Production Manager
Even though he’s new to the team, Jonathan Vilma said he thinks he has the solution for people who say the New Orleans Saints linebacking corps has underachieved the last couple of years.
“If you’re getting that knock, you just have to prove them wrong,” Vilma said. “I’m not big into reading the newspapers and watching ESPN to see what they’re saying about us and things like that. But I know if we go to work and produce, people aren’t going to say that anymore.”
Production is what the Saints were looking for this offseason when they obtained Vilma, the 2004 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, from the New York Jets in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.
Vilma is expected to be the centerpiece of the Saints’ second line of defense this season, the perfect fit as a middle linebacker for a 4-3 defense. A 6-foot-1, 230-pounder, he’s the most active and athletic middle ’backer the Saints have had since Sam Mills, a four-time Pro Bowler, left the team in 1994.
“Ultimately,” Saints coach Sean Payton said, “at that position, like most of these positions, you’re looking for production.”
The Saints say Vilma can be that man. It’s not like they don’t believe in Mark Simoneau, a two-year starter since coming to the team in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles in Aug. 2006, they just needed more athleticism at that position.
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Tags: linebacker, New Orleans Saints, vilma
Posted in 2008 Season, Defense, Millsaps College, NFC South, New Orleans Saints, Training Camp, saints players