FanHouse Andyalleman

In noting that the Saints are dangling Jammal Brown, MDS asks if it makes sense to trade a 27-year-old All-Pro left tackle for a rookie who will get massive guaranteed money right away. Usually, that question is a no-brainer. In this instance, I'm not so sure.

What many don't know about Brown is that he's got a degenerative knee condition dating back to his college days that teams were aware of. The word on the injury was that it wouldn't damper his play, but would most likely shorten his career significantly. I think that injury is in the Saints' minds right now, tempting them to deal Brown before he commands a huge contract he might not live up to.

The team is also deep at tackle, and love young backups Zach Strief and Jermon Bushrod. If Brown were to be dealt it would be Strief's job, which also fits into logic. Since Sean Payton arrived, the team has slowly converted their offensive line into a nasty, physical bunch. New-ish starters Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin, and potential starter Andy Alleman all have that quality, and Strief does too. Brown's a finesse tackle.

So to me, at least, it makes sense to deal Brown while the Saints can turn his value into a potentially All-Pro defensive tackle, the missing piece that has resulted in such a consistently bad defense. But it might not be the Rams Brown is headed to -- perhaps he and the 10th pick go to the Chiefs, which should land the Saints Sedrick Ellis. In return the Chiefs get a great tackle and can replace Jared Allen with Derrick Harvey. Things that make you go "hmmmmm."

It took a while for the Saints to start locking down their own free agents, but they're picking up steam. Yesterday they announced two re-signings on the offensive line -- backup center Jonathan Goodwin and starting left guard Jamar Nesbit. Goodwin's signing could mean the end of a third lineman, free agent starting center Jeff Faine.

Word on the street is that Faine is looking to be one of the highest-paid centers in the league, and the Saints apparently recognize that that's foolish, so he appears to be walking (potentially to division rival Tampa Bay). Faine is a very intelligent center who excels at calling out blocking assignments. But he's also undersized. At 290 pounds, he has a tough time blocking nose tackles 20-30 pounds heavier than he is (we already know he's a tad on the weak side). When Faine missed two games with injuries, the offense was much better under Goodwin. The fact that he was given a three-year, $8.5 million deal suggests as well that the Saints aren't paying him to be a backup.

As for Nesbit, there's been word that the team feels '07 draft pick Andy Alleman might be able to take over this year, so Nesbit could potentially lose his starting job. If he does, though, he's a very good backup who's played at all five positions. Either way, by what the Saints did and didn't do yesterday, I think their line got better.

You know those people. They're the casualest of football fans. Their insight typically extends as far as "Hey, that Peyton Manning is a pretty good quarterback." And yet, they're not satisfied letting you wallow in your team's 0-3 start. No, they've got to tell you what your favorite team is doing wrong. They're everywhere, and they all want to explain to me that the reason the Saints are losing is because of their defense.

And yeah, the Saints' defense has been just two or three steps below bad, but they're really no worse than they were last year. So what's the difference between 2006 and 2007?

Our own Michael David Smith knows, and he explains over at Football Outsiders.

The biggest problem facing the Saints is the offensive line, and until that problem gets straightened out, the best story of the last NFL season is going to continue to be the biggest disappointment of this NFL season.

I generally dislike the mentality of treating an offensive line as one unit, rather than treating each of the five players on the line as individuals. But the fact is, left tackle Jammal Brown, left guard Jamar Nesbit, center Jeff Faine, right guard Jahri Evans and right tackle Jon Stinchcomb all had bad games Monday night.

And the game before that. And the game before that. The problem isn't that Drew Brees is suddenly a bad quarterback, or that Reggie Bush is a bust, it's that the line hardly cares to block. MDS correctly notes that the team used a lot of tricks to mask their shortcomings last year (they also lost starting tight end Mark Campbell, a good blocker), and I wouldn't be surprised to see the unit blown up at some point this year, with youngsters Andy Alleman and Zach Strief replacing Nesbit and Stinchcomb, respectively. Something's gotta be done to fix this disaster.

That's the question a lot of pundits are asking today in trying to figure out how the Saints, preseason NFC favorites, are 0-2. But the magic they're referring to is that annoying, mythical "Katrina magic" that people invented last year. That's not what I'm referring to. Last year was based on a lot of really good personnel decisions, good coaching, and inspired play. We know that good coaching and inspired play have so far been nowhere to be found. But what of the personnel decisions?

Last year, the Saints had a magic touch shaping their roster. They got four starters in the draft (Roman Harper, Jahri Evans, Marques Colston, and Reggie Bush), six if you include draft-day trades for Jeff Faine and Hollis Thomas. They also made smart moves in free agency; besides Drew Brees, the team also got outsized contributions from Scott Shanle, Terrance Copper, and Scott Fujita. Almost every move they made turned to gold.

This year? Meh. Only four picks (Usama Young, Jermon Bushrod, Andy Alleman, and Robert Meachem) have made the team, all but Young have been deactivated for both games, and he only plays sparingly. Their dabble in free agency has been worse. Eric Johnson has been average at tight end, but at least he's doing something; it goes downhill from there. Kendrick Clancy won a starting job at defensive tackle but has been blah. Jason David's exploits are well documented. Kevin Kaesviharn has looked lost at nickel safety. And linebacker Brian Simmons can't beat out Mark Simoneau, who couldn't shed a block by Holly Mangold.

There's a lot of problems that need to be fixed with this team, and it's unfair to attack the new guys when so many of the holdovers have been so, so awful. Still, the Saints added a lot of players in the offseason, and counted on those players to improve the team. They haven't.

To get you ready for the season, FanHouse is previewing all 32 NFL teams. Here's New Orleans' outlook.

2006 record: 10-6

2006 Offense: The #1 offense in the league. Drew Brees. Reggie Bush. Deuce McAllister. Marques Colston. Devery Henderson. All led by Sean Payton, who has proved to be one of the most innovative offensive coaches in the NFL after but one year. Yeah, it was pretty good.

2006 Defense: The Saints ran an unusual defense last year -- the break but don't bend variety (yes, you read that correctly). Their job primarily was just to get the ball back to the offense, either by forcing an early three-and-out or by quickly giving up the big score. And they succeeded one way or the other. They still finished with the 11th overall defense, but causing turnovers was a major problem.

2006 Special Teams: Between Lance Moore, Michael Lewis, and Bush, the team did well enough returning the ball. Kickoffs were a problem though, so much so that the team had to waste a roster spot on Billy Cundiff, a kickoff specialist who still couldn't boom touchbacks into the endzone. John Carney retained his accuracy, but lost even more distance on his field goals. From the blocked punt that sparked the Superdome reopening, to Bush's first NFL touchdown (a game-winning punt return against Tampa), this unit produced some of the most memorable plays of the season.

Amidst the splendid news that the Saints have inked three of their draft choices -- third-rounders Andy Alleman and Usama Young, with fifth-rounder David Jones -- comes a bit of sadness, as the team has cut two long-standing, beloved Saints. The releases of return man Michael Lewis and defensive end/tackle Willie Whitehead were announced today.

Whitehead is the last last hold-over from Mike Ditka's disastrous run in the Big Easy, and has proved to be incredibly valuable. His versatility has done a lot in bolstering a Saints defensive line that has been the strength of the team for years, even as the rest of the roster lagged behind. He never received a ton of attention (if any) outside of New Orleans, but Whitehead always showed up for work prepared and did his job admirably.

Michael Lewis, meanwhile, has become a legend in New Orleans. Forget Invincible -- Vince Papale's got nothing on "Beerman." A local product who never went to college (driving a Budweiser truck for a living) and walked on at the NFL level, Lewis didn't just make it into a game, as Papale did. He owns the Saints records for kickoff and punt return yards. He also owns the season-high marks in both categories, and in 2002 set an NFL record with 2,432 combined return yards, a distinction that sent him to the Pro Bowl.

But both are long in the tooth, and room is needed for the Saints' influx of young talent. Lewis' release was expected -- he's dealt with injuries the last two seasons and with Reggie Bush, Lance Moore, and Jones looming, Lewis' inability to play receiver hurt his chances -- but Whitehead's was a bit more of a surprise. The team must feel comfortable in their depth at end behind starters Charles Grant and Will Smith, but Rob Ninkovich and Josh Cooper are largely unproven.

Though the future is exciting, it's hard for Saints fans not to be a bit saddened by today's news. Was it Nietzsche who said "It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday"? Actually, it was Boyz II Men. Still poignant.