Tag: scott shanle

Members of the 2009 Super Bowl team visit Saints practice

Drew Brees, Lance Moore, Roman Harper and more players from the 2009 Super Bowl team visited New Orleans Saints training camp on Tuesday:

The New Orleans Saints brought some former Super Bowl champions out to Tuesday’s practice. Drew Brees, Scott Fujita, Roman Harper, Lance Moore and Scott Shanle all visited training camp practice in Irvine.

Rodney Leslie was also a guest Tuesday afternoon. Leslie was drafted by New Orleans in 2004 and made his way back in 2009. He played one game in the Super Bowl season before going on injured reserve.

There was a cool shot posted on the Saints social media page of Harper, Moore and Fujita chatting with former teammate Jahri Evans.

Evans was an integral part of the Saints offensive line. He along with Carl Nicks helped keep the middle of the pocket clean for Brees for multiple years. Evans is now an assistant offensive line coach for the Saints.

Brees recently advocated for a higher usage of Taysom Hill at quarterback, and the two took some time to catch up after practice.

Having players from the Super Bowl era was a welcome addition at practice. Drew Brees is Drew Brees, and Lance Moore has spent time covering the team with Boot Krewe Media recently. As individuals, these players are beloved among fans and still highly respected among players.

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Scott Shanle on Gregg Williams’ ill-advised blitz: ‘Can’t tell you how many times we ran that’

The Jets fired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams after a game-losing blitz, which didn’t surprise former Saints linebacker Scott Shanle.

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New York Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams shocked the football world on Sunday when he called a cover zero all-out blitz in the final seconds against the Las Vegas Raiders, having put an undrafted rookie cornerback on first-round Olympic-quality athlete Henry Ruggs III with the game on the line. Ruggs predictably smoked his opponent on a vertical route, and the lack of safety help over the top set him up for the game-winning touchdown catch.

It was enough to cost Williams his job, as well as the ire of nearly everyone in the NFL’s orbit. But New Orleans Saints fans weren’t surprised at the poor decision by Williams, who served as their team’s D.C. from 2009 to 2011. Neither was former Saints linebacker Scott Shanle, who played under Williams.

What’s a little odd is that Shanle defended his old coach, saying on Twitter: “Can’t tell you how many times we ran that pressure but had cornerbacks smart enough not to bite on a double move.”

Shanle also pointed to the obvious — noting that the Jets are probably firing everyone are what’s shaping up to be an 0-16 season, meaning Williams chose to go down fighting with an on-brand reckless blitz rather than a safer, more conventional approach.

But Williams has lost so many games with bad decisions like this that you’d think he had learned his lesson; the Saints’ 2011 divisional round classic ended with a similar play call in which San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis cut between the zones to catch a game-winning touchdown pass with Saints safety Roman Harper trailing in coverage.

So, yeah, Shanle is recalling correctly that the Saints ran a lot of these all-out blitzes, betting that the pressure would get home before the quarterback could finish his drop and get a pass off. But too often Williams’ aggression worked against him, and in one case it cost the Saints a Super Bowl bid. Maybe he just remembers it differently.

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