Saintswrath

New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams wants to keep increasing the 'takeaway' tally



The New Orleans Saints have been steadily improving their turnover ratio, with half of their 18 takeaways coming during their current four-game win streak. And they should have an opportunity to increase that tally on Sunday in Cincinnati, where the hapless Bengals rank tied for fifth in the NFL with 25 giveaways this season.
But Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams doesn't like that term - "giveaway" - because it implies that you're waiting for the other team to do the job for you.
Williams said he constantly reminds his team that they're called "takeaways" for a reason.


"They're things that you have to go out and hunt and get," Williams said. "We've had those potential ones that have bounced back to the other team, or we've dropped a pass here or there."
Indeed, the Saints are tied for the NFL lead with 27 forced fumbles, but they have recovered only 11 of them, which ranks fourth in the league. Last week at Dallas was particularly frustrating. The Cowboys put the ball on the ground seven times, but the Saints recovered only two of them. At one point Saints linemen Sedrick Ellis and Will Smith forced fumbles on back-to-back plays in the third and fourth quarters, but the Cowboys recovered both of them.
The second one was maddening. After Smith knocked the ball loose during a sack, a group of three Saints defenders quickly swarmed around the ball, but it bounced right up into the waiting hands of Dallas tight end Martellus Bennett.
But Williams said he doesn't have any complaints about the way the Saints have been swarming to the ball. He said he went back over the weekend and ... (read the rest here: New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams wants to keep increasing the 'takeaway' tally | NOLA.com )