Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

Question I been asking since seeing so much pressure up front, I have to ask..........where did this stellar play come from? We never seen such play in over 10 years from that unit.


But why is it coming together now with the same guys we had before?

Could Rob Ryan be a top tier coordinator all along?

Could it be the addition of Keenan Lewis to pair with Jabari Greer?

Apparently Rob Ryan is doing something Gregg Williams, Gary Gibbs, or Spags could not do.

It ask more questions than answers.

Perhaps its the reason why Sean Payton has kept the players we wanted gone for so long? After last year and partially during the Gregg Williams era, we wanted so many guys gone. Biggest culprit was Harper, and then Malcom Jenkins was beginning to blow goats as well.

But now perhaps we finally got a competent coordinator? Could that be why all these 1st rd picks are beginning to really pan out? As well as guys we knew who had potential is now playing up to that potential?

You know I figured our defense would be improved, it couldnt possibly get worse, but to go from last in the NFL to 5th..........thats one hell of a turnaround no one expected.

Thoughts?

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

I don't think it has all that much to do with switching to the "3-4" considering we are playing a four-man line about 75% of the time.

We just stuck with some guys for too long. Defense is about hunger and intensity. Especially on the line.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

What gets me is that we have the pretty much the same defensive coaches. Bill Johnson has been the D-Line coach for a few years now and he has never gotten the production we are seeing.

And I do believe Ryan is a top tier coordinator, he's just never had an offense worth a damn whose got his back...

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

It's easy to say why we're better. We have a coach who is using players to their strengths.....and we have some talented players who have grown and matured in their time with the Saints. Let's not forget the addition of Vaccaro as a reason for this defense to be improved.
Jordan, Jenkins Hicks, Bunkley, Foster and Walker are the biggest reasons for our D-line success.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

3-4, baby! :mrgreen:

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

It is not the same personnel
Our offense is not what I would call having anyone's back this year

Its a combination of personnel, some draft picks coming into their own, and Rob and playing to strengths.

This year
2013 New Orleans Saints Depth Chart | Ourlads.com

Last Year
Ourlads' NFL Depth Chart Archive

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

Jordan was here last year but was basically playing out of position.

Hicks Walker and Foster are all beasts who either weren't here last year or weren't ready. It's a whole new line really. Bunkley and Johnson are good vets who will only make us better when we get them back.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

It's called no-nonsense FEAR, Ryan is crazy !!!

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

It's definitely a 34, as the linemen are lined up in different gaps with different assignments; the OLB may be in a 3pt stance, but where they're lining up over the offensive linemen makes a huge difference...

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

3-3-5 like I said a month ago ... Gruden agrees

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

You can see opposing QB's early on thinking, damn, I'm going to get nailed at some point. There is no time to go through their progressions. You either dump it or run it. All the QB's have said the same thing.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

The talent level on the line is a lot higher than what it has been in quite a while. Jordan is a stud an Galette is becoming one fast. Jenkins at NT seems like a really good pick. That tackle he made on the 3rd down early in the game to force them to kick was huge. Hicks was a great talent that just nobody knew about.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

Ok i am going to admit i was wrong here. the biggest reason for the improved play is Bunkley getting hurt and knocked out of the rotation. John Jenkins has given the saints what they have missed for years. A solid DT to plug up the middle and push the pocket. I was not happy with the pick and in my wildest dreams didn't i see this coming. the kid has a motor after all. i eat my crow last week on this one. but i still wish we would have addressed the OL some how. he is playing like a seasoned pro


hold your horses there he has done a solid job handling the injury bug with the player he kept

Solid move by the saints. It is obvious that Robinson is not the answer. You can blame his play if you want ot blame the injury bug year after year. But the two together is not good. At this point i have White as our best option to date to replace Greer when the time comes. This is an area that saints need to keep an eye on

no not really well except Spags. He is doing what Williams did. Nothing really shocking. he is benefiting from that learning curve. core of the defense is still the same as when Williams coached

ok we are doing a hell of a lot more 43 than people may think first of so climbing on the 34 band wagon maybe a little much. So far all i have seen is much the same style of defense Williams ran. BUT Roy Boy does have more athletic youth on defense than Williams had.

Williams was going through the building phase of the offense. Now the past three years has been defense and we are seeing the gains. But we are seeing the effect it has had on the offense also. it is much the same ol same.

in so many words it the fact the defense is gelling finally after so many years and not so much a change in philosophy as just simple growth as a unit.

Funny how one year of a defense Spag'ing out makes everyone forget the previous years. This unit was not bad just needed time to grow and get some good youth added to it. It could have done without Spag Bump but in a weird way it did teach the basic fundamentals of defense to the unit. Gap responsibility has been the biggest improvement in my book and that i give credit to Spags coaching.

Amazing what 3 years of off seasons can do for a defense.

in adding players
Williams last year was solid
Spags despite himself did a solid job
Roy Boy also did a solid job

Change in philosophy?
nope all i see is we skipped a year and are back to doing what we did before. Attack the offense. That is what makes defense fun from the school yard to the pro's

Are we done building?
not by a long shot but we may have to turn back to offense in the 2013 off season. If the OL can not get its act together players will needed to be added. so the defense will get some seasoning added to it and it appears the offense will get the main coarse.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

But the Saints aren't playing a lot of 2-gap alignments, except on obvious run downs. Watch how many 1-on-1 matchups there are on the line; generally there is one guy facing a double team while the other three go one-on-one.

Realistically 3-4 or 4-3 doesn't matter when you play nickel/dime as often as we do, because you're almost always rushing a 4-man line in that situation. GW's defense used to rush 3 and drop back 8 sometimes but we aren't seeing a lot of that.

Don't get me wrong, Jenkins was a steal and looks like a very good player, but we aren't better off because Bunkley got hurt. Bunkley is one of the top nose tackles in the game, you don't lose a player like that and get better no matter how good his replacement is.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

Bunkley is one of the top nose tackles in the game.

Bunkley to date falls into the category of a contract year player. You get his best when money is on the table. Look i i wanted the saints to take him well not that high in the draft so after keeping an eye on him over the years i was not all the happy to see the saints give him all that money. He had one outstanding year and then the pay day. I am not happy he got hurt but he did let us see Jenkins early and often. I will be surprised if Bunkley gets his starting job back to be honest.

Bunkley in the rotation is a good thing.
Bunkley getting fewer snaps than Jenkins is wise thing.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

Chris ivory for John Jenkins is looking like a real good trade for draft pick right about now

John jenkins in this rotation could be a very good player

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

I'm sure that the Guy Who Posts Responses To Every Other Post will chime in with his two cents and disagree with me, but I think a large part of the success is, simply because they BELIEVE in it again. Did you see last night? It was crazy out there. Every play, while the Dolphins were in the huddle, or lining up, you'd have 3, 4 Saints defenders waving their arms around, trying to get the crowd to MAKE NOISE!!! Even during time outs, even during TV TIME OUTS with Mr. Orange Mittens, they were beating their chests, flexing muscles, jumping around before and after almost every play. It was emotional and they showed ENERGY, they showed passion, they showed confidence, and the crowd was feeding off of it.

That is happening because, beyond all the technical adjustments that Ryan has made, they are BUYING IN to the defense and BELIEVE it can work. They are investing it with energy and intensity that they DID NOT HAVE last year. Because they "QUIT" on Spagnowedon't. Last year, they looked listless and dull and lifeless out there, getting penalties for too many men on the field because they would just casually saunter off to the sidelines like they didn't care, just walking. Not this year. Everybody is IN and on board with Ryan and that's what makes it so darn exciting to watch.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

That's all I meant. Need both guys.

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

No he was not the problem but he was not the solution either.
Jenkins as of now appears to be a better solution than Bunkley in my book.
Bunkley has done nothing since signing with the saints to change my mind about his play. Granted he did not get the chance this year i was willing to give him but what i have seen in Jenkins play so far makes me wish this was his finally year of that contract.

oh well lets see what happens till that contract runs out. lmao the nasty contract year play will rear it's ugly head. i hope not but thats what i am expecting till then i see him as a great back up to Jenkins till he proves his worth in my book

Re: Saints talk, Defensive Line. Why the sudden turnaround?
 

So far so good. Can they maintain? A lot of injuries & that has reduced our depth greatly.