Now that the league has moved to only one big cut at the end of the
season we’re not going through the paces we were used to with weekly cuts as we
whittled down the roster. While this gives the coaches more time to look at each
group and every player it also makes the process more difficult to project for
those who don’t wear black and gold to work every day.This is the second version
of this roster projection series
Color Rush Vonn Bell Jersey , and each week we’ll include not only roster projections but hot takes at various positions from our contributors here at
Canal Street Chronicles. You can read version one here.Quarterbacks (3)Starter:
Drew BreesBackup: Tom SavageBackup who runs fast on special teams: Taysom
HillEven with his poor performance against the Cardinals Taysom still has the
final roster spot for quarterbacks due to his play on special teams. While J.T.
Barrett had a much better performance at the end of the 4th Quarter in New
Orleans against Arizona than he did against Jacksonville he still hasn’t done
enough to show he deserves to be protected by the 53 man roster while he
develops. Currently he is a practice squad candidate.Staff Hot Take: Ellias J
Williams “The Saints will cut Tom Savage and run with J.T. Barrett and Taysom
Hill on the roster.”Runningbacks (5)Starter(s): Alvin Kamara & Mark Ingram
*Backups: Jonathan Williams, Boston ScottFullback: Zach Line, Trey EdmundsSean
Payton likes the runningback by committee approach, and he get’s to have plenty
due to Ingram’s suspension. Right now Jonathan Williams seems to be leading the
race for Mark’s snaps in the first four games of the season. The real question
is who gets released once Ingram returns. Edmunds has been spending a lot of
time in the “Hooman” role as a quasi-fullback/h-back/utility piece. This keeps
him safe on the roster for now. Asterisk - Ingram’s suspension means he doesn’t
count against the 53 man roster for the first four games of the season. Staff
Hot Take: Don Kellum “Jonathan Williams performs so well he cuts into Ingram’s
touches when he comes back.”Wide Receivers (5)Starters: Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn
Jr, Cameron MeredithBackups: Tre’Quan Smith, Brandon TateTate through most of
his career has been a receiver in name only. He is on the team for special
teams; specifically he is currently the team’s top option as punt return and one
of the two kick returners. That said we’ve seen the Saints offense bring players
into the spotlight that had never previously entered it. Could Tate be that next
guy? The four guys ahead of him are a lock for the roster. Be on the lookout for
a Brandon Coleman reunion.Staff Hot Take: Chris Dunnells “WR/RB - Tommylee Lewis
is gone. Boston Scott is the new Tommylee Lewis, taking over a return-only
special teamer and emergency offensive option.” Tight End (3)Starter: Benjamin
WatsonBackups: Josh Hill, Dan ArnoldHooman has stayed injured. Deon Yelder has
had flashes, but like many UDFAs he hasn’t been consistent in his first year and
seems more practice squad candidate than roster material right now. Griffin,
while having some splash plays on special teams, seems to be in the same
category as Yelder. Roster spots on this team are precious and a defensive
lineman or defensive back could end up simply being more valuable. Staff Hot
Take: John Sigler “Arnold > Yelder. Nuff said.”Offensive Line (8)Starters:
Terron Armstead, Andrus Peat, Max Unger, Larry Warford
Marshon Lattimore Jersey , Ryan RamczykBackups: Jermon Bushrod, Will Clapp, Rick LeonardLike the defensive line, the offensive line has quite a few athletic
prospects seen to have upside, but they aren’t necessarily seen as players who
could be starters this season.Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images Leonard drew
the ire of a lot of Saints’ fans on draft night but Pro Football Focus has him
listed as the best rookie tackle in terms of pass protection and the second best
when blocking for the run. He’s quietly had a good camp and given that several
teams apparently were considering drafting him around the same spot the Saints
took him New Orleans could look to protect him by keeping him on the
roster.Staff Hot Take: Chris Dunnells “Rick Leonard, Saints fan’s whipping boy
on draft day, starts more NFL games in 2018 than Jermon Bushrod.”Defensive Line
(9)Starters: Cameron Jordan, Sheldon Rankins, Tyeler Davison, Alex
OkaforBackups: Marcus Davenport, Trey Hendrickson, David Onyemata, Devaroe
Lawrence, Taylor StallworthThere are several ways the Saints could go when it
comes to their defensive line and there would still be fans split between
happiness and sadness. Stallworth provides depth as a run stuffing nose who has
shown the short area quickness and agility to provide some pass rush when
needed. Most of the players on this list are locks for the roster with arguably
only spots eight and nine on this projection even up for debate. Devaroe has
continued to prove New Orleans right for keeping him around after his injury
issues. Assuming he stays healthy he is in the black and gold in 2018.Staff Hot
Take: Garen “Davenport plays only 35% of total snaps this season due to the
ascendance of Trey Hendrickson and Okafor’s solid play”Linebackers
(6)Starters:Demario Davis, Manti T’eo
Authentic Wil Lutz Jersey , A.J. KleinBackups: Alex Anzalone, Hau’oli Kikaha, Craig RobertsonGuess who’s back (back back), back again? Kikaha’s back, tell a
friend. Against Arizone Kikaha played snaps on special teams while also
providing depth snaps at defensive end and linebacker. The versatility he’s
showing makes him to take off of the roster. The one week fire that was Jayrone
Elliot hype has smoldered after the Cardinals game. With two weeks left until
cut day the bottom of the linebacker roster is up for grabs.Staff Hot Take:
Ellias J Williams “Kikaha is traded to Greenbay”Cornerbacks (7)Starters: Marshon
Lattimore, Ken Crawley, Patrick RobinsonBackups: P.J. Williams, Arthur Maulet,
Justin Hardee, Natrell JamersonSeven cornerbacks? Four safeties? With the change
in kickoff rules coming here in 2018 we Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sportscould start
seeing rosters devote more space to defensive backs and other skill positions to
accommodate the new rules. There are still many questions on how the rules will
affect the game, and special teams coordinators are certainly going through
their own learning curve,but right now players like Jamerson, Hardee and Maulet
all have looked pretty strong. Staff Hot Take: Bob Rose “Neither PJ or Kikaha
make the team. Looks like the 53 man roster might end up with The
Clapp.”Safeties (4)Starters: Marcus Williams, Kurt ColemanBackups: Vonn Bell,
Chris BanjoSafety is one of the few positions on this team where the term depth
can’t be liberally applied. Rookie Kamrin Moore has struggled with injures and
Rickey Jefferson tore his ACL against the Cardinals. Bell
Youth Patrick Robinson Jersey , Coleman and Williams will all likely see significant playing time while Banjo continues to be the special teams
contributor he was originally brought in to be. Staff Hot Take: Chris Conner
“Vonn Bell will get cut. He changed his number, and the curse of Corey White
still lives on in New Orleans”Note: Chris wins the Hot Take of the week award.
There wasn’t one before, but that was straight fire, as the kids say. Special
Teams (3)Punter: Thomas MorsteadKicker: Wil LutzLong Snapper: Zach Wood The
mystique that is the Baltimore Ravens defense is in full swirl after an 11 sack
performance last week vs the Titans and Marcus Mariotta.Through six weeks they
lead the league in sacks with (26) and are top 3 in pass deflections with
(44).In short they’ve done nothing to dispel the notion that they aren’t that
same dominating and swarming defense that has become synonymous with Baltimore.A
lot of what they’ve been able to accomplish has started with their defense
appearing to use an organic front that has multiple players standing and moving
prior to the snap to compliment their exotic blitz packages.Behold the “amoeba”
defense that Saints fans should be familiar with from Rob Ryan’s forgettable
tour in New Orleans.It’s pretty obvious what the Ravens like to do.The objective
is to confuse the offense about who’s dropping and who’s blitzing.This stresses
not only the quarterback but the offensive line.Pre-snap the QB has to figure
out who’s coming and set the protection to impede the expected blitz, as well as
decipher the coverage.Guess wrong and post snap you have guys running free for
easy sacks or a QB throwing an INT to a defender in a zone that dropped
unexpectedly.It can be a Nightmare on Elm Street for some quarterbacks to figure
out.SomeDivision games I like to omit because opponent familiarity and
game-plans can play a part in a good (or sometimes bad) defensive effort on a
Sunday.Instead I decided to look at their non division opponents in the Broncos
and Titans and the truth is the advantage that their scheme provides loses it’s
effect when you play a QB the level of Drew Brees.Let’s put it this way, Brees
isn’t a Case Keenum or Marcus Mariota.#9 is a guy that is right now operating on
a Hall of Fame level as far as processing goes both post and pre-snap and prior
to this game the current personality of this Ravens defense worked for
them.We’ll stand up, we’ll move around, we’ll blitz to get 1 on 1’s, we’ll muddy
the reads for the QB and we’ll ATTACK.Well what happens when you go against an
attacking offense guided by a rarely confused QB that can...Alert Alert....run
the ball?I’ll tell you what happens!You come out following Sundays game looking
for answers as to what happened to the defense we’d heard so much about and
their defensive captain responds in a manner very similar to the one
below.Saints WR’s vs Ravens DB’s New Orleans lost a component of their offense
when they put Ted Ginn Jr. on IR Thursday and thefact is Tre’Quan Smith has not
proven he can fill that particular role.What we do know is that like Thomas he
can make the contested grab as well as rack up yards after the catch.The Ravens
play a good amount of Cover 1 and Cover 3 and Drew’s completion percentage comes
down a bit vs man coverage because of tighter windows.These guys along with Cam
Meredith need to create some separation or this could lead to a game of filled
with deflections and or uncharacteristic drops from receivers not named Michael
Thomas.Backs in pass protectionThe Saints are not going to max protect to
counter the blitz.They’re going to leave a back in for pass protection and trust
him to make the right read.I like both Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara equally in
this role vs Baltimore.If they are able to successfully stifle the blitz it not
only gives Drew time to get the ball to receivers running through open zones but
it makes the screen game more dangerous in the long run.All it takes is a
perfectly timed play call mixed with a believable sell and respect from the
opposing defense and you’ve got a slip screen to the RB going for 30-45
yards.Player to Watch: FS - Marcus Williams Jason Getz-USA TODAY SportsWilliams
in his first 5 games is suffering through the dreaded sophomore slump and is
currently on pace for career lows in tackles, INT’s, and pass deflections.He’ll
be facing a Ravens team who’s success downfield can be attributed to a mix of
designed “shot” calls (QB’s first read) and Joe Flacco’s willingness to just
sling it to John Brown as he progresses through his reads.There is a philosophy
in place to attack opposing defenses deep and that means plenty of chances for
Williams to either allow a big play or make one. Last time New Orleans played an
AFC North opponent it was a Williams INT vs a veteran QB that sparked a
subsequent win.Can he do it again?Random Thought - I wonder if the
SaintsHistorically under Sean Payton the Saints have primarily been a finesse
team that’s folded like origami when facing more physical defenses like the
Ravens are known for having.That quite simply is no longer the case.New Orleans
is solid on both their offensive and defensive lines and the war always starts
in the trenches.These Saints get punched in the mouth and then punch back with
15 play drives that can sap the energy of even the toughest defense.Drew Brees
breaks defenses and he’s going to break this one cement himself as only the 3rd
QB in history to defeat all 32 NFL teams.Saints 31 Ravens 24
