Saints sign FB Heath Evans

[myhousekey]

I was kind of hoping we'd sign Weaver instead. Perhaps they went with Evans as I believe he's probably the better blocker of the two.

Sad to see Karney go.

 

The New Orleans Saints announced today that unrestricted free agent fullback Heath Evans has agreed to terms on a two-year contract.

 

Evans, a 6-0, 250-pound product of Auburn, will be entering his ninth NFL season in 2009. He is a veteran of 121 career regular season games, with 12 starts, and has registered 157 carries for 561 yards for a career rushing average of 3.6 yards and three touchdowns. As a receiving option out of the backfield, Evans owns 40 career receptions for 328 yards (8.2-yard average) with one score. A durable and steady performer, Evans has been inactive for only three games over the course of his eight-year career.

 

“Heath is a versatile and fundamentally sound fullback who can help our offense in a variety of roles, whether it be as a lead blocker, as a runner or receiving option out of the backfield as well as on special teams,” said Executive Vice President/general Manager Mickey Loomis. “He has played in a few different offensive systems and has adapted quickly and been a contributor to all of them.”

 

Evans served has served as a valuable lead blocker throughout his career and helped former Seahawk Shaun Alexander to record four straight seasons over 1,000 yards between 2001-2004. In 2004 Alexander established a then club-record for most rushing yards in a season with 1,696 yards. Most recently Evans helped the Patriots average 4.0 yards per carry from during his tenure and rack up 74 rushing touchdowns over the past four seasons.

 

“Heath is a tireless worker and someone we were very impressed with after spending time with him,” said Head Coach Sean Payton. “He’s very excited about the various things we do from an offensive perspective and is a well-rounded and versatile player. In addition he has played quite a bit on various special teams units throughout his career and been a reliable and dependable player in many different situations.”

 

Evans was selected in the third round (#82 overall) in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks and played four seasons in the Pacific Northwest before moving as an unrestricted free agent to the Miami Dolphins in 2005. Following his release by the Dolphins in late October of 2005, Evans immediately was signed by the New England Patriots and went onto set career-highs in carries (52) and rushing yards (192) over the course of the final six games of the season. He collected a career-high 84 yards rushing yards on 17 carries against the Dolphins three weeks after being released by Miami and added three receptions for 18 yards. The following week he again led the team in rushing with 74 yards on 16 carries in a victory over the Saints.

 

Evans has also played in nine career postseason games (three with Seattle and six with New England) and has registered five carries for 13 yards and six receptions for 49 yards.

 

The native of West Palm Beach, Fla. also owns 14 career kickoff returns for a 14.4 average and has been a special teams mainstay throughout his career with 29 career stops.

 

Away from the field, Evans has established the Heath Evans Foundation, which is dedicated to fostering hope and healing in the lives of children and families affected by sexual abuse.

 

March 5, 2009 5:01 PM

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

 

This shouldn't come as a big surprise because the Saints have been shopping for fullbacks in free agency. But a league source said the Saints will release incumbent starter Mike Karney.

 

He's been with the Saints since 2004 and was known for his blocking ability. But the Saints soured on Karney for some reason and they've been looking at free agents Heath Evans (New England) and Leonard Weaver (Seattle).

 

Edit: According to ESPN, the Saints have officially released Karney.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcsouth/0-9-43...ace-Karney.html

Edited March 6, 2009 by myhousekey

[flying dutchman]

Being a Saint fan, this is a great move!

[tbimm]

I think it is a good move as well. It is a shame that the timing is such. Karney is to be married tomorrow.

[rajncajn]

I like Karney a lot & he can be a great blocker, but he's not much of a runner & a bit slow. Hopefully Evans can bring a little more versatility.

[Big F'n Dave]

Hate to see Karney go.

[Seahawks21]

Bad move!!! They need a blocker, not a guy that can't block. I don't think Evans has a starting FB pedigree. He is more of a short yardage/receiving specialist. Karney is a pretty darn good player, especially a blocker. He will find a home very quickly. Evans is a better player when he lines up at tailback. It has been a long long time since a team had playoff success by giving their FB a big dose of anything but blocking, maybe Alstott, and even he was twice the blocker Evans is.

[rajncajn]

Bad move!!! They need a blocker, not a guy that can't block. I don't think Evans has a starting FB pedigree. He is more of a short yardage/receiving specialist. Karney is a pretty darn good player, especially a blocker. He will find a home very quickly. Evans is a better player when he lines up at tailback. It has been a long long time since a team had playoff success by giving their FB a big dose of anything but blocking, maybe Alstott, and even he was twice the blocker Evans is.

If you knew a little bit about the Saints offense then you probably wouldn't be saying this.

 

http://blog.nola.com/jeffduncan/2009/03/th...ts_got_a_g.html

The New Orleans Saints got a good one in fullback Heath Evans but Mike Karney will be missed

Posted by Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune March 06, 2009 5:00AM

So why is Karney an ex-Saint?

 

I'd surmise a couple of reasons:

 

• The chance to add a more versatile player to the backfield was likely too enticing for Sean Payton to pass up. Payton wants all of his skill position players to be multi-threats capable of running or catching the ball. Evans is a better pass receiver and more agile runner than Karney. The latter is key. The Saints have made improving their short-yardage offense an offseason priority and Evans excels in that role as a runner and blocker.

 

• The evolution of the offense under Payton was going more and more to one-back sets and two-tight end personnel packages. The use of a traditional fullback-tailback set was becoming less frequent each year.

 

Rest assured, Karney won't be on the street for long. The guy was a second-team All-Pro player two years ago. Any team needing to add a sledge hammer to their rushing attack is probably already on the phone with him.

[Seahawks21]

If you knew a little bit about the Saints offense then you probably wouldn't be saying this.

 

http://blog.nola.com/jeffduncan/2009/03/th...ts_got_a_g.html

The New Orleans Saints got a good one in fullback Heath Evans but Mike Karney will be missed

Posted by Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune March 06, 2009 5:00AM

I'm not saying Evans wouldn't be helpful, simply that he isn't an every down fullback. I would like this move a ton if they had kept Karney on for blocking purposes, but IMO their running game just got worse, not better. Evans isn't a gifted enough runner to make up for the blocking they are losing. This may help their passing game, but did it really need much help to begin with? I thought they already had a pretty versatile receiving back.

[tbimm]

I'm not saying Evans wouldn't be helpful, simply that he isn't an every down fullback. I would like this move a ton if they had kept Karney on for blocking purposes, but IMO their running game just got worse, not better. Evans isn't a gifted enough runner to make up for the blocking they are losing. This may help their passing game, but did it really need much help to begin with? I thought they already had a pretty versatile receiving back.

You obviously don't understand the Saints offensive formations very well. They don't run the traditional 2 back set and need someone who will pick up the 3rd and short yardage. The versatility is what brought Evans here and saw Karney leave.

[rajncajn]

I'm not saying Evans wouldn't be helpful, simply that he isn't an every down fullback. I Iwould like this move a ton if they had kept Karney on for blocking purposes, but IMO their running game just got worse, not better. Evans isn't a gifted enough runner to make up for the blocking they are losing. This may help their passing game, but did it really need much help to begin with? I thought they already had a pretty versatile receiving back.

An every down fullback is not what the Saints use primarily. Evans is a fine blocker, a little quicker which will help Bush, and will give the Saints more options on 3rd & short which is one of the problems they had last year.

[Seahawks21]

I'll admit that I didn't watch a lot of Evans this past season. However, coming into this season, he was not a "fine blocker". He was the kind of guy that you could only afford to carry if you had another blocking back on your team, because he simply is never going to move a middle linebacker out of a hole. The Saints very well may find ways to make this work, but if you were to score the players all the way across based on a cumulation of their abilities, Karney's score would dwarf that of Evans. Maybe Evans' skillset is the piece that the Saints are missing, but unless the Saints are planning on almost never using a traditional fullback, this move is gonna doom the running game. You're right, I don't know every aspect of the Saints offense, but I do know these two players very well. One is an NFL caliber starting fullback, and one is a short yardage specialist that can't do much else. All the best, but I can't see this being a benefit. Somebody just got themselves a very good NFL player, but it wasn't the Saints.

Edited March 7, 2009 by Seahawks21

[SLAYER]

I'll admit that I didn't watch a lot of Evans this past season. However, coming into this season, he was not a "fine blocker". He was the kind of guy that you could only afford to carry if you had another blocking back on your team, because he simply is never going to move a middle linebacker out of a hole.

 

Since you now so much about them explain to me how the Saints were horrible on short yardage situations last year with your " fine blocker" leading the way clearing out lose middle linebackers. Obviosly you kinda missed last year. and running the ball he was even worst trying for the yard. So even if Evans can get the yard it seems like we are coming out ahead.

[Seahawks21]

I have a hard time believing Evans is better at getting a yard than Deuce was. There have to be bigger problems at play here. Look, again, I'm not saying Evans isn't a weapon, just that he simply isn't really a fullback. He is a white tailback. If you were looking for a short yardage back, you should have signed one, maybe even Evans. He is a decent weapon, but just about every successful team has an unsung fullback that does the dirty work for their pretty position players. The Saints no longer have that guy. I'm not saying the addition of Evans isn't a good one. I'm saying the loss of Karney is going to come back and bite this team. They should have kept both on the roster. Neither makes enough money where they couldn't have done that pretty easily.

[tbimm]

I have a hard time believing Evans is better at getting a yard than Deuce was. There have to be bigger problems at play here. Look, again, I'm not saying Evans isn't a weapon, just that he simply isn't really a fullback. He is a white tailback. If you were looking for a short yardage back, you should have signed one, maybe even Evans. He is a decent weapon, but just about every successful team has an unsung fullback that does the dirty work for their pretty position players. The Saints no longer have that guy. I'm not saying the addition of Evans isn't a good one. I'm saying the loss of Karney is going to come back and bite this team. They should have kept both on the roster. Neither makes enough money where they couldn't have done that pretty easily.

Not trying to start any kind of an argument here but... You have 3 really die hard Saints fans trying to explain something to you that you seem unwilling to listen to. Mentioning Deuce as the short yardage guy is kinda weird considering we were awful at converting those downs with Deuce. Deuce has really bad knees and is no longer that option for us. Karney couldn't gain those yards either. What would you propose? A 2 fullback set?

[Seahawks21]

Not trying to start any kind of an argument here but... You have 3 really die hard Saints fans trying to explain something to you that you seem unwilling to listen to. Mentioning Deuce as the short yardage guy is kinda weird considering we were awful at converting those downs with Deuce. Deuce has really bad knees and is no longer that option for us. Karney couldn't gain those yards either. What would you propose? A 2 fullback set?

Well, yes, if you consider Evans a FB. I'm assuming in short yardage situations there will need to be somebody leading the way for him, no?

 

You guys have explained very well that you needed a short yardage back. Being in Seattle, I certainly understand how frustrating that can be. Okay, so sign Evans. He is a good addition to play that role. But he's cheap. He shouldn't have cost you guys Karney. Karney is too valuable and too cheap to cut, that is really all I'm saying.

[rajncajn]

I have a hard time believing Evans is better at getting a yard than Deuce was. There have to be bigger problems at play here. Look, again, I'm not saying Evans isn't a weapon, just that he simply isn't really a fullback. He is a white tailback. If you were looking for a short yardage back, you should have signed one, maybe even Evans. He is a decent weapon, but just about every successful team has an unsung fullback that does the dirty work for their pretty position players. The Saints no longer have that guy. I'm not saying the addition of Evans isn't a good one. I'm saying the loss of Karney is going to come back and bite this team. They should have kept both on the roster. Neither makes enough money where they couldn't have done that pretty easily.

Excuse me, but what does being white have to do with anything?

[Czarina]

Evans is a good guy. I wish he could have stayed in NE.

[Seahawks21]

Excuse me, but what does being white have to do with anything?

I'm just playin on stereotypes. When someone sees a white guy in the backfield, they automatically think "hey, this guy is white, he must be fullback, and he must be able to block". Yet Evans is much more of a tailback than a fullback, and can block about as well as your average tailback.

[rajncajn]

Karney signs with Rams, good fit IMO.