Mocking the draft

With the 32nd pick of the NFL Draft, the Saints select….Clemson DE/OLB Ricky Sapp

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Mock Draft Update ~ Saints needs

The NFL Mock Draft that is currently underway with all the official FanBall bloggers has had some interesting twists. There are no trades, so it won’t mirror the actual NFL draft, but some real thought has gone into the selections. Go HERE to see the picks to date.

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NFL Mock Draft

At FanBall, we are kicking off an early, early mock NFL draft. As you can imagine, loads of fun for me, as the Saints get pick #32. But I do have my eye on one player in particular..and it has nothing to do with where we need help, it’s more intangibles and talent. That would be LSU’s own Chad Jones. You may ask why, since we currently have the amazing Darren Sharper filling that role. But as great as Sharper was this year (you can VERY easily make a strong case that we would not have won, or even competed in the Super Bowl without Sharper), he is 34-years old, and father time is generally not kind to football players, especially corners and free safeties. He could move on over to SS and extend his career, but of course we have a guy named Roman Harper manning that spot, and he’s built to be a SS, while Sharper is better suited as a free. But Chad Jones is (1) from Baton Rouge, he’s the third-best safety in the draft and we don’t have a terrific option at safety behind Harper and Sharper on the roster.
If he makes it to 32, I’ll probably jump, although it would be hard to pass on a good pass-rushing DE as well.

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Saints Just Do It.

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Freeney loss a big story

The possibility that Dwight Freeney could miss the Superbowl has been talked to death on radio programs this week. Everyone agrees that Freeney is probably the best player on that defense, and his loss will be felt. But I’ll go further and say it’s the ONE player (After Peyton Manning) that the Colts will have a very difficult time recovering from. Freeney, despite his very pedestrian tackle totals and almost total lack of fantasy football worth (as any IDP player can attest) is one of those fantasy poor – NFL rich players. His impact on the game goes much deeper than the box scores, and missing him against a team like the Saints with a hot QB and talented WR core is disastrous. Along the Colts D-Line, you have a mix of players at the tackle spots, all of them interchangeable and none elite. They are just filler material for next year’s draft class and the hope that rookie Fili Moala can make the step to NFL. He was drafted in the second round and was expected to become a part of the rotation this year, but all he has managed is five solos. At the ends is where the money players stand in, and when you start naming the best five pass rushers in the NFL his name invariably comes up. He’s somewhat of a liability on running downs, and you will see him subbed out often depending on the situation. Robert Mathis is another fine pass rushing DE that was also considered a liabilty in the running game, but he has turned that around and is now a very good overall end in the NFL. But Mathis’ success comes because of the speedy and relentless pass rush provided by Freeney, and Mathis gets opportunities when teams have to double up on Freeney, often leaving Mathis with a single blocker. With Freeney out, Mathis can become the sole focus of opposing offenses, and he can be nullified. Backup players Raheem Brock and Ervin Baldwin did manage 7 sacks between them this year, but of course, that was in mop-up time as teams were passing from behind.
The Colts D-Line didn’t manage a single sack in post-season play this year, and with Brees has been sacked just once in the playoffs and just twice in the last four games. If the Colts can’t get pressure on Brees, this writer thinks the Saints will have their way with the Colts defense, and could win this game going away. As it stands now, 31-28 Saints sounds about right.

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Who Dat? The NFL nazis, thats who.

Hey, lets be honest, Saints fans invented the “Who Dat” phrase many, many years ago, pretty soon after the franchise was created. Shame on the fans for not getting together and patenting the phrase. Kidding… But now the NFL has decided since the phrase is about the Saints, and therefore NFL, they own the rights. How ridicilous is that? How can you possibly claim rights to a phrase “who dat”, that doesn’t include the words NFL, football, Saints or anything associated with the NFL.
Shame on the NFL brain trust for not stepping forward and cutting this off before it became public. It’s just another blackeye that this league does not need, especially with the potential of a strike in ‘11. Of course, fans and street vendors have used the “Who Dat” phrase for years, and now only when the Saints are going to the Superbowl and money is involved does the NFL decide to step in to get their snoot in the feeding bucket. Shameful.

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And the Saints go marching to Miami

It was a sad day for me (Sunday), even as the Saints blogger. I had made plans to be in New Orleans for the game, but had to cancel my business trip during the last week. So I missed a historic night for the Saints and their fans, although I did watch every second on the boob tube.
The Quarter was in full swing after the game, and I was honestly surprised there wasn’t any real damage done around the SuperDome, as the fans tend to get rowdy, especially when you are one of the few NFL teams that has yet to see the promised land of an NFC Championship. It was interesting seeing images of a deserted Bourbon Street during the game, and the same area, filled with rowdy and packed fans of both teams after the game. Saints fans are overall great sports, and they welcomed Vikings fans into their bars and restaurants.

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NFC Championship Preview

I was interviewed by Andrew Bucholtz for his blog “The Good Point”. Rather than regurgitated everything that was said, here’s a link to his blog, along with the response from the Vikings correspondent.

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Offensive Line Preview

First, I know very little about OLines, and that’s why I’m linking this article to my friend and colleague at FanBall, Bryan Douglas. Bryan runs the Broncos Stable blog, and knows more about offensive lines than just about anybody in football. he writes a weekly article regarding OL, and if you are into fantasy football he’s a must read. So take a minute, check out his work and get hooked.

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The Perfect Week

Could things have gone any better on Sunday for the Saints? Not in my estimation. Ok, maybe the Boys’ could have put a little fear into the Vikings and dinged up Favre a little, but other than that, things went exactly by plan.
First, was anyone other than me just a little worried about the Cardinals game? I fully expected the Saints to win that game, but in today’s NFL, the ball bounces funny sometimes. If I let my full-blow paranoia loose, I would have said that the Cardinals were similar to the Saints, in that they have an opportunistic defense that can change the game. In fact, I would say the Cards defense was probably one of the more underrated in the NFL, and their schemes can cause issues for most teams if they can get some pressure. We all know Kurt Warner, and he has proven again and again that if you give him time to setup in the pocket, he is one of the more accurate passers in the game, and can pick any secondary apart. My worry was that our front four wouldn’t be able to get enough pressure, and we would have to rely on blitzes, which would open up the game for Warner and turn this game into a track meet. And if the Saints got off to their normal slow start, it could have been a 28-7 game at halftime—favoring the Cardinals. And even though play #1 was a scary sight seeing Mr. Hightower rip the defense for a 7-0 lead, when Brees and company got on the field it was fairly obvious that the Cardinals were not going to be able to keep up. In my view, Drew Brees had maybe his most impressive game as a pro, not only passing well but running the offense and incorporating the running game enough to make the Saints offense look even more powerful.
Secondly, raise your hand if you wanted to see the Cowboys come to the Superdome. That was not something most Saints fans wanted to see, as like the Eagles this year, the Cowboys have something for the Saints, and that would have been one close and tough battle. For once, I was happy to see the Vikings prevail and get Brett Favre down to the Superdome. Favre had a remarkable game against the Cowboys, but I think the Saints will give him more trouble.

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