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The Times-Pic did a little piece on new Saints acquisition Bobby McCray today. This is good because I haven't totally brushed up on him yet. I guess I better get used to him though because he signed a five year deal. Then again, what the hell do contracts mean in today's sports world anyway.
I love the depth at defense that we now have with McCray. Jacksonville has a great defense and they are perennially a very physical team, so even though he didn't start for the Jag's, he is probably good enough to fill right in for the Saints. Josh Cooper did a decent job when Grant was injured last season but McCray is a definite improvement, and makes me feel way more comfortable should Smith or Grant get injured this year. Assuming the Saints re-sign Smith, and they damn well better, than the Saints can use a rotation and throw him in with Smith and Grant, giving us what should be a really strong D-Line in certain packages.
...the Saints can use all three the way they once did with Smith, Grant and Darren Howard. McCray likely will come in on passing downs, allowing Smith or Grant to move inside.
The most important thing to keep in mind is this: Improving the line can actually improve the secondary also. We know our secondary was pathetic. If we upgrade our D-line than we can get to the QB quicker and apply more pressure. This causes fewer passes and at the least, more hurries and bad passes, taking a little pressure off of the DB's. Any advantage we can get!
Everything about McCray so far sounds positive. He has taken a backseat this off-season with the acquisitions of bigger names like Jonathan Vilma and Randall Gay. Hopefully McCray will turn out to be that sleeper pick-up that everyone overlooked and really helps out our hapless defense this year.
This is my favorite part of the article, and one of those "only in New Orleans" moments:
During that recruiting visit, the Saints' contingent tried to get McCray to eat some charbroiled oysters at Drago's, but he wouldn't be swayed.
You know if we're not thinking about the football, we're thinking about food. Drago's is a popular place among the Saints community. Their downtown location is where Bobby Hebert hosts his radio show once a week during the season, and I remember reading an article about Drago's being Drew Brees' favorite restaurant in the New Orleans area.
What do you guys think about McCray? Talk it up! Leave some comments!