I don't understand...
 

...why so many think we still need vast improvement on defense, the saints did finish as the 11th best defense last year.

the LB crew was not near the best in the nfc, but it was solid and with the addition of brian simmons and the addition fo some young guys there is a big improvement.

with adding jason david, roman harper returning, bullocks having another year under his belt and picking up a "young" guy (so puny) at corner...the secondary is improved.

our defensive line is not in need of immediate help, but hollis thomas does not have that many years left (maybe only 1).

saying all that...i do thing houston might have been a could pick at 27 instead of meachum. now if meachum turns out to be a solid #2 and young takes over for mckenzie by the end of the year or atleast is a solid #3 corner, i will take that back.

i am interested to see how palko develops. i pray that brees doesn't get injured. if he does, the saints season is done.

The problem is...
 

Our D looked good, damn good at times but they never dominated. They gave up big plays, to many big plays. We need some dominate guys who can play consistant. Weakness were exposed and teams took advantage of them. At least on O our weakness was disguised most of the time.

Most of the big plays against our defense was by Fred Thomas. Yea we had some problems in the run game. But I do remember Boykin from last year and I think they are pretty high on him.Last year he just had some personal problems, when he got the straight he came back. I too think this new Thimas kid can be a boon to the line IF they can keep him on the straight and narrow.

I was really looking for some help on the D-line. Another good solid DT would have been nice. Honestly, I have no clue about the backup to the DE's either. All in all though, in FA we got a LB, CB, S, plus two CBs in the draft. That's a lot of new blood for the D.

The Saints defense wasn't bad last season in not for our secondary, we played pretty good up front, Fred Thomas just killed us, especially with the deep balls , the Saints will be much improved next season because now we'll be able to cover down field.
The future looks great with the Saints..
I also hope to see that the line protects Brees better than they did last season...

Blame
 

...you can put the blame where ever you like but The DB's gave up huge pass plays (either D-line with no rush or bad DB's). Our OL gave up HUGE running plays (D-line, LB's, DB's) Whatever! Everyone had there fair share of giving up big plays.

Euphoria is right. We gave up huge plays all over the field, and in almost every game. We had an offense to overcome it.

On defense we have gone 11th, 15th, 20th, and back to 11th. Last year's 11th show we gave up a lot of rushing yards. But these stats do not tell the whole story. Depends who you play against (are they a passing team or rushing team), the margins of scores in games (argue you get thrown against if you have a huge lead, get rushed against if you are losing badly), and so on.

I reckon our special teams are going to improve big time, and that will give us great field position.

Way to many BIGGGGGGGGG PLAYS, we wasn't as horrible as everyone thinks, but we weren't that good. We gave up at least one huge play in every game this season, and against the Ravens, Steelers, Bengals, Redskins, and the first game against the Panthers, we never was able to over come those soul crushing plays. That was just unacceptable, and I'm glad the coaching staff thought so to, we didn't need a whole defensive overhaul, the moves they made were pretty dam good if you ask me, and I think they're not done just yet. Remember, there's the second wave of free agency coming up, I think they will address the DT position in due time.

Why can't Meachum turn out to be a #1, nothing against Colston, but he was a 7th rd draft pick, while Meachum is a 1st rd draft pick. I hope they both are great players.

The main reason our defense was # 11 is because of the offense time of possesion. The defense did play ok but it does need some improvement

The defense like the offense was patch work unit. They both did a great job. We need some starters to plug in here or there or have a few of the old dogs to get their bit back. Depth is the key issue across the board. Well it seems like the draft, UDFA, street FA and 08 practice sqaud have addressed most of the issues. Now lets see what happens in camp now. We all know this is not the end of adding new faces till then. The saints may have one or two moves left till then that will be key to building the team for the future. Lets see how this group shapes up first. Stepping in the right direction.
You have to give Fred some slack. The Safety play last year was a spotty to say the least. One starter and some aged verterans did not cut it.

True that Thomas hurt us, but we were suspect all over. Look at some of the big runs we gave up- notably against Carolina, and then versus the Eagles in the playoffs. We just didn't have the speed or awareness to prevent the big ones.

Dont count on June 1st cuts producing any big name guys. I cant remember even 1 from last year. teams are doing a much better job with the salary cap now and not to mention, the cap is through the roof. there will be a few guys cut by the time training camp starts but nothing that will knock your socks off.

In actual execution our defense was probably not 11th, but I bet it's it least that now with us not having to put Fred Thomas on the field. I know it's an oversimplification to hang the woes of an entire unit on one person, and it's especially unfair to a true professional such as Fred, but you kinda sorta gotta look at it that way.

The main problem last year was the deep ball, and Fred was the one who got picked on for most of those deep balls. See Carolina, Cincy, Chicago. I bet I'm forgetting a big play in either the Pittsburgh or Baltimore game.You can even make the argument that any statistical problem with our run defense was a result of us being overly concerned w/ providing help to coverage. Honestly, I thought our run D was pretty good when it needed to be, i.e. short yardage/momentum swinging situations. I felt better on 3rd and short than 3rd and 8. We gave up big runs on pass-run "neutral" downs, when we had to pay attention to the pass as much as the run.

The LB's played well as a unit -- the sum greater than the parts. Get Harper back on the field, let competition decide between Kaevasharn and Bullocks, and swap out Fred for Jason David and Simmons for Simoneau -- that has to spell improvement. Factor in another year of experience in the scheme and I think we're in good shape.

anytime the TV color analyst(s) can say for certain the opposing QB should just go for whatever receiver is lined up against Fred Thomas, it's a safe bet the foe's offensive coordinator that figured that out as well. I was figuring on Chris Houston but I think The Saints had a good draft and when we iron out the DB issues the South better strap on their cleats and hold on for the ride. It's gonna be bumpy.

I agree, I feel Drew may not be touched next year. The OL has a year vested in their offenser, they will only get better. Now they've matured enough to teach their backups, win/win situation.

If Big Daddy pans out, I feel sorry for our opponents, NOT!

That would be so dumb. We were very weak in coverage on Defense was because we were of age and less atheleticism. To let you know we player Cover 1 and Man-to-Man last year. We cannot blame Bullocks at all, or not as much as people fault him. The guy spent 70% darn near up in the box. The plays we gave up was because of Bellamy and Thomas. McKenzie barely got beaten, and the big plays was when Bullocks caught up to the play

Replacing Bullocks with KK makes us even worse. KK isn't faster, more atheletic, or I'd say better than Bullocks. He's just an overly productive Nickel back, which is just what we should have him at and let him make plays there

here, here D24

Safety position was thin last year. Harper going down hurt us big time. Josh had to play FS fulltime and try to make up for the lack of depth at SS. I think he did okay but it was to much to ask of him. I look for at least one of these CB we are bringing in to up grade the depth at the SS position. Gleason is what he is a special teams demon. His contract proves it. Jay is ready for key west and sunset watching. So keep you eye on the kids and the rotation in preseason. At least one will be at SS I bet. Jay and Gleason maybe goners this year or next.

Bingo!
 

You got it. I bet if you looked at yds per play or drive or some "per capita" statistics we were at the bottom of the barrell.

However, I'm not so inclined to join the Fred Thomas lynch squad. He got burned deep in a primarily man-to-man defense. If a CB gets burned deep, then there is at least equal blame on the Safties. But I think you gotta put a good bit of the blame on the coaching staff. If the commentators know what comming, then the coaches should too.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome"
- (I think) Einstein via Biloxi-Indian

I think we needed a better influx of speed and experience into our defense. Granted our defense played better and played SMART, but a huge reason for the success was indeed the offense. When the offense was operating high octane, you start to make the other team a little more one dimensional and cut out a large portion of their playbook and now the smart players you have on defense can make things happen. On the other hand, when Deuce was pounding the ball and we were turning out long, time consuming drives, other offenses couldnt get on the field and make plays. This is just from sheer memory but it was really the offenses and players with top end speed that hurt our defense. Willie Parker torching us with 213 yards rushing most of which came on two long runs to the outside. Chad Johnson burning our defense for 190 yards on 6 catches (not 100% sure, but i think two of his long TDs were on deep routes).

We were certainly suscepitble to the big play. First, the nature of our defense leaves some exposure to big plays. We dont blitz a whole lot to generate hella pressure...we more or less rely on our line. We dont really mix and match zone and man coverages all that much leaving our corners who while servicable werent top notch by any means last year often mismatched.

I think many share the perception our defense graded out better than they really were. In watching all the games last season, even in a second viewing I still see the same trend. We were a two-faced unit. We'd execute perfectly over a couple of downs and then have a massive breakdown of assignments or individual error. We had flat out dominated and dictated on one down and then fell apart the very next with a blown coverage or missed gap assignment that resulted in a big play. We were not consistent, and yes, many times our success was a fluke on a play with getting lucky and avoiding potential exposure. The only real consistency I did see was on the part of Fujita, Shanle and our DE's. They generally had good instincts, angles and maintained their personal containment.

Our DT play was erratic. Brian Young, for all his heart, is rarely effective. He doesn't take up much blocking and he isn't a pocket threat as a rule. Hollis can dominate the middle but it's always in flashes, and he missed alot of time last year. All the rotation players are equally inconsistent. Simoneau was not a sure tackler or adept at being where he needed to be, a combination that befell Bullocks and McKenzie as well. Thomas was in over his head too often and you can't fault him for being put in positions he was not capable of success. He has skills left, just not to be matched up on an island with bigger, faster players. Losing Harper and suffering the rotation of Stoudamire and Bellamy was painful. Both like to hit but neither is game fast or good in coverage.

I do like having Simmons and Kaeshviharn added to the mix. Neither are massive upgrades but they are more saavy at their positions that we previously had. I think that a healthy Harper, Ninkovich and Jason David will be huge for this defense. Last year saw too many players trying to do their own job but be aware of supporting a weakness elsewhere. Guys like Bullocks, Shanle and Charles Grant did not stand out like they could because they played half their game trying to assist another spot as a fail safe. It made them less effective in their true role. I am very happy we returned a good portion of our defensive unit. I do not think we are far from a consistent top 10 crew here. Our defense is not a big concern for me going into this season and I really think we are gonna be better than last year visibly and not just stat wise.

Were gonna find out real quick this season where the D stands vs. last year. At Indy, at Seattle & at Frisco all before the end of Oct. Nice!

I've got a bad feeling about the '9ers.

Not for long...Willis is coming.

Well put Hagan. I believe and say the same thing you're saying. I have a good hunch that maybe the Texas College CB or Shanle's Bro or even Jones will try a few practices at SS and be a stud there. Im leaning towards Shanle or Jones. Jones is a ballhawk and with a little technique work he'd look good anywhere on the field in coverage. Cannot wait til Camp starts!

Run defense and giving up big plays. The Saints finished 23rd in rushing defense giving up over 125 YPG. Then when the safeties crept up to support the run, everyone threw over the top and picked on Freddie "Gameshow" Thomas.

The team changed the CB position in the offseason. David won't get beat nearly as bad or as often as Gameshow.

The run still needs some improvement. The defense also needs to not give up big plays in the run game. I still cringe thinking about Willie Parker going for 140 in just two plays.
Agreed.

We need a front 7 that can consistently stop the run. I think that's why everyone is hoping that the Thomas Twins (TM) can be created on the line in the middle to stop the run.

Meachum is going to be an immediate impact receiver for the Saints. I'm trying to figure out how defenses are going to break down sets with Colston, Meachum, Henderson, and Bush in the backfield or motioning into the slot. Way too much talent for most defenses to handle.

Young is strictly a project. The real dilemma is whether or not he'll have enough of a skillset by the end of training camp to make the 53 man roster. Payton has said and proved time and time again that if you can't contribute is a substitive way, you can't get onto his 53 man roster. So Young will have to show he can play special teams or contribute in some way in order to make the roster.

McKenzie has shown no signs of slowing down. Last year the only time I remember seeing him anywhere near a GameShow moment was that TD pass by Campbell in the Washington game. Both he and Gameshow were in the end zone when the ball got there. Why would he need to be replaced?

That's a given. Martin could not carry the load in the one game he played last year.

SFIAh

1. You haven't seen these guys play
2. Coach Payton evaluates his players not Green
3. Ty Law said the same thing about Josh Lay