Glenn: It seems that there are many boom or bust selections by the Saints in the draft. Based on your initial reports, who will be a boom and who will be a bust?
WhoDaySay (Vern): First off, let me say that I really like what the Saints did this year. I feel the front office had a more basic approach this year than in past drafts, and I believe it will prove beneficial. They still went after the best available player; this time, those players just happened to fit a desperate need. As for the "boom" of the class, I think that will end up being Sedrick Ellis. Although, I was tempted to say Carl Nicks because of his draft position and early impressions, I believe it's Ellis who has the pro-bowl ability and professional maturity to be one of the more successful defensive tackles in the league. And, he plays the position that will most positively affect our defense. He should instantaneously make Will Smith and Charles Grant better, which in turn affects the quarterback, which in turn helps the secondary. His ability to prevent opposing centers and guards from reaching the second level should allow Vilma, Fujita, and Morgan (or Shanle) to flourish. Adrian Arrington may be the sexy pick, but Ellis (as his top 10 selection should indicate) will be the monster of this class. For the "bust" of this class, I look at the other defensive tackle we brought in, DeMario Pressley. My only reason for this is that Sean Payton went out of his way in his post mini-camp press conference to commend every rookie but Pressley. Call it the poker player in me, but I tend to read in to these little hints, as right now it's our only clue. When asked if there were any players who have turned some heads, Payton responded, "Nicks has done a good job of stepping in and when you look at Ellis, he's been a pain in the rear for a couple days now with splitting some double-teams and getting in the backfield. Porter has showed some of the cover skills that we were anticipating that we'd see and (Adrian) Arrington has done a good job of handling the assignments. He's a pretty sharp kid. Overall, I've been encouraged. With Pressley, it's just the consistency and staying healthy and some of those things. He's going to be able to get stronger in our program and I think that's going to be important for him. I think he can improve in that area and we talked a little bit about that yesterday." Yeah, right now the bust is definitely Pressley.
Glenn: When the 2008 season starts, what will be our starting defensive lineup or will we even field a defense in 2008?
WhoDatSay (Vern): My projected starting eleven on defense right now:
RE – Will Smith
DT – Sedrick Ellis (nose)
DT – Bryan Young (3-tech)
LE – Charles Grant
SLB – Scott Fujita
MLB – Jonathan Vilma
WLB – Dan Morgan*
RCB – Jason David*
LCB – Mike McKenzie*
FS – Josh Bullocks
SS – Roman Harper
*If McKenzie is not ready to open the season as a starter, then Randall Gay will get the nod over Usama Young.
*I don't really like putting Jason David in the starting eleven, but based on Mickey Loomis' most recent comments -- "Jason had a tough year, a tough transition period, going from the [Cover 2] defense that the Colts played to the defense that we played. What we asked him to do, in terms of being out on an island and covering guys man-for-man more often than he did with the Colts, it took an adjustment period for him. But he's got the ability to be a good corner for us, and that's what we expect." — based upon that statement, I believe he will be the starter come opening day.
*The last uncertainty is Morgan starting over Shanle, but I think if Morgan is healthy, it's his job to lose.
Glenn: Would you rather have the gum chewing Sean Peyton as coach or nice guy (big brass ones) Les Miles as Saints coach?
WhoDatSay (The Dowg): Sean Payton. This Football Coach is the right guy at the right time for the Black and Gold. Make no mistake about it. He's tough, he's smart, and he's a winner. For a town and team that's been sorely lacking that throughout its history, I'm not sure we could have found a better fit than the Football Coach. And he will win, don't you worry about that. Not to take anything away from Miles in Baton Rouge. Les is doing quite a bang-up job 60 miles up-river. And, as you point out, he is very nice. He's the Nice Guy. And that counts for something. In fact, word out of Baton Rouge is that his favorite part of the game is the halftime interview with his dear friend Jordy Hultberg. His favorite off-the-field activity? The Wednesday night love-fest with Jim Hawthorne live from Walk-On's. A distant third? The speeches to the kiddies at Mainieri's summer baseball camps. I'm nice, you're nice, we're all nice.
Miles is a great fit in Baton Rouge. Payton is a great fit here in the Big Easy. I think they both belong just where they are.
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