The Saints will enter the game against the Packers tomorrow with two brand new starters at defensive end. Turk McBride and Cameron Jordan will man the duties of defensive end replacing Will Smith (suspended for two games) and Alex Brown (released this offseason). The long and short of it is the Saints are showcasing two guys short on experience that haven’t proven they can perform up to the standard required for a playoff caliber team.
The good news is the Saints have capable backups in Jeff Charleston and Junior Galette, and I can only imagine those two will be in heavy rotation tomorrow night. Galette especially, considering Charleston has been banged up with ankle problems for most of the preseason.
The big question is:
can any of these four guys make plays with any level of consistency? To be honest, I’m skeptical and the Saints enter this game with a huge question mark at the defensive end position. McBride showed some promise starting half the season for the Lions last year, but can he develop into a reliable full time player? Jordan is a first round pick that by all accounts has promise, but can he come into his first career NFL game and perform well? Ultimately if these guys can’t generate pressure on Aaron Rodgers and they allow him to get too comfortable, the Packers are going to run up their point total. The absence of Will Smith probably also forces Gregg Williams’ hand to blitz more than he’s comfortable with. I’m holding out for one or more of these guys to be a pleasant surprise and perform in week 1 when none of us really expect them to. That’s what it’s ultimately going to take I believe for the Saints to win this game. Right now, make no mistake, defensive end is the glaring weakness on this team. That and kicker.
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