SB Nation User Blog: SaintBevo

The death of a dream

SaintBevo — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 02:37:33 -0000

The death of a dream

Everyone, please. A moment of silence for the death of the Lito Sheppard to Saints trade rumor...Time of death...4:37 EST

Looking Back at PayLoo Drafts

SaintBevo — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:37:12 -0000

During the season, there was some discussion on CSC about the success of the drafts of the Payton/Loomis team. With the 2009 draft steadily approaching, this seems as good a time as any to take a look back and see how they’ve done. It is always easier to evaluate drafts the farther you are from them, so it will be tougher to evaluate the 2008 draft, but lets give them all a shot…

2006

1st Round (2nd overall) - Reggie Bush – He’s a figure of controversy here at CSC and a day would not be complete without a debate about Bush and how he’s used (right?). All that said, the events that led to his falling into our laps were greeted with universal elation and his selection at the time was an absolute no-brainer. We can, and will, continue to debate his effectiveness as a pro, but you can’t reasonably argue with this selection.

2nd Round - Roman Harper – If you remember, PayLoo had been stockpiling safeties during that offseason, so this pick was met with some surprise. Harper, however, immediately installed himself as a starter and played well in 06 until a season-ending injury. He’s been more uneven since his return, but has been a starter the whole time.

4th Round - Jahri Evans – He’s started every game in his career and by most accounts is a young star at the position

5th Round - Rob Ninkovich – Showed a great deal of promise as a situational pass-rusher before an injury ended his 06 season. He ended up with the Dolphins for parts of the 07 and 08 seasons before being re-signed by the Saints in 08.

6th Round - Mike Hass (WR) and Josh Lay (CB) – Hass didn’t make the Saints roster in 06, but was with the Bears in 06 and 07. He’s now out of the league as is Josh Lay.

7th Round - Zach Strief and Marques Colston – Strief has become a valuable backup O lineman and the staff seems to like him. Colston, probably one of the greatest steals in draft history, burst onto the scene in training camp and had two huge years. He struggled a bit this year with injuries and some drops, but expect him back to his old self in 09.

The 2006 draft was great by almost any measure. 6 of the 8 players are still with the team (although Ninkovich will probably be cut again). The offensive players picked form the nucleus of the league’s #1 one attack. If Harper rebounds in Gregg Williams defense, this draft will look even better.

2007

1st Round (27th overall) - Robert Meachem – Struggled from the first mini-camp with injuries and has never seemed to make the impact expected. Calling him a bust might be too strong, but it is hard to argue we haven’t got value for that pick thus far. Would you trade him for Greg Olsen (picked 31st) or Anthony Gonzalez (32nd)?

3rd Round - Usama Young – He’s played in 19 of 22 career games, including 2 starts in 2008, but I don’t have a good sense of how good he is. The fact that he hasn’t been able to break into the starting lineup in one of our areas of serious weakness probably tells us something.

3rd Round - Andy Alleman – The guard from Akron didn’t make the team this year, but ended up with Miami where he played 15 games and started 4.

4th Round - Antonio Pittman and Jermon Bushrod – The Saints selected Pittman expecting him to be the future complement to Bush. Well, that didn’t work out and Pittman was beat out by an unknown free-agent named Pierre Thomas. Pittman did land with the Rams where he averaged 3.7 ypc last year. Jermon Bushrod is a promising young tackle who the coaching staff is apparently very high on.

5th Round - David Jones (CB) – Jones never made the Saints, but did catch on with the Bengals where he started 7 games in 2008.

7th Round - Marvin Mitchell – The LB from Tennessee has been a valuable backup and special teams player for the Saints.

The jury is still very much out on the 2007 draft. Four of the seven players are still with the team, but none of them have had a major impact. Only Young has seen significant playing time, but again has been unable to break into the starting lineup of one of the worst secondaries in the league. Meachem has struggled to be on the active roster and many have toyed with the bust label for him. This coming season may well be the year we find out for sure. The staff is very high on Bushrod, but we’ve yet to really see him play.

2008

1st Round (7th overall) - Sedrick Ellis – Immediately stepped in as a starter and had a very solid rookie year. The team will be counting on him to continue to mature and become a dominant force in the middle for years to come.

2nd Round - Tracy Porter – His physical talent became apparent quickly and before he got hurt, he looked for all the world like our best DB. Let’s hope he comes back healthy and better than ever.

5th Round - DeMario Pressley and Carl Nicks – The staff had high hopes for Pressley before an injury sidelined him for the year. A big, physical presence, Nicks stepped into the starting lineup as a result of injury and was an immediate upgrade. Look for him to remain in the lineup for the forseeable future.

6th Round - Taylor Mehlhaff – Couldn’t beat out Grammatica in preseason, then brought back after Grammatica became "injured." The huge leg we heard so much about wasn’t evident on kickoffs and he wasn’t accurate enough for Payton and was replaced.

7th Round - Adrian Arrington – Another player that Drew raved about early on before injuries ended his year.

Way to early to judge this draft. Ellis looks like a keeper, as does Porter, assuming he returns to form folloing his injury. Pressley and Arringtono showed promise, so it will be interesting to see how they return from their own injuries in mini and training camps. Mehlhaff was a waste, especially considering we picked up someone who kicked better than him and Grammatica put together.

Overall, 15 of the 21 players picked by PayLoo are still with the team (71%) and 19 are still in the league (90%). Compare that with the last 3 drafts with Jim Haslett’s input – 30% of those players are still with the team and only 45% are still in the league. For the most part, PayLoo has shown a good eye for talent. They’ve had some great picks (e.g. Colston, Strief, Evans), and some questionable ones (e.g. Meachem, Mehlhaff). Overall though, I think you’d have to give them high marks for their drafts. They have done a good job building a nucleus, especially on offense, for a successful team. Let’s hope that continues. They have also aggressively pursued the players they want, often trading up to grabe them (i.e. Ellis). I would say, especially compared to the last 2-3 drafting regimes for the Saints, this braintrust has been shown to possess the skills to navigate the draft and build this team into a contender.

Now, if we can just break up a long pass, we're in business!

Poll

Do you think the Payton and Loomis team has been good at drafting?

Absolutely

34 votes

They're okay

46 votes

Nah

2 votes

82 votes | Poll has closed

Kiper's first mock draft - It's Vontae Davis

SaintBevo — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:56:07 -0000

Kiper's first mock draft - It's Vontae Davis

Kiper has us taking Vontae Davis with the 14th pick. Take it for what it's worth...

Shane Dronett dead

SaintBevo — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:51:35 -0000

Shane Dronett dead

Standout D-lineman of 1990 SWC champion Texas team died on Wednesday of an apparent suicide. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He was only 38.

Gregg Williams Speaks

SaintBevo — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:31:10 -0000

Gregg Williams Speaks

He's got a few interesting things to say from the Senior Bowl, especially in reference to working with a high-scoring offense.

"I think (the Saints defense has) got a good nucleus, a good base of talent there," Williams said. "And you've got to be excited about the offense. When you're in a situation where if you like to pressure defense like I do, then you get a chance to pin your ears back and rush the passer more when you can put points on the board. I've been in situations before as a coach where you've got to make sure you monitor what you're doing and you can't afford to make a mistake because you're going to win the game 6-3, 10-7, 13-10. Here, you've really got a chance to pin your ears back and really rush the passer. So I'm really looking forward to it."

Gregg Williams first up

SaintBevo — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:51:30 -0000

Gregg Williams first up

Apparently Gregg Williams, former DC of the Titans Redskins, and most recently Jags, is set to interview for Saints DC. Article also gives a good rundown of other possible candidates (including potential messiah Sean McDermott).

If Sproles can, why not Bush?

SaintBevo — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:37:46 -0000

If you’re like me, you watched the indy-san diego playoff game with one thing on your mind… If Darren Sproles can do that, why can’t Reggie Bush? Sproles, a smaller, less-expensive version of Bush, put the chargers on his back and ran wild Saturday night. He had 328 total yards, including 105 yards rushing (4.8 ypc). He was basically unstoppable. Everytime Indy had the chargers in a 3rd and long, Rivers would dump it off to Sproles who would make guys miss and occasionally break tackles to get the first. He had a great punt runback to set up the tying FG and got the winning TD in OT.

So, why can Sproles, a 5-6 181 lb scat back do all this and our very own Reggie Bush (6’, 205 lbs), not? There are a few key differences in their situations:

Usage – During the regular season, not counting punts and kick returns, Sproles touched the ball 90 times in 16 games – 90. That’s it. Reggie had 158 touches in 10 games. Obviously the Chargers have LT and he’s the man. That leaves Sproles as the complementary back. He saves his energy for a few touches a game – and he makes the most of them. 5.4 yards per carry and 11.8 yards per catch (vs 3.8 and 8.5 for reggie). The Chargers don’t ask him to pound away on defenses.
Style – Every back has a unique running style, but I think Sproles and Bush are similar enough to compare. Does Sproles hit the hole faster? Maybe. Does he dance less? Perhaps. But I did see some similar shake and bake in the backfield on a few plays, but no atomic piledrivers from defenders in the backfield. What gives? This leads us to the biggest and most important difference.
The Offensive Line – Did you see the holes that Sproles had? In most cases he could race through the line and into the second level before anyone laid a hand on him. A stark difference from the Saints OL, where opposing DLs often holding meetings at the hand-off point on running plays. Sproles had the luxury of hitting the hole full speed, because he knows that more often that not, there aren’t 2 LBs waiting to posterize him.

So what does this mean for the Saints and Reggie. I think Reggie can be a more consistently dangerous weapon than Sproles is, if a two things change.

First, the OL needs to get worlds better. Personnel changes would help (Brown to RT and goodbye to Stinchcomb? A new center?) but at the very minimum, a competent OL coach is a must. When DLs aren’t converging on him before he touches the ball, Bush will be freer to make his magic.

Second, continue to late season trend to pound the ball with other backs. I know Reggie was hurt the last few games, but hopefully Payton has learned that an improved running game is crucial to our success. I think Bush should get as many or more touches, but limit his touches in the running game so that Thomas or another more physical runner can soften up the defenses.

And one last request for Coach Payton – throw the ball downfield to Bush once in a while, huh? He’s faster than most of the CBs in the league, so I doubt there’s a Safety or LB who can stay with him. Remember the NFC championship? Wasn’t that play fun? Let’s see more of that.

Marrone candidate at the 'Cuse?

SaintBevo — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 03:23:14 -0000

Marrone candidate at the 'Cuse?

Saints OC and OL coach (who knew we had one of those?) has been approached by Syracuse about their vacant HC position. Please God, take him!

Coaching is Everything

SaintBevo — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:20:40 -0000

Coaching is Everything...

OK, maybe not everything, but I believe that coaching is the most under-rated part of success in the NFL. To have success, you must get some luck, draft and select free-agents well, etc but all of those things can be destroyed by poor coaching. On the other hand, glaring weaknesses in those areas can be covered up with good coaching. With the prospect of yet another disappointing and underachieving season already before us, I want to take this opportunity to present my manifesto on NFL coaching and how this regime is performing.

In my mind, there are 3 main jobs of an NFL coach:

motivation – I know what you’re thinking, "these guys are professionals, they’re getting paid, they shouldn’t need someone to motivate them." True perhaps, and there have certainly been examples of players and teams that need no external motivation. Unfortunately getting paid to do something is not a guarantee of hard work. Ever work with anyone who just didn’t try even though they were totally capable of doing better? Sure you have – most offices are full of them. Most people need external motivation. It is the job of a leader to know his/her team and know what buttons to push. Fear is a great motivator for some, pride for others – a coach needs to know what buttons to push. Parcells may have been the best at this. Some players he berated, some he insulted, some he coddled (ok maybe not coddled, but you get the point) and most players responded.
Disclipline – players must be held accountable for performance. It must be a meritocracy. If a player thinks "I bust my ass and that guy sucks out loud every week, yet he’s still starting," it is much harder to convince that player to continue to give effort.
Creating a system – Xs and Os. It must be a system that players believe in and see will work. It must place players in the position to succeed. Everybody wants to look good, and if you put a player in a position to look good they will be happy. Constantly put players in a position to fail and they get embarrassed, pissed and de-motivated. If your system is good, you can get by with less talented players that fill a particular role. The gold standard for this to me is the Philly defense. Jim Johnson has created a unit that is almost always good, intimidating and disruptive. It seems they’re always able to get lesser-known players and make them shine. Are they good at drafting those players? Of course that’s a factor. But, they know who they are and what skills they need. They don’t often sign a cover-2 corner and ask him to play exclusive man-to man (for example). You usually don’t see some overmatched LB running down the field trying to cover a WR.

Now, let’s look at our coaching and see how they’ve done:

Offense

There is no doubt that Payton can construct a passing game. We’ve been successful at getting WRs that fit that system and they have done very well. Colston, Moore, Patten, Copper – none of these guys was highly regarded but have all had success in his system. He is innovative and aggressive in the passing game. Even the O-line is good in the passing game.

Now, the running game…not so much. One of the issues is Payton’s seeming lack of commitment to it. Running seems to disappear completely at times, almost like they’re on the backside of his sheet and he forgets it is double sided. But there is issue that stands out when I watch us run – the O-line. They quite frankly stink at run blocking. Jammal Brown may be ill-suited for LT, Stinchcomb is mediocre at best and Lehr gets shoved around way too much. Oh, holes do appear sometimes, but not consistently. All too often a Saints running play is an excuse for the opposing team to have a party in the backfield. With all the Reggie vs Deuce debate, it is rarely mentioned that one of the reasons Deuce looks better sometimes is that he can fall forward for a yard or two even after getting hit in the backfield.

I’d like to see Stinchcomb on the bench and either Brown at RT or Strief. Maybe a new center should be a off-season priority. Or maybe the problem is coaching. This unit has been underperforming for the last 2 seasons.

Defense

Where do I start? The optimism of the defense-fueled game 1 victory over the Bucs seems so long ago. So very long…

Gibbs is probably a very nice guy, but he’s lost this defense. Players are continually out of position. They seem lost and play with no fire. We apparently do the same thing over and over and teams continue to pick on it. How many times do we need to see Jason David playing man-to-man to know it isn’t working. Some would say that players are the problem. Some of our players aren’t that good – I’ll grant you that. But we’ve got 3 1st round picks on the DL (if you include Grant) and we can’t get a sack? Screw sacks, we can even force QBs to move in the pocket. Will Smith, who was in the pro-bowl a couple of years ago has completely disappeared. Yes our DBs are not good, but we can’t stop anybody? Look at the Patriots DBs. Are theirs any more talented than ours? Look at the Falcons defensive starters and compare them to ours. Who has better individual players? Who has the better defense? This defense needs a new leader and quick.

What to do next? Gibbs should be gone yesterday. Doug Marrone is our OC/OL coach. something needs to happen there, either he is gone or we hire someone to focus exclusively on the OL. Lastly, I think Payton should consider someone to call plays or help him do it. I think he gets blinders on sometimes and a fresh perspective would help.

Payton just signed an extension so he’s here for the foreseeable future. I like Payton, but I need to know that he is as ruthless with underperforming coaches as he is with underperforming punters.

Johnny Walker's Game Winner - my first Tx-ou game...good times (via trivinity)

SaintBevo — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:17:19 -0000

Johnny Walker's Game Winner - my first Tx-ou game...good times (via trivinity)