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Saints' 'D' gets passing grade

N.O. secondary shows marked improvement
Thursday December 18, 2003
By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer


The memory of the Saints' 55-21 blowout loss to Indianapolis at the Superdome in the fourth game of the season still makes Tebucky Jones wince.

"We were lost in that game," Jones said of the Saints' overwhelmed pass defense, which was pounded by Colts quarterback Peyton Manning for six touchdown passes and 318 yards in the nationally televised blowout.

Since that nightmarish evening, the Saints have allowed eight touchdown passes and 180 points, an average of 18 points per game. During that span, they have steadily improved from No. 21 to No. 8 in the league in passing defense.

In the first four games, the Saints allowed 10 touchdown passes, including two each by Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck and Tennessee's Steve McNair. Since then, they have held eight of 10 opponents to one touchdown pass or fewer. They have not surrendered a touchdown pass to a receiver since Keenan McCardell grabbed a 30-yard score in a 17-14 win at Tampa Bay on Nov. 2.

"It's cohesion, it's guys playing together in the coverage, it's defensive backs meshing with the linebackers," coordinator Rick Venturi said. "We're doing a better job of covering routes, of covering people, which then buys the pass rush a little time."

The improvement is not accidental. Venturi and Coach Jim Haslett overhauled the defensive strategy and personnel in the offseason after the unit was raided for more big plays than any defense in the league a year ago.

The Saints allowed a league-high 12 pass plays of 40 yards or more and 51 pass plays of 20 yards or more in 2002. Only Detroit (56) allowed more 20-yard receptions.

In an effort to prevent similar onslaughts, the Saints traded for Jones, a speedy free safety, and decided to use more zone coverage to allow the defensive backs better vision on the ball.

The results have been impressive. The Saints have allowed only two pass plays of 40 or more yards this season. Chicago, with one, is the only team to allow fewer. The Saints also rank ninth in 20-plus-yard pass plays, allowing 31 in 228 receptions.

"I think we're finally beginning to play the matchup (defense) as well as the zone," Venturi said. "There was a period of time where I felt like we had to go into a game with one or the other because of our inexperience together in the system. As the season has gone on we have been able to do both -- match versus Tampa and zone versus the Giants.

"That what (Patriots coach Bill) Belichick does. The Patriots defend the team. We may play Tampa different than we play Atlanta. We may play the Jaguars different than we play Jacksonville."

Venturi credits the play of safeties Jones and Jay Bellamy for much of the improvement. Bellamy has enjoyed the best season of his three-year Saints career. For all the criticism Jones has received for shoddy tackling and a failure to create big plays and turnovers, he has played well as a deep center fielder, preventing many of the big plays that haunted the unit a year ago.

"If you don't give up big plays, you stand less chance of losing," Jones said. "Basically we're saying, just beat us with the run. The biggest thing is don't let them beat us over the top. If they are going to beat us, let it be all short stuff, stop them and make them kick a field goal. We've been doing a pretty good job of that lately."

Early in the season, the influx of six new starters and a spree of injuries stunted the unit's progress and disrupted the defensive cohesiveness.

The injuries have subsided in recent weeks. Since linebacker Sedrick Hodge and defensive end Darren Howard returned to the lineup Nov. 16, only Willie Whitehead and Dale Carter have missed games because of injuries. In that five-game span, eight defenders have started every game.

"It's been a momentous task to put all the new guys together," Venturi said. "I'm pleased with the type of guy we have right now. We have the type of guy that comes to work every day. We've grown because they keep working at it. The more cohesion you get, the more you play together makes a huge difference in this league."

Jeff Duncan can be reached at jduncan@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.