Harper over Roby (merged) (1 Viewer)

[dome patrol]

Payton evidently disagreed with you

I thought Harper looked good returning kicks in preseason

Which is why I made this thread

Is Payton above being questioned now? What is Harper's ceiling this year? 15-20 catches for 200 yards and a TD? Maybe get a few returns if Reggie or Moore goes down?

Opposed to Roby who could average you 25 net yards on kickoff returns for 16+ games as well as handle the gunner snaps that Harper would get. Roby would put up similar numbers in the passing game as well.

 

[mikaloyd]

There will still be people hating on Harper and saying he was a poor choice even if he makes 5 TDs this season and catches for 300 yards. But at least they will shut their traps and pretend to like him then.

 

[Bongzilla]

Harper clearly showed he was the better receiver. He had two bad drops, that can be fixed(see devery), but the point is he was open enough to get thrown at A LOT. I was not a Harper fan but he won me over. Productivity is productivity, you cannot fault someone for scoring on "back up punt coverage teams". Not to mention do we really know that it was the back up coverage team or is that just a guess?

Harper is young, has excellent cuts and agility and a pretty good top end speed. Lets give him some time and see what happens.

As stated before it was easily Roby's job at the start of TC. The fact that Harper is on the team speaks for itself.

 

[namelessone]

harper will improve at everything...roby is pretty much as good as he will get.....

i'll take the upside given they are both even right now....

 

[AceTW]

I wasn't sure about Harper at first, I'll admit. The first time I saw him return a kick, I swear he looked like he was running for his life. (Maybe it was just me, but even on tv I could feel the "FEET DON'T FAIL ME NOW!" exuding off of him as he caught the ball.)
Or maybe that's just the way he runs, idk...

Anyway, it ended up well enough. He seems like a heck of a kick returner and has plenty of potential to be an upper deck receiver. We'll just have to wait and see how it plays out.

 

[dashocker217]

We didn't see Harper at KR...does that mean we wont see him there at all? that will be interesting...

 

[ballaholic]

Hatah-n-da-house....!!!

 

[superstar7th]

Is Rod Harper really that much better than Courtney Roby?

Is he really that much better or do you think we kept him because of more potential?

 

[FFT22]

There is an entire thread for this kind of discussion. When you have a comment to make, it's better to search for an appropriate thread before starting a new one.

http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120547

 

[Cajunsaint85]

Yes he is and thats why Roby was cut. Potential and production is why.

 

[bobad]

Harper is more versatile than Roby for sure. Don't know about speed. I think they were pretty close. I also think Harper is a stronger runner after contact.

 

[tthier2]

Is he really that much better or do you think we kept him because of more potential?

yep

 

[guillermo]

I like both, but between them I would have kept Roby.

In the return game they may be even, as receiver Harper has shown more, but Roby was very good at the gunner position, who brings a lot of value on special teams.

I would not be surprised if I see Roby back for the second week of the season.

 

[WhatDat]

After decades of watching the Saints not have any offensive weapons, to now, arguing about who should be cut because we have to many good players...it's nice to have these kind of problems.

Please, continue

 

[Waymer]

The question is which player has more value to the roster. That is an easy answer and that is Harper. Harper in his short amount of time has shown that not only can he return punts but can be apart of the wr corp. Roby even though he is fast, hasn't done anything in the receiving game. So u r getting more out of that roster spot. Who's to say Harper can't return kicks. We don't know that. What i know was Harper was a long shot and he beat out Roby, Green, and AA. That speaks volumes of what the coaching staff saw in him. If curtis johnson gave the staff the green light,then im all for it.

It's an interesting case study. Personally, I disagree that it's an easy answer. I believe that, as of right now, Roby provides more for the Saints than Harper does. Now, bear in mind that's right now. There are a few reasons for my belief in this, and again, it's just my belief.

1) Roby appears to be the much better KR. Was he elite last year? No, not at all. But he was more than serviceable and as DP's original post points out he had a stretch of games where he gave the team great field position. Harper did not return one single kick this preseason, which tells me the staff simply doesn't feel he is the right fit for that position.

2) Harper had a terrific preseason returning punts, there's no question about that. However, it should be noted that his returns for TDs (which obviously "padded" his stats) occurred in the 3rd and 4th quarters, not against the 1st string special teamers. Does this mean it was a fluke? Not necessarily. Michael Lewis performed similarly in the preseason for the Saints and turned out to be a terrific return man. It's simply an observation in this case.

3) Will Harper return punts, and does he provide that big a difference? Well, we all know that pending his health, Bush will get the key returns during a given game. That's not exactly a surprise, it would be that way for almost every team. That's not a knock on Harper...but, IMHO, it does limit his value to the team. Does Harper provide that much more than Lance Moore as the 2nd PR? I don't believe so, but I sure hope so.

4) Roby appears to, and his play seemed to back it up, provide a better burst and is more adept at performing as a gunner on punt coverage.

5) As another person has noted, Thomas will likely step into the KR role, exposing him to more hits. Personally I think this factor is overrated, and that a person can get hurt just as likely running the ball as he can returning it, but it's a point that has been made so I brought it up.

All in all, I just feel Roby provides more to the team now. Having said all that, I partially believe this was a move based on the future. I think the staff sees good potential in Harper, and what he might provide as a 3rd and 4th WR in the future. The fact of the matter is, barring injury, he won't see the field too much on offense this season. The top 4 WR spots are pretty locked up. However, next year there will be some decisions to make (the CBA negotiations could affect some issues, but that's out of staff's hands and they need to assume the worst). Lance Moore will be in line for a bigger contract, and could possibly leave if he and/or the staff feel it's the right move (remember there were some discussions this season about the Titans making an offer to him - next year pending the CBA there will be no RFA tag to help the Saints keep suitors at bay). Roby will never be Lance Moore, but I believe the staff sees a little bit of Moore in Harper...a player they can develop for a year and then allow to blossom opposite the other WRs on the team. This would allow the team to let Moore walk, or at least look around at other teams without being too concerned, in theory.

Payton has never been shy about keeping players who perform, and this is why I think Harper made the team. We've seen it with his inclusion of Moore, Thomas, Colston, etc. All guys who were essentially afterthoughts, but who he wasn't afraid to allow blossom in his system based on preseason and practice performace. It's certainly paid off, and I think he believes Harper will be the next one to blossom.

So to recap, I think Roby provides more of an impact now, but that Harper was kept for his future. I would have liked to have kept both, but that's why there are roster limits after all.