John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
With the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers about to wind down, the New Orleans Saints look to head into halftime with a small lead. This match up makes it two divisional opponents that New Orleans has faced in the first two weeks, and following a 23-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in week one, New Orleans is sitting very nicely in the NFC South thus far.
Looking over the game box score, however, I noticed that Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem had zero catches for zero yards and had been targeted by Drew Brees just once. Meachem, who was drafted 27th overall in the 2007 draft, spent four seasons with the Saints, having his best season in 2009 when he caught 45 receptions for 722 yards and nine touchdowns. That was also that season that Meachem tore an intercepted ball out of the hands of Kareem Moore of the Washington Redskins and ran it in for a touchdown in New Orleans Super Bowl season.
Meachem left New Orleans after the 2011 season in order to pursue a big free agent contract and eventually signed with the San Diego Chargers. He never really panned out there and was cut, having been deemed a bust. Meachem found his way back to New Orleans earlier this month and was deemed healthy and ready to play.
I thought that after fan favorite Andy Tanner was cut that Meachem was sure to see some action, possibly in today’s match up against Tampa Bay. So far I have been incorrect as Meachem has been a non-factor in today’s game with his one target that did not result in a reception.
I would like to see Meachem incorporated into the offense some more. I would like to see that if he truly is healthy and isn’t bothered by knee problems that possibly cut short his time in San Diego. If there are any doubts about his health or his ability to play, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him let go to free up a spot for somebody who can.
Still though, we’ll have a whole other half of football to see what’s in store for Meachem.
Jack Cavanaugh is a New Orleans Saints contributing writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @cav_jack, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
