Now for the Home Team. I don't know about you but several moves surprised me both good and bad. I was impressed that Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton were able to sign Lance Moore back in to the fold. Honestly, I didn't give that move much of a chance. Whether other teams didn't see his value or the Saints valued him more, I am extremely happy he's back. Good job Saints! Previous regimes would have let him go elsewhere. Another brilliant move was bringing in the veteran Olin Kreutz. Evidently, Matt Tennant communicated either verbally or with his first few practices that he was not quite ready to step in to that starting center position. He seems to be happy that the Saints signed Kreutz, so my guess is he wasn't quite comfortable with the complicated Sean Payton offense at this juncture of his early career. Keep in mind this is only Tennant's second year. Asked about signing with the Saints, new center Kreutz made it clear that money wasn't an issue. It's all about winning a Super Bowl and he felt the Saints gave him the best chance to do that. Saints fans, I don't know how long you have followed the team, but I've been following the Saints since 1967. I cannot explain the emotion I feel when someone says the are coming to play in New Orleans because they want to win a Championship! Incredible! My how far we have come in just a few short years where the expectations are that high every year.
Alright enough reminiscing. Other moves that I give the team credit for was signing TE David Thomas an important piece of the puzzle and highly underrated. Zach Strief, a versatile back up. Carl Nicks...another important piece. Jermon Bushrod goes without saying. The steal, though, of Free Agency has to be Darren Sproles...another player who came here to win a championship. By the way Sproles had double the production of Reggie Bush last year in total yards; running ; receiving and return. Add a few much needed beefy defensive lineman and overall not a bad offseason.
Let me preface my next comments by saying I have never coached the game of football and I have the utmost respect for Gregg Williams. I believe he is a defensive genius. Having said all that I do not see what our Defensive Coordinator sees in Roman Harper. Yes he plays the run extremely well but he hasn't played the pass well since his rookie season. He seems to be slower the last few years not quicker or faster. I really don't base my opinion on just the Seattle game at the end of last season as many of you might. I base it on the body of work. It was because of Harper and Usama Young that we gave up a touchdown to Pierre Garcon in the Super Bowl. I didn't like the fact that they didn't cut Harper last year. I am hoping that one of these new free agents can show Gregg Williams that they can play the run just as good as Harper and the pass even better. This is a speed league and you must have speed at every position. Maybe he's fast enough for a linebacker then we can move him to that position. As much as I like Jon Vilma, I don't want him covering a speedy receiver downfield. That's not what he does best. It's also not what Harper does best. Unfortunately part of Harper's job is to cover speedy receivers downfield. I hope he proves me wrong. Time will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment