The Jeremy Shockey trade made me notice something about the New Orleans Saints' offense. They are beginning to look a lot like the Dallas Cowboys. Intentional or not, there appears to be more of a parallel going on than the similar latitude for Dallas and New Orleans.
We all know that Sean Payton has a history with the Cowboys' offense. He ran the thing, right? Now, I'm not talking about the X's and O's being the same. I'm talking about the makeup of the talent in the skill positions. With the Cowboys' recent offensive success, this should have the Saints' fans drooling a little bit.
The Saints had a little drop-off last season in points (from fifth to 12th) and yards (from first to fourth) from 2006. With the addition of Jeremy Shockey, we could be looking at that going up, if things like the running game hold up.
Last season, Eric Johnson was brought in to be Payton's Jason Witten. Yeah, it didn't work out so well. This season, he could have his Witten.
Back to the talent parallel. Let's look at the positions.
Quarterback
We know that both Drew Brees and Tony Romo are pretty damn good. Both are going into their third year of starting (yeah, the first was a partial year for Romo, but it was enough for the Pro Bowl) on their respective teams.
Both are two time Pro Bowlers. Both averaged about a 65 percent completion percentage over the last two seasons. They throw TDs. They throw for a lot of yards, and the list goes on.
Wide Receiver
Terrell Owens is hands-down the better talent here, but Marques Colston is just getting started...and is off to a much better start to his career than Owens. The point here is that they both have a sure-fire No. 1 WR lining up on Sunday.
On the other side of the field, they both have question marks at WR. Who is going to step up? Is it going to be a committee thing? Can this guy handle being the No. 2? Does this guy have anything left in the tank?
Tight End
This is the position that brings us here today. As mentioned, Eric Johnson was supposed to be Sean Payton's Jason Witten. Why does he want a Jason Witten, you ask? Because his offense used a Jason Witten when he was in Dallas...and it worked pretty damn well.
Do I think that Jeremy Shockey could have had similar success in that offense? Hell yes! In fact, he had a pretty decent showing his rookie season in Payton's offense (before Payton was stripped of his play-calling rights). Shockey and Witten are both tough mofo's that bring the same type of threat to the field.
Just on a side note, they both have the exact same yards per reception career average of 11.4.
Running Back
This is where things get tricky in the comparisons. Two years ago, the Saints had their version of a Marion Barber III in Deuce McAllister. You know, that guy that will run you over if he has to. There are still questions regarding whether or not Marion Barber can be THE guy, or if he is best in a running-back duo.
There are questions if Deuce McAllister will ever be able to be THE guy again, or if he will be better off in a running-back duo. Both have averaged about 4.5 yards per carry over their careers.
The other guy. We don't know much about Felix Jones, on a professional level, yet. We expect that he will be in a similar change-of-pace-type position that the Saints hope they can use Bush for in their attack (thinking McAllister is whom they would like running the ball and not taking into consideration trick plays and passing game).
Both have the speed and ability to burn around the outside. Both have been questioned about their ability to run inside. Both can do hell for the kick-return game. Again, we don't know for sure on Jones quit yet, but these are things observed in his time at Arkansas.
There you go. Call me crazy (seriously, if you want to, just throw it down in the comments), but not only should the Saints offense bounce back this year; you may see a mirror-like result running along the 30th Parallel.
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2 months ago
wow ur a dumb@55 the saints were more potent offinsively be 4 the cowboys F U
2 months ago
Why thank you. Point is the TE position will now be help...like it is in Dallas and how they wanted it to be last year when they brought Johnson in. If you don't rememember past 2006 when Payton arrived and brought the look they have now (that look he brought to the Cowboys) they were not "Offinsively" as you say potent.
2 months ago
understandable parallel's...a bit of a stretch on some, but i see where you get that feeling.
2 months ago
well, it breaks this olde Giant's fan's heart to see the guy who epitomized blue collar style football get traded
but i hope it works out well for him AND the Saints, NO fans are going to get to see how high energy, explosive play can change things every time Shockey gets his hands on the ball (anybody else remember the catch in a crowd that knocked his helmet off,he puts his head down while draggin two defenders and hits the next linebacker?
now THAT is football, imo
gonna miss you Jeremy, good luck in your new home
2 months ago
42-17 is how I remember these offenses meeting. If anything the Cowboys tried to mimic the Saints offensive attack. Don't think for a second there is anything about the Cowboys offense the Saints are trying to replicate. The 2006 Saints offense was better than the 2007 Cowboys offense and the Saints actually won a playoff game.
Stop being a homer and thinking the Cowboys are going to be as good this year on offense as they were last year.
The Saints will lead them in scoring without a doubt. Drew Brees>>>>>Tony (0-2 in playoff games) Romo.
2 months ago
Heres a stat for you.
The last time the Cowboys beat the Saints, Mel Gibson was running around in a kilt screaming freedom in every theater in the U.S.
Before you start running your mouth about who has the better offense, get better educated.
2008-09 playoffs- I hope we meet so Sean Payton can rip apart his Prodigy (Romo) again. He built the man from the ground up, and knows his tendencies.. heck he knows everything about him. Playing against Romo..... is like watching re-runs of Bucs Raiders superbowl.
Cowboys don't upset me anyway, I could care less about them. The team to beat in the East this year will be the Eagles.
2 months ago
I have to agree with the fact the cowboys are mimicking the Saints. The Saints trounced the hapless cowboys. and frankly I dont see what all the hype is for them. They are a gag-artist team. They always drop the ball (no pun intended) when it comes to the games that count. They can't seem to take advantage of situations that they have in their control. Also, instead of calling em the cowboys how bout the Cattle Thieves with so many criminals on their team. lol.
2 months ago
LMAO...You guys are looking a little bit in the wrong direction on the idea here. The basis of it is that Payton gets his Witten that he had in Dallas when he was there. I don't think the Saints strive to be the Cowboys or are copying them but Payton wanted his TE and Eric Johnson wasn't it.
I'm not saying the Saints want to be the Cowboys.
I'm not saying the Cowboys are better, I did mention that the Saints would like to return to te form they had in 2006, and the Cowboys did perform better on offense last season...I'm sure the Saints would like to improve, hence the addition of adding Shockey.
As far as being a homer, I'm a Saints fan, not a Cowboys fan.
I tried posting this under the Saints but the damn tags would only let me post it under the Cowboys, Bears, or Packers.
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