Dan Pompei is an Idiot

There's always a lot of stupid things said in the Sporting News (which has improved over the past five years to the point where it now takes seven minutes to read anything useful in it as opposed to five).

For example, we get the "Scouts Views," which are always packed with insight. This week, we were told "Cliff Floyd's hitting zone is limited..." That's really unusual, a guy not being able to hit certain pitches, say high and tight and low and away.

This week, Dan Pompei treated us to his breathless reporting about how the Saints are going to feature a two halfback offense and that it can work "because the thinking on offense is expanding." Maybe the Cardinals can figure out a way to play Leinart and Warner a the same time and really break the bounderies of convention.

He says, "Plus Payton can take a look at how the Vikings over the years have found ways to open up seams in the running game without a lead blocker."

Not having a lead blocker when you have an extra tight end or wide receiver is one thing. Not having a lead blocker because you have a guy in the backfield who can't block is another. But I would love to see Reggie Bush clearing the way for Deuce McAllister on a lead draw, slamming into inside backers. That's a great way to protect a $50 million investment.

But Pompei isn't done: "...playing Bush and McAllister together isn't much different from playing Tony Gonzalez and Priest Holmes together."

What? So playing people at the same position isn't much differnet than playing people together at differnt positions? What revolutionary thinking!

The key, he says, will be sending one in motion (thus turning one into a wide receiver). Teams aren't going to give a crap about Deuce being flanked out wide. Having Bush out there will be scary, but there's nothing revolutionary about that and then he has to make his living beating NFL corners instead of linebacker and safeties. So, there are diminishing returns there.

I said it then and will say it again: drafting Reggie Bush was the dumbest thing the Saints could have done given their financial commitment to McAllister. There's no way to rationalize spending $100 million on a couple of halfbacks in a salary capped NFL world. It was and remains insane. Even spending half that on one back is stupid becasue, as McAllister proved, backs are hurt too easily. The Saints, as presently constructed, have no room for error in personnel investements. And they will make errors, like all teams do. So, Bush plus McAllister is hopeless even if both stay healthy and productive.