Go Back   New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com > Main > Saints

Rick Venturi likes our defense

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Well duh Rick. I'd like a job to where my unit can consistently underperform and I keep my job. CARRY-OVER EFFECT Few defensive changes made after unit's strong finish last season Tuesday, July 26, 2005 By Mike Triplett Staff writer ...

Closed Thread
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-26-2005, 08:55 AM   #1
5000 POSTS! +
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 6,941
Rick Venturi likes our defense

Well duh Rick. I'd like a job to where my unit can consistently underperform and I keep my job.

CARRY-OVER EFFECT
Few defensive changes made after unit's strong finish last season
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
By Mike Triplett
Staff writer
You want training camp battles? You came to the wrong place.

Heading into training camp, the Saints' defensive depth chart looks an awful lot like it did at the end of last season -- and that's a good thing -- even though the Saints' defense ranked last in the NFL last season.

Advertisement






The Saints fiddled with different defensive alignments all season before finding a formula that helped them win their final four games.

Ten starters are back from that closing run, with the only new addition being free agent safety Dwight Smith, a bona fide playmaker who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.

"I'm excited about the fact that we're going with a team that has played together, for my first time here, period," said Rick Venturi, who is entering his 10th season with the Saints and fourth as the team's defensive coordinator. "There's going to be continuity, which should help us early. That's been a problem here. We haven't had continuity. We've had a lot of mass changes, and that makes it hard to be good right off the bat."

A handful of veterans were released in the offseason -- safety Tebucky Jones, cornerback Ashley Ambrose and linebackers Orlando Ruff and Derrick Rodgers, and the Saints made a few notable additions, signing Smith and drafting safety Josh Bullocks and linebacker Alfred Fincher in the second and third rounds.

But for the most part, the changes that will impact this defense took place throughout the 2004 season.

Consider:

-- The Saints added veteran cornerback Mike McKenzie in an October trade with the Green Bay Packers. He intercepted five passes in 11 games.

-- Linebackers James Allen, Courtney Watson and Colby Bockwoldt didn't start together until Week 14 -- the eighth combination the Saints tried at linebacker last season.

-- Cornerback Fakhir Brown and defensive tackle Howard Green didn't emerge as full-time starters until Week 7.

-- Backup tackle Willie Whitehead missed the first eight games while recovering from a knee injury.

-- The Saints began experimenting late in the season with an effective pass-rushing lineup that included four ends on the field at the same time -- Charles Grant, Darren Howard, Will Smith and Tony Bryant.

"We felt like we started the rebuilding program at midseason, and the fact that the overall numbers will never reflect it doesn't really bother us," Venturi said. "And I don't think that's a spin. We separated that in our minds from a business standpoint."

That's why the Saints didn't act like a desperate team in the offseason. They considered some veteran linebackers in free agency and took a hard look at some linebackers with their first-round draft choice.

But instead, they spent free-agent dollars and that top pick on the right side of their offensive line, which was fine with Venturi, who likes the way his defense has been coming together for a couple years now.

"If you look at what we've done on defense in the last two years, there's been some pretty good acquisitions," said Venturi, who said he was especially pleased with the Dwight Smith signing. "We all really wanted to do it. We make no bones about that. I wanted it, (Coach) Jim (Haslett) wanted it, the front office wanted it. He's a guy that I think is a playmaker. I think he brings a presence to us."

The Saints are hoping to make more big plays, in addition to creating a consistent and stable unit. They intercepted 13 passes last year.

That kind of big-play ability is what made the young linebacking trio so effective at the end of last season.

Allen, a three-year veteran, forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles in the final six games of the season. Watson, a 2004 rookie, had 33 tackles and a sack in the last four games.

Bockwoldt, also a 2004 rookie, was the surprise of the group. The seventh-round draft choice started the final seven games, making 47 tackles in that span.

"The reality of it is we played our best ball at the end of the season, and I'm not just saying that because of those (linebackers)," Venturi said. "But those guys were a vital part of the reason that we were a much different team at the end.

"So we're very comfortable with those guys."

Veteran safety Jay Bellamy and veteran defensive tackle Brian Young also are back in the starting lineup, but it's not just the starting defense that remains intact as the Saints head into the 2005 season.

Experienced backups like Will Smith, Bryant, Whitehead, Johnathan Sullivan, Sedrick Hodge, Roger Knight, Jason Craft, Fred Thomas and Mel Mitchell return as well.

Sullivan has been a major disappointment since the Saints took him with the sixth overall choice in the 2003 draft, and he has yet to make an impact on the defense. His salary-cap figure will probably guarantee him a roster spot for at least one more year, but the Saints aren't counting on him like they have in the past.

"Sullivan's at a stage where he has to prove it to us," Venturi said of the defensive tackle, who is listed at 6 feet 3, 315 pounds. "We no longer say he has to be there."

. . . . . . .
saintswhodi is offline  
Old 07-26-2005, 07:27 PM   #2
Cold as Ice!
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Da Big Easy
Posts: 2,978
this guy is truly the definition of "Clueless"
FireVenturi is offline  
Old 07-26-2005, 07:30 PM   #3
Problem?
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 11,677
I didn't even bother to read the article... your topic alone made me want to cry.
papz is offline  
Old 07-26-2005, 10:52 PM   #4
Mmm That Smell!
 
Join Date: Oct 1998
Location: Metairie Terrace
Posts: 3,073
But instead, they spent free-agent dollars and that top pick on the right side of their offensive line, which was fine with Venturi, who likes the way his defense has been coming together for a couple years now.

WTF?
RockyMountainSaint is offline  
Old 07-26-2005, 11:07 PM   #5
1000 Posts +
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,020
before finding a formula that helped them win their final four games.
Play the lower ecchelon teams on the decline and the one play off team that starts the back up .

"Sullivan's at a stage where he has to prove it to us," Venturi said of the defensive tackle, who is listed at 6 feet 3, 315 pounds. "We no longer say he has to be there."
315 ?? Was that his freshmen college year ???

The Saints fiddled with different defensive alignments all season
Does anything say clueless like that statement ???
saintz08 is offline  
Old 07-27-2005, 08:43 AM   #6
1000 Posts +
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,762
"We felt like we started the rebuilding program at midseason, and the fact that the overall numbers will never reflect it doesn't really bother us," Venturi said. "And I don't think that's a spin.
This has always been my critique of the Haslett regime--every year is a rebuilding year with him. And how is it good coaching/management/whatever to START rebuilding 6-7 games into the season? Haslett never seems to know what he wants to do and never stays with anything long enough to do it. It's almost like wondering whether Haslett is trying to put the 99 Rams, the 03 Ravens or the 02 Chiefs on the field over 3 consecutive weeks. Unbelievable.

"There's going to be continuity, which should help us early. That's been a problem here. We haven't had continuity. We've had a lot of mass changes, and that makes it hard to be good right off the bat."
Continuity was the watchword last season too.

Sounds like the coaching staff has a hard time looking critically at what they're doing and how to get better results. If they really are having a hard time with reality, then I won't be able to be really upbeat about the coming season. Even though I think Haslett will be able to do just enough to keep his job, but not much else.
BrooksMustGo is offline  
Old 07-27-2005, 11:34 AM   #7
5000 POSTS! +
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Hollywood, CA
Posts: 7,601
Blog Entries: 5
Hey... we should lay off Venturi who will return as our head coach this year.
Euphoria is offline  
Old 07-28-2005, 06:39 AM   #8
ChocolateMilk Connoisseur
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Live Free or Die
Posts: 362
Perish the thought. Is it just me, or does it seem like Rick likes how the Defense looks every year?
maximkat is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:11 AM.


Copyright 1997 - 2020 - BlackandGold.com
no new posts