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Rarely is Junior Galette at a loss for words, and he certainly isn't short on them when it comes to discussing how good the New Orleans Saints' defensive line can be this season.

As long as the unit doesn't rest on what it accomplished last year, as far as Galette is concerned there is no ceiling.

"The sky is the limit," he said. "We obviously can't just go out there and think we are the Yankees on paper and not show up. We have to come out here and work; it's going to take work because there are other talented teams in the NFC.

"So you have to come out and work. We look terrific on paper, but at the end of the day we have a lot of great guys and great athletes -- but at the end of the day you have to come out and get the job done."

If the Saints' defensive line continues the progress it made last season the belief is it could be one of the most dominant fronts in the NFL. The Saints made huge improvements last season in its first run with defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's attacking scheme.

And now with players such as defensive ends Cam Jordan and Akiem Hicks along with Galette at the hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker pass-rushing spot, the Saints' defensive front could be poised to take what they accomplished to the next level. Making the unit even more formidable is the infusion of quality depth at defensive end with Tyrunn Walker and Glenn Foster and the competition at nose tackle with incumbent Brodrick Bunkley and second-year man John Jenkins.

"There is good competition there at some of those backup positions," said Saints coach Sean Payton, who saw his defense go from historically bad in 2012 to one of the top four defenses in the NFL last season. "I think it's a front that has a chance to be pretty salty."

The front is anchored by Jordan and Galette, who both had breakout seasons last year as pass rushers. The duo was instrumental in the Saints accumulating 49 total sacks.

Jordan thrived in Ryan's defense, finishing with 12.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits and 50 hurries to earn his first Pro Bowl trip. Galette was right there with Jordan, accumulating 12 sacks last season after having just five sacks in 2012.

Jordan and Galette are the catalysts and will almost certainly draw even more attention from offensive lines this season. Defensive line coach Bill Johnson said they were in the development stage last season and now this year the duo has to be even more productive.

"I do think once they cross that line, they are starting to have a little experience under their belt now," Johnson said. "They are starting to have some games under their belt now.

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halloween 65

Finally a real D.

dizzle88

Akiem hicks is really key to what we want to do

If he can get teams to double team him, galette and Jordan 9 times out of 10 will win their outside matchup, although Jordan has shown he can fight through multiple blocks regardless which is why he was so effective when we changed to a 3-4 or 3-3-5 look on defense

You can't put a single guy on akiem hicks because he will literally throw him out of the way, he did it twice vs falcons last year

My favourite highlight of hicks was when he sacked Cam Newton by reaching over the panthers O line and dragging him down with one hand

Your bonehead creator picked a fine chapter to omit from your memory bank....let me ask you, does a machine like yourself ever experience fear? - Vegeta, DBZ

homerj07

I know it's preseason but the line has not always looked fantastic. I hope they pick it up a little for Atlanta.

jeanpierre

The Thread/Article title is laughable after the dismal effort tonight...

We've got a few weeks to see if that can be improved when we face quality teams like this again...

First up is Atlanta, and losing Sam Baker isn't all that because Matthews will be a good one; it's just now that may not have a right tackle with the shift...

Jack Vegas

Tyrunn Walker sure was taking up a notch.

I don't put stock in this game at all. Most of the 1st teamers either played one series or didn't play at all. The whole game had a "let's get through this without anybody getting hurt" vibe.

Come next Sunday I expect to see Matty Fake get pummeled. Matthews may be a future superstar, but for now he's a rookie going up against Cam Jordan in his first game. And their right tackle is Lamar Holmes. He's the same guy that Hicks and Foster beat up on last year.

hagan714

JR and Jordan aint going to surprise no one no more

the rest need to step up or it will be a long season

Rugby Saint II

Championship!

|Mitch|

I don't get this; what this year Jordan will magically not be able to consistently beat double teams like he did last year?

I'm sure the rest of the league had lost the surprise mid way through last season, but Jr./Jordan still got the job done...

Jack Vegas

They weren't surprising anybody after week 1 of last year. All those teams get film for scouting you know.