And here’s another argument for resting starters in meaningless late-season game — and also for finding a way to make otherwise meaningless late-season games meaningful.
The Saints have lost defensive end Charles Grant for the postseason with a triceps injury suffered in Sunday’s game at Charlotte, according to Nakia Hogan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Per the report, Grant tore the muscle, apparently in the second quarter of the game. He has been placed on injured reserve.
He started every game of the 2009 season, making 44 tackle and 5.5 sacks. It was his fifth straight season with six or fewer sacks.
The 2002 first-round pick is signed through 2013. His base salary moves from $1.85 million in 2009 to $4 million in 2010. Thus, if there’s no salary cap (or floor) next season due to the uncertain status of the labor deal, the Saints might decide to replace Grant with a younger and cheaper player, avoiding any bonus acceleration that could make such a move more difficult in a capped environment.
WTF! He has officially been eliminated from the Saints past this year….overpaid…lack of production….not to mention the legal matter weighing over him (not star caps) but the murder of a girl outside of an ATL Niteclub…
The Aints will lose next weekend-they cant stop the run and their swagger was worn off
# bobbyyyd says: January 5, 2010 1:03 PM
The Aints will lose next weekend-they cant stop the run and their swagger was worn off
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With their 2 starting corners back for the playoffs, that will allow the safeties to honor the run more, like earlier in the season. Grant is a solid player, but there won’t be a big drop-off to the rotation.
I’m not happy that a player is hurt but this is the best thing that could have happened for the Saints. If you took a pictures of every D end in football you would notice one huge difference between Grant and the rest, he’s a fat fu@@….lol. He’s gone next year, and as far as the comment about the Saints loosing there first game, well i wouldn’t bet on that. The D will finally be able to play like they did in the beginning of the season, creating turnovers and getting TD’S. Gregg Williams scheme’s rely on the corners to play one on one allowing the linebackers and safeties to float around and cause confusion and chaos.
Whether he’s great or not isn’t really the point as much as the fact that the Saints lose one more D-lineman from the game-day rotation. They’ll miss the depth by the 4th quarter when the D-linemen are gassed.
# purpleguy says: January 5, 2010 2:10 PM
Whether he’s great or not isn’t really the point as much as the fact that the Saints lose one more D-lineman from the game-day rotation. They’ll miss the depth by the 4th quarter when the D-linemen are gassed.
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A valid point, but they will have had LOTS of rest
so the saints are going to all of a sudden play great defense? they are not as great as the saints fans think they are
Carolina would have beat them earlier in the season, Miami should have beat them, and the same goes for the Skins
they will get run over in the playoffs, the eagles or cowboys could easily go down and beat the saints and im counting on it
@ bobbyyyd
Anyone can be beat; the point is that the Saint’s were a decent defense until their top 3 corners got hurt. All 3 will be back for the playoffs. The Saint’s D is better than it has looked in the last 6 weeks. Greer got hurt in week 10, Porter week 9 I think.
@bobbyyyd
Those 3 teams all woulda, shoulda, coulda’d their way out of the playoffs. Carolina and Washington choked in crunch time and Miami only played one half of football. They were handled in the second half of that ball game.