Jermon Bushrod vs. Charles "Peanuts" Brown

One of the main concerns that we have this year is the Saints' offensive line's ability to protect Drew Brees.  We all know a line is as strong as it weakest link.  We all know who our weakest link in that line is.  Fortunately for us, the fans, along within the Saints' organization know that link to be Jermon Bushrod.  Someone has to be the weakest link and unfortunately that is him. The Saints' organization realizing this decided to draft Charles Brown out of USC. Unfortunately for Charles Brown AKA Peanuts, he sustained an injury that scared him out of the 1st round of the draft.  Fortunately for us that is great news. Now we question ourselves on the quality of player he may become.  For entertainment purposes only I have decided to compare and contrast Bushrod's and Peanuts's initial NFL draft report.  We will be able to compare their strengths and weaknesses Initial analysis will be obtained from CBS sports.

Jermon Bushrod

Campus agility tests and stats

1) 4.92 in the 40-yard dash   2) 4.72 20-yard shuttle    3) 30.5-inch vertical jump   

4) 8'6" broad jump 5) Bench press 225 pounds 22 times 6) 6'5 315 pounds

Analysis:  The good

• 1. thick upper body frame with room to development, plays best at the 315-pound
• 2. Has excellent speed, shows good balance on the move and durable
• 3. Utilizes his long arms to deliver impressive Plays at a good pad level
• 4. Good upper body strength, shocking and jolting his opponent with his hand punch
• 5. Has a quick kick slide to retreat fluidly and protect the edge fires off the snap
• 6. Can engulf a smaller defender Smart player who has no problems adjusting
• 7. Has adequate strength, but compensates with his reach and explosion
• 8. Good character type, smart and a respected leader
• 9. Has the footwork to move around in space
• 10. Generates good pop on contact.

Analysis The good

• 1. Needs to improve his lower body strength, weak against the strong bull rush
• 2. Plays with good aggression, but needs to do it with better consistency
• 3. Must improve his knee bend, as this causes him problems in attempts to redirect
• 4. He tends to drag his left leg in his kick slide
• 5. When he fails to sink his weight and gets tall in his stance, he struggles to get movement on the defender and will lose leverage
• 6. Good pass protector, except when pushed back, as he fails to keep his feet under him.
• 7. Must show better placement with hands
• 8. When he narrows his base, he loses balance on the move.
• 9. Vulnerable to counter moves, as he needs to recoil his hands quicker.

Comparable NFL player:  Jhari Evans (how ridiculous of comparison to make)

Charles "Peanuts" Brown

Campus Agility Test

1) 5.16 in the 40-yard dash   2)4.64 20-yard shuttle 3) 30.5-inch vertical jump  

4) 8'7" broad jump 5) Bench pressed 225 pounds 21 times. 6) 6'5 303 pounds

Analysis Good:

• 1. Long arms and shows good quickness off the snap.
• 2. Shuffles back in pass protection with bent knees, ready to slide that mirrors the defender
• 3. Significantly improved his upper-body strength as a senior
• 4. Gives good effort and has sustained improved upper-body strength to sustain blocks
• 5. Shows good quickness off the snap for combo blocks. Gets his hands into defenders and is agile enough to release and get to the second level.
• 6. Good initial quickness and depth in his kick slide in pass protection and when attacking the defender in the running game
• 7. Good quickness downfield as a run blocker and adjusts nicely to the moving target.
• 8. Flashes some nastiness with an explosive shove to knock the defender off the ball.
• 9. Shows good effort to sustain blocks and will hustle downfield
• 10. Shows an explosive burst to make the reach block or cut block when sealing the edge.

Analysis Bad:

• 1. Lanky build with plenty of room for additional growth
• 2. Can become fundamentally lazy and lean on his opponent rather than sliding his feet
• 3. Allows much slower defenders beating him inside
• 4. Remains largely a finesse blocker who relies on positioning and athleticism
• 5. Only marginally uses his leverage and leg drive as a short-area run block

 Comparable NFL player:  Maurice Williams

Now that you have read these two players initial analyses do you think "Peanuts" will be a good replacement/back up for Bushrod?  Do you think he will eventually replace Bushrod?  How long do you think (if it will happen) it will take for Payton to pull back on the "leash" and force Bushrod to live in a dog house? Do you think Browns injury will have any lingering effects during training camp?

Information for this article was used and paraphrased from CBSsports.com I do not claim any of the information within this post. For additional information visit www.cbssports.com