 

At 35, Drew Brees is still like a little kid who wants to play forever (and in the rain, too). He shares his thoughts on building a legacy, the journey that brought him to New Orleans, and his relationship with Roger Goodell after Bountygate

 

http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/brees-fists-800.jpg?w=800&h=533

 

http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/brees-one-hand-800.jpg?w=800&h=533

 

http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/brees-plank.jpg?w=800&h=533

 

http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/brees-stretch.jpg?w=800&h=533

 

http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/brees-head-shot.jpg?w=800&h=533

 

Drew Brees is 35, but he is still a little kid. Or he practices like one anyway. After one training camp practice in West Virginia this preseason, as the rain started pouring on the Saints’ practice field in the Allegheny Mountains, some 86 players and the coaches and the trainers and the equipment guys scattered for cover. But four quarterbacks remained. Brees led them in a 15-minute game to see who could hit different letters on the goal-post pad from 20 yards away. Afterward, it seemed like a good time to sit down and talk to Brees about his career mortality, and how he keeps on having so much fun.

 

On playing until he’s 45…

 

I really think I can. I think that probably tests human limits. Your biology, your physical makeup, whatever. But, man, I know this: Nolan Ryan was throwing fastballs at age 45, 46. Now, you’re not getting hit physically in baseball. So some of that is beyond my control. It’s also something great for your family, too. Brittany and I have three boys, and we’re about to have a fourth child. [The Brees’s first daughter was born Monday night in New Orleans.] I like having them around to watch my career. I think they like it, too. I want them to be old enough to realize their dad is a football player, and to be able to watch me play. It’s a thrill to see that. And I don’t want to lose that. I want to keep that as long as I can for them.

 

But no quarterback has played well, consistently, into his 40s…

 

Absolutely. That’s a motivator. Plus, records were made to be broken. I mean, you always want to be somebody who’s pushing the limits like that. Doing something that somebody says is impossible or nearly impossible, or so hard to do, or nobody’s ever done it. Of course you want to test that. The competitor in you wants to test those limits.

 

Brees On owning every passing record…

 

Uhhh, no. I mean … that’s way down the list. That’s not the top three. I mean, you can put some records out of reach if you play that long. Here’s the thing: I don’t wanna just be bumming around this league at age 45. I want to be playing at a high level. I’d like to go out on my terms if possible. If I can play at a high level for another seven or eight years, I’d imagine I’d own all those.

 

http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/brees-covers-roll.jpg?w=360&h=3355

 

 

On the wildly optimistic expectations being placed on the Saints…

 

Well, I’m careful about expectations and getting ahead of ourselves. On paper, boy, we look really, really good. That doesn’t mean anything. You’ve still got to come out here and put it together. That’s why I like the idea of changing it up, and moving training camp to West Virginia. It’s cool. The last five years we’ve been in New Orleans and it was great, but we changed it up this year and it’s a different environment. It’s new so you’ve got to adjust. It becomes all about football. You can eliminate potential distractions that you might have at home. It becomes all about bringing this team together. So I think there’s something to that. I love this team because we’ve got veteran leadership—a great group of guys who are still very productive in their careers, but also great locker room guys who kind of set the tone for the rest of the team. Then you’ve got this young talent that comes in. That rejuvenates me. When I see guys like Brandin Cooks, Kenny Stills, Nick Toon, Andy Tanner—some of these young guys—I now get to teach and kind of help mold and bring out tape from six years ago when we installed this play. Here’s Lance Moore running it, who’s no longer here. Devery Henderson, who’s no longer here. Marques Colston and Robert Meachem are kind of the last of the original guys. Hopefully we have a lot more years with them. But, you know, three or four years from now maybe they’re gone. Here’s the next generation that we’re cultivating right now. That’s one of the things I love about football—the regeneration every year. That gets me excited. That keeps me young.

 

On the greatest joy he gets from his job…

 

There are so many teaching elements; things that I can learn every day from this game that apply to other aspects of life—that apply to fatherhood, that apply to business, that apply to relationships. There are certain things about football that you can’t replace. You can’t replace the locker room. Every former teammate or player who I’ve ever talked to, it’s like, ‘What do you miss the most?’ They’re like, ‘I miss the locker room. I miss the guys.’ That brotherhood. That camaraderie. The atmosphere. Guys digging at one and other. Guys cracking jokes. That blood, sweat, and tears element. You’re out on the field fighting for one another. You build up this trust and confidence. This feeling that I’ve got to do it because I don’t want to let the guy next to me down. At the end of the day, that allows you to accomplish things greater than maybe you ever thought because you feel so invested. I love football. Football can only be played one way—with a certain level of intensity and focus and emotion. So I try to bring that out every time we play.

 

On the greatest play he’s ever made in the NFL…

 

I don’t know. Ask my teammates.

 

On choosing to play for New Orleans over Miami in 2006…

 

Who knows what would have happened in Miami? I mean, none of us have a crystal ball. But look at what happened because of me coming to New Orleans that would not have been possible elsewhere.

 

I got to play for Sean Payton. He’s been so instrumental in my development as a quarterback. He’s given me so much confidence in myself. He’s built this system around my strengths. Would that have happened in Miami? No, because there wasn’t a Sean Payton there.

 

The city of New Orleans. What the city was going through post Katrina—our ability, including my wife, through our foundation to create this bond with the city—that’s not something that could have been done in Miami. So I think those are the two most important elements. One, for me as a player with Sean Payton. One for me as a person and a citizen and community leader with the city of New Orleans.

 

On his “secret society” of New Orleans business leaders that helped fix ills in the wake of Katrina…

 

We had a four-year run, and I’ve got some things brewing that will involve something of that nature but not exactly what we were doing. But we were able to raise over a million dollars through that group. You know what it was? It was kind of a think tank. It was a brainstorming group. You take successful guys who have the ability to raise money, who care about the community, and for us, we’re always looking for different organizations to support that maybe we hadn’t heard of before. So you get this group together, and it’s like, ‘Hey, I know of this organization because of one of my employees, so we should look into it.’ So we’d look into it. Man, this is a great organization doing great things. Great leadership. They just don’t have the funding. Let’s fund these guys. Sure enough, you make a positive impact and you say, ‘OK, that’s why we brought this group together.’ I really enjoyed that project.

 

On any lingering bitterness from the Saints’ lost season due to Bountygate…

 

No. No. Because I’m so positive and try to turn negative situations into positive ones. We’re a better team now because of the hardship. I think Sean Payton—he was a great coach before—I think he’s an even better coach now. I think you learn things when you—in this case he was forced to take a step back and watch from afar. I maybe equate it to when I was back in San Diego and I got benched for five games. I get benched and I sat there and watched from afar. And I learned so many things. Sometimes you can just be blinded when you’re in the moment, right? Tunnel vision. Then all of the sudden you step back and get the view from 10,000 feet. Maybe certain things it’s like, ‘Man, I’m making that a lot more difficult than it is. Like, I’ve been teaching it a certain way and I don’t think necessarily that’s the best way.’ Or you learn something about a certain guy, because all of the sudden you’re removed from the situation and he’s forced to be empowered, or whatever it might be. I think our staff is better. I think [offensive coordinator] Pete Carmichael is a more confident coach, because he had to [step up in Payton’s absence]. He was in the position where he had to call the plays—for two years really, because Sean got hurt the year before, if you remember. Pete called the plays for 10 games that year, including the playoffs. Then for 16 the next year. So I think a lot of us were forced to do things that maybe we hadn’t had a chance to do before. It empowered us all. It made us all better. Are we happy that we went 7-9? No. I will always be disappointed that I feel like I let Sean down. We wanted to win so bad for him and the situation. But that’s the only thing that I still feel.

 

On his relationship with Roger Goodell…

 

[Eight-second pause.]

 

I mean, fine. I can’t say that I’ve talked to him in three years.

 

On his future with Goodell, with whom Brees was formerly pretty close…

 

Here’s the thing. Yeah, he and I went on a USO trip overseas for a week. I’m not one to hold a grudge. I think Roger Goodell, in some areas, has done a great job as commissioner. There are certainly a few things that I disagree with. But you know what, that’s in the past. Nothing we can do about it. The one thing we have in common is that we both want to see this league continue to progress and get better. He’s in a position where he represents the owners. I’ve heard the argument that, ‘Oh, I represent the league, therefore I represent the players, too.’ No, he represents the owners. Hired by the owners. Bonus from the owners. He represents the owners. So, there’s always going to be somewhat of a contentious relationship between management and the players union. Because there’s going to be future CBA negotiations, and as we know with negotiations, things get heated. Things get a little dicey at times. Having been through that, I think that I’ve been privy to things that people probably don’t have the opportunity to see. But at the end of the day, I want to see this league progress forward. I want this game to progress forward. I want there to be a positive light shone on the NFL and on its players. I want the positive things that players are doing to be talked about more than a few of the negative ones. Every company, every business, has some of those black eyes. There are a lot of guys doing great things. So I want to leave this game better than I found it. I’m sure he does too.

 

On his legacy…

 

What I want people to say about me is that I was a great football player. That I cared about my teammates. I want people to say, ‘Man, I would have loved to play with that guy.’

[treeduck]

Saints Preview: Beating the ‘Blueprint’

 

Some feel the Seahawks found the blueprint for shutting down the Saints' prolific offense. But Sean Payton's play designs, plus Drew Brees' talent and an improving defense, will have New Orleans back in the Super Bowl hunt

 

http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/saints-huddle-800.jpg?w=800&h=526

 

OFFENSE

 

The word “blueprint” is grossly overused in pro football these days. But if ever it were apt, it’s in the case of what the Seahawks defense did to the Saints offense last year. On Monday night in Week 13, with deafening noise cascading down at CenturyLink Field, the Seahawks held the Saints to 188 yards, blowing them out 34-7. Six weeks later in the divisional round, in front of an even louder CenturyLink crowd and under angry rain clouds, it happened again, as Drew Brees had just 34 yards passing in the first half.

 

http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/jimmy-graham-360.jpg?w=360&h=444

It's no secret that Jimmy Graham is a vital part of the Saints' offense. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

 

So what “blueprint” did Seattle draft? For one, the home-field advantage helped. As Brees has pointedly told the media, contrary to popular belief, the Saints offense is almost as prolific outdoors as it is in in the Superdome. But the offense, thanks to myriad personnel packages, is very dependent on communication. Bad weather and an uncommonly raucous crowd hinder that.

 

More than that, though, much of Sean Payton’s play designs attack the middle of the field, which is exactly where Seattle’s defense is designed to swarm. With dominant one-on-one outside corners compressing everything, the Seahawks have extra bodies to use in a smaller area of space. As the Saints found out, that can be overwhelming.

 

Not every defense has the personnel to play this way, but the Saints also don’t have the dynamic outside receiving weapons to discourage defenses from at least attempting it. Another element of the blueprint: no blitzing. Brees is way too fast at processing information, and Payton is way too committed to giving his so-so offensive tackles chip-block help, creating seven-man protections early in the down (i.e. when most blitzes are built to work).

 

Defenses can still get pressure on Brees with a four-man rush. It’s often nullified by the 35-year-old’s unbelievable ability to move in the pocket, reset and throw. But if Brees is unable to reset, his arm strength plummets – something we saw more than usual last season. With Brees being too quick of a progression reader, the key becomes eliminating his reads. If you can compress the outsides then a basic coverage scheme—either man or zone, whatever the defense is most comfortable—does the trick, just as long as it’s well-executed.

 

A simple coverage concept is actually almost mandatory, in fact, because New Orleans’ breadth of different formations and personnel groupings is too immense to constantly react to. There’s not enough time during the week for a defense to design an answer for everything, so it must focus on perfecting a method for stopping general Saints concepts. Hence, the blueprint of crowding the middle of the field.

 

Doing this is the best way for the defense to force New Orleans to win with individual playmakers. With Payton’s craftiness and Brees’s brilliance driving this juggernaut offense (it has ranked sixth or better in yards every year since the two teamed up in 2006, and second or better five times), that’s what you want to do. Besides Jimmy Graham, who is often the key in a lot of the formation variations, the Saints don’t have players who can consistently win tough matchups on their own.

 

Recently, Graham’s versatility was amplified by the versatility of Darren Sproles. The shifty veteran caught 232 balls in his three years in New Orleans and, on the field with Graham, presented nightmarish variables for defensive coordinators to consider. That factor obviously vanished in March when cap-strapped GM Mickey Loomis dealt Sproles (and his $3.5 million salary) to Philadelphia.

 

Needing a replacement, and needing a playmaker who can create his own opportunities, Loomis dealt a third-round pick to swap pick 27 for pick 20, which he used on Brandin Cooks. The electric 5-10, 190-pounder can provide the lateral agility, speed and quickness that Sproles presented horizontally and underneath. (At least, the Saints hope he can.) Even if Cooks fully blossoms, there will be one stark negative difference between him and Sproles: the ability to come out of the backfield, which Cooks lacks. With this facet diminished, we’ll see more traditional three-receiver formation concepts from Payton.

 

Included in the formations will be 3 x 1 sets featuring Marques Colston in the tightest slot on the “three receiver” side. This is where the former seventh-round pick has made his career. Often, the alignment creates a favorable mismatch against a linebacker, allowing Colston to dominate with zone-sitting routes and on his meticulously practiced seam patterns. When aligned outside, Colston is a significantly less impactful player.

 

Which gets back to the problem of the blueprint. It’s important that second-year wideout Kenny Stills (who has been fighting a quad injury) becomes a more precise vertical route runner outside the numbers. He doesn’t play as fast as his 40 time, but he has enough speed to make it work. Cooks also must bring potency outside.

 

More than this, though, the Saints can force defenses to alleviate the middle by having more balance from their ground game. Typically, Payton is excellent at staying true to the run, but last season he trended too much towards extremes. At times he got completely away from the run. Other times, he’d go with heavy two-tight end, two-back personnel and commit relentlessly to it. There’s a happy medium to be rediscovered, and when it is, the Saints will get more dimension from their play-action game. It’s a myth that you must run the ball to set up play-action, but having balance from the ground game certainly makes play-action’s execution more natural. It’s bound to force middle defenders to bite at least a little harder.

 

The Saints have the personnel to win on the ground. Their offensive line is well-sized and, with green but intriguing second-year pro Terron Armstead at left tackle, plus perhaps the league’s best guard tandem in Jahri Evans and Ben Grubbs, it’s athletic enough to expand some of their zone-blocking designs that have typically been only north-and south-oriented. At running back, Pierre Thomas, one of the best screen players in the league (a critical component of Payton’s system), remains a respectable between-the-tackles runner. Still, he’s been supplanted on the depth chart.

 

Ahead of Thomas, Mark Ingram hasn’t fulfilled his first-round billing, but in part because there haven’t been enough touches for him. (Why did Payton and Loomis trade up to draft him?) A fresh Ingram did, however, provide a boost down the stretch last season. When he’s on, there’s a liveliness to his game.

 

It might be difficult once again for Ingram to get consistent touches, however, as many are excited about the potential of Khiry Robinson, an undrafted second-year pro whom Bill Parcells, a longtime confidant of Payton’s, has compared to Curtis Martin.

 

http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/cameron-jordan-800.jpg?w=800&h=521

 

DEFENSE

 

There is no blueprint for facing the Saints defense. Rob Ryan isn’t married to any core scheme; he’s an extremely opponent-specific game-planner. That’s why you’ll see the Saints take an almost pure coverage-based approach one week (something they’ve done a lot more often than people realize) and come out the next week with a barrage of different slot and safety blitz designs.

 

This style requires versatile athletes. Ryan’s personnel package of choice is dime, where he can replace two linebackers with an extra corner and safety (or, sometimes, with two extra safeties). Verifying the significance of this, Loomis mustered up a pile of cash and spent heavily on upgrading at free safety—a position where the Saints were relatively strong to begin. Malcolm Jenkins was allowed to walk, with three-time Pro Bowler Jairus Byrd getting $26.3 million in guarantees to replace him.

 

 

Byrd is experienced in Mike Pettine’s system from his days in Buffalo. Pettine, who recently came up under Rex Ryan, runs a lot of the same concepts that Rob Ryan uses. Loomis would not have signed Byrd if he weren’t convinced that Ryan would use him in a litany of ways.

 

One thing Byrd, however, can’t do as effectively as Jenkins is defend slot receivers man-to-man. That shouldn’t be a problem, though, because 2013 first-round pick Kenny Vaccaro is proving to be sensational in this sense. If Vaccaro bounces back from the fractured ankle that felled him last December and avoids a third concussion in his young career, he’ll give the Saints the most physical slot presence in football. That physicality applies not only to jamming receivers and tight ends, but also defending the run.

 

Vaccaro’s multidimensionality gives Ryan options for how to employ his dime package. Included in that package is vicious-hitting safety Rafael Bush and sturdy corner Corey White, who, with Champ Bailey coming aboard, will likely now be the nickel back inside. Opposite Bailey and White is Keenan Lewis, an emerging No. 1 man-to-man corner (just ask Mike Wallace or DeSean Jackson).

 

Saints Training Camp Report: Greg Bedard and The MMQB RV Tour visited White Sulfur Springs, W.Va. for a Saints practice

 

With many of Ryan’s pass rush ploys centered around creating the illusion of pressure early in the down, White, Lewis and, someday (though maybe not as early as this season) second-round pick Stanley Jean-Baptiste must be well-honed at jumping shorter passing lanes.

 

Regarding the rest of the Saints pass rush, many believe it to be ferocious because of this defense’s swarming nature and Cameron Jordan’s breakout 12.5-sack season. But several of Jordan’s sacks were coverage sacks, and it was regularly apparent that the front seven doesn’t have enough speed outside of Junior Galette to consistently generate its own pressure. In a scheme like Ryan’s, there’s nothing wrong with coverage sacks. They illustrate the relentless energy that the system demands, plus they tend to come on three-man rushes, which Ryan loves, especially just inside the red zone.

 

Jordan is a better run defender than pass rusher, but he plays second fiddle in this department to Akiem Hicks, another movable defensive end who offers thunderous power and, when using proper hand-technique, rare forcefulness in collapsing blocking schemes. Occupying blockers between Hicks and Jordan will be veteran nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley and impressive 2013 third-rounder John Jenkins. Behind this group are inside linebackers Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne, two fast, attack-minded players who have erupted in Ryan’s scheme.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

 

Shayne Graham was re-signed to a one-year deal after coming aboard late last December and going 4 for 4 (including the game-winner) in the wild-card win at Philadelphia. Punter Thomas Morstead’s 42.3 net average was third best in the league. With Sproles gone, Travaris Cadet, a bottom of the depth chart running back with speed, will take over the return game.

 

BOTTOM LINE

 

This fine-tuned offense is capable of overcoming the “blueprint,” and assuming the defense stays enthused in its second year under Ryan, it should be top-10 caliber. That makes the Saints not only the best team in the NFC South but also a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

[treeduck]

Nice drive and TD there.

[treeduck]

Nice interception by Pierre Warren, he might have sealed his place on the team.

[laughedatbytime]

Nice interception by Pierre Warren, he might have sealed his place on the team.

Trying to get an entire roster full of Pierres?

[treeduck]

10-10

[treeduck]

Nice interception by Pierre Warren, he might have sealed his place on the team.

Trying to get an entire roster full of Pierres?

Yeah we need more French Quarter sounding guys.

[treeduck]

Blargh.

[laughedatbytime]

Nice interception by Pierre Warren, he might have sealed his place on the team.

Trying to get an entire roster full of Pierres?

Yeah we need more French Quarter sounding guys.

Maybe you could pick up Ricky Jean-Francois or whatever his name is.

[treeduck]

We're looking pretty crap out there tonight.

[treeduck]

Nice interception by Pierre Warren, he might have sealed his place on the team.

Trying to get an entire roster full of Pierres?

Yeah we need more French Quarter sounding guys.

Maybe you could pick up Ricky Jean-Francois or whatever his name is.

Or maybe Inspector Cleuseau.