Notebook: Bustle happy with productive first week

[DestinCajun]

That roster is definitely updated! What the heck are we feeding these guys?

Here are just a few examples -

45 Onyenekwu, Emeka DE 6-5 240 Fr.-RS New Orleans, LA McKinley
47 Fleming, Grant LB 6-4 232 Jr.-2L Lafayette, LA St. Thomas More
49 Benoit, Kyron LB 6-1 237 So.-1L Crowley, LA Crowley
52 Broadnax, Jesse DE 6-5 235 Fr.-RS Pensacola, FL Pine Forest
66 Osborne, Sean T 6-6 267 Fr.-RS Geismar, LA Dutchtown
70 Ruiz, Evan C/G 6-5 310 Fr.-RS Baton Rouge, LA St. Michael
71 Wilson, Trace DE 6-1 235 Fr.-RS Placentia, CA El Dorado
72 Bates, Leonardo OL 6-5 327 Fr.-RS New Orleans, LA L.W. Higgins

[RaginDave]

I am interested in former Saints QB David Wilson's son Trace. Be interesting to see what type of player he turns into, having a former NFLer son on the roster could be nice.

[J-Town Cajun]

_ I am interested in former Saints QB David Wilson's son Trace. Be interesting to see what type of player he turns into, having a former NFLer son on the roster could be nice. _

I saw some video footage of Trace in JUCO and he had a motor that would not quit.

[CrappDaddy]

Parrot,
Since you see more of this team than likely any of the rest of us, what is your take on the 09 team. Who will be our best quarterback, runningback, etc. Is Grant, and Brooks back up to full speed or still a little slow from the injury. Rank the defense this year to the defense last year at this time. I would just like to know your honest opinion since you are much more familiar with the team than the rest of us.

[Parrott]

Parrot,
Since you see more of this team than likely any of the rest of us, what is your take on the 09 team. Who will be our best quarterback, runningback, etc. Is Grant, and Brooks back up to full speed or still a little slow from the injury. Rank the defense this year to the defense last year at this time. I would just like to know your honest opinion since you are much more familiar with the team than the rest of us.

First about Wilson: He isn't the most physically gifted defensive lineman, but he works hard and has a strong football background. His dad, Dave Wilson, still holds the single-game passing record at Illinois and played for the Saints. His younger brother, Kane, has signed to play quarterback at Utah State.

QB: McGuire or Masson will get most of the snaps with Gautier seeing some action as a change-of-pace option. My gut says that McGuire will edge out Masson, although Masson has really improved in the past year. If McGuire is the starter, it will be because of what he did, not so much what Masson did not do.

RB: Sails is still the guy, but I think Shankle will push for time - if he can stay healthy. Either Yobes Walker or Draylon Booker will get some action. Not enough carries for both to be involved. Robert Walker will at least be a factor in the return game and play in the backfield depending on what happens with the other Walker and Booker.

LB: Fleming appears to be back at full speed and set for a breakout year. Brooks was favoring his knee a little the other day, but I'm not sure if that's a major concern. Zanders and McCoy (although he is a little undersized for the position) are both playmakers. Put Fleming, Zanders and McCoy together, and I think the Cajuns have the best starting linebackers in the league. (Troy has Lee and Woods, but the other starter is new.)

Defense: There is a lot more speed on this side of the ball this year. It would be a disappointment if this unit wasn't much improved. The defensive line has to put more pressure on the quarterback and engage blockers to free up the linebackers to swarm the ball. More pressure up front will make life easier for the secondary, too. Overall, I think the defense has a chance to be one of the top two or three in the league - if it can limit the big plays and stay healthy.

Those are just some of my thoughts. Sadly, you will hear more from me in the upcoming weeks. I'll be on Sunday morning at 10 with Big Dave and Bandit. Bil planned to have me on during the week, but I'm not sure what time or day yet.

[duggie85]

_
Robert Walker will at least be a factor in the return game and play in the backfield depending on what happens with the other Walker and Booker.

I may be the only one that feels this way, but I would sure hate to see this guy not redshirt to be, at best, the 3rd back on the depth chart. In camp so far, I'm not too sure he has even taking any reps with the 1st team line. I believe we have too many other guys that can return the ball on special teams (marlin miller, louis lee, orkeyes, rico joseph) to where he wouldn't have to waste a year just to return punts and kickoffs. Orkeyes made me nervous a couple of times last year on punts, but I would rather him there again if that means walker redshirting.

If going into the first game of the year he is not higher than number 3 at the position, I would believe he may benefit more from an extra year of learning. I would rather have him as a running back and return specialists for 4 years than a return specialists 1 year and both 3 years.

Also, from what i've seen so far, i think marlin miller will have a great year at reciever. Not saying he will be the number 1 guy, but when his number is called, he will make some big plays.The dude never runs out of energy....

[zephyr]

_ I may be the only one that feels this way, but I would sure hate to see this guy not redshirt to be, at best, the 3rd back on the depth chart. In camp so far, I'm not too sure he has even taking any reps with the 1st team line. I believe we have too many other guys that can return the ball on special teams (marlin miller, louis lee, orkeyes, rico joseph) to where he wouldn't have to waste a year just to return punts and kickoffs. Orkeyes made me nervous a couple of times last year on punts, but I would rather him there again if that means walker redshirting.

If going into the first game of the year he is not higher than number 3 at the position, I would believe he may benefit more from an extra year of learning. I would rather have him as a running back and return specialists for 4 years than a return specialists 1 year and both 3 years.

Also, from what i've seen so far, i think marlin miller will have a great year at reciever. Not saying he will be the number 1 guy, but when his number is called, he will make some big plays.The dude never runs out of energy.... _

I understand your thoughts and don't necessarily disagree with them but I'll give another prospective. First, you may not see Aurienne returning at all this year due to the lack of depth at his position and the fact that he is one of our best cover CB's. It would be very damaging to lose him to injury on a 10 yard punt return. Second, the other guys you mentioned may have speed but they may lack the instincts and vision to return kicks
or punts. They may not be as secure with the ball either which could cause more turnovers. Robert Walker is going to be the quickest back and possibly player we have and he will be amongst the fastest. He may even turn out to be our best back. We haven't seen him in the backfield yet and the team has only been practicing for less than a week. I think he will get into the mix much more than you think and I think the coaches want him to add the Jason Chery component to this team that we will likely lack. All of the other players are basically as unproven as he is so he is not at a major disadvantage here.

[DrumRoll]

_Second, the other guys you mentioned may have speed but they may lack the instincts and vision to return kicks or punts. They may not be as secure with the ball either which could cause more turnovers. Robert Walker is going to be the quickest back and possibly player we have and he will be amongst the fastest. He may even turn out to be our best back.

I am hoping that punt returns are what we need him for, as ideally there will be only 1 kick return per game. With the increase of speed on our defense, hopefully there will be a proportional increase in punt return opportunities for our special teams this season...

[duggie85]

_ I understand your thoughts and don't necessarily disagree with them but I'll give another prospective. First, you may not see Aurienne returning at all this year due to the lack of depth at his position and the fact that he is one of our best cover CB's. It would be very damaging to lose him to injury on a 10 yard punt return. Second, the other guys you mentioned may have speed but they may lack the instincts and vision to return kicks
or punts. They may not be as secure with the ball either which could cause more turnovers. Robert Walker is going to be the quickest back and possibly player we have and he will be amongst the fastest. He may even turn out to be our best back. We haven't seen him in the backfield yet and the team has only been practicing for less than a week. I think he will get into the mix much more than you think and I think the coaches want him to add the Jason Chery component to this team that we will likely lack. All of the other players are basically as unproven as he is so he is not at a major disadvantage here. _

I do not disagree with what you said as well, but its not like this guy is gonna step in and return 10 punts and kickoffs for touchdowns and average 40 yards a return. It would be great if im proven wrong, but i doubt it. As for as yours points as a running back, won't argue with that...Jason cherry didn't even do anything electrifying in the return game (except against the worst team in the country) and from what i've seen this last week, jason was alot quicker than robert. Then again, time will tell if he has better vision and other qualities.... And who knows how the other guys will do (miller, lee, joseph) in the return game, they are unproven in that position as well.

[duggie85]

I also need to say that i'm not arguing for him NOT to be a returner, b/c i think he will be good at it. I just don't want it to happen as a true freshman and that be the only spot that he gets significant playing time. I would just prefer him redshirt if he is not gonna get at least 8 reps per game at running back.

[J-Town Cajun]

I would not be surprised if Robert Walker was promised that he would not redshirt his freshman year if he came to UL. So redshirting may not be an option.

[zephyr]

_ I also need to say that i'm not arguing for him NOT to be a returner, b/c i think he will be good at it. I just don't want it to happen as a true freshman and that be the only spot that he gets significant playing time. I would just prefer him redshirt if he is not gonna get at least 8 reps per game at running back. _

The thing is that he may very well get those touches at RB. We are unsettled at the RB spot to say the least. I know that the coaching staff announced that Sails is the starter but its not because he stepped up and earned it, it was mostly by default with all the youth at the position and that Sails knows the playbook and blocking schemes and handles the ball well. He is probably the least talented of all of our backs so I think the job will probably be some form of a committee but who makes up that committee is up for grabs.


While I'm not saying that Walker is necessarily quicker or faster than Chery as not many people are, he was every bit as explosive at least during his high school career and is very difficult to bring down in space which would make him a good candidate in the return game. Louis Lee and Marlin Miller will likely be our #1 and #2 WR's this year and I'd prefer them not return kicks especially since Lee is no quicker or faster than many of our other skill people. We will need his leadership at the WR position.

I also don't disagree that Walker would benefit greatly from a RS year and if Fenroy was here, you'd probably see him do that. However, as stated, we don't have a clear cut depth chart right now at the RB position which makes his prospects for playing time pretty strong.