SaintNik

With the depth, youth, and experience we have at defensive line there is reason to get excited about this unit. We also have speed at the LB position. When you combine the two, it should give the front seven a steady and able pass rush this year.

Dan Pompei of Sporting News has glowing thoughts regarding our chances this year.

"The fastest nickel pass-rush unit in the league this year could belong to the Saints. Their nickel line will contain first-round pick Will Smith and Charles Grant at end, with Es Darren Howard and Willie Whitehead moving inside to tackle. In a special third-and-long package called Delta, the Saints will play Smith and OLB Derrick Rodgers at end and Howard and Grant at tackle. . . . "

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...=tsn&type=lgns

Here's to hoping we see plenty of the DELTA package this year as that will mean we will have the opponents offense in third and long.

SaintNik

Since our offense has the quick strike ability of scoring fast from anywhere on the field, I would have no problem with our defense blitzing early and often to put added pressure on the opponents. We may get beat for a big play here and there but adding a blitzer to a line capable of putting the pressure on could set the tone early.

oompa

i think our defense will be a big surprizes this year to a lot of teams!!! yah go saints all the way

JKool

I think our pass rush will be limited by the fact that our corners will not be able to stop the hot routes.

Someone is gonna talk about this with me, damnit!

whowatches

I don\'t think hot routes will be a problem. What I worry about is the post-four second play in which the opposing wideouts have had an opportunity to out run our corners.

I also see an improved pass-rush allowing one of our safeties (Bellamy) to move up and help with run support and (dare I say it) screens.

As an aside, I think I\'m still more worried about our linebackers than our corners. Honestly, think about the difference in experience between the two units. I know, I know, we have potential at the LB spot. Potential is really nice during the preseason, but it\'s like one of those low-carb beers when it comes to the real season: looks like the real thing but tastes like something my cat leaves in the litter box.

\"But it keeps you from becoming a fat azzzzz!\"

Thanks, honey.

I\'m done here.

.02

JKool

I\'m not sure why people are so concerned about the long patterns. We actually didn\'t get beat deep very often last season (perhaps a tribute to T-buck). Our pass rush, even if unimproved, won\'t be that bad. My point, though exaggerated for effect, was that there is reason to try and improve our CB situation.

It seems to me we have at least one too many good WRs on the roster. I\'m still looking for a trade.

whowatches

I, too, would love to see an addition to the cb spot; however, I do not think that the success of our defense is dependent on such an addition. Barring injury, we should be fine. The injury factor is always a big if, though. If we don\'t bring another cb in, and Mel Mitchell is healthy, it\'ll be interesting to see how we employ our three safeties in dime situations.

I guess I\'m not just worried about the long ball, but more about receivers having time to find an open spot.

.02

whowatches

Oh, and about the wideouts on our roster. The only one I\'d even remotely consider trading is Pathon (and only because of his salary). Since he\'s under contract, plays semi-consistantly and doesn\'t cause trouble, I\'d like to see him stay for another year. We still can\'t depend on Stallworth. Devery is a rookie and will need time to develop (ie. catching balls with his hands and not his body). Crowell is a question mark. Joe is getting old.

If we were to trade Pathon, we most likely couldn\'t get a decent cb, anyways. We\'d probably only score a fifth rounder. I\'d rather have Pathon as insurance this year.

.02

FrenzyFan

Because I am somewhat optimistic in off-season/pre-season times, I take it as a given that our pass russ will be very dangerous this year. Because I believe most offensive coordinators are smart men, I believe that the game plans used against us will take into account our pass rush.

Were I planning against the Saints, I would go with short and precise pass routes, draw plays, and screens to take advantage of our speedy and aggressive pass rush. Stopping any/all of the above depend on LBs and CBs. If we have a smart defensive coordinator the safeties will assist the LBs/CBs on these routes.

Here is the problem, as I see it, for our defense. Our CBs (and most for that matter) are shorter than enemy WRs. Most of our CBs are slower and less agile than enemy WRs (we are told to believe that our CBs make up for this by being aggressive and savvy.)

Our LB corp is unproven (mostly the MLB position, though I am not sold on Hodge) and we are depending on them to deal with the draw and the screen.

If I am right about all of this, we will be devastating to younger QBs or ones who are indecisive in the pocket. To the veteran QBs we must depend on our suspect secondary to be able to stop an enemy offense. On this point, I am not optimistic - though I am hopeful that Watson may be the real deal. And outstanding MLB can be all the difference here.

I noticed the ESPN prediction for us by week 10 and we were 2-7. I didn\'t have us that badly, but my own prediction based on the evaluation of the QBs we are facing through week 10 and how they match up to my assumption above is 4-5.

\"The AB brand of TP will hurt your O-ring.\" - BlackandBlue

http://www.darrylbercegeay.com/wsmith1.jpg

Euphoria

I think what people are overlooking is our CB\'s... ok we don\'t have a Shut down, hall of famer CB. Redskins - Gibbs cans Baily for a big-time RB... Our CB\'s are solid and good. Our rush will be great and cause the other teams to make mistakes. Our offense is going to cause other teams to come out throwing on us and we\'ll get those breaks.