Major changes for Saints this offseason

[A.E]

Expect big changes in the Big Easy this offseason
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The Saints’ championship defense crashed with a dramatic thud Saturday in Seattle.

In many respects, it could be the last game together for the Saints’ title team that was mostly brought back in 2010. The Saints could have up to 28 unrestricted free agents, and they need to re-negotiate with some stars. With a lot of help from James Varney of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, here are some of the changes to look for from the Saints.

Jeremy Shockey and Reggie Bush: Their names are bigger than their games at this point. Both players want to return, but have big contract numbers next year. They are Sean Payton favorites, but Shockey especially would be easy to replace with Jimmy Graham on the roster.

Darren Sharper: Saturday’s loss to the Seahawks could possibly be Sharper’s final NFL game, although he wants to return. He’s a free agent and there’s a good chance the Saints will move on. They need another safety to pair with Malcolm Jenkins that can cover because Roman Harper can be exposed and is a free agent.

Backfield: Chris Ivory is a keeper. Pierre Thomas is usually the team’s best running back, but he’s a free agent. Julius Jones probably won’t be back. At one point Saturday, the Saints had four running backs on injured reserve and their top two backs were hurt on the sideline.

Role Players: Here are just some of the valuable Saints role players that are likely to be unrestricted free agents: Wide receiver Lance Moore, tight end David Thomas, tackle Zach Strief, defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, linebacker Scott Shanle, and tackle Jermon Bushrod.

Coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams have complex systems that reward continuity. They’ll have to choose which roles players are most valuable wisely.

Defensive line: New Orleans had very little pass rush from their front four. Will Smith had a very disappointing year.

Drew Brees: Oh, by the way: Brees is entering a contract year. It’s going to be an expensive offseason for Saints owner Tom Benson.

-PFT

The first thing that comes to mind...the Saints need to address their defensive line woes. Gregg Williams' creativity got them over in 2009; however, the nickel & dime approach with personnel just isn't working anymore. The Saints need some able-bodied studs to stuff the run and rush the pass. The Falcons have emerged as the most potent offense in the division and Josh Freeman is continuing to improve his game, each week. The Saints will only find themselves slipping further and further away from the 2009 success w/o building a strong defensive front.

Reggie Bush needs to fucking go. I know a lot of Saint fans want to argue about how important he is for this and what kinda added dimension....look....the guy is barely on the field. A lot of us argued that he wasn't worth the money when healthy and productive in 2009. Let him walk, you need the money spent elsewhere. Jeremy Shockey...same boat. Better health but I think the Saints will be okay with a David Thomas or another guy to catch everything underneath.

Keep Chris Ivory and take a chance on a change-of-pace back in the later rounds of the draft. There's nothing PT does that Ivory cannot...and I've already elaborated on how much of an average back Pierre Thomas is anyways.

 

[DJT]

THey need to bring in someone to replace Harper. He has proved he is getting too old and can not keep up with the faster, fresher players.