25th ranked defense...So what!!!

SaintGup · 05-19-2010, 06:09 PM

Can someone please tell me why so many people keep on going on about the Saints 25th ranked defense? I might be getting this wrong but it seems to me it is based on yards given up. Well I want to let you into a little secret...I DON'T CARE! Our defense was a lot better last year than people gave it credit for. Go ahead and make 60 yards a drive because on your last play I am going to rip the ball out of your hands or intercept it. Give me a 25th ranked defense and a Superbowl over a top ten defense and nothing to show for it at the end of the season anytime. Yes I would love to have a number one defense, offense, special teams and another Superbowl but guess what? Not happening. We were fine last year with our 'poor' defense. People are waiting for us to fail just so they could say 'well, I told you so'. Something tells me if we did get another Lombardi and went undefeated, there would still be people putting us at 5 on the list for the following year. Anyway, that's my view.

CantonLegend · 05-19-2010, 06:13 PM

25th ranked defense in yardage allowed

20th ranked defense in points allowed

our defense was pretty bad.......its been awhile since a team with a defense ranked that low has won a championship

im not sure we can pull it off again

saintfan · 05-19-2010, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by CantonLegend

25th ranked defense in yardage allowed

20th ranked defense in points allowed

our defense was pretty bad.......its been awhile since a team with a defense ranked that low has won a championship

im not sure we can pull it off again

+1. I'd sure rather shut some people down - even just a little - rather than rely on the turnover. My heart might not survive another season of that sorta thing - which might make some people around here pretty happy, so on second thought I'll cut down on the sodium and hope for the best. LOL

Srgt. Hulka · 05-19-2010, 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by SaintGup

Can someone please tell me why so many people keep on going on about the Saints 25th ranked defense?

It makes them feel a little better to have something to criticize us for. But the fact is we still kicked their a** last year, even with the 25th ranked defense.

D_it_up · 05-19-2010, 08:02 PM

Those numbers are skewed due to the vast amount of injuries to starters throughout the year (Porter, Greer, Fujita, Ellis). I know it's a case of coulda-shoulda-woulda, but those numbers wouldn't have been near as high had they been in the line-up. Plus, most of the yards and points were given up when teams were playing from behind, especially early in the season. Kolb throwing for 400+ yards, for example. When the starters were in, the defense was not a bad one. Sure, there were holes that were apparent, but they were able to compensate by forcing turnovers. That 25th ranking doesn't bother me from last year. They made their run through the postseason and won the Super Bowl when they had all the starters in (except Grant which was probably a blessing more than a hindrance). If they can stay healthy, that ranking will be much higher than 25th.

papz · 05-19-2010, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by CantonLegend

25th ranked defense in yardage allowed

20th ranked defense in points allowed

our defense was pretty bad.......its been awhile since a team with a defense ranked that low has won a championship

im not sure we can pull it off again

Not really. The Colts won it a few years back with one of the worst defenses in the league. It's all about creating turnovers and making plays when it counts.

CantonLegend · 05-19-2010, 09:21 PM

Originally Posted by papz

Not really. The Colts won it a few years back with one of the worst defenses in the league. It's all about creating turnovers and making plays when it counts.

cots had the 21st ranked defense in yards allowed that year.....and the 10th ranked defense in points allowed

our defense was still worse

and yes its nice to create turnovers, but a lot of that is luck and you cant rely on luck.....you need to rely on talent and ability and hope that a little luck happens

CantonLegend · 05-19-2010, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by D_it_up

Those numbers are skewed due to the vast amount of injuries to starters throughout the year (Porter, Greer, Fujita, Ellis). I know it's a case of coulda-shoulda-woulda, but those numbers wouldn't have been near as high had they been in the line-up. Plus, most of the yards and points were given up when teams were playing from behind, especially early in the season. Kolb throwing for 400+ yards, for example. When the starters were in, the defense was not a bad one. Sure, there were holes that were apparent, but they were able to compensate by forcing turnovers. That 25th ranking doesn't bother me from last year. They made their run through the postseason and won the Super Bowl when they had all the starters in (except Grant which was probably a blessing more than a hindrance). If they can stay healthy, that ranking will be much higher than 25th.

injuries happen every year.....we have to expect that again this year considering most of our key players on defense have yet to play a full season with us

our defense definitly didnt get better this offseason.....so considering we have to take injuries into account as well as our offseason losses and lack of gains, can we really assume that our defense will be better?

D_it_up · 05-19-2010, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by CantonLegend

injuries happen every year

Really? When did this start happening?

Seriously, though. You act like the defense was just pathetic. The only time they were really bad was when those players I stated were all out of the line-up, and they collectively missed quite a bit of time. The problem wasn't that defense wasn't good, it's that there wasn't much depth. You say that the defense didn't get better this offseason, but that is just as much speculation as someone that would say we have. What proof do you have that they haven't gotten better? Let me answer that for you. You don't. No one has seen what the new players will bring to the table until they touch the field. Come on, Canton. You should know that. You can't always go by what is on paper.

CantonLegend · 05-19-2010, 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by D_it_up

Really? When did this start happening?

Seriously, though. You act like the defense was just pathetic. The only time they were really bad was when those players I stated were all out of the line-up, and they collectively missed quite a bit of time. The problem wasn't that defense wasn't good, it's that there wasn't much depth. You say that the defense didn't get better this offseason, but that is just as much speculation as someone that would say we have. What proof do you have that they haven't gotten better? Let me answer that for you. You don't. No one has seen what the new players will bring to the table until they touch the field. Come on, Canton. You should know that. You can't always go by what is on paper.

i am speculating as much as anybody because thats what we have to go on

however, ive lived a good nearly 30 years of life and noticed that by subtracting important pieces of anything, not just a football team, does not usually make something better

we lost key parts of our defense and even tho i know you werent a fan of grant, there was a reason he started for us even after the huge amounts of criticism he faced

not to mention fujita and clancy

like you mentioned.....our secondary was in shambles last season and that ranking is a bit skewed.....even our DTs went down for some time

but take into account that tracy porter, darren sharper, jabari greer, sedrick ellis, and any other DT we have will likely miss time just by looking at their past history

not to mention we lose will smith for the first 4 games most likely

we have a very talented defense....but we are still missing a cornerstone or 2 i believe

05-19-2010, 06:09 PM	#1
SaintGup 500th Post Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: London, England Posts: 580	25th ranked defense...So what!!! Can someone please tell me why so many people keep on going on about the Saints 25th ranked defense? I might be getting this wrong but it seems to me it is based on yards given up. Well I want to let you into a little secret...I DON'T CARE! Our defense was a lot better last year than people gave it credit for. Go ahead and make 60 yards a drive because on your last play I am going to rip the ball out of your hands or intercept it. Give me a 25th ranked defense and a Superbowl over a top ten defense and nothing to show for it at the end of the season anytime. Yes I would love to have a number one defense, offense, special teams and another Superbowl but guess what? Not happening. We were fine last year with our 'poor' defense. People are waiting for us to fail just so they could say 'well, I told you so'. Something tells me if we did get another Lombardi and went undefeated, there would still be people putting us at 5 on the list for the following year. Anyway, that's my view.

05-19-2010, 06:13 PM	#2
CantonLegend 1000 Posts + Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 2,685 Blog Entries: 2	Re: 25th ranked defense...So what!!! 25th ranked defense in yardage allowed 20th ranked defense in points allowed our defense was pretty bad.......its been awhile since a team with a defense ranked that low has won a championship im not sure we can pull it off again

05-19-2010, 06:14 PM	#3
saintfan Donated Plasma Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 18,556 Blog Entries: 5	Re: 25th ranked defense...So what!!! Originally Posted by CantonLegend 25th ranked defense in yardage allowed 20th ranked defense in points allowed our defense was pretty bad.......its been awhile since a team with a defense ranked that low has won a championship im not sure we can pull it off again +1. I'd sure rather shut some people down - even just a little - rather than rely on the turnover. My heart might not survive another season of that sorta thing - which might make some people around here pretty happy, so on second thought I'll cut down on the sodium and hope for the best. LOL

05-19-2010, 07:23 PM	#4
Srgt. Hulka 1000 Posts + Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Shreveport, LA Posts: 4,417	Re: 25th ranked defense...So what!!! Originally Posted by SaintGup Can someone please tell me why so many people keep on going on about the Saints 25th ranked defense? It makes them feel a little better to have something to criticize us for. But the fact is we still kicked their a** last year, even with the 25th ranked defense.

05-19-2010, 08:02 PM	#5
D_it_up Faqda Falcons Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Ruston, Louisiana Posts: 3,465 Blog Entries: 3	Re: 25th ranked defense...So what!!! Those numbers are skewed due to the vast amount of injuries to starters throughout the year (Porter, Greer, Fujita, Ellis). I know it's a case of coulda-shoulda-woulda, but those numbers wouldn't have been near as high had they been in the line-up. Plus, most of the yards and points were given up when teams were playing from behind, especially early in the season. Kolb throwing for 400+ yards, for example. When the starters were in, the defense was not a bad one. Sure, there were holes that were apparent, but they were able to compensate by forcing turnovers. That 25th ranking doesn't bother me from last year. They made their run through the postseason and won the Super Bowl when they had all the starters in (except Grant which was probably a blessing more than a hindrance). If they can stay healthy, that ranking will be much higher than 25th.

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05-19-2010, 08:28 PM	#6
papz Problem? Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New Orleans Posts: 11,737	Re: 25th ranked defense...So what!!! Originally Posted by CantonLegend 25th ranked defense in yardage allowed 20th ranked defense in points allowed our defense was pretty bad.......its been awhile since a team with a defense ranked that low has won a championship im not sure we can pull it off again Not really. The Colts won it a few years back with one of the worst defenses in the league. It's all about creating turnovers and making plays when it counts.

05-19-2010, 09:21 PM	#7
CantonLegend 1000 Posts + Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 2,685 Blog Entries: 2	Re: 25th ranked defense...So what!!! Originally Posted by papz Not really. The Colts won it a few years back with one of the worst defenses in the league. It's all about creating turnovers and making plays when it counts. cots had the 21st ranked defense in yards allowed that year.....and the 10th ranked defense in points allowed our defense was still worse and yes its nice to create turnovers, but a lot of that is luck and you cant rely on luck.....you need to rely on talent and ability and hope that a little luck happens

05-19-2010, 09:24 PM	#8
CantonLegend 1000 Posts + Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 2,685 Blog Entries: 2	Re: 25th ranked defense...So what!!! Originally Posted by D_it_up Those numbers are skewed due to the vast amount of injuries to starters throughout the year (Porter, Greer, Fujita, Ellis). I know it's a case of coulda-shoulda-woulda, but those numbers wouldn't have been near as high had they been in the line-up. Plus, most of the yards and points were given up when teams were playing from behind, especially early in the season. Kolb throwing for 400+ yards, for example. When the starters were in, the defense was not a bad one. Sure, there were holes that were apparent, but they were able to compensate by forcing turnovers. That 25th ranking doesn't bother me from last year. They made their run through the postseason and won the Super Bowl when they had all the starters in (except Grant which was probably a blessing more than a hindrance). If they can stay healthy, that ranking will be much higher than 25th. injuries happen every year.....we have to expect that again this year considering most of our key players on defense have yet to play a full season with us our defense definitly didnt get better this offseason.....so considering we have to take injuries into account as well as our offseason losses and lack of gains, can we really assume that our defense will be better?

05-19-2010, 09:43 PM	#9
D_it_up Faqda Falcons Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Ruston, Louisiana Posts: 3,465 Blog Entries: 3	Re: 25th ranked defense...So what!!! Originally Posted by CantonLegend injuries happen every year Really? When did this start happening? Seriously, though. You act like the defense was just pathetic. The only time they were really bad was when those players I stated were all out of the line-up, and they collectively missed quite a bit of time. The problem wasn't that defense wasn't good, it's that there wasn't much depth. You say that the defense didn't get better this offseason, but that is just as much speculation as someone that would say we have. What proof do you have that they haven't gotten better? Let me answer that for you. You don't. No one has seen what the new players will bring to the table until they touch the field. Come on, Canton. You should know that. You can't always go by what is on paper.

05-19-2010, 09:50 PM	#10
CantonLegend 1000 Posts + Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 2,685 Blog Entries: 2	Re: 25th ranked defense...So what!!! Originally Posted by D_it_up Really? When did this start happening? Seriously, though. You act like the defense was just pathetic. The only time they were really bad was when those players I stated were all out of the line-up, and they collectively missed quite a bit of time. The problem wasn't that defense wasn't good, it's that there wasn't much depth. You say that the defense didn't get better this offseason, but that is just as much speculation as someone that would say we have. What proof do you have that they haven't gotten better? Let me answer that for you. You don't. No one has seen what the new players will bring to the table until they touch the field. Come on, Canton. You should know that. You can't always go by what is on paper. i am speculating as much as anybody because thats what we have to go on however, ive lived a good nearly 30 years of life and noticed that by subtracting important pieces of anything, not just a football team, does not usually make something better we lost key parts of our defense and even tho i know you werent a fan of grant, there was a reason he started for us even after the huge amounts of criticism he faced not to mention fujita and clancy like you mentioned.....our secondary was in shambles last season and that ranking is a bit skewed.....even our DTs went down for some time but take into account that tracy porter, darren sharper, jabari greer, sedrick ellis, and any other DT we have will likely miss time just by looking at their past history not to mention we lose will smith for the first 4 games most likely we have a very talented defense....but we are still missing a cornerstone or 2 i believe
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