As you all know, during this offseason we have been slowly waiting for the draft while our hands are cuffed during free agency.  Although this 'Big 8' Rule definitely hinders us, it has it's leaks that allow a good team to still become better.  To date in free agency we have lost one player who was detrimental to our success last year.  Scott Fujita was not only a solid linebacker, but also a great leader on the defensive side of the ball.  We have also lost Mike Bell to the Eagles, but I think he's replaceable and was rarely used in our run to the Lombardi Trophy.  We have a great core of players on both offense and defense and a I feel another championship is definitely within our grasp if the front office executes well this offseason.  I'm really curious to see how we pick in the draft as well as what we do in the remainder of free agency, with Sharper still baiting his services through the media to teams around the league.  I believe in Loomis & Payton and since Payton became Coach he has been building us this Championship team.  While other teams get better and try to catch up to us, we have to at least make an effort to keep our stride while they chase and here's a few of my suggestions.

Free Agency

The free agent market has been picked dry, with all the marquee names having signed massive contracts with their new teams.  Even though this is true, there is always a few veterans out there that can contribute to a winning team like us.  Today, the Chicago Bears released DE Alex Brown.  I may be alone in this, but during my years of following the Saints religiously there is no team I've hated more then the Bears.  Before this season, they had ended our three seasons before that with wins in cold & windy Chicago.  Catching us out of our element all three years, luckily, they manhandled us somewhat like they did in the NFC Championship game in 2007.  The most heartbreaking defeat coming from a last second FG in the '08 season, ruining our playoff dreams in the process.  During all those games I always noticed Alex Brown rushing Brees and causing pressure.  He is a solid DE and plays really hard, I feel that he would be a great DE to match with Will Smith.  I also believe that we could get him at a good price for a few years.  In terms of Sharper, I believe he will dangle his services out there for a little while longer, but then come crawling back for a 2-3 year contract where he can finish his career competitively.

Draft    

In terms of the draft I think we need to go almost fully defensive, with the exception of drafting a pounding RB in the middle rounds.  But with our first pick, which will definitely be the most important, we need to pick an impact player who has the ability to rush off the edge.  That guy is Sean Weatherspoon.  He is a complete beast, making 376 tackles in three years of starting at linebacker for Missouri.  Not only is he a tackling machine, he's also all over the field with a 40 time that floats around 4.5.  I can only imagine him in the Black & Gold coming on a delayed blitz from the edge and laying a crunching sack on a QB like Matt Ryan.  I think if we can get a rushing linebacker such as Weatherspoon, it will add a completely different dimension to our defense.  Not only will you have to be careful against out opportunistic D, you will have to be careful while having little time to throw and thats a great mix.  I know and hope Gregg William is thinking the same.

This has been the most boring offseason yet for me as a Saints fan, as I read articles on Jeremy Shockey's attempts at a porn star on the site!  The draft is not far though my fellow Saints fans and during the shortest offseason for us as fans we better get ready because we will begin our defense of the trophy before we know it!  Don't know about the rest of you, but it's still surreal to me that we our the champs.  After all these years of mediocrity we deserve it!  One last thought to discuss, does anyone support the idea of trading one of our WR such as Lance Moore and a low draft pick for a good defensive player?  Let me know what you think.

Name: Malcolm Jenkins

Position: Cornerback (Potentially Safety)

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 208 lbs

1. Aggressiveness - Malcolm Jenkins has been known for his aggressiveness towards the ball and players who are carrying it.  This is well-suited with the style of defense that Gregg Williams will implement for the Saints and I have a feeling Williams has his eye on Jenkins.  Although we have Sharper, one of the best players at his position over the last decade, we can play Jenkins at corner and groom him to be our safety of the future.  Sharper will be a great mentor for him and show him the way to being a playmaking safety as he has been throughout his career, minus the last couple of years.

2.  Ball Skills - One of the biggest areas that Jenkins is hyped up for is his amazing ball skills.  Ha has been known for breaking on the ball very well and can cover very well man to man, these type of ball skills mixed with a born skill of anticipation mesh for a god secondary player, which is why teams were forced to throw away from his side of the field throughout his years in college.  Using these ball skills at the safety position would enable him to become a great NFL safety while being groomed by one of the best.  I can see him now in a Saints uniform intercepting passes on a regular basis in our secondary, a sight that I  and presumably all Saints fans have been longing to see for a while.

3.  Versatility - His versatility is a very valued asset by NFL teams as well.  To be able to play corner or safety and have college experience in both is a valuable commodity for an young NFL player to have.  If the Saints were to draft him, they could play him at corner or safety, whatever works best for us at the time. 

I know a lot of people are not sold on Jenkins, but there is a reason there was a lot of hype about him before the combine and even afterwards.  There is also a reason he  was the winner of the Thorpe Award, awarded to the best back in the country.  All of the signs are there are I'm hoping he falls to us and praying we don't take Chris Wells.  This guy could be the future Ed Reed of the NFC, he has the ball skills, anticipation and aggressiveness to become a great player, will we be watching him on our team forcing turnovers? I sure hope so...

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm looking forward to watching our defense next year.  With the signing of Gregg Williams we will be watching a far more aggressive defense then the one we watched this past season.  With the comeback from retirement by Dan Morgan, we now have a potential Pro-Bowl Linebacker on the outside.  He had said he feels better then he ever has in his career so lets hope that holds up and he stays healthy.  With our offensive firepower and aggressive defense, we will be a force to reckon with in the NFC.

With the addition of Jabrari Greer our secondary suddenly becomes pretty deep.  In our lineup of key CB we currently have the young and promising Tracy Porter, Randall Gay, Aaron Glenn, Usama Young, Mike McKenzie back from injury which I think will work out.  He still has some play left in the tank and even if he has lost a lot he can still be a really solid nickel corner.  And yes, little runt Jason David, maybe Williams will bring a fire out in him, although he did lead us in INT he is frustrating to watch!!!  Suddenly we show depth.

Come Draft Day I am hoping we take a defensive player.  I am open to any position depending on what we do in FA.  We really need a FS and Sensabaugh is a Cowboy which crosses one target off the list.  I've heard William Moore had a good pro day and Williams seemed pretty high on him.  Sharper is still on the market, and with Chicago signing Old Saint Josh Bullocks will Sharper be a Saint?  In terms of our pick, I hope we pick a linebacker or Jenkins falls to us to play FS and be ball hawk.  I can see Cushing in a Saints uniform but its hard to say so much speculation till the day comes.

Over last season, I watched every Saints game on TV with Sunday Ticket and watched us lose and lose because of our defense.  We score 32 points in Denver, lose 34-32.  Second week of the season wrote the story of our season.  With all these pieces put together we will have a promising D to watch.  Cheers to no more days of watching a defense like we had this year.....next year I believe we will be playoff bound if not SuperBowl ....SAINTS 4 LIFE