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New Orleans Saints’ Formula to Win
Published: May 2, 2009
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This is a look into the 2009 season. We will look back into the 2008 season, and I will give my opinions on what the Saints should do to become a contender. We all know that the first thing we need to do is win the NFC South Division to enter the playoffs. This is the formula I feel the Saints should follow .
The first thing needed to have a successful 2009 season is, as always, to have a great offseason. The Saints did just that, as they addressed many of their needs, added new coaches, and new players to fill the holes in a terrible defense.
We all know that the Saints had the No. 1 offense last year in nearly every category, except running the ball.
Now, many people think we need a running back to come in and bring the “spark” to the run game, but I feel we don’t. Sean Payton simply did not give the run game a chance in many of our games.
Yes, there were times were the run game was not affective at all, but I do feel we need to keep trying to run the ball when we have a lead to slow the tempo of the game and not allow the momentum to go to the other team.
Let’s take a look at some of our loses or games where I feel we could’ve ran the ball some more times. First, we will look at Pierre Thomas and his attempts in all of our games of the 2008 season, since he is the player I feel is best eligible for the starting position.
Week One—Against Tampa Bay: 10 Attempts, 52 yards, 5.2 yard average
Week Two—Against Washington: six Carries, eight yards, 1.3 yard average, 1 TD
Week Three—Against Denver six carries, 15 yards, 2.3 average, 2 TD
Week Four—Against San Francisco: one carry, one yard, 1.0 average
Week Five—Against Minnesota: No touches at all .
Week Six—Against Oakland: two carries, 18 yards, 6.0 average
Week Seven—Against Carolina: one carry, two yards, 2.0 average
Week Eight—Against San Diego: three carries, 28 yards, 9.3 average
Week Nine—Bye
Week 10—Against Atlanta: six carries, 24 yards, 4.3 average
Week 11—Against Kansas City: 16 carries, 88 yards, 5.5 average, 1 TD
Week 12—Against Green Bay: 15 carries, 87 yards, 5.8 average, 2 TD
Week 13—Against Tampa Bay: 11 carries, 34 yards, 3.1 average
Week 14—Against Atlanta: 16 carries 104 yards, 6.4 average, 1 TD
Week 15—Against Chicago: 22 carries 87 yards, 4.4 average, 1 TD
Week 16—Against Detroit: 13 carries, 77 yards, 5.9 average 1 TD
Week 17—Against Carolina: No touches .
As you can see, Pierre Thomas has made the most of his carries, and he led all the running backs in touchdowns. I feel that Pierre Thomas is a guy who can get more than 15 carries a game, and he might not be Deuce McAllister, but he can help us close out games by moving the chains. The Saints need to put trust into Pierre Thomas and play with more balance .
As for the defense, we might not have big names, but my solution for the Saints is to simply play as a unit. Don’t fall into being big name players, just play as one.
If the Saints defense can help each other rotate in and just play as one and let each other know what is going on when a player is “clueless”, which is what our secondary looked like last year, we can win more games. Take a chance, be aggressive, and get those interceptions and sacks.
This is my solution for the Saints to win games next season. Keep the offense scoring and get the defense to play as one .
New Orleans Saints: Undrafted Rookie Signings
Published: April 27, 2009
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The Saints have made moves after the draft, signing eight undrafted players. Among the eight are: G Cedric Dockery, OLB Jonathan Castillas, OLB Danny Gorrer, C Alex Fletcher, WR Chris Vaughn, QB Pat Cowan, OT Augustus Parrish, and HB Herb Donadson.
It seems like the Saints wanted to use all of their picks to improve the defensive side of the ball by bringing in some competition. Of course, the Saints did attempt to move back into the first round for running back Chris Wells. But, the added competition from all of the Saints draft picks will make the the current Saints players play at a higher level, as slacking would give the newcomers an edge.
This article isn’t going to be about the defense though I just wanted to clear my thoughts on the draft which I feel was a good draft, but which could’ve been better as the Saints didn’t have many picks.
However, I will discuss the top undrafted free agents that we signed who have the potential to make some noise and challenge some of our veterans for starting positions, or simply offer some relief.
Herb Donadson (HB, Western Illinois): Donadson is 5’10” and weighs 222 pounds. He rushed for over 1,400 yards in three years and finished up his senior season with 1,700+ Yards and 21 rushing touchdowns—pretty impressive for a guy who wasn’t drafted.
Donadson really is a thumper back—do not let his size fool you. He has an amazing stiff arm and is definitely a inside presence. He could come into play on short yardage and at the goal line.
The problem with Donadson, though, is he isn’t effective in the passing game, lacks the speed to finish plays, and runs out of gas when he’s in the secondary. He also has a problem with fumbles.
Cedrick Dockery (OG, Texas): Dockery is 6’3″ and weighs 314 pounds. He is also related to Derrick Dockery, current offensive guard for the Washington Redskins. He is a good run-blocker and is very physical—something much of the Saints interior line is missing—but he is very inconsistent. He could be a solid reserve but if he can be more consistent he could fight his way into the starting line up.
Alex Fletcher (C, Stanford): Stanford is 6’2″ and weighs 297 pounds. He was ranked 12th amongst all the centers coming out of the draft and bench pressed 225 pounds 30 times—good enough for third at the combine, and more than center Alex Mack.
He is very good at run blocking, but struggles on the goal line to push his opponents back to make a hole. I honestly feel this kid could beat out Jonathan Goodwin for the starting center position.
Overall, the Saints have brought in talent at every position we need. I give this entire off-season of tryng to improve the team an A+ .
