Saints re-sign Young and Simoneau [MERGED]

livefromDC said
He has a great heart, but I don't see him as an every down option. If our line returns as is, which I doubt I point to this move as the same problem we had last off season with the LBs. Because it wasn't a glaring problem last off season, management thought we could get away with minimal additions. Clearly an overhaul (minus Fugita) was in order via Free agency and the draft. I didn't happen. I think it would be a huge disservice to look past the issues on the DL interior.

Young is decent on passing downs and mediocre on runs. He's a year older as is Thomas. The age of our line has to be addressed. I guess will take aim at that during the draft, but we can't wait until the seventh.

The thing is that there weren't really any better options available in free agency. Young is a "nice" DT. He's solid against the run and a good pass rusher. Honestly, our run defense was pretty good last year and it should only get better with Vilma at MLB. The real problem at DT was a lack of interior pass rush. And that in large part was due to Young being injured/sick. Adding Young back into the rotation is a good thing and it does not stop us from finding an upgrade if one comes open in the draft or free agency.

Singing Simoneau and Young is all about filling all the holes as well as you can before the draft so that you can take BPA in the draft. We now don't have huge holes at DT and MLB so we are not forced to reach for a player at one of those positions. Certainly we would like an upgrade at DT, and we still might get one, but if we can't Young is a good, solid NFL starter. Simoneau on the other hand is valuable as a backup. He can backup all 3 positions and has lots of experience in the NFL and specifically in our system. He can slide right in if someone is injured for a few plays, a few weeks or a season. Will he be good or great taking that position, obviously not, but he would be a steady replacement that would stop you from having a huge hole in the lineup because you gambled that you could draft a guy to provide that depth, but he couldn't learn the playbook or it turned out he just couldn't play at this level.

The next step is to fill the holes at CB and TE so we can really go BPA in the draft.