ARTICLE: Steal of a deal (Shanle from Dallas)

[Angus]

Steal of a deal

Saints' Shanle becomes defensive stalwart

By SHELDON MICKLES
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Jun 3, 2007

METAIRIE — The trade the New Orleans Saints pulled off with the Dallas Cowboys last Aug. 22 hardly registered a blip on the NFL radar.

One day after playing the Cowboys in an exhibition game in Shreveport, the Saints dealt a seventh-round draft pick to Dallas for linebacker Scott Shanle — not exactly earth-shattering news around the rest of the league.

Two days later, Shanle was taking repetitions with the first-team defense at weakside linebacker. Four days after the trade, he was in the starting lineup when the Saints played the Indianapolis Colts in a preseason game.

Over the next four months, Shanle would become a stalwart for the NFL’s 11th-ranked unit. He started 15 of 16 regular-season games, recording 117 tackles, which ranked second on the team, and added four sacks and one forced fumble.

That turned what seemed like a meaningless preseason trade into a steal for the Saints and earned Shanle, who could have become an unrestricted free agent, a four-year contract that included a $4 million signing bonus.

As the Saints concluded the first of two minicamp practices Saturday, defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs could only smile when the word “steal” was used in a discussion about how the team obtained Shanle.

“We’re glad we have him,” a grinning Gibbs said.
Actually, the Saints had some inside information on Shanle.

Gibbs worked with Shanle for two years as the Cowboys linebackers coach while Saints coach Sean Payton was also on the Dallas staff. The connection made it easy for the Saints, who were desperate for linebacker help during training camp, to part with a seventh-round draft pick.

“I was excited about the opportunity I had in front of me,” Shanle said. “Coach Gibbs and Sean revived me. They were in the process of getting this team going and I was excited to be a part of it.”

At the time, he didn’t know how big a part he would be. But it didn’t take long for him to step in and mesh with his new teammates. By the time the season opened on Sept. 10, Shanle was starting with strongside linebacker Scott Fujita and middle linebacker Mark Simoneau — two other newcomers.

Knowing what he knew, Gibbs was confident Shanle would fit right in.

“Scott is a good man and a good athlete, so we thought we knew what we were getting,” Gibbs said. “He can run and he plays well in space. When we were at Dallas, we went to a 3-4 defense and that was different for him. We knew we were getting someone who was going to work hard and was athletic. Obviously, he came in and did a really nice job for us.”

The only game Shanle did not start was when the Saints opened in a dime, or six defensive-back package, against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 1. Despite not starting, he registered a season-high 10 tackles and later matched that at Tampa Bay. He had at least seven tackles in 12 of 16 games.

That productivity helped him exceed Gibbs’ and Payton’s expectations.

“On one hand, he did because he had never been in that (starting) situation,” Gibbs said. “To play as well as he did over a full 16-game schedule and stay healthy and do a variety of things was a pleasant surprise, and something that made us look at him and say this is a pretty good player.”

“I think he’s certainly improved as a player, and I think really in his first full season as a fulltime starter he handled that well,” Payton said.

As a result, the Saints made him one of their top priorities this offseason and rewarded him before he could test the open market. He was the first key player they re-signed for their defense.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/7808272.html

[NextGenBoys]

That is what was Parcells' main strength. Developing players and coaches. Especially at the linebacker position.

[dallasfan]

Wish we held out for more, but I can't complain since he would've got cut here

[BouncingCheese]

Fujita is a better player than shanle IMO; if the saints can find a better mlb than Mark Simoneau, then they can have a top-ten starting lb core in the league. ( products of the system no doubt, but if they do their job well how can you blame them?)

If we kept the 4-3, these would have been the players to stay with... when BP came, I was okay about him changing the D because I knew alot of our more talented 4-3 players were aging; but I had no idea the younger guys we had were THIS talented. It's irrelevant however since we have all this talent in this scheme.

[Gryphon]

This is year two....now lets see what Shanle and Fujita can do.

[TEK2000]

He would have been cut here. We did good getting SOMETHING for him.

[MichaelWinicki]

This is year two....now lets see what Shanle and Fujita can do.

Neither guy would make the Cowboy's roster in '07 IMHO. Fujita is too "stiff" off the edge and Shanle isn't athletic enough for the inside.

[BouncingCheese]

Neither guy would make the Cowboy's roster in '07 IMHO. Fujita is too "stiff" off the edge and Shanle isn't athletic enough for the inside.

Then again, I think they are much better 4-3 guys than 3-4 players; what you said is correct, but if you put them in the OLB position in a 4-3 their know-how of rushing the passer can be used as a serious plus, and they are decent in coverage too.

The thing that pisses me off is how that brilliant bastid in Sean Payton is taking our CASTOFFS and building a great team, pretty much in one season.

I wish him continued success; however the next time we play them I hope we eat them alive 39-3

[burmafrd]

Shanle and Fujita are not 3-4 LBs. They are a lot like Dexter Coakley; quick and sharp and very good when not tied up by O linemen. 3-4 LBs have to be able to deal with O linemen. Simple as that. BOth of them would have been backups at best here. There they are good LBs. BUT do not let the hype fool you- they are not pro bowl level or even close. They are good but no more.

[Crown Royal]

He is their Bradie James. His 11y billion tackles doesn't much matter. I think he made those tackles after an average of a 4 yard gain or something. If I can run/throw to the weakside for a 4 yard average, guess where I am going.

[CrazyCowboy]

Honestly, I did not like it when we let him go.........

[ThreeSportStar80]

Shanle isn't anything special...goodbye.

[tunahelper]

I think many Cowboy fans were not surprised with Shanle's play in 4-3 defense.

He showed good recognition and speed in his time with us. He just wasnt big enough for BP and his 3-4 defense.

It is a shame he still isnt here!

[BouncingCheese]

I think many Cowboy fans were not surprised with Shanle's play in 4-3 defense.

He showed good recognition and speed in his time with us. He just wasnt big enough for BP and his 3-4 defense.

It is a shame he still isnt here!


Shanle is a 4-3 player.

We run a 3-4.

Shanle is terrible in a 3-4.

It isn't a shame IMHO that he isn't here.

Fujita is way better than Shanle.

[Future]

Fujita is a better player than shanle IMO; if the saints can find a better mlb than Mark Simoneau, then they can have a top-ten starting lb core in the league. ( products of the system no doubt, but if they do their job well how can you blame them?)
.

Unless they have someone like Brian Urlacher or the like in the middle, they reak of averageness, no way they are top 10. They had one of the worst run defenses in the league last year (if I recall correctly) and OLBs certainly play a huge role against the run.

The guys are serviceable, but not premier.

[BouncingCheese]

Unless they have someone like Brian Urlacher or the like in the middle, they reak of averageness, no way they are top 10. They had one of the worst run defenses in the league last year (if I recall correctly) and OLBs certainly play a huge role against the run.

The guys are serviceable, but not premier.

No way are they premier your absolutely right about that; but then again you don't exactly need the best players at the position to be the best or around that area. Look at the Pats Defense of a few years ago, they didn't have a single probowler in the Linebacking core (I mean maybe they were voted in, but that was because of fan notoriety and not really because they were the best at the pos.) yet they were the main reason teams could never get any rushing yards.

I think if the Saints got a player like Pozlulzny, a fast, smart, athletic player who doesn't recessarily need to be strong, they could have a great 4-3 lB core. The Saints can find a player who has those attributes, and I am sure teams have them; I mean, shoot the Saints found Fujita and Shanle

If you think about it, it isn't that hard to have a top-ten D if you think about it; Either you play well, you play terribly, or you are in between.

[Alexander]

Shanle isn't anything special...goodbye.

Neither were the players we kept instead, like Al Singleton and Ryan Fowler. Both were liabilities during our defensive collapse.

[Future]

No way are they premier your absolutely right about that; but then again you don't exactly need the best players at the position to be the best or around that area. Look at the Pats Defense of a few years ago, they didn't have a single probowler in the Linebacking core (I mean maybe they were voted in, but that was because of fan notoriety and not really because they were the best at the pos.) yet they were the main reason teams could never get any rushing yards.

I think if the Saints got a player like Pozlulzny, a fast, smart, athletic player who doesn't recessarily need to be strong, they could have a great 4-3 lB core. The Saints can find a player who has those attributes, and I am sure teams have them; I mean, shoot the Saints found Fujita and Shanle

If you think about it, it isn't that hard to have a top-ten D if you think about it; Either you play well, you play terribly, or you are in between.

So you are saying Shanle, Pozluzny(sp?), and Fujita would be a great LB corps? They don't strike any ounce of fear into me personally.

Don't underestimate the Pats LBs, they are very good, the key to that defense that won 3 super bowls in 4 years.

Bolded: Um, duh?:laugh2: I think the Saints lbs would fall somewhere in between.

[TEK2000]

Neither were the players we kept instead, like Al Singleton and Ryan Fowler. Both were liabilities during our defensive collapse.

Do you ever rate any player higher than "average" or "liability"?

I bet that Ryan Fowler turns out to be a fairly competent player in the 4-3. His play recognition was good during his playingtime during the Rams game 2005.

The only time Fowler ever stepped foot on the field in 2006 was on Special Teams and Goaline Defense.

[Alexander]

I bet that Ryan Fowler turns out to be a fairly competent player in the 4-3. His play recognition was good during his playingtime during the Rams game 2005.

The only time Fowler ever stepped foot on the field in 2006 was on Special Teams and Goaline Defense.

And he was very suspect in the goalline defense.

Mosley Report Part 2


Lots of good "A" Gap talk out here this afternoon.

And Bill gave me a very detailed account if what's been happening on the "first in the flat" defense.

Today, Bill said that two different players had combined to make at least four mental mistakes in the team's goal-line defense, thus allowing obscure fullbacks to gain notoriety.

After a long investigation, I'm able to tell you that Ryan Fowler's been the culprit on a couple of the miscues and Bradie James has also been in on one.

As the inside linebackers in what Parcells calls the "red zone defense," one of the two inside linebackers has to be responsible for taking the first guy in the flat on certain calls. Other times, one of the safeties might be responsible for picking up the first guy in the flat.

Sean Payton did a great job of having his wideouts create a traffic jam inside while Mike Karney slipped outside. Fowler and James both have to do a better job of being aware of the fullback and not get caught in what coaches call the "trash."

The team will spend a lot of time in practice tomorrow going over this, according to Bill...

Asked if qualifying for the playoffs has made all his struggles the past few years worthwhile, Parcells said, "It's always worth it. If you don't want to put yourself at risk, you should be in a different line of work. This is a highly competitive industry. You can't just pass off a bad day and hope nobody will notice."...

What does Bill worry about the most these days? "This team getting the sense of what the playoffs will be like. This is one of the hardest parts of my job."

He's worried that some of his younger players may have a "just happy to be here" approach...

One of the things that Parcells doesn't seem all that worried about it is how his defense has struggled recently. He thinks the Atlanta game would've turned out differently if Akin Ayodele hadn't fumbled.

"I know the kind of players I have," he said. "I just think we can play better that's all."

Posted by Matt Mosley (mmosley@dallasnews.com) http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/icons/email.gif (mmosley@dallasnews.com) at 4:37 PM (http://cowboys.beloblog.com/archives/2006/12/_mosley_report_part_2.html) (E-mail this entry) (http://cowboys.beloblog.com/archives/2006/12/_mosley_report_part_2.html) | Comments (0) (http://cowboys.beloblog.com/archives/2006/12/_mosley_report_part_2.html#comments)


I put more stock in his play then than I do the meaningless season closer against a bad Rams team two years ago.

[BouncingCheese]

So you are saying Shanle, Pozluzny(sp?), and Fujita would be a great LB corps? They don't strike any ounce of fear into me personally.

Don't underestimate the Pats LBs, they are very good, the key to that defense that won 3 super bowls in 4 years.

Bolded: Um, duh?:laugh2: I think the Saints lbs would fall somewhere in between.


Um duh! I never "underestimated the Pats Lb's." I said that THEY WERE THE MAIN REASON TEAMS COULDN'T RUSH ON THE TEAM.... read harder next time... much much harder :laugh2:

You don't necessarily need to strike fear into an opponent to be effective. The Saints defense was bend but don't break. Actually, NO's defense was statistically a better defense than the 'boys, so that argument about striking fear is porous, because what the **** does that matter? Was the defense effective? It was? oh okay.... Also since there are 32 OTHER teams in the league, NO's would just be considered out of the "great" range since they are ranked number 11 statistically.

DUH!

[TEK2000]

And he was very suspect in the goalline defense.



I put more stock in his play then than I do the meaningless season closer against a bad Rams team two years ago.

You're right. Fowler was in there on at least 1 of the Karney TD's vs the Saints. I'm not arguing that he was a great player or anything.

But he did play quite a good game against the Rams... whether you choose to acknowledge anyones good play or not.

[Billy Bullocks]

Shanle was a good player for us. But he didn't fit in numbers wise here. He was getting cut. He's better in the 4-3, I'd say both teams benefited

[BouncingCheese]

Shanle was a good player for us. But he didn't fit in numbers wise here. He was getting cut. He's better in the 4-3, I'd say both teams benefited

Agreed

[2233boys]

Honestly, I did not like it when we let him go.........

I honestly didn't care, still don't.

[AtlCB]

No way are they premier your absolutely right about that; but then again you don't exactly need the best players at the position to be the best or around that area. Look at the Pats Defense of a few years ago, they didn't have a single probowler in the Linebacking core (I mean maybe they were voted in, but that was because of fan notoriety and not really because they were the best at the pos.) yet they were the main reason teams could never get any rushing yards.

I think if the Saints got a player like Pozlulzny, a fast, smart, athletic player who doesn't recessarily need to be strong, they could have a great 4-3 lB core. The Saints can find a player who has those attributes, and I am sure teams have them; I mean, shoot the Saints found Fujita and Shanle

If you think about it, it isn't that hard to have a top-ten D if you think about it; Either you play well, you play terribly, or you are in between.

Huh???? Ted Bruschi made the pro bowl and deserved it. The Pats also had Willie McGinnest, Mike Vrabel, Ted Johnson, Rosevelt Colvin, Tully Banta-Cain, and Roman Phifer at linebacker. The Pats had some of the best linebackers in the league.

[AmishCowboy]

:hammer: Shanle and Fujita are not 3-4 LBs. They are a lot like Dexter Coakley; quick and sharp and very good when not tied up by O linemen. 3-4 LBs have to be able to deal with O linemen. Simple as that. BOth of them would have been backups at best here. There they are good LBs. BUT do not let the hype fool you- they are not pro bowl level or even close. They are good but no more.

[jterrell]

Neither guy would make the Cowboy's roster in '07 IMHO. Fujita is too "stiff" off the edge and Shanle isn't athletic enough for the inside.

Huh??

Shanle is far more athletic than Bradie James... what he isn't, is big.

He probably would have been cut as we looked to the bigger linebackers.
I would have personally kept Shanle and cut Singleton and I have mentioned about 1000 times in 3 years but alas Singleton is now apparently out of the league and Shanle a starter elsewhere, so what did I know.....

Shanle was very solid in 05 outplaying Singleton when he filled in as an injury replacement, played too big and was poor overall in 06 and then played extremely well for the Saints in 07.

Fujita would have made the roster as Ellis' backup(over Singleton again) IMHO but we couldnt pay a backup what he made in NO. It would have been nice when Ellis went down tho:(

[WoodysGirl]

Fujita would have made the roster as Ellis' backup(over Singleton again) IMHO but we couldnt pay a backup what he made in NO. It would have been nice when Ellis went down tho:(Singleton, as a backup last year, was paid 4 mil. Fujita made 1m last year with N.O.

Granted Fujita's overall contract was too much for a backup, but for last year? Not so much.

[Chocolate Lab]

Funny, I've read even Saints fans say that Shanle was decent but nothing special, and hardly a "stalwart".

Fujita, on the other hand, they love.

[jterrell]

Singleton, as a backup last year, was paid 4 mil. Fujita made 1m last year with N.O.

Granted Fujita's overall contract was too much for a backup, but for last year? Not so much.

The issue was as a free agent we had to cough up a signing bonus and did not view him as a long term starter, NO did. Singleton was on his last year of the deal and our plan was to rent one of them. We rented the wrong one....

I wish we had offered Fujita the 6 mil it would have taken to keep him for one season ...in retrospect I do.

The whole deal was salary cap driven.

Fujita>Shanle>Fowler>Singleton.

We kept the worst two because they were already paid for essentially. It was all just depth and Jerry has never wanted to spend on linebackers.... BP got Akin and Carpenter/Ware was a pass rusher.... JJ was't gonna pay average LBs big money so we had less than average guys....

[Chocolate Lab]

I'm not sure we didn't want to keep Fujita -- I remember Parcells grousing that Payton and Fujita had the same agent, so they had the inside track and got a deal done before we even had a chance.

Parcells and Jimmy Sexton used to pull tricks like that all the time. He finally got a little of his own medicine. :)

[jterrell]

I'm not sure we didn't want to keep Fujita -- I remember Parcells grousing that Payton and Fujita had the same agent, so they had the inside track and got a deal done before we even had a chance.

Parcells and Jimmy Sexton used to pull tricks like that all the time. He finally got a little of his own medicine. :)

We had Fujita's rights and were offering him short deals prior to free agency. We didnt get it done and as almost always happens, when they hit free agency good luck signing them.

BP did wanna keep him obviously as he lamented his lack of backup to Ellis/Ware all year. But I don't think Jerry wanted to pay for what he considered a 1 or 2 year solution after drafting Carpenter in round 1.

BP woulda had 10 LBs all making 10 mil each if he could:)~ Thats the position he loves.

[burmafrd]

that and TEs. BP chewed Payton out about trying to grab guys (this is not done in the BP crew. Which is true- even BB has not done any of that). There is a unwritten rule in the NFL that you do not grab players with slick moves from fellow tree members.

[AtlCB]

We had Fujita's rights and were offering him short deals prior to free agency. We didnt get it done and as almost always happens, when they hit free agency good luck signing them.

BP did wanna keep him obviously as he lamented his lack of backup to Ellis/Ware all year. But I don't think Jerry wanted to pay for what he considered a 1 or 2 year solution after drafting Carpenter in round 1.

BP woulda had 10 LBs all making 10 mil each if he could:)~ Thats the position he loves.Fujita was probably looking for some place where he could start. With Carpenter and Ellis on the team, he may have felt that his chances of starting were much better in New Orleans than Dallas.

[BouncingCheese]

Singleton is an URFA right now, correct?

If so, where is he going to go?

[Twyst]

Funny, I've read even Saints fans say that Shanle was decent but nothing special, and hardly a "stalwart".

Fujita, on the other hand, they love.
Thats my cfeeling on it as well. Hopefully the LB corps is better with this new MLB we have though

[Smirk]

For those of you talking about our (The Saints) MLB spot, we picked up Brian Simmons in FA from the Bengals to man the MLB. Mark Simoneau will be the backup at MLB and the backup to Shanle at WLB. Simmons is very competent and an upgrade both in run support and pass support over Simoneau.

While the likes of Shanle (WLB), Simmons (MLB), and Fujita (SLB) are not all-world, strike fear into the hearts of offenses type linebackers, they are all smart, competent guys who get the job done. I'm fine with that.

[Yeagermeister]

For those of you talking about our (The Saints) MLB spot, we picked up Brian Simmons in FA from the Bengals to man the MLB. Mark Simoneau will be the backup at MLB and the backup to Shanle at WLB. Simmons is very competent and an upgrade both in run support and pass support over Simoneau.

While the likes of Shanle (WLB), Simmons (MLB), and Fujita (SLB) are not all-world, strike fear into the hearts of offenses type linebackers, they are all smart, competent guys who get the job done. I'm fine with that.

Shanle is a decent LB but we had too many better lb's at the time. I'm glad he found a good home.