Analyzing Pete Werner's Potential and Could He Be Next In Line as the Next Great Saints LB (4 Viewers)

[meily]

Oh, come on.

The team has had 'unproven' LBs, that we had mostly never heard of, as depth for the past few seasons and they've proven to be excellent depth every time. What logical analysis can be applied to comprehensively evidence that anything has changed in this regard?

I continue to think this LB depth uneasiness is just the 'no name recognition' fallacy in action.

I agree 100%, most of the time people never see it coming then jump on the bandwagon once the player(s) prove their worth and only then can we give credit to the coaches who saw the skillet in these players and how they fit in what the Saints want to do offensively and defensively.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

i dont think Werner can play all the LB spots. Your comfortable with him in nickle sets. He dont have enough pop to blow up gaps or disengage once u get a body on him. You want to keep him clean to be chase LB. Hes good at that role. Good drop back, and coverage ability. Hes solid and good. Not Great. Kaden Ellis actually had more physical ability then Werner. Thats prob gonna work out well for Atlanta l.

It won’t be popular but it’s true imo too. Solid. Good. Not great.

 

[MV2]

Oh, come on.

The team has had 'unproven' LBs, that we had mostly never heard of, as depth for the past few seasons and they've proven to be excellent depth every time. What logical analysis can be applied to comprehensively evidence that anything has changed in this regard?

I continue to think this LB depth uneasiness is just the 'no name recognition' fallacy in action.

 

[Cougar 2]

In 2021, the Saints D was 4th in the NFL against the run. Last year it dropped to 24th!

Football 101: Win in the trenches!!!

So during the offseason the Saints parted ways with THREE of their DTs: DO, Tuttle n Street, signed a couple of big bodied vets in Shepherd n Saunders, n drafted Bresee in first rd!

Now, IF they do their jobs, then ALL of the LBs should stay” clean”, b more aggressive, n make more plays!

We’ll see!

 

[TribuneUK]

You might need to elaborate...

 

[bobad]

You might need to elaborate...

Pretty clear it's a Zinfandel.

 

[Cougar 2]

Man, I’m a huge Pete fan, n even I wouldn’t twist my mouth n talk about “greatness”. But after only a year n a half of play, I don’t think he’s hit his “ceiling” yet either.

My biggest question about Pete wasn’t IF but WHEN would the game finally start to “slow down” for him, so he could react faster/b more aggressive. From his rookie year to last season, I saw positive signs that he was headed in dat direction. You could see it in his “body language” . He was more comfortable n confident n even more vocal! He went from jus “playing” as a rook to making more “big plays” last year.

So this season, I’m settin da bar a lil higher for Pete. Not only do I wanna see him make more “big plays”, but it’s time for him to become more of a “playmaker”!

We’ll see

 

[David Robbins]

I didn't realize that Davis's tackle total was going downhill this quickly. We don't really have any depth behind these 2 players. Really only role players. Baun has been a bust to this point. Jackson has been injured and we don't really know what we have. We are going to have to start working on this position

 

[TribuneUK]

Pretty clear it's a Zinfandel.

I'll take that as a compliment, then. Thanks for clarifying

 

[State Of Affairs]

Seems like most folks think Werner’s ceiling is no higher than a solid starter, and I think that’s a garbage take.

The only thing that has held Werner back has been injuries.

When healthy, Pete Werner is a tackling machine that ranks among the league leaders. He’s smart and athletic, and an extremely hard worker by all accounts.

I think he absolutely has a chance to take over as the Alpha LB on this team when DD slows down… He may never be DD, but Davis is the best all-around LB the Saints have ever had IMHO.

Yea, I was sitting here reading all these “Warner is ok” takes and wondering if they actually watched the games before Warner got the ankle injury. He was arguably, the Saints best defender.

Too many fans perpetuated the myth that Warner was a small (240 pounds) version of Scott Shanle and will never see him differently.

 

[MV2]

You might need to elaborate...

You throw around alot of words that aren't fitting. Our LB depth in years past stepped up and played "excellent"? No sir. That's a bit of a stretch.

Yes we have relied on players that haven't made a name for themselves in the league, but other than ATL seemingly wanting to get their hands on every saints defender they could this offseason, how many of our excellent backups have garnered league wide attention?

They came in and played well for a backup, but none of us saw them come in and play so well that we wanted the starter to take longer to come back. If they played in the fashion you suggested then that would have been the case.

It's not just about names, but the experience part is what you are missing. A name comes with the experience of playing in the league under multiple situations so its easier to have confidence in that players mental ability. When we say our depth is unproven, it has nothing to do with the physical part of the game. Football is just as much mental as it is physical. Our depth has not proven to be mentally sound yet so that's the part that worries me. Stephone Anthony had the physical tools, but mentally he couldn't get it done.

 

[Nolan]

It won’t be popular but it’s true imo too. Solid. Good. Not great.

Have you watched him play? He's been excellent.

 

[TribuneUK]

You throw around alot of words that aren't fitting. Our LB depth in years past stepped up and played "excellent"? No sir. That's a bit of a stretch.

Yes we have relied on players that haven't made a name for themselves in the league, but other than ATL seemingly wanting to get their hands on every saints defender they could this offseason, how many of our excellent backups have garnered league wide attention?

They came in and played well for a backup, but none of us saw them come in and play so well that we wanted the starter to take longer to come back. If they played in the fashion you suggested then that would have been the case.

It's not just about names, but the experience part is what you are missing. A name comes with the experience of playing in the league under multiple situations so its easier to have confidence in that players mental ability. When we say our depth is unproven, it has nothing to do with the physical part of the game. Football is just as much mental as it is physical. Our depth has not proven to be mentally sound yet so that's the part that worries me. Stephone Anthony had the physical tools, but mentally he couldn't get it done.

I prefer your reasoned argument to some pithy meme.

I understand what you're saying and I think it just illustrates a dichotomy of thinking about this. I respect the other point of view you bring.

I think the coaches know their job well enough to identify the right players for their system and put them in position to play meaningful snaps, without needing to rely on retreads. I also see the last few seasons as showing that the team has consistently had the next man up ready to play and contribute. Empirically, I find that evidence hard to ignore when considering our set up for the coming season, particularly as I've heard the cry of 'Who's the backup? We need better!' each of those last few seasons. Turned out just fine.

I do have to disagree with your idea that our depth is only excellent if the backup steps in and start to outplay the starter. That's a bit of a nonsense, the starter is ahead of them for a reason, at least at that point in time. If their career arcs are heading in opposite directions, then sure, the coaches will be looking to the future at the position, but often times, the backup is the backup for good reason. Expecting to have a third, redundant starter is not all that realistic in the salary cap era. You work to get better all the time, but that doesn't mean you have starter calibre players all over your bench.

I think we've done this dance often enough to know we hold different views. I am comfortable with mine, I sense you're comfortable with yours. Let's reconvene in December after D'Marco (or Baun?) gets called on to be next man up, as will surely happen at some point.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Have you watched him play? He's been excellent.

I have. I think he’s very solid. To me, Demario is excellent. To each their own.

 

[MV2]

I prefer your reasoned argument to some pithy meme.

I understand what you're saying and I think it just illustrates a dichotomy of thinking about this. I respect the other point of view you bring.

I think the coaches know their job well enough to identify the right players for their system and put them in position to play meaningful snaps, without needing to rely on retreads. I also see the last few seasons as showing that the team has consistently had the next man up ready to play and contribute. Empirically, I find that evidence hard to ignore when considering our set up for the coming season, particularly as I've heard the cry of 'Who's the backup? We need better!' each of those last few seasons. Turned out just fine.

I do have to disagree with your idea that our depth is only excellent if the backup steps in and start to outplay the starter. That's a bit of a nonsense, the starter is ahead of them for a reason, at least at that point in time. If their career arcs are heading in opposite directions, then sure, the coaches will be looking to the future at the position, but often times, the backup is the backup for good reason. Expecting to have a third, redundant starter is not all that realistic in the salary cap era. You work to get better all the time, but that doesn't mean you have starter calibre players all over your bench.

I think we've done this dance often enough to know we hold different views. I am comfortable with mine, I sense you're comfortable with yours. Let's reconvene in December after D'Marco (or Baun?) gets called on to be next man up, as will surely happen at some point.

Will do. But just to clarify my starter comment. Nobody ever assumes the backup is better than the starter. But if the backup is playing really well, then most people will say to keep the starter healing up because this guy is holding it down. That's not usually the case on this board. Most of the time it's "I'd rather have so and so at 75% than this guy at 100%"