Possible Free Agent Acquisitions: DE Paul Spicer & C Nick Leckey

by Dave Cariello on Mar 15, 2009 7:00 AM CDT

The Times-Pic revealed yesterday that the New Orleans Saints were taking a look at free agents Paul Spicer and Nick Leckey. While these two players play on different sides of the ball, they are both being brought in with the same purpose in mind: adding depth.

Paul Spicer #95
Position: Defensive End	Height: 6'4"
College: Saginaw Valley State	Weight: 295
Experience: 10 seasons	Birthday: 8/18/75
High School: Northwest HS; Indianapolis, IN	Age: 33

Last year the Saints signed defensive end Bobby McCray, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The move wound up being a good one as McCray led the team in sacks, besting higher-paid defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant. With former Jacksonville defensive coordinator Gregg Williams now at the helm here in New Orleans it's no surprise that the Saints are taking a look-see at defensive lineman Paul Spicer, also of the Jaguars.

So can lightning strike twice for the Saints? The initial scouting report wouldn't suggest so. Here is what I found over at SB Nation's Jaguars blog, Big Cat Country.

Paul Spicer is in my Dog-House. He supposedly went to offseason training to improve his pass rushing abilities, and he hasn't done squat. He's old and really poses no threat in the pass game anymore. He is strong against the run, but not as strong as he used to be (notice a trend forming here?). In my opinion he's another player who is likely to be released unless he shows he's worth keeping.

Ouch. The upside is that Spicer is versatile. He can play either end or tackle; a significant enticement. He's also durable, missing only two games in the last four seasons. When the injury bug bites in the middle of November he might really come in handy.

Here is a video I found of Spicer. He was the star of one of those ads the NFL filmed like our very own Usama Young except Paul's is a bit...er...too much information. I'm not surprised this one didn't get picked to play during the Super Bowl.

Stats at a Glance

Season	Team			Tackles					Interceptions						Fumbles
Season	Team	G	GS	Total	Solo	Ast	Sck	SFTY	PDef	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TDs	FUM	Lost
2008	Jacksonville Jaguars	16	10	34	31	3	3.5	--	2	--	--	0.0	--	--	--	--
2007	Jacksonville Jaguars	15	12	34	27	7	7.5	--	0	--	--	0.0	--	--	--	--
2006	Jacksonville Jaguars	16	16	47	41	6	3.0	--	4	--	--	0.0	--	--	--	--
2005	Jacksonville Jaguars	15	14	37	30	7	7.5	--	2	--	--	0.0	--	--	--	--
2004	Jacksonville Jaguars	2	2	5	4	1	0.0	--	0	--	--	0.0	--	--	--	--
2003	Jacksonville Jaguars	16	1	31	24	7	0.0	--	4	1	2	2.0	2	0	--	--
2002	Jacksonville Jaguars	16	4	37	35	2	4.0	--	1	--	--	0.0	--	--	--	--
2001	Jacksonville Jaguars	16	4	27	23	4	2.0	--	2	--	--	0.0	--	--	--	--
2000	Jacksonville Jaguars	3	0	--	--	--	1.0	--	0	--	--	0.0	--	--	--	--
1999	Detroit Lions	2	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	0.0	--	--	--	--
TOTAL				252	215	37	28.5	0	15	1	2	--	2	0	0	0

Nick Leckey #60
Position: Center	Height: 6'3"
College: Kansas State	Weight: 302
Experience: 6 seasons	Birthday: 3/12/82
High School: Grapevine HS; TX	Age: 27

Not to be confused with 98 degrees singer and former husband of Jessica Simpson Nick Lachey, Nick Leckey is an NFL center and free agent of interest to the New Orleans Saints.

Jonathan Goodwin will definitely be the starter in 2009 but with Matt Lehr being a free agent, the Saints are dangerously thin at center right now.

There wasn't much to find on Leckey to help give us some insight into his ability. He played only ten games last year after being placed on IR in the middle of the season and missed most of 2007 as well. The guys over at Turf Show Times help shed a little light on the subject but the news isn't spectacular.

Nick Leckey and Brett Romberg were overmatched at C, especially Leckey, but Loney was able to get both guys to play above their level - yeah, it could have been worse.

Stats at a Glance

Season	Team	G	GS
2008	St. Louis Rams	10	10
2007	St. Louis Rams	3	2
2007	Arizona Cardinals	0	0
2006	Arizona Cardinals	14	11
2005	Arizona Cardinals	14	9
2004	Arizona Cardinals	16	0
TOTAL		57	32

Do the Saints need them?

Neither of these players would really be fighting for a starting spot. Charles Grant and Will Smith are too overpaid not to play and Jonathan Goodwin has got the center position on lock down. If the Saints should find themselves up to their neck in injuries again this year, however, these guys would certainly be a decent little insurance policy. I say go for it.

Poll

Do you want to see the Saints sign either of these players?

Spicer but not Leckey

53 votes

Leckey but not Spicer

14 votes

Both of them

61 votes

Neither of them

66 votes

194 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

The Saints need a pass rush

With a quick-strike, high-powered offense, we need to have a defense that can tee off on opposing quarterbacks trying to come back through passing the ball. We don’t need another defensive end who is stout against the run but can’t generate any pressure against the quarterback.

I don’t know why Payton is even bothering to take a look at Spicer, but I wonder if he isn’t feeling a sense of desperation assuming that Smith and Grant are going to be lost for four weeks. If that’s the case, it makes me wonder if they won’t target a pass rusher in the first round.

RE-SIGN LANCE MOORE!!!!

by MtnExile on Mar 15, 2009 9:26 AM CDT reply actions

How could that clip not make the final cut? “Hey… you know who you are…”

88! WTF??!

by stujo4 on Mar 15, 2009 11:15 AM CDT reply actions

Yeah, that's a locker room story best left untold.

It’s easy to see and hear how that story didn’t get picked. In amongst all those multi-million dollar Super Bowl commercials, they probably didn’t want an NFL “doodoo” story. Usama’s story was waaaaaaay better than that one.

Spicer’s versatility at both end and tackle is probably the only reason they’re considering him. G-Dub definitely needs more pressure from the D ends and I’m still skeptical that Smith and Grant can step up their game, Grant especially. He seems very injury prone lately. I think the possible StarCaps suspension can still go either way as the league position has been touted as considerably shaky. I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that the league will win this one, but it’s definitely smart for Will-Mis-Pay to prepare for that possibility.

I was thinking they would sign a free agent FS last week and then maybe draft a pass rusher in the first round, but then Sensabaugh signed with Dallas and that no longer seemed as likely. If they fill the much needed FS position with someone respectable, I can see them targeting someone to pressure the QB with their first pick. If not, it would seem necessary to draft Jenkins (if available) or someone with their first-rounder. FS still looks like the weakest link in the D chain.

Go Saints!!!! Deuce may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.

by David "Satch" Kelly on Mar 15, 2009 1:03 PM CDT reply actions

Paul Spicer would be a good free agent pick up..

why does everyone keep saying we’re going to draft a running back? I just saw another mock draft on profootballtalk.com and they said since we were looking at LT, it means we want a chris wells. I really question Mike Florio’s football knowledge. There’s a difference between getting LT and Chris Wells.. We need Malcom Jenkins, James Laurinaitis or even Brian Cushing. We need a defender, PERIOD.

by AKAY47 on Mar 15, 2009 7:19 PM CDT reply actions