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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
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
