Danno

How Saints DC Rob Ryan Is Misusing Rookie Safety Kenny Vaccaro | Bleacher Report


How Saints DC Rob Ryan Is Misusing Rookie Safety Kenny Vaccaro
By Murf Baldwin

Jack of all trades, master of none...

Answer this question objectively; what has New Orleans Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro really done well? Most of you will point to his physicality when tackling. But can you name a jaw-dropping hit he's delivered thus far?

Some of you will point to the great range that he has. But his lone interception came on a poorly thrown pass by Arizona Cardinals' quarterback Carson Palmer—in what is referred to as a "gift" in football vernacular.

A ton of you will try to sell Vaccaro on being a great cover guy. Those doing that also sell bridges to the naive.

Let's not get it twisted. Vaccaro has all the makings of being one of the best players in the NFL. The ferocity with which he operates may only be superseded by his innate football intelligence. To put it simply, this guy is gifted.

So why hasn't he had more of an impact?

His stat line of 54 tackles, one sack, one INT and six passes defensed is solid. When you have as much talent as Vaccaro you're going to find ways to contribute, but when you compare his impact to some of the premier safeties in the league you can plainly see the difference.

...

Safeties by comparison Player Tackles FF INT PD Stuffs

Vaccaro 54 0 1 6 3

Earl Thomas (SEA) 78 2 4 7 0

Tyrann Mathieu (AZ) 65 1 2 8 4

Eric Reid (SF) 46 0 3 7 0

Mark Barron (TB) 72 0 2 5 2

ESPN.com

And the difference is the other players actually play safety.

Calling Vaccaro a safety is only partly the truth. In Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's multi-scheme approach, Vaccaro should be tagged with the title of "defender" because he simply has no home.

When Vaccaro was profiled for this column earlier in the season, his vast usage was met with a bit of elation. Finding one player who could fill as many as five roles was as uncanny as it was intriguing. But now as the season has worn on, Ryan has yet to let Vaccaro settle in on one position.

This is in part due to the Saints' log jam at safety. Malcolm Jenkins, Roman Harper and Rafael Bush are all good players in their own right. And it could be argued that Jenkins is the best player in the secondary.

Often all the safeties are played at the same time, which means someone has to do something they might not be very good at. And usually that player is Harper, who struggles to cover tight ends. But it also can be argued that Vaccaro is equally inept at defending slot receivers—or receivers in general.

Ryan should take note of how the Pittsburgh Steelers used a young Troy Polamalu. Vaccaro and Polamalu are almost like clones. They both are ferocity-based players who rely on instincts rather than technique. In fact Polamalu still struggles to track the ball and defend receivers to this day.

But his presence has been felt like no other.

The Steelers designed a scheme that allows Polamalu to roam around the line of scrimmage and affect plays any way he chooses. It's nothing to see him blow up a run play behind the line of scrimmage, sack the QB or pick off a pass meant for an underneath target. The common denominator being he's always around the ball.

Tell me you can't imagine Vaccaro in this type of role.

Vaccaro has similar traits and could make similar plays right now as a rookie. Putting multiple hats on Vaccaro has not allowed him to make the type of impact one would expect. Vaccaro has had a fine season, but he has the talent to be the best player on the defense present day.

Vaccaro should not defend receivers anywhere on the field. And it's debatable if he has the ball skills to play free safety as he once was advertised. But as an in-the-box safety, his physicality and instincts would make it hard for the defense to get a bead on what he's actually doing.

This would put a lot more on the opposing offense's plate, and would in turn make Vaccaro a lot more productive. One thing's for certain, Vaccaro will be an impact player in the NFL. It just may not be until the Saints allow him to settle into a singular role.

Make it happen Rob...

|Mitch|

From the worst last year, to a top 5 defense this year. Do what you will Rob, I can't criticize too much

dizzle88

I'd rather have a top 5 D with kenny playing slot, than having kenny playing safety and the slot WR catching stuff all day long

Kenny has locked down that slot WR all year

AlaskaSaints

Excellent find.

Because of our successes in the Win column, we tend to overlook propensity to impact in more versatile roles, especially when a player like Vaccaro is contributing.

Some of the best teaching moments are in failure, and we haven't been experiencing a lot of that this year. However, the pace of these last three games has kept us more in preparation for the next challenge, as opposed to learning from the last.

I'd like to see a game with a comfortable lead, like the Dallas game, in order to experiment under fire.

We need the bye and home field advantage. Badly.

Alaska

HERE WE COME, TA GE' CHU!!!!

Tobias-Reiper

Yes, playing defensive football is all about delivering jaw-dropping hits. None of that crap like making QBs look the other way because Vaccaro is all over the TE/slot receiver, or breaking a TD pass which assured the Saints the a win vs the Clowns, or making sure no one gets past him on the open field, or that silly side to side running to make a sissy tackle that prevents a 1st down.

I mean, who's this Rob Ryan? Who the hell he think he is and what does he know about properly using players? Is not like he got the worst defense in football and turned it into a top 5 defense or anything like that

'Cause the simple man pays the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill

Danno

He brought up several good points in his article. I have a lot of respect for your football knowledge, but I'm surprised you didn't agree with several of his points.

BTW: apparently many didn't read it, he is very complimentary of Vaccaro and his future in the NFL.

halloween 65

Only downfall is when will V have a bad game. Hell it's making Jenkins look like he has things kind of figured out!!

Danno

Vaccaro has graded negatively in nearly ever game this year, according to PFF stats.

He's made several plays that would get Harper/Jenkins absolutely roasted on this site, yet he's not criticized at all. Why is that?

The Dude

How bout the hit on Ryan for starters? All the other guys the writer is comparing him to are veterans or at least have a year under their belt. **** this guy but a bounty on him.

Rell&Gold

He's a Rookie and has to play multiple positions Harper and Malcolm are like 7 years in they don't have room to constantly make the same mistakes over again. I think Malcom should play nickel over vacarro but, vacarro hasn't played terrible there he did a good job on Harry Douglas IMO