If "do your job" is the tagline that the Saints were supposed to abide by last season, clearly that didn't carry over to some this year under Sean Payton's eyes. Here we are, at 10-4, going into the biggest regular season maybe in team history against the Carolina Panthers. Week 16, and the roster as been significantly revamped. Interesting timing to say the least. Three significant moves have been made:
Garrett Hartley was waived, Shayne Graham was signed. Brand new kicker.
Charles Brown is benched, Terron Armstead will start at left tackle. Brand new left tackle.
Least notably, Chris Carr was waived, Eric Frampton was signed. Special teams improvement.
So there you go. Carr was on and off the roster as a reserve cover guy for much of the season. He did ok for the most part, with 16 tackles, 4 defended passes and an interception this season. He wasn't a great special teamer, though, and apparently Frampton is considered an upgrade.
New #saints arrival S Eric Frampton most recently with Dallas. Led the Cowboys in special teams tackles (21) last year.
— Ramon Antonio Vargas (@RVargasAdvocate) December 18, 2013
Obviously Rob Ryan has some familiarity with this guy, too, so fair enough.
With the Graham coming in for Hartley move, I've documented on twitter the differences between the two. Graham, at least in his prime, was (is?) much more accurate from close range. He hasn't kicked all year, but was 31 for 38 last year with the Texans. We'll see how Graham fares these last few games of the season (hopefully more).
Hartley is forever embedded in the fabric of black and gold for the big time kicks he made in 2009, none bigger than this one:
[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x27XihYBd4&w=400&h=225]
That one still gives me goosebumps.
Then there's Terron Armstead. The rookie 3rd round pick out of Arkansas Pine-Bluff that was the fastest lineman at the combine with freak speed. He was poor in preseason and it was said he'd need a season in the gym to get stronger before he was ready to be an NFL lineman. Because of this, he's been inactive for the majority of the season. Yet here he is making his first start on the road with stakes that couldn't be higher against the Panthers, at left tackle, the most important position on the line. Talk about throwing someone at the wolves. This is akin to throwing a 4 year old in the deep end of the pool, sink or swim. He'll likely have to deal with Greg Hardy a great deal, who has 8 sacks on the season… and I'm sure the Panthers will move sackmaster Charles Johnson over to him a bit too (he has 9 sacks this year). It'll be a very tough assignment.
But Armstead is the future at left tackle, at least we hope. Charles Brown is in a contract year and he was largely mediocre this year, and sometimes very poor. At left tackle the Saints just have to be better than what Brown has given them this year. I doubt Brown will be a Saint next season, but man, is Armstead ready to come into this and assume this responsibility now? We'll soon find out.
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