New Orleans prepared for three-way showdown at FS

By Connor Byrne  |   Monday, July 24, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

New Orleans Saints
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On Friday, the New Orleans Saints elected to release their starting free safety of just one season, Dwight Smith. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers' standout joined the Saints prior to last year, but was unable to live up to the somewhat lofty expectations with his new team.

In 2005, Smith finished with 72 total tackles and a pair of interceptions in 15 starts. While those stats may not seem too bad, the five-year veteran often looked lost in coverage and really never fit in with the Saints. The team has been trying to trade the former Akron Zip all offseason, but nobody ever matched its demands.

In the wake of Smith's release, the Saints find themselves with a triumvirate ready to compete for the spot the 27-year-old vacated.

The first contender to fill Smith's position is veteran Omar Stoutmire, who was signed earlier in the offseason in free agency. The problem with that is, Stoutmire has never been much more than average in his nine-year career.

The former Dallas Cowboy, New York Jet, Giant and Washington Redskin has appeared in just 12 games over the last two seasons, while making a meager 20 tackles and forcing only a single turnover. If the Saints elect to roll the dice on the 32-year-old and put him in their starting lineup, it could make for trouble in the team's pass defense.

Second to Stoutmire is another veteran, Bryan Scott. Earlier in the offseason, the Saints traded 12-year left tackle Wayne Gandy to the Atlanta Falcons for Scott. At just 25 years old, Scott has plenty of gas left in his tank and a good deal of untapped potential, too. The three-year veteran has missed just one game in his career, picking off four passes in 47 regular season games.

In 2004, Scott experienced a career-year, racking up 96 total tackles, 2 ½ sacks and an interception. Last year, the Falcons expected the 6-1, 219-pounder to improve upon his prior totals, but he ended a 16-game campaign with only 67 total tackles, a sack and an interception. If Scott wants to get back on the map, he'll need to have a big-time training camp and preseason for New Orleans.

Outside of Stoutmire and Scott, an interesting prospect who will also vie for the job is Roman Harper, an early second-round pick from the University of Alabama. The 6-0, 197-pounder was known throughout his career with the Crimson Tide as a player with vast capabilities. The Saints' coaching staff is evidently sold on the athletic playmaker's ability, since they used a first-day pick on him when they had other key needs.

As far as which of these three will ultimately replace Smith in the New Orleans Saints' starting lineup this season, the early money's on Scott. However, there's also a fairly good chance of Harper winning the free safety job, as he possesses a much higher chance than his two peers to become a star at the pro level. Envisioning Stoutmire as No. 1 on the depth chart come Sept. 10 is quite difficult, and likely won't happen.

Then again, the point of late July and August in the NFL's schedule is for players to emerge or decline and either win or lose specific positions. This three-way battle will play out for the next month and a half, and the best of the trio will be starting in Week One against the Cleveland Browns.

Head coach Sean Payton can certainly attest to that.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com

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