It was reported that though James Laurinaitis was a gamer, a veteran who’d never missed a game in his career before coming to New Orleans, in his last year or so in St. Louis with the Rams he’d lost a step. Many questioned the signing of a less than great middle linebacker to run the defense.
Three seasons ago, the Saints let free agent Roman Harper go to Carolina and Malcolm Jenkins get away to Philadelphia. The leadership void that created on the defense was tremendous. Not only did the Saints not have a vocal leader, they also didn’t have a physical leader.