rajncajn Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 They had an abbreviated practice today as rain was moving in. I didn't really focus in on anything specific today either, sort of sitting back and taking it all in. So mostly i'm just going to do a wrap of the Saints roster and give my horribly premature roster predicitions. Quarterback Drew Brees Jamie Martin I'm probably not as concerned about Jamie Martin as most people are. He's not Drew Brees no. There will be a drop-off if he has to start. This is the case for most NFL teams that have franchise quarterbacks. The key with Martin is that he roughly does many of the same things as Drew Brees well. He fits the offense and it can function it generally the same manner as before. Drop-off yes, but not a requiring a fundamental shift in philosophy, which is all you can ask for out of a back-up in today's NFL. The 3rd QB slot is a little more difficult. Neither Palko nor Fife have shown anything thus far. To be fair, Sean Payton training camps are virtually murder's row for QBs. You have to adjust protection and hot routes on the fly, Gibbs is throwing exotic blitzs and personnal groupings at you, and Payton very much knows the offense better then you do and knows exactly what you should be seeing and doing. Any young QB should struggle. But I expected more out of Fife who has had the benefit of a year in the system. It's not so much the inaccuracy or INTs so much as it's that he doesn't even look comfortable running the offense in practice. It's understandable in Palko's case but to my amateur eyes inexcusable for Fife. Which is what it pretty much comes down too for me. Fife has fewer excuses Like last year the 3rd QB seems destined for the practice squad. Halfback Deuce McAllister Reggie Bush Antonio Pittman Aaron Stecker I was skeptical initially but it appears that Stecker is a reasonably safe bet to make the roster at this point. Payton loves him, he's good in the locker room, and he's had a pretty good camp both running and recieving. There's no chance he'll be the returner this year but he still has significant special teams value and without McAfee or Gleason, we're not in a position to skimp to heavily in that aspect. I like Pierre Thomas an awful lot (as does everyone else). He's versatile, talented, and gives it all. But you can stash him on your practice squad for a year and develop him like that before bringing him in the place of Stecker. Given that, you take the experience and develop the rookie. Fullback Mike Karney Jammal Branch This will be 6 running backs, which is one more then we carried last year. That said, the staff seems to be making considerable efforts to try and find a place for Jammal Branch, lining him up everywhere, which tells me that they like him enough that they'll find a way to keep him. He's got decent speed, pretty good size for a HB, It was difficult for me to key in on his blocking ability (the running game in general is difficult to judge with not tackling, is the arm tackle really a tackle?) but he's certainly willing. The thing that stood out to me though is that he's really got pretty good hands. So the versatility he offers from a HB/FB/H-back/Special teams standpoint is enormous. Tight End Eric Johnson Mark Campbell Billy Miller I'm still rooting for John Owens but I imagine with both Campbell and Johnson on the roster (both of whom are capable blockers) Payton maybe more interested in the versatility the more athletic Billy Miller offers. A lot of people still regret not going for Olsen, so I kind of want to drop two points in here. The most important thing to understand about our offense is we have more then enough weapons. We don't need an outstanding threat at TE. It's perhaps a luxury you might want but the primary focus at TE seems to be 1) Someone capable in blitz protection 2) Someone who can cooperate with the offensive line in run blocking 3) An outlet reciever. These are fairly low requirements. Eric Johnson fits them perfectly, Campbell and Miller adquately, and Olson not particularly (not until he develops as a blocker). We maybe addressing this position next year, but honestly unless a specific type of rookie comes along (I thought Matt Spaeth would have been the best choice this past year) I don't imagine TE will be a draft priority for the forseeable future. Wide Reciever Marques Colston Devery Henderson David Patten Terrence Copper Robert Meachem Lance Moore The battle between Henderson and Patten is going to be one of the more watched and exciting depth chart battles. Ultimately I think Henderson wins it because of an oft-stated arguement of mine. However inconsistent many of you feel Henderson is, the threat he presents when he is on the field is both consistant and more significant then any other reciever on our roster presents. That Henderson has had a great camp and is looking much more reliable only solidifies my position. Patten has been a tremendous addition and, arguably, has had a better camp then Henderson, as we discovered with Reggie last year "presence" counts for something. And that's what Henderson has, he changes the complexion of defenses. Lance Moore seems to have a stranglehold on the #6 spot. The return jobs seems to be his to lose and he had a very solid camp as a reciever as well. Jamal Jones, his primary competition, has been injured putting Moore pretty much by himself. Tramaine Hall has been impressive though maybe inconsistent at times, and is my #1 favorite to make the practice squad. Offensive Line Jammal Brown Jamar Nesbit Jeff Faine Jahri Evans Jon Stinchomb Zach Strief Andy Alleman Jermon Bushrod This is a fairly clean cut battle. The only question is do they keep 8 (in which case my bet is probably on Jonathon Goodwin). Alleman practicing snapping gives us a little flexibility. I also think they may carry Jake Kuresa on the practice squad. Not only does his first name begin with J but as a fairly nimble center he has more value to us then say a G or a T and fits the scheme. Defensive Ends Will Smith Charles Grant Rob Ninkovich Willie Evans My thoughts on Willie Evans ought to be clear. I'm a big fan of his at this point. Ninkovich being hurt is another blow to him, but given that he should be back for most of the season I think his roster spot is fairly secure. Unless Josh Cooper just starts tearing things up I think, unfourtantly, he's on the outside looking in. Defensive Tackle Hollis Thomas Brian Young Kendrick Clancy Antwan Lake Brandon Villareal I was leaning heavily towards McKinley Boykin for much of training camp but the thing that impressed me about Villareal was his versatility. He was suprisingly effective lining up at DE with Ninkovich gone and has actually taken to doing some long snaps. The ability to fill that sort of "Willie Whitehead" role may ultimately win him a spot on the roster over Boykin. That said this'll still be a difficult competiton. Boykin has an impressive first step and has been one of the best in terms of penetration most of camp. Linebacker Scott Fujita Brian Simmons Scott Shanle Mark Simoneau Dhani Jones Marvin Mitchell Having 6 RBs will undoubtly limit another position, which in this case is linebacker with 6 instead of 7. Fujita, Shanle, Simmons, and Simoneau are obviously locks. I also feel Simmons eventually wins the spot even though Simoneau has so far had a very good camp. I imagine Dhani Jones makes the roster as well. I don't think he has much of a shot at beating out Shanle (who has had an excellent camp) but his starting experience makes him a worthwhile reserve. This leaves, in my opinion, a 3 way battle between Troy Evans, Albert Fincher, and Marvin Mitchell. Of the bunch, Mitchell has the most value in terms of defensive snaps. Troy Evans according to many is a special teams ace however and Mitchell will have to prove some value there. If I had to pick 7 I would probably go with Mitchell and Fincher, feeling Fincher has looked better at actual LB then Evans, but Mitchell gets the ultimate nod. Keeping in mind his limitations, Mitchell has looked outstanding so far. Cornerback Mike McKenzie Jason David Jason Craft Usama Young Fred Thomas David Jones McKenzie is a lock and at this point Jason David sure appears to be a sure thing at starting CB as well. Jason Craft has had an up and down (but mostly up) camp and I think due to his experience will probably be our primary nickel this year. Interestingly he's also lined up some in a sort of FS position which could give us some more flexibility in terms of the secondary. Fred Thomas has steadily improved and I think he makes the roster as well. Usama Young seems to clearly be the most significant threat to the established order. He's progressed rapidly despite having missed time and has been downright impressive at times. I doubt he'll establish enough consistancy to beat out Craft going into the season but he'll put significant pressure on Craft all season long. David Jones hasn't been tremendously impressive, but not bad either. The talent is there and his principal competition is, in my opinion, Joe Porter who is just as young and inexperienced. I suspect we'll go with David Jones on the roster and Porter on the practice squad. Safety Roman Harper Josh Bullocks Kevin Kaesviharn Jay Bellamy It's so exciting to see Roman Harper back, particularly how versatile he appears to be in Gibb's scheme. The Bullocks/Kaesviharn battle will probably go down to the wire much as the Patten/Henderson battle will. Interestingly I think the the opposite rational you saw in the Henderson/Patten battle may come into play here. Josh Bullocks is the better athlete, and my hope is he wins it because that would be ultimately the best situation. But considering the pressure that is often put on the FS in Gibb's scheme the more consistent Kaesviharn may be the better solution. Either way both will get considerable snaps. Bellamy has lost considerable speed but none of his experience. The fact is none of the other safeties appear to be impressive enough to really steal the spot from Bellamy. Curry Burns is probably the best possibility, but we may choose to carry him on the practice squad opting for Bellamy's immediate experience. Or by contrast we may carry Bellamy "off-roster" (like last year) and put Curry on the active roster for special teams. :dunno: Kicker Olindo Mare Obvious Punter Chris Hanson It pains me to say it. Really. But Chris Hanson has significantly better control and a similiar leg to Weatherford. Weatherford has a lot of ground to make up. To be fair though, Hanson hasn't ran for 20 yards and a first down on 4th down in a playoff game. Long Snapper Kevin Houser Practice Squad Pierre Thomas RB Tramaine Hall WR Jake Kuresa C Curry Burns S Joe Porter CB McKinley Boykin DT Desmond Sims LB Tyler Palko QB Anyways, that's my best guess. Which is probably fairly poor and certainly premature. So be sure to hold it against me later on My final words on training camp. It's a blast and I recommend the experience to everyone. You can learn a lot about the roster that you won't learn otherwise and get a better feel for the entire roster. It's also an interesting look into the psyche of the coaching staff and the players as you see what they prepare for, how they prepare for it, where their priorities are, etc. Lastly I want to reiterate again my thanks to Andrus and others who made this possible for me as well as the entire SR.com community. I'm certainly on board to repeat this next year if the opportunity arises. Thanks guys 2007 Training Camp Preview http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35973 Friday Quick Hits - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36243 Recap - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36297 Saturday Quick Hits - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36386 Recap - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36421 Sunday Quick Hits - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36485 Recap - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36511 Monday Recap - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36666 Tuesday Quick Hits - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36757 Recap – http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36806 Wednesday Recap - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36921 Thursday Quick Hits - http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhousekey Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 To be fair though, Hanson hasn't ran for 20 yards and a first down on 4th down in a playoff game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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