I started looking at the 2007 season and I started seeing parallels between the on the field performance of Jason David and Reggie Bush.
After the 2006 season the Saints coming off a solid season with a NFC championship appearance and this success overshadowed the lack of talent on defense. All eyes were on Fred Thomas as the big problem with the defense. With the focus on Fred there was a tendency to over look the other glaring holes. Now in comes a three year starter and Cover 2 corner Jason David. Now we all got great reports coming out of training camp and problem solved, right? Opening Day reality came crashing down, Jason still has strong Cover 2 tendencies. He batlled these habits all season but remained the starter more so out of necessity due to lack of options. He may catch on this year or he may simply be a nickel back and one heck of a third CB. I believe that is where he will excel and really add to this defense.
Also in 2006 the Saints had what was considered to be one of the best RB tandems in the league. The one two punch of Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush was incredible. Now the 2007 season the Saints make a fatal flaw, they believe they can pick up where they left off and don't go back to fundamentals. They paid dearly for this arrogance and thus the 0-4 start. This got compounded by the loss of Deuce and the Reggie "feature back" experiment. He continued to start possibly because Sean Payton felt he had a lack of options. Reggie's injury forced SP to try his options Aaron Stecker and Pierre Thomas. Now we all know that Reggie is a tremendous asset to the Saints offense when used properly.
So
Both players were not used properly Reggie is not a feature back and Jason is not a man to man CB
Both played with injuries
Reggie lost his support (Deuce) and Jason had Josh Bullocks and no pass rush
I'm not saying these guys are on the same level but I do believe the Jason David deserves just as much of a second chance as Reggie.
i concur JD showed some glimpses of real tenacity but his peeking in the backfield really threw him for a loop. Nickle could be his forte'. I believe with another year under his belt in man to man system he can develop better skills. SP and CO need to beat that backfield stare out of him. and of course with the addition of DL and LB we may not see those plays coming out of JD. I say he starts day one or is the nickle.
I still say we should have traded down and taken -cromartie in the first round. We need a corner, hopefully vilma and ellis will add to the pass rush and grant will get his head outta his butt this year and get more than 2 sacks. smith better have a contract year for our corners to play decent.
i've believe what i'm about to say to be more true with sean payton than with anybody else except bill parcells:
when it concerns both Jason David and Reggie Bush, they are on the field because they can play and sean payton knows that they can and i truly believe they will meet their expectations or they wouldn't even be taking the field
Jason David was sucessfull in Indianapolis because of the schemes that were used, a much better pass rush and better linebacker and better safety play. With the improvement of our defensive line play and also the newcomers at linebacker this year, we will be in a much better position to have Jason David, Randall Gay, Mike McKenzie, Usama Young, Aaron Glenn or Jason Craft do their job much more efficiently this year. As far as Reggie Bush goes he has nowhere to go but up this year, Sean Payton really never got into a good playcalling scheme to utilize his talents last year.
I'm with all of you on this one. JD has now had a whole year in our system to make the transition and was showing some signs of improvement towards the end of last season. Loonis has recently stated that they have not given up on him and they feel he has the talent and ability to complete the transition. I have no problem givivng him some slack.
Last year David was reminiscent of Fred Thomas, but it was his first year here. If he plays like this for another two years then my patience with him being a Saint will run out. I see the talent he possesses and I hope that last year was more of a matter of changing schemes. However, experiencing eight years of Fred "Toast" Thomas makes me very wary.
First off, Fred didn't always get burned like that. Secondly, Josh Bullocks has the deep coverage over there also, so I would say there is plenty of probabl cause to go around in that secondary. Lastly JD didn't remind me so much of Fred Thomas, because although he was getting bombed, he was also making some picks. Plus he scored a TD, I don't believe Fred scored one for us.
I think most of us agree, we liked what he saw in JD's ball skills, now it's a matter of if he has completely given in the the man to man concept of defense we play, or will he continue to rely on is Cover 2 experience?
The thing is that with Freeney and Mathis the Colts do a pretty good job rushing the passer. JD benefited from the pass rush generated by the front four in Indianapolis. Hopefully Sed Ellis can help duplicate the kind of pass rush in Indy.
Another thing to consider is that Jason David had Bob Sanders playing FS behind him. He is arguably the best FS in the league and at 5'8" he makes plays that puts the much bigger Bullocks to shame. Overall, the Indy defense plays a much more disciplined brand of football than the Saints. I don't think they are as stout against the run consistently but they play much better pass D across the board.
I think JD will improve his play, but he needs a pass rush and he needs at least adequate safety play behind him.
I am still concerned about our safety situation. IMO this is where our true coverage problems have consistently unravelled. In fact i give more latitude to Jason David than I do Josh Bullocks. Bullocks has got to step up this year, no question.
What do you guys think about Jason David moving to free safety he is more comfortable in zone than man and FS is basicly a zone defender full time and with his ball skills he could thrive there. Just a thought anyway
What do you guys think about Jason David moving to free safety he is more comfortable in zone than man and FS is basicly a zone defender full time and with his ball skills he could thrive there. Just a thought anyway
Nice thought, but he is way too small in stature.
I am still concerned about our safety situation. IMO this is where our true coverage problems have consistently unravelled.
Turkey, I agree 150% with that statement. Like you say, it has been the over the top type of plays that have really hurt us. Its enough to say this guy is getting burnt, but if you look at some of those highlights, where is the help from the safety? I mean I don't even see a safety trying to catch the guy after the pass has been delivered. These guys have been really out of position.
What do you guys think about Jason David moving to free safety he is more comfortable in zone than man and FS is basicly a zone defender full time and with his ball skills he could thrive there.
Just to echo BK I gotta say that David at FS concerns me because of his size. Now if he was the hitter in the mold of Bob Sanders then I would say maybe. I just don't think it is his game.
But your suggestion brings up an idea I have heard before. Mike McKenzie at Free Safety. I know he is currently our best corner, but his injury might slow him down a bit so a move to FS might prolong his career. He has good size and good speed for the position. He has been our best option in coverage for some time now. He may not be a lights out hitter, but he is a consistent tackler and he puts himself in good position.
If the rookie Porter can step up he can man one side, while Gay can man the other. If Porter is as good as advertised then we can have a shutdown type talent on one side of the field. While Gay may not be as spectacular, I think he will bring us solid cornerback play (good positioning, competing for the ball in traffic, reliable tackler, versatility, intelligence). For nickelbacks we have David and the upcoming Usama Young.
Now I know this is a support Jason David post, and I am. I just think his confidence needs to be boosted and the nickel might be a good place for him to get that back. I surely don't think he is washed up. Besides if McKenzie takes over at FS, and David shows improvement in his game maybe he will grab a starting spot. I bet JD will look alot better in coverage with a guy like McKenzie backing him up rather than Bullocks.
