defense: biggest need (1 Viewer)

GasBag

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I kind of see we have good talent crossed the board. Not greatness, but a lot of goodness. I think the most glaring need is a very good, football smart free safety. Any out there in the draft? A ball hawk, a leader. Darren Sharper? Ed Reed?

With the offense --- no criticism from me. Even when their production dropped a little, can't criticize such productivity.

Besides defense, and a free safety, what in the heck happened to Saints special teams? Mercy! They looked like keystone cops all out of place and running the wrong way or committing a penalty. Can we bring back Bobby April? He sucked but managed his sucking well.
 
Kenny Vaccaro is a prototype FS but I would not take him at 15 although he is the top safety available. Elam is a thumper at SS and playmaker but is probably not as good at FS.

I would rather get a SS late in the draft since guys like Ray Ray Armstrong, Cooper Taylor and Dexter McCoil have elite potential. Plug one in at SS and put Isa Abdul-Quddus at FS and we are set IMO if we get a legit pass rusher in the 1st.

Bobby April was picked up by the Raiders.

Robert "Bobby" April, Jr. (born April 15, 1953) is an American football special teams coach for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was hired by the Raiders on January 19, 2013.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference">[1]</sup>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_April
 
Attitude. I want to see some aggressiveness and knock out shots. Send a message to the opponent that we are to be feared. Obviously as of this season we aren't but in 2013 send that message
 
Honestly, I thought out Special Teams coach would get axed & Spags would stay. I'm happy we're moving on defensively, but I can't agree more about STs. Nobody is really talking about that.
 
IAQ is a great safety in coverage but he's still working out the kinks in run defense.
 
I still love the idea of drafting Tyrann Mathieu (not an LSU homer at all) and playing him at FS. Guy screams Ed Reed to me, and I think he has the instincts to be that type of an impact player.
 
You have to start with the pass rushing. Get an aggressive, hard-nosed and consistent pass rush and you can build around - the best coverage corners will still get burnt if their assignments have enough time to get downfield and finish the route. Give me a Dion Jordan or an Alec Ogletree, heck even a Manti Te'o and let's see this defense improve.
 
I still love the idea of drafting Tyrann Mathieu (not an LSU homer at all) and playing him at FS. Guy screams Ed Reed to me, and I think he has the instincts to be that type of an impact player.

That's not a bad shout at all actually even if he seems a bit under-sized for a safety but his instincts (which are obvious) could mask that. I'm not sure how he'll handle run support at the pro level though but he wasn't afraid in college so that's a good sign.

The main thing with him is the off-field concerns but if we spent a later round pick on him because he fell to us I would be for it.

As a Gator fan I'd love for us to get Matt Elam to replace Harper but I think the only way we do that is if the players we want on the line and at LB are gone by the time we pick. Of course we've all been mystified by the Saints picks in the past so we'll just have to see how the grades play out when it's our turn to pick.
 
I kind of see we have good talent crossed the board. Not greatness, but a lot of goodness. I think the most glaring need is a very good, football smart free safety. Any out there in the draft? A ball hawk, a leader. Darren Sharper? Ed Reed?

With the offense --- no criticism from me. Even when their production dropped a little, can't criticize such productivity.

Besides defense, and a free safety, what in the heck happened to Saints special teams? Mercy! They looked like keystone cops all out of place and running the wrong way or committing a penalty. Can we bring back Bobby April? He sucked but managed his sucking well.

I completely agree that FS is our biggest need. The problem we have here is guys like Vacarro or Reid can be had at the end of the 1st or early 2nd and we pick 15th. Meanwhile, the DE/OLB pool in this draft is very impressive and if one falls to us and we don't take him to reach for a FS it would be a mistake. Best case scenario is one of the elite pass rushers don't fall to us and we are able to trade back. In every draft there is a talent line usually around the 10th pick where there is a good drop off. This year's draft seems a bit deeper but there aren't any QB's teams are reaching to take in the 1st to push that talent farther down. If all the top end rush OLB's and the top 2 DTs are gone when we pick then we have to trade down. The small school prospects this season are as good as I can remember and I'd love to stockpile some picks to bring a handful of these guys in to increase our odds of hitting pay dirt.

Another position we could really use some help is CB but I just don't love any of the corners in the first round this year. I've seen Banks do some amazing things but I've seen some boneheaded plays and seen him get beat by lesser talent. If he doesn't perform well at the combine then we need to stay far away. If he does and it was just a case of him gambling too often then he could be a stud, so hard to tell.

I know I've been pushing this kid a lot but how can you not be extremely impressed? I can't believe he didn't get an invite to the Senior Bowl. Problem is he plays in D-II and the competition is horrible so it is really hard to tell if he is just a man among boys or a beast among men. I will say that you don't see 5 star High School recruits with highlight films anywhere near this and as bad as D-II competition is, it is leagues ahead of high school. The way this kid plays, the way he is built, his anticipation, the angles he takes and the level of effort are just off the charts.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wMkNHbINWt4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
The problem is there isn't a unit on our D that doesn't need a new starter. I tend to think our biggest defensive need is in the front seven, but I agree that our safeties are week (and our corners are mediocre to poor). Tyrann Mathieu would be small for an NFL corner, let alone a safety. No way he plays safety. His best bet is as a punt returner/nickle corner, and I don't see him as a Saint due to character issues. And I am a Tigers fan.
 

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