Saints still tinkering with the o-line

By Darrell Laurant  |   Friday, September 08, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

New Orleans Saints
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OK, so everybody says the New Orleans Saints have a lousy offensive line. At least they're trying to do something about it.

In the two weeks leading up to the season-opening game at Cleveland, the Saints started out by inserting veteran Jamar Nesbit and rookie Jahri Evans as the starting offensive guards, displacing 2005 starters Jermane Mayberry and Montrae Holland. In addition, they plucked second-year tackle Rob Pettiti, who started for the Cowboys last season, off the waiver wire.

Evans, a 6-foot-4, 318-pounder, played for Division II Bloomsburg State last season, but impressed scouts with his agility and strength.

"At Bloomsburg, we basically ran the ball," he said. "That's kind of my upside (he had 105 knockdowns as a senior). But I can pass block, too."

Nesbit didn't play football until the 10th grade, mostly because he grew up as a military brat in Germany and Saudi Arabia. He initially tried soccer overseas, but it's hard to imagine a 6-4, 326-pound World Cup competitor. So when his family moved to Summerville, S.C., home of the nation's all-time winningest high school coach (John Mckissick), there was no question what sport Nesbit would embrace.

He went from there to the University of South Carolina, then to the Carolina Panthers, the Jacksonville Jaguars and to New Orleans as a free agent in 2004.

The rest of the offensive line starters against Cleveland figure to be Jamaal Brown and Jon Stinchcomb at the tackles and Jeff Faine (a Notre Dame grad and former Brown) at center. Pettiti, who was praised by Dallas coach Bill Parcells for his offseason work not long before he cut him, is listed as Brown's backup.

This crew didn't perform all that badly in the preseason, allowing only three sacks. The running game, meanwhile, bit off 4.5 yards a play.

In Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, the Saints have two backs who hit holes quickly, and QB Drew Brees tends to get rid of the ball without undue delay. Still, the Cleveland front line of Ted Washington, Orpheus Roye, Willie McGinest and rookie Kamerion Wimbley will be a good test.

"The New Orleans offensive line," noted one Cleveland writer in his pre-game advance, "is suspect."

There is only one way to prove otherwise.

Get more New Orleans Saints coverage at RealFootball365.com
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