Need to shift focus to the front 7 now (1 Viewer)

[Saint Droopy]

As much as I'd love to sign Nnamdi, Ed Reed, and some other big nae DBs... I think we may be done pursuing them. Now that we have signed Lewis I don't think we are as bad off at Corner as we were.

Not just the addition of Lewis... but remember we have a new secondary coach that's good at teaching, and he should be able to help P-Rob with his technique.. plus we still have Greer, Mack and Corey White.

That's not the best stable of corners in the world but the secondary could get alot of help if we could generate a consistent pass rush.

We've seen how a secondary can get exposed when you don't get pressure... not just watching our Saints get shredded by everyone last year, but the 49ers were abused throughout the playoffs after Justin Smith's injury. That's why I think we should shift focus to the front 7.

We may have the 3-4 defensive line depth on the roster, but I have no idea how they (the depth) will perform in the new scheme.

Now hear me out because I may lose a few of you with these proposals...

Sign a veteran 4-3 DE pass rusher (Osi, Freeney, Abraham)

When we go to a sub-package (nickel/dime) we'll be rushing 4 in today's game teams play nickel ALOT more than in the past. This guy will not need to play every defensive snap, which will keep him fresh. We just need SOMEONE that is known for getting to the QB. James Harrison could fit here as well. We could also put Tez over here since he worked as a 4-3 DE last season, but he needs more work here.

Sign a veteran nose (Casey Hampton) and draft one.

I'm too lazy to look it up but we could use a vet backup for Bunkley because DTs in a 3-4 take a beating. I hope we can find a veteran DT that can step in for Bunk "just in case", but we need to draft one to groom. Is Tyrunn (sp?) Walker that guy?

Pass rushing OLB (Harrison, Butler)

You could NEVER have enough pass rushers. I hate to keep mentioning those bums in Frisco, but Justin Smith's injury rendered Aldon Smith useless, and SF had no pass rush from the other side. Juneya and Tez are all we have now. We need to sign one more in free agency and draft another. I'd prefer to sign Butler because he's younger, and draft one at 15.

We have a few holes to fill on offense, and we don't have a whole lot of cap space, so I'm not expecting much, but we need to sure-up our front 7 to give our secondary a fighting chance.

 

[AARPSaint]

The front 7 should always be a matter of prime concern. The lack of a pass rush and the mediocre at best run defense has been a weakness of the Saints for many years.

No question the signing of Keenan Lewis should be a good one, but it doesn't solve the main problem. It's good thing the red zone defense has been good to spectacular. Once opposing teams run out of room for their receivers to maneuver and the Saints' D can focus on the run, they play pretty well.

 

[Consigliere]

Good ideas.

Adding the best veteran FA pass-rusher that we can afford, to supplement Junior and Tez, may be the biggest FA move we can make now. Then, hopefully a depth MLB and OT would be the final FA moves.

Most 3-4 defenses thrive because of the NT. Investing an early draft pick in a young Wilfork/Hampton type, to supplement Bunkley, may be the best route in the long run. Then we could draft best-player-available for the later rounds, hopefully including another OT.

 

[Randy Jones]

Where is the cap room gonna come from? I am not sure exactly were the Saints are after the Lewis signing, but we can't be much more then 3+ million under. That's not much left unless we can do deals with De la Puente and Ivory to get their tenders to a lower capp hit than 2+ million each. When those get done is anyone's guess. About the only signing the Saints could expect to do would be a back up lb like Butler.

 

[USAF HART]

It's amazing how similar our teams are in terms of needs. Every off season it seems the Saints and Falcons are looking at the same positions. Both teams are looking for front 7 help. I agree with the OP. You can have an average secondary, as long as you have a front 7 that can generate a pass rush to throw the QBs timing off. Some of the more recent successful teams can attest to this, like the Pittsburgh Steelers in their championship runs or even the Arizona Cardinals in their playoff run. Neither team has/had a true shut down corner (Ike Taylor and DRC respectfully). However, their front 7 was immaculate. They could send pressure from just about anywhere on the front 7 and teams wouldn't know what to do.

 

[cajungiant40]

Where is the cap room gonna come from? I am not sure exactly were the Saints are after the Lewis signing, but we can't be much more then 3+ million under. That's not much left unless we can do deals with De la Puente and Ivory to get their tenders to a lower capp hit than 2+ million each. When those get done is anyone's guess. About the only signing the Saints could expect to do would be a back up lb like Butler.

Lewis is only going to make 1 million this year, he received a big signing bonus (6mill I believe). The problem with butler is he is being courted by several teams, driving up his price :/

 

[cajungiant40]

As much as I'd love to sign Nnamdi, Ed Reed, and some other big nae DBs... I think we may be done pursuing them. Now that we have signed Lewis I don't think we are as bad off at Corner as we were.

Not just the addition of Lewis... but remember we have a new secondary coach that's good at teaching, and he should be able to help P-Rob with his technique.. plus we still have Greer, Mack and Corey White.

That's not the best stable of corners in the world but the secondary could get alot of help if we could generate a consistent pass rush.

We've seen how a secondary can get exposed when you don't get pressure... not just watching our Saints get shredded by everyone last year, but the 49ers were abused throughout the playoffs after Justin Smith's injury. That's why I think we should shift focus to the front 7.

We may have the 3-4 defensive line depth on the roster, but I have no idea how they (the depth) will perform in the new scheme.

Now hear me out because I may lose a few of you with these proposals...

Sign a veteran 4-3 DE pass rusher (Osi, Freeney, Abraham)

When we go to a sub-package (nickel/dime) we'll be rushing 4 in today's game teams play nickel ALOT more than in the past. This guy will not need to play every defensive snap, which will keep him fresh. We just need SOMEONE that is known for getting to the QB. James Harrison could fit here as well. We could also put Tez over here since he worked as a 4-3 DE last season, but he needs more work here.

Sign a veteran nose (Casey Hampton) and draft one.

I'm too lazy to look it up but we could use a vet backup for Bunkley because DTs in a 3-4 take a beating. I hope we can find a veteran DT that can step in for Bunk "just in case", but we need to draft one to groom. Is Tyrunn (sp?) Walker that guy?

Pass rushing OLB (Harrison, Butler)

You could NEVER have enough pass rushers. I hate to keep mentioning those bums in Frisco, but Justin Smith's injury rendered Aldon Smith useless, and SF had no pass rush from the other side. Juneya and Tez are all we have now. We need to sign one more in free agency and draft another. I'd prefer to sign Butler because he's younger, and draft one at 15.

We have a few holes to fill on offense, and we don't have a whole lot of cap space, so I'm not expecting much, but we need to sure-up our front 7 to give our secondary a fighting chance.

Agreed that front seven is the priority. I've been screaming from the hilltops for a Casey Hampton signing. My worry about OLB is that we may overpay (see: Paul Kruger) in FA. I'd like to see us sign one more receiver (DHB) or draft one later (marquise Goodwin?)

 

[Randy Jones]

Lewis is only going to make 1 million this year, he received a big signing bonus (6mill I believe). The problem with butler is he is being courted by several teams, driving up his price :/

Between his prorated signing bonus and his salary, I would be willing to bet he counts at least 2 milion against the cap leaving the Saints about $3 million. Now I am willing to agree that De la Puente and Ivory may sign contracts that are cap friendly freeing up more space, but we are not gonna be signing a lot of free agents this off season.

 

[LSSpam]

Between his prorated signing bonus and his salary, I would be willing to bet he counts at least 2 milion against the cap leaving the Saints about $3 million. Now I am willing to agree that De la Puente and Ivory may sign contracts that are cap friendly freeing up more space, but we are not gonna be signing a lot of free agents this off season.

Ivory isn't going to sign with us. He's 4th man on the rotation, he's better off playing out his year and going to FA. I think you'll see him traded and the full $2 million come off the books.

De La Puente is going to be expensive enough we'd be hard pressed to make his first year cap number much less than $2 million, even if we resigned him this year. Given how we've handled centers in the past, the most likely outcome is we play him on his RFA tender this year and let him walk for free next.

 

[Randy Jones]

Whatever happens to Ivory is beyond my ability to prognosticate. I don't have a crystal ball and I am not a mind reader. All I can analyze and suggest is what is in front of me. As of right now, he is a RFA tendered Saint who counts against the cap. If he signs a cap friendly contract and is traded so be it. However, my point is the Saints, as of now the Saints don't have a lot of room under the cap to sign but maybe one more 2nd tier FA before the draft. Fans should not get their hopes up about signing this FA and that. Again, I am not a seer, but that is a pretty solid prediction.