The Saints have quietly accumulated a lot of young talent the last couple of years, and it is now time for some of those seeds to bear fruit. Over the next week or so I’m going to go through a list of players who need to prove that they are more than just a roster spot for the Saints. There is no order or ranking here, but these are 5 guys who I believe will help determine if the team succeeds or fails this season. These are the guys who have quietly put in the work, and whether its year 2,3, or 4 now is the time for us to watch them and see what they can become. The next player on our list is another second year player, and like P.J. Williams (the first player on the list) he finds himself on the defensive side of the ball, and that is second year linebacker Stephone Anthony.
Concerns:
Anthony was given (and earned) the starting middle linebacker position as a rookie last year, a tall task for any player, and as expected he had his ups and downs. There were clear issues with him communicating Rob Ryan’s overly complicated defense, and on numerous occasions he either didn’t read the play properly or failed to execute it. He often struggled in coverage, especially zone, and that was supposed to be one of his strengths coming out of Clemson. I’m being a little hard on the kid as he WAS a rookie and such things come with the territory, but it is still concerning when only a year after he is drafted he’s had his position changed and his spot (presumably) taken by a veteran who is supposedly washed up (we will see). It’s not a reason to go to defcon 5, but it is concerning to say the least that the 31st overall pick in the draft couldn’t hold the position for which he was drafted for a full year.
Reasons to be optimistic:
With all of that said Anthony showed flashes of being able to become a legit difference maker in the front 7 last year. He may have struggled with properly reading and reacting to NFL offenses, not uncommon for rookies mind you, but when he DID know where he was supposed to go he got there in a hurry. Anthony made some plays last year that no Saints linebacker since Vilma could have made from a purely physical stand point, and it brings to mind the question of why his position was moved. Did the Saints change his position because they’ve given up on him at middle linebacker, OR did they come to the conclusion that the unit as a whole is best served by taking some of the mental stress off of his shoulders and simply unleashing him in a more simplified role. Anthony was actually a pretty effective blitzer, and his coverage issues were in some part magnified by the talent around him (and the scheme). He’s a tremendous athlete who was at times nothing short of dynamic when heading downhill. The question now becomes did the Saints change his position because they have lost faith in him, or was it because they wanted to unleash him. I think it was the latter, and that the Saints defense is actually better with him at strong side linebacker (SAM) than in the middle simply because it allows him to become the heat seaking missile he was born to be.
Way too early predictions:
I think Anthony will be an absolute stud at SAM, and with the (assumed) improvement of the interior defensive line he has the ability to sniff the pro bowl (I don’t think he’ll get it, but he could be in the conversation). Anthony has ideal size and speed for the position, and his positional versatility gives Dennis Allen a lot of options. The presence of Vacarro down in the box further ads to the potential chaos, and if he is able to develop and adapt to his new position quickly I think the sky is the limit for this kid.
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