TP Position Review: Returners

Thursday, May 28th, 2009
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Ah, now here is one of my favorite parts of the game. I have a habit of coming out of my seat on returns, but only if the returner can make it past that first wave with the promise of getting more. I love the return game. This where you have the true kamikazes that lay it all out to make a play. It is such a small fraction of the actual game, but it can have a tremendous impact if you break a couple for a score.

via Saints Beat

CURRENT DEPTH CHART:
Player – Age – Height – Weight
Courtney Roby, 26, 6-0, 189
Skyler Green, 24, 5-9, 190
Reggie Bush, 24, 6-0, 203
Lance Moore, 25, 5-9, 190

Roby came out of nowhere to really bust some good returns open, and I think he holds the advantage over Green, who was great at LSU, but has had a hard time catching on in the NFL so far with stints in Cincinnati and Dallas. I think Roby wins the kick returning job, and I think he could win at the punt return position too, solely because I think Bush and Moore are too valuable to put back on a regular basis to field punts. I do think you will see Bush return a punt a game maybe, but I think the Saints are best served letting Roby settle in to the punt returner role with Bush having the rare cameo when the Saints really need a spark.

TP Position Review: Kickers

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
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The Times-Picayune looks at the Saints’ kicking game.

via Saints Beat

CURRENT DEPTH CHART
Player – Age – Height – Weight
K Garrett Hartley, 23, 5-8, 196
P Glenn Pakulak, 29, 6-3, 220
P Thomas Morstead, 23, 6-4, 225
LS Kevin Houser, 31, 6-2, 252
LS/DE Rob Ninkovich, 25, 6-2, 255

BREAKDOWN:
After playing musical chairs with their kickers for the last three years, the Saints finally found some stability last year with rookie Garrett Hartley, who made all 13 of his field-goal attempts after signing at midseason.

They have enough confidence in Hartley that they elected not to bring in any competition this summer – though there are plenty of out-of-work veterans, including John Carney, who could be called in at a moment’s notice.

I’ll be very interested to see how Hartley reacts – and more importantly, how the Saints react – when he misses his first NFL kick or misses a game-changing kick down the stretch of a tight game. As impressive as his debut season was, he never really got tested in that fashion. But Saints Coach Sean Payton has raved about Hartley’s consistently in games and on the practice field.