The 2016 is now over as the Saints disappointingly ended with a 7-9 record for the third year in a row. Instead of wasting my time watching teams who I hate (meaning everyone NOT the Saints) I’ll be looking at each position group for the Saints and grading them player by player based on my own notes throughout the season, and also rewatching the games…because the pain just wasn’t enough the first time.
Next up are the Linebackers:
Unit Grade: C-
James Laurinaitis: The whole thought behind bringing in the former Rams middle linebacker was for him to provide the missing leadership element at the linebacker position. He was supposed to help make sure the players were lined up, the right checks were made, and was supposed to be a solid veteran presence in the front 7 that was competent and consistent. The words supposed to be are key here. This isn’t a knock on his career because there was once a time when James Laurinaitis was an upper level linebacker in this league, but that was a long time ago. However, those days are long gone and while the Saints made a very inexpensive gamble on him, the move did not pay off in any way.
No matte what the hoped for value was Laurinaitis failed to deliver. Whether it was helping Stephone Anthony to develop, manning the middle of the defense, providing leadership, or just being a decent competent linebacker (something the Saints have lacked for years), Laurinaitis failed to deliver on all counts. It wasn’t due to lack of effort, or intelligence as he has both in spades, it was simply due to the fact that his body can no longer deliver on the checks his brain and heart want to cash out on the field. He was in every possible way awful even before the Saints eventually let him go.
Player Grade: F+
Nate Stupar: Nate Stupar was part of the trio of linebackers the Saints added in the offseason and while he was at best mediocre, he also exceeded expectations in many ways. Stupar ended up playing FAR more snaps than would be either preferable or recommended, but he also filled in admirably at times and made some good plays for the Saints. Stupar was brought in because of his special teams value, but also his ability to play each of the linebacker positions with some level of competency when needed. He’s a versatile player who brings both competency and effort despite having a limited skillset (relative to the top of the league). He never has been, and never will be starting caliber player, but he’s great depth.
In my opinion the best way to grade a player is to assess the performance they put out on the field relative to what could be reasonably expected from that player with their abilities. That is why Stupar is grading out well even though he’s really not a very good linebacker (relative to the upper levels of the league mind you). He brings depth when you need it, value on special teams which is always underrated, and doesn’t get outside himself. You can’t ask much more than that at his price range.
Player Grade: B-
Craig Robertson: Robertson was the third linebacker that the Saints signed over the off-season and he was an excellent addition. Not only was Robertson a significant improvement over what the Saints had last year, but he was an improvement at two positions. I’m very confident in saying that his better position was weakside linebacker which is his natural position, but due to the total failure of the Laurinaitis experiment Robertson was suddenly tasked with taking over being the Saints defenses leader on the field. He filled in admirably considering the circumstances and led the defense in tackles throughout the year. That doesn’t mean there weren’t flaws. Robertson lacks the lateral speed and agility of an ideal middle linebacker and he is a little slow to work his way through the mire at times, but to be fair to him its not his natural position and he for the most part kept the defense lined up and on the same page.
The hope for the Saints will be that they can bring in a true middle linebacker to control the defense and allow Robinson to move back to his more natural weakside position. Robertson has strong cover skills, decent straight line speed, and is generally a sure tackler. He isn’t a pro bowl level player or even close to being one, but Robertson is a rock solid replacement level veteran and that is EXACTLY what the Saints need. A solid player who gives them quality play at a reasonable price. For every spot on the roster where you can fill it with a competent player, that is one less whole you have to fill and one less position that your stars have to compensate for.
Player Grade: B
Stephone Anthony: It’s kind of tempting to just give Anthony an incomplete for the season and call it that because between being benched and missing time with injuries he just didn’t play enough to truly grade him. That brings us to exactly why he’s getting his grade though, he didn’t play enough. Stephone Anthony isn’t a veteran free agent, he’s a first round pick whose got every tool physically you could ever ask a player to have. He’s fast, physical, tackles well, Anthony can do it all. However, there are also some serious mental gaps in his game. Anthony seems to struggle with properly diagnosing plays, and even when he does he tends to not trust his reads and to hesitate. Football is a game of inches and even a half second of hesitation can and will cost you. Anthony still has the potential to be a quality linebacker for the Saints, but his inability to read plays combined with his inability to shift over to SAM (as originally planned this year) are going to reflect very negatively on him once you consider his draft position and the team’s investment in him.
There is a chance that bringing in a new linebacker coach and giving him another season to learn how to read and execute zone concepts will let him blossom into the player that he can be, but he can only be graded based on his performance in this season.
Player Grade: D
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