Black and Gold X's And O's: Preseason Review Plus Roster Decisions

Rod Harper officially made the New Orleans Saints' 53-man roster on Saturday. After watching the 2009 preseason, this became nothing more than a formality.

Harper was the Saints' most explosive playmaker in the preseason. He scored on two punt returns and was constantly running free in the defensive secondary, catching passes mostly from Mark Brunell.

No. 13 joins the group of teens (my name for the receivers since they all have numbers in the teens). Harper may even win the punt return job or at least be the backup to Reggie Bush.

It is unlikely, however, that Harper will find a lot of time on the field when the Saints possess the football. There are four other proven receivers ahead of him, not to mention that Sean Payton likes to line Bush and Jeremy Shockey out wide in receiver-type positions quite often.

As interesting as Harper's story is (if you haven't heard it, he played in the Arena Football Two League a season ago), it's not the only one of this preseason that will have an impact on the upcoming regular season.

The Saints' best tight end last season was Billy Miller. Unfortunately, his season ended before it really ever began on Thursday night. As a result, the Saints made a nice trade with the New England Patriots for David Thomas.

Thomas will fill in as the second tight end most likely, and similar to Miller, will be the utility tight end—in other words, responsible both for blocking and catching (we all know Shockey is only in New Orleans to catch passes and Buck Ortega is not expected to see a football thrown his way).

Defensively, I'm still surprised the Saints elected to rid themselves of Jason David, while keeping Leigh Torrence. David looked okay in the preseason action he saw, but obviously I must be a little biased on that front.

In related news, Malcolm Jenkins appears destined for the fourth cornerback spot to start the season, which in my opinion is exactly where he should be. I love the kid and think he'll be a great player down the road, but he needs more experience and actually is a really nice fit in dime situations anyway.

If I were Sean Payton (or actually Gregg Williams), I would switch Randall Gay into the starting lineup for Jabari Greer. Greer, to me, is the perfect nickel back, while Gay provides versatility to play over the slot, but has the overall ability to play effectively outside. That being said, that isn't something I'm going to lose a lot of sleep over. Given schemes and situations, Gay will be in the game a lot.

As for the defensive line, I found it interesting that the Saints currently only have three defensive ends available for the first four games while Will Smith and Charles Grant serve their suspensions.

This leads me to believe they are either scanning the waiver wire or are planning on playing a lot of three-man fronts while using two of their defensive tackles and rotating their ends (or something like that). I suppose we will find out over the course of the next week or so.

Finally, the linebacker position, which looks remarkably similar to a season ago. Are the Saints ever going to change this position? Every year, it's a huge topic of conversation amongst the media and fans, and every year they line up the same group. And I love it!

Shanle, Vilma, and Fujita are a very solid group. When you add in the depth they have with Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Marvin Mitchell, Troy Evans, and Jonathan Casillas, you are looking at a group that may not scare the opponent based on pedigree, but on the field will get after them and make moving the football tough.

A 3-1 preseason is good, but obviously these games are over and done with and the slate is wiped clean. The real season starts on Sunday against Detroit. Anything can happen.

I expect a win, but I'm writing that in on my schedule in pencil, not marker.

There is still work to be done, and the roster still in flux. Now I understand why a general manager is so important.