Saints Gab

Two thoughts crossed my mind Monday when the Saints released Cornerback Jason David. First, my inner Saints fan breathed a sigh of relief that the diminutive DB won’t get beat over the top while wearing the fleur-de-lis anymore. However, the sports purist in me felt saddened that one of the hardest working players on the roster, and the Saints’ 2008 interception leader, is now gone.

David spent his entire tenure with the Saints under heavy scrutiny which began after his first regular season game with the team. He was constantly abused on national television by Peyton Manning and the Colts, the team he was acquired from as a restricted free-agent the season after starting on a Super Bowl winning defense.

David never made the transition from the Colts’ Cover-2 scheme into the Saints’ preferred man-to-man style under Defensive Coordinator Gary Gibbs but it wasn’t because of a lack of effort.

The Washington State product received praise at times as a Saint because he never shied away from the criticisms directed at him and was constantly seen making every effort to become a better player. He put 100 percent into everything he did on the field. David made a mark on special teams when he was not playing regularly. Despite falling down the depth chart in 2008 he did get the opportunity to start due to injuries and lead the team with five interceptions.

This summer David was given the chance to regain favor with the Saints’ new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. However, after an abysmal performance against Cincinnati last Friday in which he was in position to make several plays but was either out sized or just plainly missed a tackle by trying too hard and lunging, the business of the NFL finally caught up to him. No team can afford to pay starter money to a backup special teams player whose black and gold jersey probably smelled more like toast than sweat at the end of any given game.

That said, David should still be given the chance to compete for a starting position elsewhere in the NFL. He possesses the technique, knowledge, and desire of an NFL caliber cornerback, he just doesn’t have the physical traits needed to succeed in a man-to-man scheme. His 5’ 8”, 180-pound frame is more suited to a zone coverage system where he is not constantly asked to defend some of the tallest, fastest athletes in the league.

No matter where he ends up, though, David will put in maximum effort on the field and will probably make some big plays. He should be commended for his attempt to make the most of a poor situation in New Orleans and certainly deserves another shot.

The Saints have waived veteran cornerback Jason David.

David has played two seasons in New Orleans, where he arrived as a high profile restricted free-agent acquisition in 2007. David, 27, spent his first three NFL season with Indianapolis, leaving shortly after the Colts’ Super Bowl title.

David had a team-leading five interceptions in 2008, but the 5-foot-8 defensive back also was victimized on a number of long passing plays.

The move will save money for the Saints as David was set to earn about $2.4 million this season.

The club announced that it has filled the roster spot with cornerback Greg Fassitt(notes), a former Grambling State player who was released by Tampa Bay last spring.

The New Orleans Saints enter Sundays game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers not knowing if their defense has improved from their dismal performance in 2007, but it will take only 60 minutes to tell Coach Payton, the NFL, and Saints Fans every were the answer.

On paper the Saints have improved in every area but one, the secondary. No one has stepped up and taken CB2 starting position. Mike McKenzie returning from a season ending knee injury in 2007, quietly showed he is ready this preseason, and let every defensive coordinator know not to throw his way!

The other corner back job is still up for grabs, and a regular season audition will continue to take place. Randall Gay, the Saints free agent pick up from the Patriots this off season looks to have the first audition on Sunday. He has shown the same flaws that Jason David has by allowing long completions in all of his preseason appearances, but has the most experience with talent at this point. Rookie Tracy Porter has been good, but still has a lot of learning to do.

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There seems to be some confusion over whether embattled Jason David is on the Saints roster or not.

Both the NFL.com and NOLA.com (New Orleans newspaper, Times Picayune, site) list David as cut, however the official New Orleans Saints web site lists David as still on the roster. The team surprisingly kept 7 CBs and only 3 DEs in the final 53 man roster. Leading to speculation that the Saints were looking to pick up someone on the waiver wire.

One of the players being speculated about is Rob Ninkovich who was waived by the Dolphins and was a promising DE from the Saints 2006 rookie class, but was injured often and cut by the Saints last year. Ninkovich has several sacks and QB pressures against the Saints in the last Pre-Season game.

Update:

The league has confirmed that the inclusion of Jason David on the list of players cut was an error on the NFL.com website. Despite the wishes of many Saints fans, Jason David is still a Saint.

As Saints training camp approaches, starting on July 24th, there are going to be several very interesting battles for starting positions as well as roster spots. In the next few days we will provide you with some details of what positions to watch and some details about whom you will be watching.

First let’s define what positions we will be giving detailed player by player information on:

CB: Due to Mike McKenzie’s injury, we will probably see a lot more action at both right and left cornerback. Even if MM is completely healthy, Jason David will have a battle on his hands to maintain his starting position at RCB.

WLB: With Jonathan Vilma more than likely locking down the MLB spot and Fujita returning as the SLB, there is going to be a fierce battle for the WLB spot. Mark Simoneau started at the MLB position and Scott Shanle returns after being last years starting WLB. What about Marvin Mitchell and JoLonn Dunbar?

The rest of these position battles we will not be giving player by player breakdowns, but will be giving a summary of the position and competition.

RB: Reggie Bush may be the star and Deuce McAllister may be the work horse, but right now, neither has a lock on the starting position. Can Reggie emerge as a full time starter? Can Deuce recover completely and show that he can carry the rock another year? What about Pierre Thomas?

DT: Last year was a down year for the Saints D-line. The DE weren’t perceived to be the problem, DT was. Young was hurt all year, Hollis Thomas came in overweight and now they have to face two rookies down, DeMario Pressley and Sedrick Ellis to keep their starting jobs.

K: Martin Gramatica came in late last year to hold up the Saints kicking game as Olindo Mare failed to deliver. The Saints drafted a big legged kicker in Taylor Mehlhaff, who will win?

TE: This position is probably the most painful to watch, but it will be a heated competition. The Saints haven’t brought in any big name free agents as some fans had hoped *cough*SHOCKEY*cough*, and didn’t draft any hopefuls at TE either. So the competition against the same TEs will be fierce, but probably not exciting.

OL: This may come as a shock to some Saints fans to be here. The Saints have a very good pass blocking O-line that gave up a league low sack total. However, the run blocking was poor and Drew Brees’ smarts account for some of that low sack total. The Saints have two 2007 draft picks and a 2008 draft pick that have a lot of promise.

FS: Josh Bullocks has the athleticism to be a great FS, but he has not been able to translate that into stellar play. Kevin Kaesviharn figures to challenge Bullocks for the starting spot and don’t forget about UDFA David Roach.

WR: No, we’re not talking about Colston. Marques is more than likely headed to a Pro-Bowl soon. We are, however, talking about the spot next to him. David Patten was a great asset last year, but Robert Meachem and a few others could challenge him for that starting spot across from Colston.

The details of the training camp battles will come out in the following days as they are ready. Keep tabs on this page and get ready for some football!

From: Pro Football Weekly

Word out of New Orleans is that rookie CB Tracy Porter made a good first impression during OTAs and has already passed second-year CB Usama Young on the depth chart. Jason David and Mike McKenzie, if he’s recovered from a torn ACL suffered late last season, are the presumed starters at corner, but David could very well lose his job to Porter or nickel back Randall Gay if he doesn’t show better field awareness and he continues to get beat deep.

One of my life long friends is a chef, he went to culinary school, and now is very successful, having appeared on the Food Network, he spends all his time perfecting his craft. I asked him once what does it take to be one of the best?

His answer was quite simple, “The right ingredients and balance makes all the difference.”

He then proved it by making a ham sandwich. 1st using only bread, mayo, and some ham. It took only a minute to make. He then asked me to have a bite. Not surprising it tasted just like any other ham sandwich. Now he said, I will make you a real ham sandwich. It took over 15 minutes to make, and just the appearance and the set up, alone I was not sure if I wanted to eat it or take a picture. I then tried it, and it was the greatest ham sandwich I ever had.

You see he said, “The right ingredients and balance make all the difference.”

Now that I have made all of you hungry, I will get to the point of this article.

It got me thinking why some teams, year after year are successful, and why some are not. The Saints wooed Jason David away from the Colt’s in 2007. It was felt that he could fix the left side CB issue. The mistake was Jason David is better suited in a cover 2 scheme, not man to man. Jason is a very talented player if used in the right scheme, so don’t hate him for getting burned so much. If there is a finger to be pointed, it should be at Gary Gibb’s.

1 Stick Butter:

It takes the right skill set to play man to man, and the Saints 2nd round pick this year Tracy Porter has those skills needed. As long as he picks up on the schemes, I do not see why he will not be the CB2 starter when the Saints visit conference rivals the Buccaneers on September 7th.

1 Tea Spoon Sugar:

To play middle linebacker in a 4-3 defense, you have to be athletic, Jonathan Vilma is that guy. He will be the missing link that the LB core has needed since Coach Peyton took over in 2006. Vilma suffered when the Jets changed defensive schemes, his skills were not used to their full potential, and I believe also lead to his injury. He will be completely healed, and ready to go in September.

4 Table Spoon Salt:

Smith, Grant, McCray, Ellis these guys will be a force to reckon with. Last year teams were double teaming Smith, and Grant, what was missing was a fleet footed rusher. In comes McCray, and Ellis. Sliding over Grant next to Ellis will make offensive lines adjust, creating 1 on 1‘s with McCray and Smith. I expect to see allot more pressure put on the QB’s this year creating more turnover opportunities.

As far as the offense is concerned, the right ingredients have been there since 2006, it was the balance in which they are used that is in question. I am sure Coach Peyton has already addressed this issue after watching the game film from 2007, and I think we may even see the formation of a new offensive scheme that will be used by more teams, just as Bill Walsh’s West Coast offense did in the 80’s. If there is anyone poised to do that it’s Coach Peyton.

So we can only wait now, as the 2008 season nears to see if we have the right ingredients and balance to return to Super Bowl contender form. As for me right now, I think I’ll make me a ham sandwich.