http://www.yardbarker.com/rss/player/8466 Recent articles about Jolonn Dunbar en-us Rumor has it that the Saints have already cleared some players through waivers and have loose agreements with them for the Monday creation of the 8 man practice squad. Those players are Tyler Palko, Buck Ortega, Skyler Green, Lynell Hamilton, Orien Harris and Andy Alleman. Alleman was a surprise cut after being a 3rd round draft pick. Another surprised cut, Taylor Mehlhaff, is a hopeful for Saints fans if he clears waivers. Although there is no definitive word that the Saints want him back. Word close to JoLonn Dunbar, UDFA LB out of BC, is that Joey has been very happy with the Saints and wants to play for them. That same source says that the Colts and Redskins have expressed interest in him. Dunbar looked very promising in the pre-season games and was thought to have a chance to make the 53 man roster. If Dunbar was signed to the Saints PS, there would be no room for Mehlhaff. Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:39:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/316144 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/316144 The Saints today made a number of roster moves to get down to the NFL manidated 53 players. The team released former third-round guard Andy Alleman, who was a draft pick last season. The team also placed CB Greg Fassitt (knee) on injured reserve and waived Tim Duckworth, LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, WR Skyler Green, RB Lynell Hamilton, DT Orien Harris, LB William Kershaw, K Taylor Mehlhaff, TE Buck Ortega, QB Tyler Palko, DE Josh Savage, FB Olaniyi Sobomehein and WR Joe West. Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:53:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/315778 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/315778 These notes were taken by James Blake and Jean-Paul Bergeaux while personally attending the Saints Training Camp practices. They are raw scribbles and are not meant to be grammatically correct. They may not be perfectly correct and sometimes may not even make sense to the "casual Saints fan". With that disclaimer, here we go! _______________________________________________________ Some notes as the practice started. Henderson, McKenzie, Porter, Bullocks and Blythe were all in shorts on the sidelines as the players warmed up. Deuce did what I think is his normal trainer stretching on the sidelines to warm up. *First drill was punt returns with Coach O working the DL on one side and OL and QBs doing snap practice on the other end. Brees was practicing with Goodwin, Brunell with Lehr and Palko with Rob Hunt. Punt returners were Moore, Green, and Bush with Devery hanging out with them but not dressed, so just listening. As the players were jogging around, you could hear a coach yelling "Come on David Roach! You ready to be a gunner today?!?!" No real action on the punts. No lines, just punts with all making a catch. *Next was a red zone walk through at half speed. 1st team was Brees throwing to Cambell and Shockey on screen passes. Then a dump off to Reggie. Not a lot of real action, seem to be just getting the play moves right. Of note was that Meachem, Patten and Colston were lining up in the first team for three wide receiver sets with Colston being the slot receiver. Billy Miller was on the 1st team as the TE as well. Shockey seemed to be talking to the coaches around him a lot. Asking a lot of questions. 1st team defense was lead by Brian Young (returning) and Hollis Thomas at DT and Mitchell at MLB. Vilma was running with the second team. One thing that I thought was interesting was that you could see Drew going through his progressions. There were no misses or dropped passes except a lazy effort on a low pass by Patten. *Team stretching directed by coaches. Porter and Henderson did not stretch, Bullocks, Blythe and MM did stretch. *Sleds for O and pick drills for D. *O was running gauntlet (for RB/FB) while D was doing pass catching for CBs and angle practice for S. *Next was "jamming off the line" practice for WR and CBs. Meachem couldn't beat Gay off the line. A coach started yelling at him as he passed him and Meachem said something to him. Coach responded with "Don't slip then!" Meachem got lined up against Gay again and beat him the second time to the praise of the same coach. Arrington Juked Jason David on the line. *WR Pivot catches. In this drill, they had 3 orange spots for the WR to run up to, stop, turn and catch as they came out of the break. All caught the passes well, but Colston who had two drops in a row and was pretty mad about it. Kicking the final ball off the field slightly. The coach kept yelling "Run THROUGH it! Accelerate!" The only WR that seemed to do it right was Patten. *QBs throwing shoulder catches with another WR trailing behind for distractions. *Normal passing route throw from QBs while D-line and O-line were practicing at the end zones. All of the DL were running through four dummies lined up and then charging a coach who threw the ball over their heads. The D-lineman were extending to tip or intercept the ball. All seemed to do well, but seemed to be very much an easy drill, setup in the DL favor to look good. Only thing of note on the QB/WR was Carlos Robinson getting reamed for catching a ball into his body. "Catch with your hands!" was heard. *Next was some pass drills w/ QBs. Four different passers (coach as 4th) throw passes to four different patterns. Shibby and I were a little concerned for a minute while Colston seemed to be paying attention to his calf in between drills. Then a trainer came up and cut a sleeve off of his leg (longer knee sleeve?) and then he seemed fine with no concerns to worry about. Also right as the drill was starting, David Patten wandered away from the group with a very mad look on his face, and limping with his left leg. He walked around for a while and returned to the group with no ill effects that we could tell. *Next was one of the BEST drills we saw! One on one WR against CBs with QBs throwing to them. This is a very difficult drill for CBs where time is not an issue and they have no help from anyone over the top. It made for some interesting competitions. Wale Dada was covering Colston on the first one and made a NICE play on the ball preventing the pass. Usama Young was on David Patten, who won by catching a good ball. Greg Fassitt was beat by Lance Moore. Adrian Arrington BURNED Aaron Glenn on a double move and the ball was over thrown. Arrington laid out for the ball and caught it, maintaining control as he hit the ground. It was probably the highlight catch for a WR all day. Cheers erupted and people were encouraging both Glenn and Arrington after the play. Jason Craft couldn't prevent a good pass to Robert Meachem. Skyler Green juked Jason David on a comeback pass. Reggie turned and blazed to a good catch over Usama Young. Fassitt was beat on a comeback by Copper similar to Green's over David. Colston did the same comeback over Aaron Glenn. Shockey had a nice slant catch to beat Jason Craft. Patten beat Wale Dada. Jason David had BLANKET coverage on Lance Moore, but a pinpoint pass by Drew got in anyway. Arrington tried to blaze past Young, but Young stuck with him well, tipped the ball and then grabbed an INT. The INT might have been reviewable in a game, as the ball did hit the ground while in Young's hand, but he seemed to have control of it. It was a BEAUTIFUL play by Young and drew a ton of cheers and sounds from the crowd. Shockey beat Dada. Meachem had a nice cut inside to beat Jason David. Carlos Robinson couldn't shake Young, Young was in his face and at the last minute, tipped the ball away with a hand in Robinson's face. Reggie beat Jason David. Colston beat Dada only because of his size domination over Dada. Shockey caught a back shoulder pass that was perfect from Drew over Jason Craft. *Punt Return drills were next. They started from short yardage (2 yard line) where it would be difficult for the punt team to defend. Reggie miss judged the first punt, but recovered and caught it. Reggie couldn't escape Copper and Young (no blockers at all) and they said something and laughed together. Moore also miss judged the punt next, but recovered and caught it. Skyler Green was perfect on his punt return, but again no one was able to run very far because the gunners were usually right there when they caught the punt. (Again, no one had any blockers.) Interestingly Tuff Harris returned a punt next, which I had not heard or seen earlier. We were thinking that it was just because Devery Henderson was sitting out. Reggie was perfect on next punt and then Moore did something entertaining on the next one, he tried to use the coaches as interference, running through a group standing together. He didn't escape completely, but it was funny. Skyler Green fielded the next punt perfectly, but it was a VERY good angled punt by I believe Weatherford. Green caught it with one foot barely out of bounds. Reggie finally broke one even without blockers as he out ran Copper and a defensive player that I didn't catch and broke up the sidelines. *Goal line punts were next. Mostly the returner had to get out of the way as the ball was landing at the 2 to 5 yard line and the gunners were trying to down it before it went over the goal line. Weatherford kicked a perfect kick, but Meachem missed the ball as it rolled into the end zone. Coaches started screaming at Meachem. Prather had a perfect backward spinning punt that died at the 1 yard line and was caught by Arrington to down it inside the 2 yard line. Weatherford then topped that with a PERFECT sideline punt that would have gone out of bounds and been spotted at about the 2 yard line. Prather kicked a tough one to get and Jason David made a half hearted effort, but might have been able to get it if he had put more effort in it. Tuff Harris ran full speed from the other side gunner spot and almost got to the ball to down it before it bounded into the end zone. Weatherford then kicked a nice punt inside the 5 and Aaron Glenn miss-judged the ball and it got by him to roll into the end zone instead of getting downed. Reggie fielded a ball at the 5 yard line, I think because he was tired of letting the ball go by him. J They then flipped around and did a new punt drill. This one was a "max protect" line for the punter where there were no gunners, a full rush and the outside protectors became gunners for the punt return, with blockers trying to stop them. This produced more chances for the PR to get into the open field, as there were only 2 tacklers against 4 blockers and a punt returner. The line didn't really make an effort. Moore, Green, and Reggie all had good returns with Reggie out running them sometimes, but mostly blockers allowing the PR to get out. *Break Tuff Harris seemed to be wincing in pain as he limped, but then kept playing and remained in the practice at full speed. *They did a Red Zone walk through again, not at full speed and little contact. Several plays practiced, but nothing noteworthy except a dropped pass by Meachem from Brunell (2nd team). *Full speed Red Zone practice for all three groups. -Brees started the first team. off by hitting Colston for a twisting "Colston-like" body contorting pass. The DB came up (didn't see who it was) to try to make a play, which is why Colston did the twisting. The DB missed and fell down as Colston caught the ball, kept upright and took off open and free. GREAT catch (of course). NOTE: This is not the play at this link. That play was from the beginning of the second 1st string run (I note it later) http://www.coxsportstv.com/WebSite/PopupFlashVideo.aspx?VideoId=482 Something of note was that Mark Simoneau was running the 1st team D as MLB. Brees hit Billy Miller. Gay made a NICE play on the ball to knock it away from Colston. Colston had done his normal goal line catch domination because of his size, but Gay had none of it as he knocked the ball out before Colston came down with both feet. Run up the middle by Deuce. Brees was getting a lot of pressure from Charles Grant. Brees threw a side arm AROUND Grant as he came in right to Shockey for a short gain. Good instincts by Brees and good short route and catch by Shockey. With pressure on Brees, Copper wasn't able to pull in a bad throw over the middle. There was some debate over whether the pass was to Shockey or Copper, but the majority voted it was Copper. J It's worth noting that the D-line was getting good pressure on all three QBs with all three D-lines and O-lines playing. -2nd team came on with Brunell throwing a bad pass to Lance Moore in the right flats area. The ball went almost right to Usama Young, who made the INT. Again the D-line had a lot of pressure on Brunell. (For some reason I missed who was running MLB with the second team. Since Mitchell was running 3rd team, I assume it was Vilma? Anyone see this?) Yet again the D-line is dominating. Brunell couldn't find a receiver and got flushed out to the left side for what would have been a short rushing gain. Arrington dropped a TOUGH catch from Brunell over Greg Fassitt. It wasn't good coverage and wasn't a bad drop by Arrington, yet it was not a completion. Probably in an effort to relieve the pressure by the D, they called a reverse. Meachem had good speed on the reverse and would have gotten free for a good gain. We didn't notice it, but we think that Arrington either sold the pass or had a good block on Fassitt, as he was not even near the side that Meachem came on (which was the left side where Arrington had been lined up). Since they were only 10 yards from the end zone (this was almost all red zone play), Arrington must have had a good block at some point to pull it off. Brunell followed it up with a good throw to Adrian Arrington, who made the catch. Looked like a normal successful play. Arrington switched to the right side and had a WR in the slot. A pick/screen play got Arrington a short catch in traffic. Good catch and showed good concentration. -Palko came in with the 3rd string. (As noted before Mitchell was running the MLB with 3rd string D) Palko completed a screen to Lance Moore. Outside run by Lynnell Hamilton was a good run. Showed some speed and running ability. Palko completed short pass to Buck Ortega, and Ortega got a few yards after stumbling with no defensive player around him. They started with a stack of two WRs in the slot position with no WR on the outside. After the WR cleared out on patterns, Palko completed a quick pass to RB Olanyi Sobomehin coming up behind where the WR stack had been. Screen pass to Barclay which Barclay turned into a nice run. Palko finished off his chance with a bad pass... -1st team came back in with a short flats pass to the left to Mike Karney who was immediately hit by Fujita (love tap, but harder than most of the day) Here is where the play from this link happened: http://www.coxsportstv.com/WebSite/PopupFlashVideo.aspx?VideoId=482 Grant had a lot of pressure on Brees, it was a marginal pass that looked wobbly and could have been tipped. Gay tipped it up in the air and made his own INT for a BEAUTIFUL play by Gay. Duece with a run up the middle, good push. Copper dropped a very hard to catch sideline pass from Brees. It looked like Copper was not the first guy in Brees' progression and Drew was trying to squeeze the ball in tight. Good pass, tough catch Copper didn't make. Middle run by Deuce again. (I think they were trying to relieve the D-line pressure) Drew finished up his session and was MAD. He hit the ground with his helmet as he walked off. -Brunell came back in with the 2nd team and Vilma was definitely the MLB with the second team this time around (which is why we assumed the first time around but forgot to note it) Brunell's first pass was behind the line to Stecker for what probably would have been a short gain. D-line getting a lot of pressure, Brunell threw a TIGHT inside pitch in traffic to Pierre Thomas. Was a scary play from the sidelines, but worked well to what looked like it would have been a good play. Brunell threw a good pass over the middle to Billy Miller. Another nice pass to Moore. Arrington dropped a catchable ball that was a bit behind him, but he still should have caught. -Palko came in with the third team. Marvin Mitchell came in as the 3rd string MLB again, with JoLonn Dunbar as one of the OLBs, but we had a hard time telling if he was Sam or Will, and got distracted and didn't follow up later... so sorry couldn't tell which... Quick pass to Barclay for short gain. Great D-line pressure YET AGAIN with Marcus Pittman and Marques Gunn in on a sack (rare with this drill). Usama Young made a great INT, but the crowd seemed to think that he dropped the ball as he hit the ground. I didn't see that part, but it might be true. Who cares, he made a play on the ball! Palko threw another INT by Craft trying to get the ball to Lance Moore. Palko gets a break with a hand off up the middle to Lynell Hamilton (who wasn't spectacular necessarily, but was looking good). -1st team back with Brees and Simoneau as MLB again. Screen pass to start with Shockey getting popped by Usama Young (love tap) as he caught the ball. Was around the line of scrimmage when hit. Hand off to Reggie for run. Brees pass to Copper (made catch) but hit by Jason David as he caught it. Brees handed off to Reggie for outside run to the left. Reggie was FAST to the outside. Brees pass was tipped by Charles Grant (pass middle right), still caught by Lance Moore, with good concentration. Inside run, didn't see who... Nice pass to Reggie. Pass to Colston over Jason David. Colston used size to get ball. -2nd team with Brunell again. MLB was Vilma again. Short pass to Billy Miller. Tight coverage to the left and Brunell threaded a BEAUTIFUL pass between defenders to a sliding Adrian Arrington for a great catch in the end zone. Outside run by Stecker. Short pass to Lance Moore of Greg Fassitt. Hand off up the middle to Stecker (could have been PT?) Was almost like a draw play. Good outside run to the left by Pierre Thomas. Bootleg to the left, D-line following with Ronnie Ghent wide open for a touch down pass. -3rd team with Palko Wale Dada deflected a pass to Adrian Arrington by timing his hit over the top of AA very nicely. Very close timing on the tip (over the top). Wale Dada hit the WR again in another nicely timed play as the WR (couldn't see who) tried to catch the ball. Practice was over, huddled up before they went in. Skyler, PT, Lance Moore, Barcley, and more were left out with the jugs machine practicing fielding kick off simulated spinning kicks. We got distracted because Drew and Billy Miller came over to sign things and Shibby got a hat signed by both. Billy made a comment about people coming from a distance and I said that we had come from 15 hours away. He looked at me all puzzled and asked where and I said DC and he said, "I'm sorry!" as a joke. J (seemed like a good guy) Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:58:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297195 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297195 2007 Summary: Scott Shanle did such a great job in 2006 that he got a nice contract before the 2007 season. Unfortunately, his tackle totals went down and had no sacks (3 in 2006) in 2007. Shanle had a tendency to disappear in games. Some could attribute it to bad D-line play, but then why didn't Fujita's numbers go down? Some could attribute it to a change in scheme. It's been discussed that Gibbs went from an attack defense to a read-and-react defense, not sending players like Shanle in on blitzes. 2008 Offseason: During the initial free agency period the Saints only major linebacker brought in was Vilma via a trade with the Jets. Some expected a WLB to be picked up in the draft or a lingering veteran (such as Takeo Spikes or Ian Gold) to hold things down, but Sean Payton has said that they want to bring in young talent rather than older veterans at LB. To that end the Saints have brought in UDFA Jo-Lonn Dunbar and 1 year journeyman William Kershaw. Player summary: LBs on roster as of today (in the order listed on the Saints website when sorting by position): William Kershaw (52) Scott Fujita (55) - Starting SLB Mark Simoneau (53) Troy Evans (54) Scott Shanle (58) Jo-Lonn Dunbar (56) Marvin Mitchell (50) Jonathan Vilma (51) -- Assumed staring MLB William Kershaw: Jersey Number: 52 School: Maryland Year: Senior Drafted: UDFA 2006 (Chiefs) Experience: 2 years Height: 6-3 Weight: 240 40-Time: 4.63 (Combine) Kershaw started his career by being signed as an UDFA by the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent most of his first year on the practice squad, being activated for the final regular season game and a subsequent playoff game. He stayed with the Chiefs into 2007, but was cut and picked up by the Eagles for their practice squad. He went back and forth to the Texans and Eagle, before finally signing with the Broncos this offseason. For some reason the Broncos waived him soon after and the Saints signed him. Kershaw has no statistics attributed to him for any of the games he was activated for. Kershaw has the measurable that you would want from a LB in the NFL, but has not been able to get on the field with three teams, and has been quickly waived by two teams who have signed him so far. That leaves the question of why? What is wrong to cause this player to have been on 5 teams in essentially a 12 month time frame? Whatever it is, he could be a wildcard in the WLB race at Saints camp. Coming out of no where and producing. Or he could be a camp body that will be cut. Mark Simoneau: Jersey Number: 53 School: Kansas State Year: Senior Drafted: 3rd round 2000 (Falcons) Experience: 9 years Height: 6-0 Weight: 245 40-Time: 4.61 (Combine) Simoneau was acquired via a draft day trade in 2006 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He had been drafted by the Falcons, but was never able to produce for them and after an injury riddled 2002 season, was traded to the Eagles. At the WLB position in Philadelphia, he had the most tackles in a season in his career with 100 in 2003. The injury bug returned in the 2004 season and never returned to the starting line-up for the Eagles even in 2005. Known as a smart player, he was put in the MLB spot for the last two years, even though his talents are considered to be more suited for the WLB spot. Simoneau wasn't spectacular for the Saints in 2006, gathering 61 tackles, 1 sack and 1 interception. Considering the MLB slot is usually a high traffic position, and the Saints acquired a few mid-grade free agents in an attempt to replace him, but none were able to. In 2007, Simoneau only improved to 70 tackles, 1 sack and no INTs, which is apparently not what the Saints want from their MLB. With the acquisition of Jonathan Vilma, it is assumed that Simoneau will slide behind Vilma in the depth charts, but instead it may mean a move to WLB. With a true thumper of a MLB in Marvin Mitchell on the team, it may give the Saints the freedom to move him over. That makes the most sense for Simoneau and could be a boon for his production and the Saints. It will be interesting to see what happens with Mark through TC. He may even end up as the SLB (Strongside Linebacker) backup behind Fujita. It is highly unlikely that Simoneau will not be on the final roster somewhere. Troy Evans: Jersey Number: 54 School: Cinncinati Year: Senior Drafted: UDFA 2001 (Rams) Experience: 7 years Height: 6-3 Weight: 238 40-Time: 4.85 (Combine) Troy Evans is mostly a special teams player. He is not generally considered to be a potential starter at the LB position. Evans created his special teams pedigree over 5 years with the Texans, often leading the team in special teams tackles. He has an interesting career statistic, which is two special teams fumble recoveries in his career. Evans may end up being a backup LB, but more than likely will be purely a special teams player if he makes the roster. Scott Shanle: Jersey Number: School: Nebraska Year: Senior Drafted: 7th Round 2003 (Rams) Experience: 6 years Height: 6-2 Weight: 245 40-Time: 4.72 (Combine) Shanle came out of college as a projected 7th round pick in 2003 with the Rams making the projections correct. He finished fourth on the Huskers defense his senior year with 71 total tackles and wasn't overly impressive. The Rams dropped him midway through his first year with the Cowboys picking him up, but never playing him. He started in three games in 2004 and eight games in 2005, but never captured the full time starting role. The Saints scooped up Shanle when Sean Payton left Dallas for the Saints in 2006. As his first year as a full time starter in the NFL, Scott Shanle had a team high 97 tackles and 4 sacks in 2006. He was rewarded with a $12 Million dollar contract before the 2007 season and expectations were high. Unfortunately, Shanle seemed to disappear in games in 2007 and landed only 68 tackles and no sacks. That performance has a lot of people wondering if he will be replaced in 2008. But Shanle may well be the best WLB on the team and could prove that by winning the starting job and having another year like 2006. Even if he does do that, Shanle probably will not be a super-star LB, simply because he lacks the athletic prowess needed to do so. But this could be said about any of the other contenders for WLB. Last year could have been a product of a wider issue throughout the defense. Just like the other players being considered to replace him, Shanle will have to rely on others performing well in order to make good plays and have a good year. With an improved D-line and better overall more aggressive scheme, Shanle (or whoever wins the WLB spot) will probably look better than he did in 2007, if he's starting in 2008. Jo-Lonn Dunbar: Jersey Number: 56 School: Boston College Year: Senior Drafted: UDFA 2008 (Saints) Experience: Rookie Height: 6-0 Weight: 226 40-Time: 4.85 (Combine) Jo-Lonn Dunbar entered Boston College as a running back, but was converted to a LB as a red-shirt freshman and took to the new position quickly. He was the captain of the Eagle's defense in the last two years he played there, giving him the leadership experience that a coach likes to have in a player. While leading that BC defense, he was never physically dominant, but he always seemed to be in the right place and making plays. In both 2006 and 2007, Dunbar had over 90 total tackles, several tackles for loss and an interception in each year. That shows he has great instincts and awareness, an intangible that a LB needs to succeed. Dunbar had a poor performance at the combine, however, falling behind in not just the 40 yard dash, but in most athletic drills. An interesting note though is that he was listed at 231 lbs at the combine, despite playing at BC at 226 and being listed at 226 by the Saints now. That could mean that Dunbar tried to put on too much weight to fit into the "ideal" linebacker size, which is usually around 240 lbs. Or it could mean nothing and Dunbar will be another UDFA fans pull for who ends on special teams or cut altogether. Just to get Saints fan's hopes up though, the buzz around Saints camp is that Jo-Lonn Dunbar is looking good. He is, after all, one of those over-achievers types Sean Payton likes. He's just "a football player" as the cliche goes. Don't take that as a sign he is in good shape for stealing the WLB spot from Scott Shanle just yet, but it certainly could help him make the roster if he doesn't start. And it may make him that guy the Saints will wince and think hard about if they try to cut him and sneak him onto the practice squad. Marvin Mitchell: Jersey Number: 50 School: Tennessee Year: Senior Drafted: 7th Round 2008 (Saints) Experience: 1 year Height: 6-3 Weight: 249 40-Time: 4.87 (Combine) In college, Mitchell had always been a promising LB, but never really was able to show it, either because of injuries or other issues that kept him off the football field until his final year at Tennessee. In his senior year (2006), Mitchell had 104 tackles, including 10 for a loss, and was a team captain for the Volunteers. Prior to 2006 he had only 50 tackles, starting in two games out of twenty-seven games that he played in over three seasons for the Volunteers. He also performed poorly at the 2007 combine with no weight variations like Dunbar had in 08' as possible explanations. So Mitchell comes in with some questions. Was he a one year wonder at Tennessee? Is he best suited to be a special teams player and a short yardage thumper? Is he going to be the starter the Saints need at one of the linebacker positions? Mitchell is the ideal size for a linebacker and has one year under his belt with the Saints, making it through the entire 2007 season. That gives him an advantage over Dunbar and Kershaw, both of whom will be just getting used to the Saints scheme, language and chemistry. Mitchell seems well suited to be Vilma's backup at middle linebacker, so he probably has a good shot at making the final roster even if he gets beat out at the WLB position. Competition Summary: With only eight players for probably six positions to fill on the roster, the Saints seem light at linebacker going into training camp. There has been speculation about several veteran linebackers still available as free agents as this article is written. They include Takeo Spikes, Ian Gold, Al Wilson, Junior Seau, Jeremiah Trotter and a host more. It seems that at both linebacker and running back, there are a lot of older NFL players who were good veterans still on the market. The Saints have said publicly though that they want to get younger at linebacker, not older. So bringing in one of these veteran linebackers does not appear to be what the Saints are publicly saying they will do. Don't be surprised though if one of the aging veterans does end up on the roster before the opening game against the Bucs. With that said, Shanle will be hard pressed to return to 2006 form or face being dropped in the depth charts or cut. It is doubtful that he will be cut unless some of the rookies and maybe Simoneau really shine and make him expendable. The Saints showed a willingness to play rookies and wild cards on defense in 2006, but seemed unwilling to do so in 2007. Many of the same veterans from 2006 played in 2007, despite some fans thinking that they were outperformed by their backup. One would expect that Shanle, Vilma, Simoneau and Fujita will end up on the final roster, even if one or two of them isn't starting. Assuming six LB spots that leaves two spots open and two players out in the cold. Mitchell could be locked into the backup MLB role if he can fill Troy Evan's spot as the special teams guy. Otherwise Evans may eat up a backup roll, leaving Dunbar and Kershaw off the roster. Expect to see a hardy battle between Shanle, Simoneau, Dunbar and Mitchell for the open WLB starting role. If either Mitchell or Simoneau win the starting WLB, the other will most likely be the backup MLB, Shanle being the generic OLB backup and only one spot will be open for Evans, Dunbar or Kershaw. However, if Dunbar wins the starting WLB role, it could really shake up the roster. Could Shanle and Simoneau stick as the backup OLBs with Mitchell as the backup MLB? Or could that mean that one of the vets will be dropped from the roster all together? As mentioned before, the scheme and personnel changes to the defense will probably make whoever wins the starting WLB job look better than Shanle did in 2007. Another very interesting battle to watch in training camp! Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:32:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290696 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290696 As Saints training camp approaches, starting on July 24th, there are going to be several very interesting battles for starting positions as well as roster spots. In the next few days we will provide you with some details of what positions to watch and some details about whom you will be watching. First let's define what positions we will be giving detailed player by player information on: CB: Due to Mike McKenzie's injury, we will probably see a lot more action at both right and left cornerback. Even if MM is completely healthy, Jason David will have a battle on his hands to maintain his starting position at RCB. WLB: With Jonathan Vilma more than likely locking down the MLB spot and Fujita returning as the SLB, there is going to be a fierce battle for the WLB spot. Mark Simoneau started at the MLB position and Scott Shanle returns after being last years starting WLB. What about Marvin Mitchell and JoLonn Dunbar? The rest of these position battles we will not be giving player by player breakdowns, but will be giving a summary of the position and competition. RB: Reggie Bush may be the star and Deuce McAllister may be the work horse, but right now, neither has a lock on the starting position. Can Reggie emerge as a full time starter? Can Deuce recover completely and show that he can carry the rock another year? What about Pierre Thomas? DT: Last year was a down year for the Saints D-line. The DE weren't perceived to be the problem, DT was. Young was hurt all year, Hollis Thomas came in overweight and now they have to face two rookies down, DeMario Pressley and Sedrick Ellis to keep their starting jobs. K: Martin Gramatica came in late last year to hold up the Saints kicking game as Olindo Mare failed to deliver. The Saints drafted a big legged kicker in Taylor Mehlhaff, who will win? TE: This position is probably the most painful to watch, but it will be a heated competition. The Saints haven't brought in any big name free agents as some fans had hoped *cough*SHOCKEY*cough*, and didn't draft any hopefuls at TE either. So the competition against the same TEs will be fierce, but probably not exciting. OL: This may come as a shock to some Saints fans to be here. The Saints have a very good pass blocking O-line that gave up a league low sack total. However, the run blocking was poor and Drew Brees' smarts account for some of that low sack total. The Saints have two 2007 draft picks and a 2008 draft pick that have a lot of promise. FS: Josh Bullocks has the athleticism to be a great FS, but he has not been able to translate that into stellar play. Kevin Kaesviharn figures to challenge Bullocks for the starting spot and don't forget about UDFA David Roach. WR: No, we're not talking about Colston. Marques is more than likely headed to a Pro-Bowl soon. We are, however, talking about the spot next to him. David Patten was a great asset last year, but Robert Meachem and a few others could challenge him for that starting spot across from Colston. The details of the training camp battles will come out in the following days as they are ready. Keep tabs on this page and get ready for some football! Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:58:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288114 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288114