Saintswrath

Gregg Williams exhibits a fanatical devotion to the concept of necessary roughness.

The Saints' defensive coordinator is quick to remind his players that defenses are "respected when they're feared."

He also won't punish players if they're flagged for late hits or unnecessary roughness, as long as the penalty resulted from aggression, not "stupidity."

Defensive end Will Smith explains it this way: "The intimidation part is just the way we play, just playing hard and fast to the ball. ... It hurts a little more when you have multiple people hitting you at the same time instead of just one person."

Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma said creating a fear factor is as fundamental to Williams' approach as being in the right spot on the field.

"You can only be feared if you're hitting," Vilma said.

Still, some outside of New Orleans have wondered aloud whether Saints defenders have taken Williams' philosophy a little too far - namely, Vikings coach Brad Childress, whose club opens its season in New Orleans on Thursday night.

This week, Childress stood by an earlier assertion that the Saints appeared to be trying to use late hits to hurt quarterback Brett Favre in last season's NFC championship game.

Had he been making a presentation to a jury, Childress might have replayed video of three plays in particular. One was a hi-low hit by tackle Remi Ayodele and former Saints end Bobby McCray, which resulted in an interception by Vilma.

No flag was thrown, but McCray was later fined for the low hit.

Saints' Williams Preaches Necessary Roughness - WWL - AM870 | FM105.3 | News | Talk | Sports