According to Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, wide receiver Robert Meachem (recovery from toe surgery) has been activated off of the Saints PUP list, and is participating in practice on Monday. Great news for Drew Brees, as he now finally has one of his top targets from last season back. In 16 2009 contests, he reeled in 45 balls for 722 yards and nine touchdowns.
In the Sporting News’ camp countdown for the Saints, the one player they targeted for a big season is wide out Robert Meachem, who came on in the teams Super Bowl season a year ago:
He has been an annual breakout candidate since the Saints drafted him in the first round in 2007, but last season he finally showed how dynamic he can be. He caught 45 passes for 722 yards and nine scores. If, after offseason toe surgery, he returns to full speed during training camp, he should be able to pick up where he left off.
“As a competitor, it’s tough (to be out with the toe injury during the offseason program),” Meachem said. “I want to be out there every day. But the best thing is I’ve still been getting mental reps, getting to learn from the guys, see what they’re doing wrong, see what the coaches are teaching them. So when I get my chance to get out here, I’ll do everything how they want me to do it.”
The New Orleans Times-Picayune says that Robert Meachem may end up the teams return specialist in 09:
Robert Meachem, the Saints’ No. 1 pick in 2007, is not among those vying for a roster spot as return specialist. He is one of four wide receivers who are assured roster spots, joining Marques Colston, Lance Moore and Devery Henderson. However, if Meachem shows the coaching staff that he also can return kicks, then that might eliminate several players who are viewed primarily as return specialists, most notably Skyler Green and Courtney Roby. Payton said Meachem will return kicks in the team’s third exhibition game Saturday at Oakland.
Yahoo! Sports reports on Robert Meachem getting more playing time with the first unit this past week:
Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem played more with the first team offense than last week, catching two passes for 27 yards in Saturday night’s preseason game in Houston. For the second week in a row, Meachem outperformed incumbent starter Devery Henderson. Slowly, he might be making a push to start alongside Marques Colston in the Saints’ high-powered offense.
The Saints got some bad news today in their passing game, as tight end Jeremy Shockey is expected to miss between three and six weeks to surgery for a sport hernia. He has been somewhat silent in the passing game so far for New Orleans, as he has 16 catches for 151 yards in the team going 1-2.
It’s Shockey’s second big injury in two years, as last season he broke his left leg in December with the Giants and missed the teams postseason run that ended with an upset of the Pats in the Super Bowl. The Saints have already lost Marques Colston for a few weeks, that took place in week one in a win over Tampa Bay. He had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb and is not expected back for another month.
Right now that will put the pressure on wides outs David Patten, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Robert Meachem and Terrance Copper. The teams other tight ends are Billy Miller and Mark Campbell.
Saints wide receiver Marques Colston has a torn ligament in his left thumb and may miss as much as six weeks. His thumb was injured when a helmet hit his hands while he was attempting a catch. Colston had surgery on Tuesday to reattach the ligament.
Colston has been the number one receiver for the Saints over the last two years. The team has an additional five wide receivers on their roster and will have to rely on veterans David Patten and Devery Henderson. The Saints also have last year’s first round draft pick, Robert Meachem, who will be start as a backup Sunday.
Colston had three catches for 26 yards in last Sunday’s victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last season, Colston had 98 catches for 1,202 yards.
Over his two-year career, Colston has 168 catches for 2,240 yards and 19 touchdowns. No other NFL receiver has had as many catches over two seasons. He is followed by Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald with 161 catches.
Coach Payton is expected to make a public statement about the injury today at 1:30 p.m. central time.
From what I have seen so far this year the Saints have the deepest roster in the NFL. For non Saints fans this may seem like blasphemy but hear me out. I literally looked at the depth chart for an hour yesterday and at several positions had no clue who the team would want to cut. There is not a position on the field that they can lose a starter in and be out of playoff contention.
You can argue the QB position but that goes for any team. Even Mark Brunell is better than lots if not most backups in this league. The Saints main focus this year has been heavy competition at every position which increases the level of play. Even with 9 projected starters held out of the first pre-season game you could still see how solid and crisp the play was from 3rd and 4th string players in a 24-10 win.
I will start with defense and then work my way over to offense specifically the WR position. The Saints have all of the starters on the defensive side off the ball back this year. That is a huge statement considering four of them are projected to NOT be starting this year. New Orleans may not have the very best starters at every position but do not have a significant drop off at any position either.
The Saints first team offense, took the field Thursday night without starters Deuce McAllister, Marques Colston, and Jeremy Shockey. You would not have thought that because Drew Brees and company drove down the field, capping the fist drive with a Drew Brees sweet touch pass to David Patten.
Coach Payton?s first play call of the night was a end around reverse, but after that he kept the play calling simple. The Saints managed to take almost seven minutes off the clock. Brees was 6 of 7 for 40 yards and a touchdown and was pulled after the first series. You could tell Coach Payton had seen enough of the pro bowl QB, and did not want to risk an injury.
Mark Brunell took over duties with the rest of the first team, but failed to keep things going. Brunell finished the night 10 of 12 for 119 yards, but at times seemed lost, and took a big sack down in the red zone. Brunell?s best throw was to second year man, Robert Meachem in what seemed to be a slightly over thrown ball, Meachem dove arms stretched out pulling in the pass.
Tyler Palko did not look comfortable under center. He went 6 for 11 for 144 yards and one touchdown, but he fumbled the snap 3 times, and was just not in sync with the plays being called. He did cap off the night with a 60 yard touchdown pass to Meachem.
Reggie Bush, held his own, and had a nice run around the left end, but it was negated by a holding penalty. He finished the night with 7 carries for 22 yards.
Pierre Thomas returned a kick off for 58 yards before being pushed out of bounds, but he failed to make any big plays while at the running back position. To his defense the offensive line was not doing a great job of blocking, and was allowing defenders to slip through making contact as soon as the hand off was taken.
Aaron Stecker showed he still has a little punch left also; he finished the night with seven carries for 39 yards, and a touchdown.
The New Orleans defense was not great, but not bad either. They did give up a big play on third and long, with newly acquired CB Randall Gay getting caught out of position.
The defensive line was able to get some pressure, but overall the defense still showed signs of weakness, and you could tell that there was no unit cohesion. It?s still early so there is still time to work on it.
The player of the game would have to go to Robert Meachem, he came into last nights game with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, having been the only first round pick of last years draft to not see any action the entire 2007 season.
He had 4 catches for 129 yards and 1 touchdown. His mentor, David Patten was surely pleased with Meachem?s performance, and the battle for the number to wideout position is sure to last to the end of preseason.
Either way, both Patten and Meachem looked great and the Saints offense should be even better than it was last year.
Penalties were also abundant, so you can be sure Coach Payton will address that in the coming days practice. Gary Gibbs still has some fine tuning to do on the Saints new look defense as well.
Overall the Saints first team offense got an A minus, with the Saints first team defense only making a C plus.
After months of speculation about how good they really are, the New Orleans Saints did little to distinguish themselves in their 2008 pre-season opener, with the exception of Robert Meachem. Perhaps the most impressive was that there was not a noticeable drop-off in talent once the starters rested and the team had only one turnover.
Drew Brees (6/7, 40 yards) scored first with a pass in the end zone to David Patten, capping an 80-yard drive that used up close to seven minutes of the quarter. Mark Brunell (10/12, 119 yards) saw action for the rest of the half, coming out rusty and unable to score in the red zone. Brunell did connect with Meachem for 49 yards on a drive that ended with Pierre Thomas stepping out of bounds before reaching the goal line near the end of the second quarter and missing a second attempt to run it in. Pierre Thomas was the highlight of the special teams with a kickoff return for 57 yards.
The running game took over in the beginning of the second half. Aaron Stecker gained 39 yards and ran in for a touchdown halfway through the third quarter. Tyler Palko (6/11, 144 yards) came in with about five minutes to go in the third quarter and quickly hit Adrian Arrington for 33 yards. Rookie Taylor Mehlhaff hit a 33-yard field goal near the end of the third quarter. Palko’s bright spot was a short pass to Robert Meachem in the fourth that he turned into a 60 yard touchdown run. Palko did turn the ball over halfway through the fourth.
2008 will prove that the 2006 season was not a fluke. As I said before Coach Peyton has had plenty of time to go over all the game film, and I am sure some very kind words were said in the coaches meetings this off season.
So lets look at the offense and break down each position, of coarse there are some questions remaining in the running back position and who will come out as the 4 spot or possible 5 spot in the wide receivers. **Remember I think Coach Peyton has a few tricks up his sleeve this year, and an offense that will revolutionize the game of football will debut this season, so carrying some extra wide receivers will not be surprising. With that in mind let’s look at the positions.
QB
Drew Brees – How well he does is determined on how well the defense plays. Looking back, whenever the defense had a good game, Drew had a better game. If the defense started out good so did Drew, but as the defense often more times than less failed to hold down the attack, Drew fought to maintain down the stretch. Now don’t get me wrong, Drew is one of the top QB’s in the NFL, his accuracy is second to none, so with the defense stepping up this season, look for Drew to return to the Pro Bowl form this year.
Mark Brunell – Mark was a great pick up this off season, his better days are over, but the experience and knowledge he brings is immeasurable.
Tyler Palko – I loved watching him in pre season last year, he reminded me of Brett Farve in his younger days. He has 2 of the best in the business to learn from.
RB
Deuce McAllister – We can hope he will be ready for the start of the season; the Saints need that big punch up the middle. Deuce is also a leader that can make a difference on and off the field.
Reggie Bush – What can you say, this year will be a make or break for Reggie. Making the transition from college to pro is difficult.. Add in the media hype that accompanied his arrival, we just expected too much to fast, but now in his 3rd year, he says he is focused, and ready to make a difference. Coach Peyton will give him that chance; it will be up to Reggie to take it.
Pierre Thomas – I currently have him ahead of Aaron Stecker. In the last game of the season against Chicago, he made the most of it. With 105 yds rushing and 121 receiving Pierre showed some promise in a game that could have helped the Saints sneak into the playoffs and with the Bears playing for pride. Even though early reports have him working in 3rd down situations, if Deuce does not return to form, I see Pierre getting the ball allot more often.
Aaron Stecker – He had some great games in 2007, with Reggie not getting the job done, he came in and held his own until injuries slowed him down.
Mike Karney – Am I the only one that thinks this guy is just one big muscle? He is a beast, and loves to hit. He is a great compliment to the running game when they are in the trenches.
WR
Marques Colston- He is by far Drew Brees favorite target, and will continue to be. Marques is a sure thing, grabbing every ball that is thrown his way. Some injuries have slowed him at times, but I do not see that being the case this year. Without Colston on the field the Saints offense will not get very far.
David Patten- Veteran leader that can still make plays, he was one of the best pick ups in 2007, and will make the rest of the guys better with his knowledge and leadership.
Robert Meachem – All reports so far is that he is ready to prove to everyone he belongs in the NFL. If he has a good preseason, he could edge up to the WR2 position.
Terrance Copper – Good in a pinch, he has shown he wants to play, and with the depth at the WR spot, he will step up his game to cling to one of the last spots.
Devery Henderson – Inconsistency, one minute he is catching an 80 yard bomb, the next play he misses a 5 yard toss. He better have a great preseason or he may find himself on the practice squad.
Lance Moore – Showed allot of promise in 2007, his return skills, helped him make the team, but he failed to make the plays at times also. He is in the same boat as Devery, needs to have a great preseason.
Adrian Arrington – The next Marques Colston they say, will have to wait until training camp to see if the OTA’s were a good sign, but Coach Peyton likes young talent, and he could make the roster with some big plays in the coming weeks.
Unless one of the above guys gets injured, the rest of the WR on the roster, should make the most of the preseason, and be ready to fill practice squad rosters this year.
OL
Jonathan Goodwin – He will have no problem filling the vacancy left by Jeff Faine. He showed great skills when Jeff was out with injury, and is respected by everyone on the team.
Jammal Brown – After making the Pro bowl in 2006, he struggled at times in 2007. He will be playing with a chip on his shoulder this year, and I see him going back to the Pro Bowl in 2008.
Jamar Nesbit – Great interior linemen, with excellent pass blocking skills. The left side of the line will be a brick wall come this year.
Jahri Evans – He started his rookie year, and has only gotten better. Look for him to have a Pro bowl caliber year.
Jon Stinchcomb – He in my opinion, was just the only option the Saints had last year. He may have some competition come training camp, so he needs to be ready.
Matt Lehr – Some questions arose with steroid use, but he is a good option should Goodwin get hurt.
Carl Nicks – This is my long shot; I could not believe we got him in the late rounds of the draft. His character came into question, but if Coach Peyton felt good about drafting him then his character should not be a problem. He is also a giant, and Coach Peyton loves putting young guys in that show promise. I see him taking the right tackle position come the start of the season, if he proves himself. He is what the Saints need up front, big man opening up holes, and protecting the QB, giving time to pick the defense apart.
TE
Eric Johnson – He was a disappointment last season. We had hoped he would be the playmaker, but injuries sidelined him, and his productivity was limited. He is also not a good blocker so he will not be in on every down.
Mark Campbell – One of the 1st early injuries that the Saints saw last year, he will be a toss up, but if healthy can be a playmaker.
Billy Miller – The best blocker of the group, he also had some big plays, stepping in while Eric Johnson struggled. He is my surprise pick to move up and start. Defenses see him as a blocker, so he could sneak out and grab a few up the middle just when the offense needs a big play.
I know it’s early, and in training camp anything can happen, but this is my outlook on the Saints 08 Offense, and the guys I think that will make it happen.
