The Unrest Cure
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Much has been made over the Saints' prolific offense, Sean Payton's "genius" and Drew Brees' status as a top-ranked qb in the NFL. On the whole, these points have merit. But is our offense truly as efficient as it should be?
Marques Colston - Obviously the wr corps discussion begins with him. His size and the uncanny ability to create space with it is amazing. He has excellent hands but sometimes drops passes that require him to get upfield quickly. Some of those drops are due to Brees' inaccurate passes, as Drew gets the ball there but requires his wrs to stretch for it. Nowhere is this more noticeable than on Colston's routes across the middle. Colston possesses enough speed to keep dbs honest, and punishes those that attempt to arm-tackle him. He is the only wr on the roster (at this time) that can consistently create yards after the catch, and even more crucially, yards after contact. His route-running is disciplined, and allows Brees to throw the ball to a spot rather than a person - critical emphases for a west coast offense. As a downfield blocker he is above average. As an inline blocker he is no worse than marginal TEs. On the downside, Colston's propensity to take hits will leave him susceptible to endless nagging injuries.
David Patten - Often thought of as a "wily vet" he showed the ability to produce last year, but was still limited by niggling injuries. He is extremely quick and has good speed - good enough to get behind corners and expose late safeties. His hands are solid, his blocking is more of "stand in the way" than tenacious, and he excels at running through zone coverages. He does not appear to thrive at finding holes in zones or standing put when in those holes, and goes down easily at first contact. But as a deep threat, he is probably the best the Saints have.
Devery Henderson - Where to begin? His hands are better than most think, except his dropsys seem to get the better of him; when he drops one he will usually drop several. Unfortunately, he struggles to make receptions and re-orient himself, which minimizes his speed and effectiveness on screens and sitting in zones. Obviously his pace makes him a tremendous weapon, but not in the standard west coast way of high percentage passes and substituting short routes for runs. These are not his strengths and the Saints' offense is the worse for it. In the end, it appears that he will most be used as a one-trick pony to tie up safeties in the deep third, as a zonebuster to create more space underneath. In a vertical offense - think Al Davis - he could be special. In this offense, predicated on down and distance and quick, crisp routes he is nothing but below average. His apparent inability to threaten running an entire route tree limits a qb's choices when he is in the game. As a downfield blocker he is surprisingly aggressive and useful.
Lance Moore - I really thought last year he would be something special. Now it is pretty obvious he lacks strength and the ability to separate against physical corners. Almost all of his receptions last year came as dumpoffs from Brees and resulted in no yards after catch. 1st contact immediately brings him down, and while with his great lateral quickness he should gain separation from cbs (much less lbs!) most defenders are only a few steps away at any time. That in itself is not a sin, but his pronounced inability to accelerate away from them or challenge them limits his role. Perhaps with time his functional strength will increase and give him greater opportunity to get into more downfield routes. Thankfully, he is rarely in a position to act as a blocker. His hands are good, but physically he is no better than a special teams dynamo or a 5th wr. It is apparent he lacks elite speed.
Terrence Copper - After 2006, he looked game for a major role in the offense. After 2007, he looked game to be gone. His contributions to special teams are laudable, but physically Copper does not have the makings of a consistent contributor. His hands are merely average, the routes he can run are limited, and he appears to be an at-best stopgap. His blocking effort is considerable, as one would expect from a special teams gunner. That alone does not merit a roster spot, however.
Robert Meachem - The great unknown. All that anyone has seen of him was against scrubs and preseason deadmenwalking. He does show strong hands and the power to get off the line quickly. With his frame he should produce yards after the catch and yards after contact. He did show the ability last year to focus on the ball and make receptions off his body, while still getting his head turned upfield - necessary skills to thrive at this level. On the downside, he appeared hesitant when facing contact in the middle of the field, his blocking is an unknown value, and his inability to get on the field last year (and with a weak receiving corps) bodes poorly about his grasp of the offense and his routes. If he is able to stay healthy and develop a rapport with Brees he could be special, and well worth the 27th pick of the draft.
Of the Saints' offseason moves I don't believe any of them will stick past preseason. And at this point, they are entirely unknown quantities. Skyler Green has some name recognition, but his track record in the NFL does not impress.
On the whole, the wrs are a pretty unremarkable lot, short of Marques Colston. It is obvious that much of the NFL takes this same dim view, as both Patten and Henderson returned to the fold after tasting free agency. I think the FO saw this as the weak link on the team last year, and moved accordingly to draft Meachem, whose healthy return could be a boon to the team. Even so, significant upgrades are necessary, if not this year over the next two or so. The importance of separation and yards after the catch are not to be underestimated. Colston is the only wr who can achieve these consistently, and he was the only wr to perform consistently last year. I do not believe the two concepts are unrelated. If Meachem fails to produce the Saints will find themselves in a very sorry position, talent-wise, at this position. In all likelihood there are no wrs in the draft that will produce immediately, so any taken this year are for the future. It would not shock me to see multiple wrs taken by the Saints, and for one of them to be early. This is a deep draft for wrs, so several good prospects will be available late. {Jerome Simpson, Earl Bennett, Mario Urrutia} That New Orleans' offense has performed at such a high level the last 2 years with so little "great" talent at the wr position is a credit to both Sean Payton and Drew Brees. It is my belief that Brees is the type of qb who can bring you a Super Bowl trophy, and he should be surrounded by players who talents he can exploit. As such, I hope they are able to fetch more offensive players in the draft, particularly at this position. Several years of poor drafting have robbed this team of quality young depth at multiple positions, but I hope wr is not shortchanged because of our weak defense.
Let me know how wrong/right I am ...
Marques Colston - Obviously the wr corps discussion begins with him. His size and the uncanny ability to create space with it is amazing. He has excellent hands but sometimes drops passes that require him to get upfield quickly. Some of those drops are due to Brees' inaccurate passes, as Drew gets the ball there but requires his wrs to stretch for it. Nowhere is this more noticeable than on Colston's routes across the middle. Colston possesses enough speed to keep dbs honest, and punishes those that attempt to arm-tackle him. He is the only wr on the roster (at this time) that can consistently create yards after the catch, and even more crucially, yards after contact. His route-running is disciplined, and allows Brees to throw the ball to a spot rather than a person - critical emphases for a west coast offense. As a downfield blocker he is above average. As an inline blocker he is no worse than marginal TEs. On the downside, Colston's propensity to take hits will leave him susceptible to endless nagging injuries.
David Patten - Often thought of as a "wily vet" he showed the ability to produce last year, but was still limited by niggling injuries. He is extremely quick and has good speed - good enough to get behind corners and expose late safeties. His hands are solid, his blocking is more of "stand in the way" than tenacious, and he excels at running through zone coverages. He does not appear to thrive at finding holes in zones or standing put when in those holes, and goes down easily at first contact. But as a deep threat, he is probably the best the Saints have.
Devery Henderson - Where to begin? His hands are better than most think, except his dropsys seem to get the better of him; when he drops one he will usually drop several. Unfortunately, he struggles to make receptions and re-orient himself, which minimizes his speed and effectiveness on screens and sitting in zones. Obviously his pace makes him a tremendous weapon, but not in the standard west coast way of high percentage passes and substituting short routes for runs. These are not his strengths and the Saints' offense is the worse for it. In the end, it appears that he will most be used as a one-trick pony to tie up safeties in the deep third, as a zonebuster to create more space underneath. In a vertical offense - think Al Davis - he could be special. In this offense, predicated on down and distance and quick, crisp routes he is nothing but below average. His apparent inability to threaten running an entire route tree limits a qb's choices when he is in the game. As a downfield blocker he is surprisingly aggressive and useful.
Lance Moore - I really thought last year he would be something special. Now it is pretty obvious he lacks strength and the ability to separate against physical corners. Almost all of his receptions last year came as dumpoffs from Brees and resulted in no yards after catch. 1st contact immediately brings him down, and while with his great lateral quickness he should gain separation from cbs (much less lbs!) most defenders are only a few steps away at any time. That in itself is not a sin, but his pronounced inability to accelerate away from them or challenge them limits his role. Perhaps with time his functional strength will increase and give him greater opportunity to get into more downfield routes. Thankfully, he is rarely in a position to act as a blocker. His hands are good, but physically he is no better than a special teams dynamo or a 5th wr. It is apparent he lacks elite speed.
Terrence Copper - After 2006, he looked game for a major role in the offense. After 2007, he looked game to be gone. His contributions to special teams are laudable, but physically Copper does not have the makings of a consistent contributor. His hands are merely average, the routes he can run are limited, and he appears to be an at-best stopgap. His blocking effort is considerable, as one would expect from a special teams gunner. That alone does not merit a roster spot, however.
Robert Meachem - The great unknown. All that anyone has seen of him was against scrubs and preseason deadmenwalking. He does show strong hands and the power to get off the line quickly. With his frame he should produce yards after the catch and yards after contact. He did show the ability last year to focus on the ball and make receptions off his body, while still getting his head turned upfield - necessary skills to thrive at this level. On the downside, he appeared hesitant when facing contact in the middle of the field, his blocking is an unknown value, and his inability to get on the field last year (and with a weak receiving corps) bodes poorly about his grasp of the offense and his routes. If he is able to stay healthy and develop a rapport with Brees he could be special, and well worth the 27th pick of the draft.
Of the Saints' offseason moves I don't believe any of them will stick past preseason. And at this point, they are entirely unknown quantities. Skyler Green has some name recognition, but his track record in the NFL does not impress.
On the whole, the wrs are a pretty unremarkable lot, short of Marques Colston. It is obvious that much of the NFL takes this same dim view, as both Patten and Henderson returned to the fold after tasting free agency. I think the FO saw this as the weak link on the team last year, and moved accordingly to draft Meachem, whose healthy return could be a boon to the team. Even so, significant upgrades are necessary, if not this year over the next two or so. The importance of separation and yards after the catch are not to be underestimated. Colston is the only wr who can achieve these consistently, and he was the only wr to perform consistently last year. I do not believe the two concepts are unrelated. If Meachem fails to produce the Saints will find themselves in a very sorry position, talent-wise, at this position. In all likelihood there are no wrs in the draft that will produce immediately, so any taken this year are for the future. It would not shock me to see multiple wrs taken by the Saints, and for one of them to be early. This is a deep draft for wrs, so several good prospects will be available late. {Jerome Simpson, Earl Bennett, Mario Urrutia} That New Orleans' offense has performed at such a high level the last 2 years with so little "great" talent at the wr position is a credit to both Sean Payton and Drew Brees. It is my belief that Brees is the type of qb who can bring you a Super Bowl trophy, and he should be surrounded by players who talents he can exploit. As such, I hope they are able to fetch more offensive players in the draft, particularly at this position. Several years of poor drafting have robbed this team of quality young depth at multiple positions, but I hope wr is not shortchanged because of our weak defense.
Let me know how wrong/right I am ...
