TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

NFL column: Slumping Saints Need Grant To Cash In

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 25, 2007

If Charles Grant isn't the No. 1 underachiever on the Saints this season, he is at least in the conversation.

Bucs fans have reason to remember the versatile defensive end, who posted 71 tackles and six sacks in 2006, forcing three fumbles and recovering two others.

Approaching his football prime, the 29-year-old was slapped with the franchise tag before the Bucs issued an invitation to visit the team facility in March.

A month later, the Saints and Grant agreed to a seven-year deal.

Spurred by Tampa Bay's interest, whether real or imagined, the Saints appear to have misjudged Grant's value.

With 28 tackles and only 1.5 sacks, Grant has been part of the problem for the 4-6 Saints, who face a virtual NFC playoff elimination game today at Charlotte, where the reeling Panthers are still looking for their first home win.

Grant has missed the past two games with a sprained left ankle, and the Saints desperately need him to have a big day against Carolina's best offensive lineman, right tackle Jordan Gross.

"It will happen for us," vows Grant, who hasn't recovered or forced a fumble this season. "There will be a big improvement."

When New Orleans led the NFL in total offense last year, all that firepower camouflaged a pedestrian defense that has been exposed in 2007. The Saints already have yielded a staggering 60 pass plays of at least 16 yards, and opposing quarterbacks are cruising with a 101.6 rating.

"To me, it's about pressure on the quarterback," LB Scott Fujita said. "And when that happens, it's going to help out those guys behind us so much."

Cornerback Jason David, signed from Indianapolis as a restricted free agent at the cost of a fourth-round draft pick, has been a major disappointment, and the pass rush is erratic.

New Orleans is giving up a startling 5.9 yards per snap, compared to 4.5 for the Bucs, and the minus-10 turnover ratio for Sean Payton's bunglers ranks last in the league.

If the Saints don't snap a two-game losing streak today, next week's matchup against the first-place Bucs will lose much of its drama.

"You're backed into a corner," is how QB Drew Brees describes the plight of the defending NFC South champions. "There's no room for error, nowhere to go, except fight your way out of it."

Perhaps the porous Saints secondary can get by against whoever plays quarterback for Carolina, but the Bucs' Jeff Garcia and Joey Galloway feasted on New Orleans in Week 2 and they plan more mayhem Dec. 2 at the Superdome.

That's where Grant comes in.

He has the potential to help an embattled defensive backfield by recapturing the 2006 form that landed him a big contract in the spring.

Grant went public with his unhappiness when the Saints designated him as their franchise player, and he didn't look much like a team leader when he showed up in Tampa to check out the green grass of a division rival.

So New Orleans forked over $20 million in guaranteed money because Grant had shown the ability to play the run effectively, as well as contribute to the pass rush.

While Carolina fans wait for Julius Peppers to bust out of his season-long malaise, New Orleans supporters are wondering exactly when Grant intends to play up to his contract.

In today's game within the game at Bank of America Stadium, a pair of struggling left defensive ends might decide which of these 4-6 playoff posers is legit.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT