New Orleans Saints Review

It was definitely a surprise to hear that veteran linebacker/special teams captain Troy Evans was cut by the Saints.  Evans was just starting his 4th year as a Saint after 5 years as a Houston Texan.

While he did get some playing time at outside linebacker, Evans was primarily a special teams star.  But, the Saints have been struggling quite a bit with special teams coverage so far this preseason.  Perhaps cutting Evans was more a matter of the team having a number of younger, faster players to take his place than it was an indictment of his play.

Either way, that unit has a lot of work to do before opening night against the Minnesota Vikings.

As for Evans, he’s the type of quality veteran player who shouldn’t be out of a job for too long.  And, if the Saints continue to struggle with coverages, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him back in the Black & Gold sometime down the road.

I have to say that defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has become the football equivalent of a big-budget Hollywood movie that tanks at the box office.  What really scares me is that when big Al proclaimed that he wasn’t happy with Washington’s move to a 3-4 defense this past offseason, there were actually a few Saints fans who thought he’d fit nicely next to Sedrick Ellis on the defensive line.

Sorry, but Haynesworth and his $100 million dollar contract can go anywhere other than New Orleans.  The real question is: Who wants this guy?

His behavior throughout the offseason and training camp has been borderline ridiculous.  Instead of attempting to start off on the right foot with new Redskins coach Mike Shannahan, he’s done just about everything a man can do to alienate himself from his team.  The complaints, poor offseason conditioning, and yes even more complaints.

Watching his little sob story (see below) after the Redskins’ preseason loss to the Ravens the other night was pretty much on par with T.O. doing sit-ups in his yard a few years back:

Sounds like a guy Al Davis may want to sign up.  Too bad JaMarcus Russell is gone, they could have made a great tandem.

It was hard not to like what backup quarterback Chase Daniel did during Saturday’s 38-20 Saints victory against the Houston Texans.  Daniel was 15-21 for 182 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT after he replaced Drew Brees in the first half of the preseason tilt.  That follows a 6-9, 1 INT performance in the preseason opener against New England.

Obviously, preseason is just that – an exhibition.  But Daniel’s confidence and ability to throw the deep ball were on display Saturday night in the Superdome.  The Saints brought in veteran Patrick Ramsey to be the primary backup to Brees, but if Daniel can continue to play at this level the team might have to make a difficult decision.

Daniel seems to possess a lot of qualities fit in with the Saints’ offensive philosophy.  He is able to make decisions quickly and has shown some mobility as well.  That alone should put him ahead of Ramsey, who was not known to possess either of those traits during his time as a start in Washington.

Still, it would seem to go against conventional wisdom to go with the young guy over a veteran with starting experience in the NFL.  If there’s one thing we’ve learned about coach Sean Payton over the years, it’s that he doesn’t often do what’s conventional.  If Chase Daniel continues to shine, his days as a #2 quarterback could come much more quickly than anyone anticipated.