Returning now to our second and final installment of CSC's all-time worst Saints players, courtesy of contributing member saints-nation. On Sunday, he covered the worst offensive players in the history of the organization. Catch that right here in case you missed it. Today, he laments the players on defense and special teams who made us want to stick needles in our eyes.
Make the jump to see who he chose to be included on his list of all-time worst Saints. Then share your opinions. Tip of the hat to saints-nation for his work on this popular series of posts.
DE: Joe Campbell - Campbell was picked 7th overall only to play 5 exceedingly mediocre seasons in the NFL, including 4 with the Saints. He was also a member of the Saints' memorably woeful 1980 squad but couldn't even crack the starting lineup on that team.
DE: Billy Newsome - The Saints traded their first round pick in 1972 for this man in an attempt to improve horrendous defense. Two years later, they were trying to replace Newsome. Some impact he made.
DT: Johnathan Sullivan - Not only was he picked 6th overall, but the Saints traded two lower 1st round picks to secure this clown. 3 years later they traded him for Bethel Johnson, who provided laughable value. Sullivan was always more committed to a high caloric intake than anything else. In three seasons he totaled 1.5 sacks and received an $8 million signing bonus for his efforts. He also got busted for marijuana possession and could easily be in jail right now.
DT: Shawn Knight - Knight was an 11th overall 1st round pick out of BYU in 1987 and came into New Orleans with immense expectations of performing. Knight was one of the most storied failures in the Saints' draft history. He played just one season with the Saints and was so bad and incapable of playing his position that the Saints got rid of him after his rookie year. The times he was plugged into the lineup he was eaten alive. He'd last just 3 years in the league.
OLB: Rick Middleton - He was drafted 13th overall in 1974, and hardly played in just 2 years with the Saints and 4 years overall in the league before he was done. He was terrible.
OLB: Alvin Toles - Another first round pick, drafted in 1985, that accomplished almost nothing. He lasted 3 years in the league.
MLB: Cie Grant - Grant was a 3rd round draft pick in the Haslett era. Haslett would always talk up his potential and act like he got a steal out of Grant in the draft. Grant would blow out his knee in each training camp and would never see the field. He fit the Haslett motto of "big and fast" with zero production whatsoever.
CB: Toi Cook - When you earn yourself the nickname "toast", you're a shoe in. His nickname was based on the fact that he was routinely burned, at will, by opposing quarterbacks and receivers. Another corner I would always call "toast" was Fred Weary, who deserves an honorable mention.
CB: Jason David - When a guys earns 8 picks in two seasons, you have to wonder how he made this team, right? Well, he was thrown to, and beat, 100 fold. It's not like I really need to defend this pick. All Saints fans old and new have seen this guy play. Somehow he's still in the league with the Detroit Lions, which is pretty fitting actually. David's go to play was starring in the backfield as his receiver blew past him.
FS: Josh Bullocks - I struggled mightily to pick between Bullocks and Tebucky Jones. Boy, Jim Haslett sure knew how to pick his free safeties. I went with Bullocks because he played four years for the Saints, so I had to stomach his performances for twice the amount of time I had to deal with "TeSucky". Both players actually shared similar traits. Bricks for hands, the complete inability to wrap up on tackles electing to always go for the big hit and whiffing more times than not, horrendous ball skills, no instincts whatsoever, and a penchant for always taking bad angles. Sounds like a great free safety right? But hey, at least they were "big and fast".
SS: Sean Lumpkin - Lumpkin started 4 years for the Saints are was largely bad, constantly going for big hits that didn't happen, not too different from Tebucky Jones. He also had bricks for hands and was hit in the numbers without coming up with the pick numerous times.
K: Chip Lohmiller - It was weird that he was so bad because the guy actually had a pretty decent career with the Redskins, including a Super Bowl win, but in 1995 with the Saints every kick made my heart palpitate and he was especially shaky on extra points. He was just 8 of 14 that season (57.1%) and missed two PATs.
P: Russell Erxleben - the Saints drafted him 11th overall and made him the highest taken kicker ever after he hit a 67 yard field goal in college. He ended up being an awful punter for about 4 seasons and could never cut it as a kicker. He attempted 4 field goals in his career.
KR/PR: Stanford Jennings - Jennings was added by the Saints in 1991 only to play one entirely miserable season, filled with poor stats, fumbles and overall uselessness. I remember being so excited when the Saints picked him up because he was a superstar return man for the Bengals, and he even ran a kickoff back for a touchdown in the Super Bowl. By the time he got to the Saints he was finished.
So who did I miss? Any players that didn't make my team that you would have added?