saint5221

http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0308/25/s05.html

August 25, 2003
Haslett has serious concerns about DBs

The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints, with seven new starters on defense, showed little sign of jelling in the team's next to last preseason game.

New Orleans lost to San Francisco 27-12 Saturday night as the 49ers erupted for three touchdowns in the second quarter, shredding the Saints for chunks of yardage seemingly at will.

The fact that most of the damage occurred when the Saints' first-team defense was on the field was all the more troubling for Saints coach Jim Haslett and defensive coordinator Rick Venturi.

New Orleans starters saw their most extensive action of the preseason, playing for most of the first three quarters.

In Thursday's exhibition against Miami the starters are expected to see little playing time as coaches try to prevent injuries with the season looming. That means that Saturday night's game was the starters' final chance to produce before the regular-season opener against Seattle on Sept. 7.

Judging from Saturday's performance, the defense looks like it can use all the work it can get.

It didn't matter whether it was Pro Bowl starter Jeff Garcia or third-string rookie Ken Dorsey, San Francisco quarterbacks riddled the Saints. Four 49ers quarterbacks combined to complete 24 of 26 passes for 264 yards.

"We've got to get better," Haslett said. "We haven't stopped the pass in three games. We've got to get coaches and players working on it. I don't know why we're not doing it."

On the first two series, the Saints allowed 28 yards in 10 plays. On the final three series, they allowed 194 in 20 plays. The 49ers gained 7 or more yards on 12 of those 20 plays. On those final three series, Garcia and Tim Rattay completed 11 of 13 passes for 150 yards.

"We need to get more pressure than that on the quarterback and keep stopping the run," said Kenny Smith, who started in place of Darren Howard at right end. "Everybody was ready to get off the ball and anticipating what was going on and trying to make progress on rushing the quarterback."

Smith was one of the few bright spots, dominating while starting in Howard's spot at right end. Smith sacked Garcia for a 7-yard loss to kill the 49ers' second drive. Later in the half, tackles Derrick Deese and Kwame Harris were called for holding penalties while trying to block Smith.

If Smith didn't get there, though, Garcia and company had a field day.

Former Ole Miss running back Deuce McAllister was sharp in his most extended action of the preseason. He gained 76 yards on 15 carries and caught three passes for 20 yards before leaving midway through the third quarter.

WhoDat

I AM SO F_CKING TIRED OF HEARING THIS \"I don\'t know why we\'re not doing it.\"

Note to Jim Haslett - if you can\'t figure it out by now, you don\'t deserve to be an NFL coach. Here\'s a hint - Dale Carter is NOT the \"best cover corner\" in the league. He\'s old with tendonitis in his knee. Thomas is too small, slowing, and not that great anymore. Ambrose hasn\'t been good for a while. Your defensive coordinator is probably the worst in the league. Your front four aren\'t getting enough pressure and your linebackers are too lost to blitz effectively. Get it? That\'s why you\'re not stopping the pass. I know that and I\'m sitting here. Figure it out or my vote will be to kick your a$$ out.

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

BuffordT

Yeah, what he said!! I think the Saints call to the Redskins on Smoot was saying -
\"Holy crap, everyone said our db\'s were old and slow, I guess they were right - now what do we do?!?\" Gee, is it really that hard to figure out that we needed to upgrade our DB\'s? Good thing we traded those two first rounders for one guy when we could have picked up a starting corner as well! Hindsight is certainly 20/20, but I about threw up on draft day when they did that.

WhoDat

Me too Buf. I was against it before the draft, I was against it on draft day, and I\'m still against it. Dumb move.

rodjmaw

Whodat and Bufford, you are feeling my pain. I was not that upset they passed up on Marcus Trufant in the 1st rd but to not pick up any corners in the draft :casstet: (2nd rd Rashean Mathis 3rd rd Dennis Weathersby) :casstet:

LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: The saints will be able to pick up a great defensive back next year

BlackandBlue

Dammit, I was. Pissed my girlfriend off in the process. Who cares, the ***** dumped me anyway.
Weathersby is not really fair, though, most thought he would fall farther than he did.

Cooky591

Lets hope we get a great CB next year. I believe Gamble and Jackson will come out early and be the top corners, Strait will also be great. The real strength will be in the 2nd and 3rd round. There will be a lot of tall, fast CB there. It is too early to think about the draft but I bet we still draft a OL in the first 2 rounds.

saintz08

Alright ,
I know this is a reach but does anyone else get the feeling Haslett is setting Venturi up as the fall guy for the defensive collapse . Earning himself a brief side stepping of the axe when Benson comes looking for a head at the end of the season ???

It seemed draft day with 2 no. 1 \'s , Cb and Dt would have been the way to go or at least Cb and Lb would have solved some issues . At 17 and 18 Woolfolk , Williams and Bailey are all still on the board .

Too me for a defense that finished 28th , to go after 1 man and hope he picks up your system , it seemed like Haslett pulled a Ricky Williams type move . Draft report I was reading had Sullivan listed as a second rounder .

\"Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn\'t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.\" - George S. Patton
On another note, I\'ll take a bite of that crow 08. - Saintfan
Brooks is a moron!! - Halo

BillyCarpenter1

saintz08-


You\'re right. That is a reach. I always find it interesting how you skew the facts. Let\'s look at the following statement and break it down.


Why did you have to throw in \"hopes he picks it up\"? Defensive tackle is probably the easiest of all the positons to pick up. Here\'s a beter conspiracy theory for you. Maybe Haslett purposely drafts stupid players so that they won\'t expose him for being such a terrible coach.

I would have liked to have seen a CB drafted also, but why do you have to throw out \"would have solved some issues?\" Seems to me that the biggest problem the Saints had last year was stopping the run. By drafting a defensive tackle I think that went a long way toward solving an issue.


Show me those draft reports. There is no way Sullivan was going to fall to the second round. There was no way he was going to fall to the Saints if they wouldn\'t have moved up in the draft.

Now, it\'s always easy to second guess a coaching staff and you are a master of this. The fact is that the Saints had many weaknesses to address in the draft. If he would have taken a cornerback and linebacker in the draft-What would he have done about the defensive tackle position?

I think it\'s a proven fact that you build a great defense by having a great defensive line. You don\'t build a defense around defensive backs. I promise you that a great pass rush from the defensive line helps the secondary out more than the secondary helps out the defensive line.

I know the defensive tackle position isn\'t as glamoros as the cornerback and linebacker position, but get over it!!

lumm0x

Just to admit something off the top, I\'m not sure what Sullivan played in Georgia as far as a DT position. NT is a very simple position to play. If he was a straight up single gap DT then that is also very easy. If he has never played the 3 technique spot before and is being asked to here, that position is very complicated in it\'s scope. Most in-play defensive adjustments on the line revolve around the action of that spot. If you work from the DL backwards, nearly every different coverage, run/pass blitz, trick play defense, etc. has a different or adjusted action by the 3-tech. If he\'s never played it, he has a larger learning curve than you\'d think for a DT. I\'ve played and coached both DT spots and it is 10 times the understanding of the defense to be the 3.