There’s been a lot of talk about Shockey needing to have a great year, and that would be excellent. But, he really only needs to do his assignments well and catch the ball when it is thrown to him and not fumble. He could have a GOOD year very easily and the Saints could have great success. Think abouit it, we are going to get Reggie his touches, and Colston, Moore, Pierre, Devery and I am going out on a limb and saying Meachem will be in the mix. Then Billy Miller has been terrific and he will get a few touches and then I think we may see Heath Evans touch the ball 3-4 times a game such as short passes and short runs. Mike Bell or whoever is the power runner should (possibly) get a few touches (maybe 2 or 3). Now, if we put just a little more emphasis on running the ball like we should, there are only so many touches for a TE to go around. Shockey just needs to be good, not great. We have so many weapons that I am concerned that if he is not averaging a TD per game and 8 passes and 80 yards receiving per game, everyone will see where is Shockey and he is over the hill, etc. and it will snoball and Shockey will ignite. All he has to do is be solid, makes his blocking assignments, run his routes, do his reads. He doesn’t have to have a pro-bowl year and it will be difficult to have a Pro-Bowl year with all the weapons we have.

If you’re of a mindset, as many of us have been since the middle of last season, that the defensive woes were mainly due to Gary Gibb’s scheme, then different is definitely better. Sure, we could find out that we were wrong and it wasn’t Gibbs but the players to blame, but I don’t see any real chance of that happening at this point. Gibbs had never been a NFL DC before coming here to work under his good buddy Sean Payton. He was a linebackers coach and has now returned to that role for the Chiefs. Gregg Williams not only has many years of experience as a NFL DC, but years of success at the position as well. Any news about the D being more aggressive and not-so-easily figured out is good news. They will be much improved and won’t give up nearly as many points this season. Mark it down! When the fantasy football draft arrives, I’m picking the Saints D for my teams. That’s how ridiculously optimistic I am. Now, please excuse me for a moment as I down these Prozac with a shot of whiskey. :-)

Seriously though, I truly believe a different DC is all we’ve needed the past two seasons to get us to the playoffs.

I am optimistic and I think an earlier change in DC would have paid big dividends because I liked the defensive talent the Saints had last year and I LOVE the talent this year. A change in DC should be huge. Then we just have to stay healthy. Injuries were a big issue last year and even though no one wants to use that as an excuse, it was one banged up defense.

The only weakness I see on the D right now, on paper, is depth at DT. Other than that, we are strong. If you look back to last year, our problems were Gibbs, kickers, and injuries, and we were still 8-8. That’s not a great record, but if you look at it in the context of what was going on, then you’ll see that we were just a couple of issues that held us back. We’ve fixed the kicker problem as far as I’m concerned. Injuries are still a possibility, but if you have the right coaches to get the most out of every player, the injuries can be neutralized. If you look at our depth at CB and DE, you’ll see one of the deepest in the league in my opinion.
CB – Porter, Greer, Gay, Jenkins could all be starters
DE- our “backups” are McCray, Hargrove, Spicer, and Charleston
I feel any of these “backups” could produce just as much as the starters.

Then comes Gregg Frick’n Williams. Let’s imagine for a second that you are G. Williams. You have depth with different skill sets at 2 of the most important positions on the D. What do you do?
If it were me, I wouldn’t have starters, I would have situational enforcers. I can run man, zone, zone blitzes, run blitzes, Cover 1,2,3, 4-3, 3-4, 4-6, and not worry if my starters are fit for them. I have the personnel and talent to fit whatever I want without putting players “starters” who don’t fit it out on the field. Last year we were injured on the field and paralyzed in the booth. This made us predictable. Look at what Matt Ryan did too us. There is no reason a rookie should be able to do that to a professional D. He averaged a 70% completion against us with an average of 115 qb rating. Against Car and TB, he had 60 & 90 and 30 & 57 qb ratings. He didn’t do great or average against average teams. He got his notoriety from playing against crappy D’s including ours. Hell, Tyler Thigpen scared me last year. I don’t see that happening again this year.
My little tidbits as of right now.
Dan Morgan will be a force.
Dunbar doesn’t make the team. Casillas will do to his speed in this D.
Mike Bell will have an important role this year.
Grant will be released.
Our D will be a force
Shockey will impress this year and have his best year as a Pro
Meachem will make his way to #1 receiver on the team by next year.
How long before G. Williams gets offered a HC job somewhere else? Give us at least 3 years please.

makes a lot of sense- I think you clearly know what you are talking about. Whiitling this roster down to where it has to be sept 1 will be really difficult. Do you think Dunbar is good enough to play in this league- just not good enough to play on the Saints? Maybe letting go of Grant would be a good idea- I think someone would pick him up eventually. Do you think Pressly will make the squad?

and I hope you deciphered what I was saying.

Personally I think Dunbar is hyped up because of that hit (you know which one) and everyone’s desire to see someone overtake Shanle. He got pushed around and was run at when he did get playing time (IMO). I don’t want to say that he can’t play in the league, but we can assume that there will be 6-7 LB’s on the team.
Vilma
Fujita
Morgan
Shanle
Simoneaux (not the best, but versatile)
Casillas will get the nod for his speed (Cover-2 type situations)
Anthony Waters (somewhat of a dark horse)
*Marvin Mitchell plays well in Run/Goalline type situations
**Troy Evans is another STer with similar abilities to Dunbar, but more size.

Like you said, it’ll be really difficult to whittle it down. I’m not saying that these guys are so much better, but each one brings something that I believe will give them the nod over him. I’ve been wrong before, so.
I try to keep my homerism and opinion out of saying that Grant will be gone, but if Gregg Williams is anything like what is written, then I don’t see how Grant makes it.
He came in overweight, (based on the pics), and Williams doesn’t care how much money you make. His production has been down the last few years, regardless of injury. The whole 4 month suspension. All of this adds up in my mind as signs that he may be looking for work to feed his kids elsewhere.
I think Pressly makes it based on our Depth at the position. We really haven’t seen anything from him to make any knowledgeable comment.

at present are the urine-poor reactionary skills of our OLBs. Their speed and athleticism is about on par with the rest of the league. And when I say “on par”, I mean average. As in “mediocre”. The ability to diagnose plays quickly, penetrate, swarm, do whatever it takes to get to the ball carrier, as well as cover the flat on screens and match up with tight ends downfield. Do we currently have the personnel to do that? When you look at some of the biggest plays the Saints defense have given up over the last couple of years, a lot of have come against the secondary, but even more have occurred in those areas. Within the responsibility of the OLBs, I mean. I’ll be perfectly honest, Tony Gonzalez and Kellen Winslow in the NFC South scares me. Turner, Norwood and DeAngelo Williams’s speed on the outside terrifies me. Of course, this isn’t a newfound fear. The Saints haven’t had a stud pass rushing OLB since Darion Conner (as short-lived as that was), nor one that could rely solely on his quickness to break up plays since Mark Fields. Yet the status quo is maintained from year to year. It’s almost as if someone came to the conclusion that since we no longer have to worry about containing Michael Vick twice a year, OLB is no longer a priority. Not entirely, but also not to the point where they need to be. Shanle shouldn’t be a starting LB in the NFL. Fujita is the best OLB we have (by far) and even he should be being pushed for playing time. He’s not. It frustrates me that not only are we as pedestrian as we are in that area, but we’re seemingly content with that level of play. I dunno, maybe I’m just being too pessimistic. Dan Morgan will come up huge and Gregg Williams’s new schemes will make all the difference in the world, mark everyone else’s word.

See my fanshot for more information. His agent is reporting that he’s hanging up his cleats due to ongoing injuries. Pat Y is also reporting this:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcsouth/0-12-33/Morgan-retires-from-Saints-again.html

This blows, but it’s probably the best thing for Morgan’s long-term health. Oh well, we weren’t really counting on him anyway.