Answering your guys’ questions

Recently I was placed on the Covid/reserve list so I’ve had some time to think about some football more so than usual. I had you guys send in some questions through my Instagram story and here are some of the best questions I got and my response to those questions. I didn’t list all the questions but I tried to get as many varieties of different topic based questions in here. 

Q1: What would you say are 3 pros and 3 cons for this years team? 

This is a very good question and it took me some time to kind of think about what this team’s weakness and strengths are after the draft. 

Pro 1: Front seven, still a top five run defense. The secondary has been getting the attention but the core of the Saints defense is their ability to stuff the run. 

Pro 2: The depth on the defense. There’s a lot of guys the Saints have who would start on another team who they have as a backup. Some guys would be Tanoh Kpassagnon, Bradley Roby, and P.J. Williams. 

Pro 3: The team is getting back Michael Thomas and Wil Lutz. Having those two alone last season would’ve given the Saints three more wins and now the team is adding more talent. Big positive for the team.  

Con 1: The running back room. With a possible Alvin Kamara suspension looming and an aging Mark Ingram I think the Saints need to sign a veteran guy like Sony Michel or Phillip Lindsay to provide extra reassurance even though the team signed Abram Smith.

Con 2: The second defensive tackle position is still weak. There isn’t a consistent guy to play next to David Onyemata and unless someone balls out in camp it’ll be a weakness.

Con 3: The depth at linebacker is very thin. I think bringing Kwon back adds reassurance with depth and talent. 

Q2: Should the Saints look into a tight end?

I don’t think the Saints will look into another tight end. I think they want to give Adam Trautman another shot catching passes from one quarterback the whole year. The Saints believe that he can develop into a better player and he showed flashes of that better player last year. He just needs to be more consistent. Then Taysom Hill will have a full offseason to focus on just tight end and develop as a threat rather than focusing on multiple different positions. I think the room they have now is the one they’ll stick with and if it doesn’t live up to expectations this season then next year is when they get a new face at tight end

Q3: Any updates on Kwon? Landry? Sony?

Nothing new on any of these players. Landry and Sony met with the Saints. That’s about the only update there is for now. Kwon’s market isn’t what he thought it would be and now he’s sorting through his options. Remember, he wasn’t re-signed till July of last offseason, so things like this take time.

Q4: Do the Saints have a realistic shot at winning the south? Record predictions?

I think as long as the Saints core can stay healthy then yes the Saints have a very realistic shot at winning the south. A lot of it will depend upon the Bucs and how they perform as well. I’d say the Saints are in that 10-13 win range, as well as the Bucs. It’ll come down to those division games and their common NFC games which is the NFC West this year.

Q5: What kind of wide receiver will Olave be in the Saints system?

Chris Olave will be a deep and intermediate threat for the Saints. The guy who takes the top off the secondary on a post down the seam. He’ll run out routes, comebacks, crossing routes, digs, deep shots and stretch the field deep while Thomas works the short to intermediate part of the field. He’ll have a similar role as Brandin Cooks when he was on the Saints but less go routes.

Q6: Will Michael Thomas be ready for training camp/week one?

Yes, that quote was taken out of proportion today. There will probably be a slow transition into getting him fully going but he will be ready for camp and week one. Dennis Allen expects him to be ready and I most definitely think he will be. Here’s the quote from earlier today: “We feel good about what Mike’s done in the rehab process, there are still a few hurdles that we’ve got to climb with any of our guys that had any injuries that they’re trying to get back from.”

Q7: What is the team’s biggest weakness?

I think the biggest hole or weakness on the team right now is running back or that second defensive tackle position. While the Saints did sign UDFA Abram Smith, I still believe that adding a guy like Lindsay or Michel will provide consistent reassurance. Mark ingram can’t carry the full workload and Tony Jones and Dwayne Washington probably won’t be effective factors in the run game. And as of now nobody knows if Abram Smith plays out the way the Saints believe he will.

At defensive tackle there is a lot of depth, but I think it’s not a position of strength. Someone needs to play next to Onyemata and unless someone balls out during camp I don’t think that’s a hole that will be addressed. Now we could see Kpassagnon, Davenport, Turner, or Jordan play more defensive tackle and get production. That could be a solution to a minor problem, but I don’t think their strengths cary over to defensive tackle as much as they do on the edge.

Q8: Does Smoke Monday have a shot at making the 53 man roster? 

I think the way Monday makes the roster is if he moves to a hybrid outside linebacker role. He’s not the best coverage safety back deep, but he’s most productive in the box where he can make hits and cover the shorter outside zone’s of the field. I think he has the size, speed, and awareness to make the move to outside linebacker, it’s just is he willing. During camp he needs to show his physicality and make some big hits to get his name on the final roster. If he wants to stay at safety, he needs to get more athletic and get better safety vision and awareness. He uses his eyes too much and needs to use his instincts and keep his head on a swivel. Improve the fundamentals and go from there.

Q9: What does Alvin Kamara’s legal situation look like? Do we know anything? 

As of now, Kamara’s court hearing will be August 1st. It was moved once again so his legal team could gather more evidence and build up and strengthen his case. The more it’s pushed back the better for Kamara. The more evidence for his team the better so that they can build up his case. The NFL also can’t suspend or punish players until after the court hearing, so if it keeps getting pushed back the less likely Kamara misses the start of the year.

Q10: What will it take for Jameis to win the fan base over? 

For Jameis to win over the fan base I think he needs to take the team to the playoffs and have a season with under 15 interceptions and around 34 touchdowns. He needs to show that he can lead an NFL offense and out the team in his back. If Jameis can prove that he can be relied on instead of someone who relies on others, then he can be a top tier quarterback.

I hope you all enjoyed this. For more of these in the future make sure to follow me on Instagram and if you wanna support me make sure to subscribe here!