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At the back end of the property in Metairie that is now the New Orleans Saints/Pelicans combined headquarters, they’re building the basketball team a new practice gym.

At the front end of the property, they’re building the Saints a new defense.

You don’t have to know as much about football as Sean Payton to know that the Saints defense needed to be stripped to the studs and subjected to an extreme makeover.

While Payton was banished from the team last year for his role in the Bountygate scandal, the Saints set new lows for defense the likes of which John Mecom never even suffered through in his worst nightmares (also known as the Hank Stram years).

New Orleans gave up 7,042 yards last year, an NFL record. Do you know how long 7,042 yards is? That’s four miles. Picture Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning and Matt Ryan passing a baton in a relay from the foot of Canal Street to the New Orleans Museum of Art and you get the idea.

Yes, having Payton back in cahoots with Drew Brees will make the Saints offense even scarier, but they can’t stay on the field all the time. What the Saints need more than anything is a defense that can plant a stop sign in the ground once in a while and give the ball back to Messrs. Brees and Payton.

Enter Rob Ryan, new defensive coordinator. He’s big, brassy, and looks not so much like a saint but a pirate: flowing hair, a bit of stubble, dressed all in black. That means if he’s successful at his job, you will see lots of people paying homage in Rob Ryan costumes next Mardi Gras.

He seems like a good fit for the city of New Orleans, but is he a good fit with the team and with Payton?

Back in 2009, Payton and then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams got along
famously. The fact that Williams’ defense produced 39 turnovers, the most of the Payton era and an integral component in the Saints’ Super Bowl run that season, probably helped their relationship in no small measure.

As it turned out, the marriage didn’t end well. Williams was painted as a major villain in the whole Bountygate affair and the Saints defense sank into something beyond mediocrity last season under Steve Spagnuolo.

Ryan’s reign is a complete reboot. The Saints are switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense, shifting ends like Will Smith, Junior Galette and Martez Wilson to outside linebackers.

There are those who say the Saints personnel is ill-suited to the 3-4 at this point and that Ryan will find bobsledding down Bourbon Street easier than improving the Saints’ NFL-worst rush defense (147.6 yards per game surrendered).

Read more: Rabalais: Unconventional Rob Ryan seems like right fit | Saints | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

Related article: Rob Ryan has something to prove | Saints | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

|Mitch|

From everything I've heard from the players, he's got that personality where you either love him or hate him.

And the players seem to love playing for him so far

Beastmode

Agree, what we have, Ryan is taking on a lot of risks but it has to be done. Nothing wrong with going in a completely different direction when the other path was a dead end.

It will likely be ugly at first but there seems to me a better vibe with this group. Motivation, the new cross fit regime, getting coach back...I could see it working out but it's going to take some time...maybe mid season we start seeing some real consistency.

Danno

Rob Ryan's not the best DC out there by far, but appears to be a good fit based on the type of defense we want to pair with our offense.

Hopefully he's Gregg Williams with more discipline and less predictability.

|Mitch|

Analysts want to talk about his past coaching experience, but he has never had the offense to play off of that we've got.

Not too often has he had the opportunity to comfortably play with the lead...

Seer1

And more innovation.

Beastmode

Keep teams under 30 points and get turnovers consistently. That is how I see it. If he can do that the offense will take care of the rest. It's going to be ugly but just as long as it's not too ugly. Beer goggles can only do so much..

TheOak

There is best hammer


The most expensive hammer titanium $200


Then there is "what will do"... I can drive a nail with this