Nice compliment from Jerome Bettis (1 Viewer)

Dragon

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Everyone óf the talking heads like our offense but it takes a former player like Bettis to recognize what we have done on the defense

You have to like that the Saints have a respectable defense at this point, too. Bringing in a playmaker like Darren Sharper has made their secondary instantly respectable, more physical.
Long term, maybe they're not a Top 10 defense. But if this offense keeps this pace, it might not matter. Let's say the Saints allow 30 points a game. They can still win. Before you pick your Super Bowl winner ask yourself this: Can you name an offense that can keep pace with the Saints?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jerome_bettis/09/21/week2/index.html
 
Honestly, Sharper has looked great so far, no doubt. But I think even on this forum people are overlooking just how incredibly improved our CBs are from 2007 and 2008 (after the injuries). Porter and Greer are doing a great job and Gay is able to stay in his "niche" spot as a nickel back. As Jenkins develops CB is going to be the real strength of this defense.
 
I believe our CB's are a great strength for us.

I think our weak spot as far as passing goes are our Safeties. I know Sharper has 3 INT's, he's still a little suspect in the pass, and obviously Harper still needs work against the pass.

That said, we're getting plenty of turnovers and with our offense, that is enough to keep us ahead by double digits every time.
 
I know Sharper has 3 INT's, he's still a little suspect in the pass, and obviously Harper still needs work against the pass.

Yes, I hesitate to post this because it's such heresy on the forum right now, but I'm interested to see how Sharper does in a close game against speed receivers and a competent QB. So far he's largely feasted on young QBs in bad positions score-wise.

Fortunately the offense will continue to put opposing offenses in "bad positions", so that's less of a concern, but if for instance Buffalo ends up being a tight game for whatever reason, I'm interested to see how Sharper handles Edwards/Lee Evans.
 
Honestly, Sharper has looked great so far, no doubt. But I think even on this forum people are overlooking just how incredibly improved our CBs are from 2007 and 2008 (after the injuries).

Not me. I was debating with my dad as to who was the better FA pickup between Sharper and Greer. Greer is playing at a Pro Bowl level right now. Has he even allowed a completion this year? No wonder he kept McKelvin on the bench. And Porter hasn't missed a beat. Jenkins can take his time....
 
Not me. I was debating with my dad as to who was the better FA pickup between Sharper and Greer. Greer is playing at a Pro Bowl level right now. Has he even allowed a completion this year? No wonder he kept McKelvin on the bench. And Porter hasn't missed a beat. Jenkins can take his time....

Agreed. I'm so hyped about our CBs. And with Usama Young seeming to develop at FS (though the injury set him back a little) I'm not even worried about Sharper.

Really the missing piece for me is adding a more consistent edge rusher at DE for passing downs. Maybe another athlete at OLB, a 4th DT, and some competition for Roman Harper, but mostly just a more consistent situational pass rusher.

I'm still not sure how good this defense really is. "Good enough" clearly. But I think with a piece or two and some development time and time to jell this is potentially a defense that'll be really good on it's own merits.
 
Honestly, Sharper has looked great so far, no doubt. But I think even on this forum people are overlooking just how incredibly improved our CBs are from 2007 and 2008 (after the injuries). Porter and Greer are doing a great job and Gay is able to stay in his "niche" spot as a nickel back. As Jenkins develops CB is going to be the real strength of this defense.

agreed

man ... all our DBs are different

we played last year with YOUNG AND JASON DAVID man ... a lot of games

really ... whaTTTTTT

now we have a very smart FS, that will create turnovers every game and we have 2 locks on each sideline ... our weakest link is GAY that is a pretty god CB and could be an starter in many teams in the nfl
 
now we have a very smart FS, that will create turnovers every game and we have 2 locks on each sideline ... our weakest link is GAY that is a pretty god CB and could be an starter in many teams in the nfl

I think Gay is a solid player as long as he's allowed to stay within his specific role as a nickelback.
 
Agreed. I'm so hyped about our CBs. And with Usama Young seeming to develop at FS (though the injury set him back a little) I'm not even worried about Sharper.

Really the missing piece for me is adding a more consistent edge rusher at DE for passing downs. Maybe another athlete at OLB, a 4th DT, and some competition for Roman Harper, but mostly just a more consistent situational pass rusher.

I'm still not sure how good this defense really is. "Good enough" clearly. But I think with a piece or two and some development time and time to jell this is potentially a defense that'll be really good on it's own merits.

STOP man ... young will never be anythink like sharper ... maybe in 8 years

man ... dont u see HOW smart Sharper really is? man ... the guy makes FAKES on a football field ... making the QB thinks he isnt on the play ... man, thats a serious playmaker ... he in the endzone is KILLER

he can bait any QB and he doesnt drop the ball ... really man, young can be a pretty good FS ... but, he will never be as smart as sharper, at least not right now .. it will take some time ... lets see if he learns with sharper ..

I think Gay is a solid player as long as he's allowed to stay within his specific role as a nickelback.

well, he played good games as starter last year ...
 
STOP man ... young will never be anythink like sharper ... maybe in 8 years

man ... dont u see HOW smart Sharper really is? man ... the guy makes FAKES on a football field ... making the QB thinks he isnt on the play ... man, thats a serious playmaker ... he in the endzone is KILLER

he can bait any QB and he doesnt drop the ball ... really man, young can be a pretty good FS ... but, he will never be as smart as sharper, at least not right now .. it will take some time ... lets see if he learns with sharper ..

Look, to be fair, I made the same mistake with Sammy Knight. Focusing in on the players limitations and not fully appreciating the intangibles (i.e. ability to read and position himself). It took us almost a decade to effectively replace what Knight brought to the table. Hell, even more recently did the same thing as Shanle.

I fully admit my profound bias' as a "scout" :hihi:

But that said, can't shake the feeling of Sharper being potentially exposed by faster, quicker WRs in tight games with a decent QB at the helm. We'll see right? And even if he's a liability in that specific situation, it doesn't mean he's a bad player for us overall. How many good QBs will we face in tight situations this year? Probably not very many.
 
Agreed. I'm so hyped about our CBs. And with Usama Young seeming to develop at FS (though the injury set him back a little) I'm not even worried about Sharper.

Really the missing piece for me is adding a more consistent edge rusher at DE for passing downs. Maybe another athlete at OLB, a 4th DT, and some competition for Roman Harper, but mostly just a more consistent situational pass rusher.

I'm still not sure how good this defense really is. "Good enough" clearly. But I think with a piece or two and some development time and time to jell this is potentially a defense that'll be really good on it's own merits.

I'm thinking Chip Vaughn :scratch:
 
Look, to be fair, I made the same mistake with Sammy Knight. Focusing in on the players limitations and not fully appreciating the intangibles (i.e. ability to read and position himself). It took us almost a decade to effectively replace what Knight brought to the table. Hell, even more recently did the same thing as Shanle.

I fully admit my profound bias' as a "scout" :hihi:

But that said, can't shake the feeling of Sharper being potentially exposed by faster, quicker WRs in tight games with a decent QB at the helm. We'll see right? And even if he's a liability in that specific situation, it doesn't mean he's a bad player for us overall. How many good QBs will we face in tight situations this year? Probably not very many.


but for those types of plays to develop and leave him one on one, the QB will need time. Hopefully, as we get further along here game-wise, our defensive players will sharpen thier execution and we may start seeing some results up front. I also think he will play it more traditionally, instead of trying to figure it out ( by his own admission, he was in the wrong spot on the pick 6 yesterday ) Sometimes, being good means you are lucky too.
 
but for those types of plays to develop and leave him one on one, the QB will need time. Hopefully, as we get further along here game-wise, our defensive players will sharpen thier execution and we may start seeing some results up front. I also think he will play it more traditionally, instead of trying to figure it out ( by his own admission, he was in the wrong spot on the pick 6 yesterday ) Sometimes, being good means you are lucky too.

Yeah. Sammy Knight was "lucky" an awful lot as a Saint as well. The #1 lesson I've learned over the ensuing years is good players sure are "lucky" :hihi:
 
I believe our CB's are a great strength for us.

I think our weak spot as far as passing goes are our Safeties. I know Sharper has 3 INT's, he's still a little suspect in the pass, and obviously Harper still needs work against the pass.

That said, we're getting plenty of turnovers and with our offense, that is enough to keep us ahead by double digits every time.

i do agree with you about our CB's being the strength, but to say Sharper is suspect against the pass is completely untrue. i understand he's played against relatively to un experienced QB's but he's been brillant in coverage throughout his career. i mean even Ed Reed and Polamalu give up catches at times, but Sharper is playing at a very high level. that's more than we can say for Roman Harper though. now Harper has been nicked up and injured a hammy in sundays game, but he's left a lot to be desired in coverage through 2 weeks.
 

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