Carolina coach Rivera says still early to judge Saints defense
 

Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera might be a little biased, but he said
fans shouldn’t be down on the New Orleans Saints’ defense after their season-opening setback to the Washington Redskins.

Rivera, who worked with first-year Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in Philadelphia, said Wednesday it’s much too early to draw anything from their 40-32 loss to the Redskins.


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“I worked with Steve Spagnuolo in Philadelphia. … I saw what he did in New York. I saw what he was trying to do in
St. Louis. He’s trying to do
the same thing in New Orleans,” Rivera said in a conference call with Louisiana reporters.

“The only thing I can say is that you have to be patient.”

The Saints had a rough start Sunday, giving up three touchdowns and four field goals on the Redskins’ first eight possessions.

Rivera pointed out that when Spagnuolo was with the New York Giants in 2007, people wanted him fired after three games. However, they went on to win Super Bowl XLII with Spagnuolo drawing up the defensive blueprint for a stunning 17-14 win over a potent New England Patriots’ offense.

“Everybody wants to jump to conclusions after one game,” Rivera said. “We’ve played one game this year, and the big thing is the proof’s going to be at the end of the year.

“My whole point is if we’re going to make judgments after the first game, a lot of crazy things happen.”

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Re: Carolina coach Rivera says still early to judge Saints defense
 

You don't say? He must have been reading this board...

Re: Carolina coach Rivera says still early to judge Saints defense
 

Doom Despair and Agony on me

Re: Carolina coach Rivera says still early to judge Saints defense
 

I concur with Rivera.

Remember how complex Spags scheme is suppose to be. It's not like Williams' system where everyone just blitzed. It going to take some time for them to gel and build chemistry. I hope people don't look at overall defensive rankings as the focal point in judging our defense as opposed to making the big stops in crucial moments when it's needed.

We score a lot of points and in turn, opposing teams are going to get a lot of possesions. People are going to score on us... I hope people realize that.

Re: Carolina coach Rivera says still early to judge Saints defense
 

Perfect point. One would need to look at a few things to get a feel.

Points Allowed against the Saints.
Points the Saints Score.

We are offensive heavy in the way our team is built. It is not built to stop the opponent, it is built to out score them.

Re: Carolina coach Rivera says still early to judge Saints defense
 

Agreed, but we are long overdue for a defense that can be dominant, the texans have got it right and they lost some of their best defensive playmakers

The ravens and steelers have been dominant on D for over a decade, we only need ours to be half as decent

Re: Carolina coach Rivera says still early to judge Saints defense
 

I just want a defense that can stop people on 3rd and long and get off the field on 4th down...........

Re: Carolina coach Rivera says still early to judge Saints defense
 

I want one play maker in the front four!

Re: Carolina coach Rivera says still early to judge Saints defense
 

Please don't let me start liking this guy.