It Was An Epic Season!

There’s some people here that are stooping down. It goes both ways, don’t feel good about it either way. Just be above it all, by just being above it all. When you say, “I’m not going to stoop to their level and …” Then you you’re stooping in a passive aggressive manner.

was talking about how little you see Sean and GW interacting with each other. I thought that was an interesting point.

Jenkins doesn’t have the experience Sharper does, obviously. I do feel as though he has the potential to be that good. I also don’t view he or Robinson as weak links, in terms of fundamentals. They’re raw, but they’re both pretty good tacklers. Jenkins takes poor angles at times and definitely shouldn’t be playing CB. I’m assuming someone was either injured or inactive late to have him that involved at that position against SF. Robinson is arguably the best CB we have at run support and is pushing Greer as the best DB on the team overall, imo. Porter and Harper are both submarine tacklers, which I personally cannot stand. That’s when they lauch the back side of their shoulder into the back of a runners thigh or calf. Probably capsizes them about 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time, they’re making their way up the field for more yardage. Sharper did this also, yet I’ve watched film on him at both Green Bay and Minnesota and he wrapped up much more frequently on those teams. So, I’m not really sure if that’s something he was doing as a form of intimidation, maybe to compensate for the step he may have lost as a younger player, or if this is a technique that Gregg Williams was preaching back in 2009. Either way, Robinson doesn’t appear to have been exposed to it and maybe Jenkins has just come to realize that it’s not his bag. Harper’s always been known for his hard hitting, so it makes sense that he’d be more reluctant to stray from that rep. Porter seems like the most externally corrupted of the bunch, though even that’s speculation as I never saw him play at Indiana. I know both Porter and Jenkins were punt returners in college and those guys typically aren’t the most sound players fundamentally on defense. Devin Hester, for example, was converted to a WR in the pros because he was that lacking as a tackler and in man-to-man coverage. I wouldn’t say Porter is lacking to that extent, but he’s not what I would call a well-rounded corner. It’s tough to say, but you have to think if they picked this stuff up from their peers or Williams, they at least SHOULD be able to be taught how to wrap up. That doesn’t mean they’re suddenly going to become all-pros … Scott Shanle’s actually an exceptional open field tackler, he just sucks in terms of agility and containment. You can only teach so much, but I can’t see how a change at DC could be viewed as something catastrophic. I mean, “bend don’t break” is what made Gary Gibbs the poster child of necessitated change, but for whatever reason, it’s now considered a good thing? Seems big time hypocritical to me. Had Gibbs been afforded a 4th place schedule, Greer/Porter over Jason David/Fred Thomas and Darren Sharper versus six green opposing QBs, I’m sure he would have collected his fair share of anomalous takeaways that 2009 season, also. I think it’s as much the players and the matchups as it is the coaching and the scheme.

The guys is a beast! And a class act I will add

but it didn’t work

We might even be able to coax Channing Crowder out of retirement. You have to figure he was just burnt out playing for Miami. He’s only 28 and would bring a ton of character to the team. I think developing an ICP reputation on defense would be a good thing and a lot of fun to watch.

We have not been able to generate much of a pass rush from our defensive line—the only pass rush the Saints generated all season was through sccheme. So wouldn’t it be even better to take a player off that ineffective defensive line and ultimately add a faster, more athletic linebacker to the fold. Since the only form of pass rush the Saints have is made through scheme, why not switch to the 3-4, which would ulimately allow us a wide range of schemes to rush the passer while also minimizing the impact of the ineffective defensive line in pass rush situations? Makes sense to me.

Furthermore, we could release the injury prone Jonathan Vilma and create cap room for Nicks and Colston. Then our starting interior could be Casillas and Dunbar. I am all for a youth movement on the defensive side of the ball…I’m sick of the old, slow linebacker play. If Shanle had the range of a Lawrence Timmons, for instance, I have no doubt in my mind that he would have stepped in front of Alex Smith’s final throw and ended the game with a Saints win. The current linebackers are too slow.

One last thing…with Jon Beason returning from injury to the Carolina Panthers, that would make Dan Conner expendable. PUT HIM IN A SAINTS UNIFORM!!!!!