Yardbarker: Tracy Porter

Tracy Porter flashed enough promise as a rookie to become one of the vital building blocks in the New Orleans Saints rebuilt secondary

Sun, 03 May 2009 23:32:32 -0500

Ted Jackson, The Times-PicayuneAs a rookie last season, Saints cornerback Tracy Porter started the first five games before dislocating his right wrist. He flourished in his limited playing time, finishing with one interception, five pass-defenses and 32 tackles. The Saints...

Saints Interested in Drafting Illinois’ CB Vontae Davis?

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:39:20 -0500

The Biloxi Sun-Herald is starting to talk draft already, and one player they think the Saints will take a long look at is Illinois

Saints CB Tracy Porter Undergoes Wrist Surgery

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:06:01 -0500

Saints cornerback Tracy Porter needed surgery on what head coach Sean Payton described as a dislocated right wrist, but it was not clear Tuesday how...

Saints Place CB Tracy Porter On Season-Ending IR

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:06:01 -0500

The Saints have placed starting cornerback Tracy Porter on injured reserve, ending his first season in the NFL. Saints Coach Sean Payton said Tuesday...

Saints CB Tracy Porter Undergoes Wrist Surgery

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:04:44 -0500

Saints cornerback Tracy Porter needed surgery on what head coach Sean Payton described as a dislocated right wrist, but it was not clear Tuesday how...

Saints CB Tracy Porter Injures Right Arm

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:01:48 -0500

New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter left MondayA's game against the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth quarter with an apparent right arm injury. ...

Cadillac Mescallade: St. Reliable Cornerback, We Pray To You

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:39:19 -0500

The New Orleans Saints lost again this past weekend, this time to the Denver Broncos and by just two points. If you missed the game, they came back from a huge deficit and then Martin Grammatica blew a kick. While normally I'd love to pin this one on Martin, mainly because he is more out of place in an NFL uniform than George Plimpton and his celebrations are made more for bowling alleys than football fields, I can't. Once again, the Saints defense - the secondary in particular- has l...

The Right Ingredients and Balance for the Perfect Recipe

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:27:36 -0500

One of my life long friends is a chef, he went to culinary school, and now is very successful, having appeared on the Food Network, he spends all his time perfecting his craft. I asked him once what does it take to be one of the best? His answer was quite simple, "The right ingredients and balance makes all the difference." He then proved it by making a ham sandwich. 1st using only bread, mayo, and some ham. It took only a minute to make. He then asked me to have a bite. Not surprising it tasted just like any other ham sandwich. Now he said, I will make you a real ham sandwich. It took over 15 minutes to make, and just the appearance and the set up, alone I was not sure if I wanted to eat it or take a picture. I then tried it, and it was the greatest ham sandwich I ever had. You see he said, "The right ingredients and balance make all the difference." Now that I have made all of you hungry, I will get to the point of this article. It got me thinking why some teams, year after year are successful, and why some are not. The Saints wooed Jason David away from the Colt's in 2007. It was felt that he could fix the left side CB issue. The mistake was Jason David is better suited in a cover 2 scheme, not man to man. Jason is a very talented player if used in the right scheme, so don't hate him for getting burned so much. If there is a finger to be pointed, it should be at Gary Gibb's. 1 Stick Butter: It takes the right skill set to play man to man, and the Saints 2nd round pick this year Tracy Porter has those skills needed. As long as he picks up on the schemes, I do not see why he will not be the CB2 starter when the Saints visit conference rivals the Buccaneers on September 7th. 1 Tea Spoon Sugar: To play middle linebacker in a 4-3 defense, you have to be athletic, Jonathan Vilma is that guy. He will be the missing link that the LB core has needed since Coach Peyton took over in 2006. Vilma suffered when the Jets changed defensive schemes, his skills were not used to their full potential, and I believe also lead to his injury. He will be completely healed, and ready to go in September. 4 Table Spoon Salt: Smith, Grant, McCray, Ellis these guys will be a force to reckon with. Last year teams were double teaming Smith, and Grant, what was missing was a fleet footed rusher. In comes McCray, and Ellis. Sliding over Grant next to Ellis will make offensive lines adjust, creating 1 on 1's with McCray and Smith. I expect to see allot more pressure put on the QB's this year creating more turnover opportunities. As far as the offense is concerned, the right ingredients have been there since 2006, it was the balance in which they are used that is in question. I am sure Coach Peyton has already addressed this issue after watching the game film from 2007, and I think we may even see the formation of a new offensive scheme that will be used by more teams, just as Bill Walsh's West Coast offense did in the 80's. If there is anyone poised to do that it's Coach Peyton. So we can only wait now, as the 2008 season nears to see if we have the right ingredients and balance to return to Super Bowl contender form. As for me right now, I think I'll make me a ham sandwich.

NFL Draft Projections: Round 2

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:44:18 -0500

NFL College Draft Projections ROUND 2 By Gary Hartman, The Fantasy Sports Forum.com 32. Miami Dolphins- Gosder Cherilus OT, Boston College The Dolphins can use that O-Line centerpiece and get a steal in Cherilus here. 33. St. Louis Rams- Brandon Flowers CB, Va Tech The Rams can really use depth and youth at corner. 34. Atlanta Falcons- Joe Flacco QB, Delaware They get their QB that they are extremely high on, to be their future starter. 35. Kansas City Chiefs- Sam Baker OT, USC Get the 1st rd talent OT they are looking for. 36. New York Jets- Lawrence Jackson DE, USC A big steal here for the Jets, as they get the big time pass rusher they desperately need. 37. Atlanta Falcons- Kentwan Balmer DT, UNC Need someone to stuff the run and Balmer is a huge, talented body. 38. Baltimore Ravens- Tracy Porter CB, Indiana Need that corner that will eventually replace the Rolle and McCalister. 39. San Francisco 49er's- Early Doucet WR, LSU A bit of a reach, but they really need wide outs and he is next best avaliable. 40. New Orleans Saints- Pat Sims DT, Auburn Really, really need a DT and get a great player here. 41. Buffalo Bills- Terrell Thomas CB, USC Versatile secondary player that can bring a some youth and talent to the position. 42. Denver Broncos- Dre Moore DT, Maryland Have no standout tackles, only some mediocre ones and some projects. Read the rest of this draft list at: http://thefantasysportsforum.com/article.php?ID=251

Pre-Combne Draft Risers: McKelvin, Henne, Rodgers-Cromartie, and others jumping up the board.

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:34:27 -0500

Whose stock is rising as the combine gets underway? Here are ten prospects who are shaking up our mock drafts, and giving scouts and GMs a lot to think about and talk about.