Predicting the 53-Man Roster

by Saintsational on May 19, 2008 9:00 AM CDT Comment 5 comments

Well its about that time of year. I am gonna throw out my guess at the 53-Man roster the Saints will have at the end of training camp heading into the season. This ought to get everyone riled up on their Monday.

Offense

Pos.	Player	Player	Player	Player	Player
QB	Drew Brees	Mark Brunell	Tyler Palko
RB	Deuce McAllister	Pierre Thomas	Reggie Bush	Aaron Stecker
FB	Mike Karney	Kevin Dudley
TE	Eric Johnson	Billy Miller	Mark Campbell
WR	Marques Colston	David Patten	Robert Meachem	Devery Henderson	Adrian Arrington
OT	Jammal Brown	Jon Stinchcomb	Zach Strief	Jermon Bushrod
G	Jamar Nesbit	Jahri Evans	Andy Alleman	Carl Nicks
C	Jonathan Goodwin	Matt Lehr

Defense

Pos.	Player	Player	Player	Player	Player	Player
DE	Will Smith	Charles Grant	Bobby McCray	Jeremy Geathers
DT	Sedrick Ellis	Brian Young	Hollis Thomas	DeMario Pressley
LB	Jonathan Vilma	Scott Fujita	Dan Morgan	Mark Simoneau	Scott Shanle
CB	Mike McKenzie	Randall Gay	Jason David	Usama Young	Tracy Porter	Aaron Glenn
S	Roman Harper	Josh Bullocks	Kevin Kaesviharn	David Roach

Special Teams

Pos.	Player
K	Taylor Mehlhaff
P	Steve Weatherford
LS	Kevin Houser

Offense:

Brunell is a safer pick at backup due to experience, but Palko should be impressive.
Deuce is loose assuming his knees are fine. Otherwise, Pierre is the guy and Deuce takes a limited role. Reggie gets used in various creative ways.
No changes at fullback and tight end.
I took Arrington over Terrence Copper and Lance Moore (I like him), though their special teams ability could win them a spot. Arrington will have to contribute on special teams, which is a question mark because Adrian has been noted for avoiding contact and not being a hard worker.
Goodwin is the new starter at center.
Carl Nicks earns his spot.

Defense:

Jeremy Geathers wins a spot at end.
Sedrick Ellis starts. Antwan Lake and Kendrick Clancy are gone.
I'm a little concerned about Dan Morgans health. Simoneau and Shanle could very well still be in the mix.
Cornerback was tough. I went with six. Jason Craft is the loser, though it could be anyone.
I only went with four safeties, thinking one of the CB's could fill in.

Special Teams:

Taylor Mehlhaff iimpresses.
Waylon Prather won't beat out Steve Weatherford, unofficial MVP for the first half of last season.
Experience carries Kevin Houser at long snapper, an often overlooked yet critical position.

I know you have a problem with something. This is open for discussion so lets hear what you got to say! Really it's way to early to really know whats going to happen, but this is all in good fun.

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Ok, but...

No arguments, looks good. Except WR. Is Patten REALLY still WR2? STILL? Jeez. Devery has GOT to have a good camp or I say cut him. Too many drops, and I mean TOO many, I can’t stand it any more. I’d take Lance Moore over Devery if things continue as they have. Meachem needs to show us something, and I mean something beyond Devery. I’m off my normally positive attitude today. While I’m at it, why is Mark Campbell such a pussy? I swear, he seems to get dinged up on every pass reception, and not on a big hit just a normal tackle. Half a notch better than that Hilton kid. I miss Ernie Conwell.

by stujo4 on May 19, 2008 10:17 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

not bad, butt...

meach is gonna be the #2 WR after 4 games. i think we will keep copper on top of the receivers you listed. i predict either him or craft will make it instead of a back-up FB Dudley.

odell thurman was just released from the bungles. the guy is a beast, but character problems like chris henry. believe in sean payton and his coaching staff. we need to bring in the best talent, the coaches will take care of the personalities. he would give us solid depth in a position that has been weak for years, plus flexibility to mix in some 3-4 def. vilma, fuji, and odell…it just looks SO NICE when you see those names next to eachother!

by NYSaint on May 19, 2008 1:10 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

close

first off i don’t think aaron glenn will make the roster. he’s only here to bring experience and veteran leadership to training camp then he’s gone. The Saints will probably also carry 6 LB’s because of the injury concerns.

Odell thurman will get suspended again this year. Plus, incase you didn’t know about vilma he was horrible in the 3-4 the jets were running, so why would you want us to run that def?

by knucklesmalone on May 19, 2008 3:35 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

options my friend...

we run the 4-3. we have strength and depth on our front line. our front “four” have been our strength for years, and everyone knows it. teams prepare for our 4-3. if we could mix in a 3-4 6 or 7 times a game, it would just add a new element, like bush does with our offense. somehow, believe it or now, we have some depth at LB…but add odell (who wants to play football after 2 years…he is not gonna get suspended) and we have serious scary depth. fuji, odell, and vilma in our 4-3…then a possibly healthy dan morgan, shanle, or mark…all good role players and decent blizzers. they will keep us fresh on the 4-3 with subs.

but, what i was trying to say, odell would give us extreme depth. we could throw a 3-4 out there on a 3rd down to keep opponents on their toes. grant, smith, ellis…with fuji, vilma, odell, and any of the role playing three…its a different look. it makes their QB think. it keeps opposing OLs on their toes…when we mix it up, we benefit. bush is obviously not an every down back yet. but when we throw him in as a split back or a WR, opponents down know how to cover it. if we mix up the defensive coverage, it might yield the same results.

by NYSaint on May 19, 2008 6:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

it sounds good

and it might work on madden but it’s not that easy in the real world. yes it would be a shock for opposing offenses but it would also be an extra weight on our defense. They would have to learn all new assignments for the 3-4. so if it was simplified to just pass rushing downs then it would be all to easy for opposing offenses to scout and pick it apart. Seems like nobody in the league switches from 4-3 to 3-4 during the middle of the game, so its probly not feasible.

plus dan morgan retired so take that. i’m not down on odell anymore though. He got cut cause he missed an OTA cause he was at a funeral. Thats pretty weak by the bengals to cut him for that.

by knucklesmalone on May 20, 2008 1:53 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs