McKenzie was the main reason

4saintspirit · 01-06-2005, 07:51 AM

Our defense started playing much better. The defense strategy really changes when you have a shut down corner. You let him play their best receiver man to man -- let the safeties cheat the line of scrimmage to help the linebackers and let Grant and Howard go after the qb. Yep a shut down corner can allow your defense to play much more aggressively. If we can add Smoot to the mix, get a very good linebacker we may have one of the best defenses in the league next year. A great defensive line which can rush and a top notched defensive backfield

WhoDat · 01-06-2005, 08:41 AM

I agree that McKenzie was a big part of it, no doubt. But my vote goes to Willie Whitehead. It\'s interesting that the Saints continued to play poorly for a few games after McKenzie got here, but the game that whitehead got inserted back into the rotation the d-line got loose and turned fierce. I can\'t explain it - honestly it was probably a combo... McKenzie and Fahkir finally both starting, Watson, Buckwoldt, and Allen were our best LB platoon, and Smith, Howard, Grant, Whitehead, Young, and Green in a rotation looked great.

kevinn1972 · 01-06-2005, 08:56 AM

I believe the speed and passion of that young LB corps, combined with McKenzie and Brown, is what made our defense turn around. If you noticed, RB\'s weren\'t able to get the corner on us like they were earlier in the season. And Bockwoldt and Watson seemed like they were always around the ball. Personally, I think our future looks pretty bright with these young guys. All they need is some coaching up from the DC......................uh-oh.......

BlackandBlue · 01-06-2005, 09:21 AM

I\'ll agree with WhoDat on Whitehead\'s return and the ensuing impact, but give some credit to Will Smith. He adjusted well to the speed of the NFL in the second half of the season and played extremely well for a rookie.

fact-o-bake · 01-06-2005, 10:01 AM

That\'s awesome, Who Dat and B&B giving Whitehead some of the credit he deserves.
Whitehead is a big dude who has guns that would rival the Hulk\'s.
He\'s a long time Saint, maybe the longest. Wasn\'t he here from the Ditka era?
He punishes the QB when he gets to them.
And it\'s no coincidence that we finally began to stop the run when we cleared him to play again.

4saintspirit · 01-06-2005, 10:34 AM

Everyone is probably right. But what we all agree on (which is quite surprising) is that we have a nucleus of a decent defense. If we can get Smoot and a top notch middle linebacker there is reason to hope.

(of course I am just being a Saints fan -- optimistic until the end)

GumboBC · 01-06-2005, 10:52 AM

To say that Willie Whitehead made more of a contribution than McKenzie is so laughable!! I\'m still laughing !!

4saintspirit is right. McKenzie allowed Venturi to play a different style of defense. The corners played man-to-man and allowed the front 7 to play much more aggressively.

It took a few games for Venturi and and McKenzie to get on the same page, but Venturi finally trusted McKenzie and the rest is history.

Whitehead is a good role player but to say Whitehead is the reason this defense played better is a J-O-K-E!!!

Willie Whitehead? Give me a friggin\' break !!

Tobias-Reiper · 01-06-2005, 11:20 AM

...yeah... on guy who must still have sore hips for the many times Muhammad broke him surely was the main reason...

.. I agree with Whitehead, and especially agree with Kevin about Colby and Courtney... while not spectacular, they played very solid for a pair of rookies... Fakhir also came through...

.. McKenzie is a good player, no question, but that good that hes going to turn around a whole defense.. matter of fact, no one player can make such an impact on defense, especially playing CB...

...but when you combine putting back into the d-line rotation the solid play of Whitehead, the emergence of Fakhir, the pleasantly surprising solid play by the Saints young LB\'s, and yes the addition of a solid player in McKenzie, then you are talking about 5 positions in an 11-position unit... then you can see an impact...

BrooksMustGo · 01-06-2005, 11:22 AM

MM made MUCH more impact when we switched to playing man. Until then, we was nothing special.

Whitehead is always an under-rated player with this club.

But couldn\'t we argue that the defense started playing better once Sullivan wasn\'t in the lineup anymore? It makes about as much sense.

WhoDat · 01-06-2005, 01:21 PM

To say that Willie Whitehead made more of a contribution than McKenzie is so laughable!! I\'m still laughing !!

4saintspirit is right. McKenzie allowed Venturi to play a different style of defense. The corners played man-to-man and allowed the front 7 to play much more aggressively.

It took a few games for Venturi and and McKenzie to get on the same page, but Venturi finally trusted McKenzie and the rest is history.

Whitehead is a good role player but to say Whitehead is the reason this defense played better is a J-O-K-E!!!

Willie Whitehead? Give me a friggin\' break !!

Thanks swammi - your football insights shine through again. It\'s a wonder that your predictions are never right! LOL

Hey Billy, let me ask you a question. Is it starting to appear that this defense truly is and has been just a few impact players away from being good. All they need is a stud LB or two, a NT, and the corner they got this season... and most importantly, a coach. Seem right to you? Who suggested that a year and a half ago?

01-06-2005, 07:51 AM	#1
4saintspirit 500th Post Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 690	McKenzie was the main reason Our defense started playing much better. The defense strategy really changes when you have a shut down corner. You let him play their best receiver man to man -- let the safeties cheat the line of scrimmage to help the linebackers and let Grant and Howard go after the qb. Yep a shut down corner can allow your defense to play much more aggressively. If we can add Smoot to the mix, get a very good linebacker we may have one of the best defenses in the league next year. A great defensive line which can rush and a top notched defensive backfield
4saintspirit 500th Post Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 690

01-06-2005, 08:41 AM	#2
WhoDat 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 5,631	McKenzie was the main reason I agree that McKenzie was a big part of it, no doubt. But my vote goes to Willie Whitehead. It\'s interesting that the Saints continued to play poorly for a few games after McKenzie got here, but the game that whitehead got inserted back into the rotation the d-line got loose and turned fierce. I can\'t explain it - honestly it was probably a combo... McKenzie and Fahkir finally both starting, Watson, Buckwoldt, and Allen were our best LB platoon, and Smith, Howard, Grant, Whitehead, Young, and Green in a rotation looked great.
WhoDat 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 5,631

01-06-2005, 08:56 AM	#3
kevinn1972 Registered Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Wichita Falls, TX Posts: 71	McKenzie was the main reason I believe the speed and passion of that young LB corps, combined with McKenzie and Brown, is what made our defense turn around. If you noticed, RB\'s weren\'t able to get the corner on us like they were earlier in the season. And Bockwoldt and Watson seemed like they were always around the ball. Personally, I think our future looks pretty bright with these young guys. All they need is some coaching up from the DC......................uh-oh.......

01-06-2005, 09:21 AM	#4
BlackandBlue Kinder, gentler Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: dirty south Posts: 3,889	McKenzie was the main reason I\'ll agree with WhoDat on Whitehead\'s return and the ensuing impact, but give some credit to Will Smith. He adjusted well to the speed of the NFL in the second half of the season and played extremely well for a rookie.

01-06-2005, 10:01 AM	#5
fact-o-bake 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 136	McKenzie was the main reason That\'s awesome, Who Dat and B&B giving Whitehead some of the credit he deserves. Whitehead is a big dude who has guns that would rival the Hulk\'s. He\'s a long time Saint, maybe the longest. Wasn\'t he here from the Ditka era? He punishes the QB when he gets to them. And it\'s no coincidence that we finally began to stop the run when we cleared him to play again.
fact-o-bake 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 136

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01-06-2005, 10:34 AM	#6
4saintspirit 500th Post Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 690	McKenzie was the main reason Everyone is probably right. But what we all agree on (which is quite surprising) is that we have a nucleus of a decent defense. If we can get Smoot and a top notch middle linebacker there is reason to hope. (of course I am just being a Saints fan -- optimistic until the end)
4saintspirit 500th Post Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 690

01-06-2005, 10:52 AM	#7
GumboBC Banned Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2,616	McKenzie was the main reason To say that Willie Whitehead made more of a contribution than McKenzie is so laughable!! I\'m still laughing !! 4saintspirit is right. McKenzie allowed Venturi to play a different style of defense. The corners played man-to-man and allowed the front 7 to play much more aggressively. It took a few games for Venturi and and McKenzie to get on the same page, but Venturi finally trusted McKenzie and the rest is history. Whitehead is a good role player but to say Whitehead is the reason this defense played better is a J-O-K-E!!! Willie Whitehead? Give me a friggin\' break !!
GumboBC Banned Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2,616

01-06-2005, 11:20 AM	#8
Tobias-Reiper Merces Letifer Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 4,161	McKenzie was the main reason ...yeah... on guy who must still have sore hips for the many times Muhammad broke him surely was the main reason... .. I agree with Whitehead, and especially agree with Kevin about Colby and Courtney... while not spectacular, they played very solid for a pair of rookies... Fakhir also came through... .. McKenzie is a good player, no question, but that good that hes going to turn around a whole defense.. matter of fact, no one player can make such an impact on defense, especially playing CB... ...but when you combine putting back into the d-line rotation the solid play of Whitehead, the emergence of Fakhir, the pleasantly surprising solid play by the Saints young LB\'s, and yes the addition of a solid player in McKenzie, then you are talking about 5 positions in an 11-position unit... then you can see an impact...
	'Cause the simple man pays the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill

01-06-2005, 11:22 AM	#9
BrooksMustGo 1000 Posts + Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,762	McKenzie was the main reason MM made MUCH more impact when we switched to playing man. Until then, we was nothing special. Whitehead is always an under-rated player with this club. But couldn\'t we argue that the defense started playing better once Sullivan wasn\'t in the lineup anymore? It makes about as much sense.

01-06-2005, 01:21 PM	#10
WhoDat 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 5,631	McKenzie was the main reason To say that Willie Whitehead made more of a contribution than McKenzie is so laughable!! I\'m still laughing !! 4saintspirit is right. McKenzie allowed Venturi to play a different style of defense. The corners played man-to-man and allowed the front 7 to play much more aggressively. It took a few games for Venturi and and McKenzie to get on the same page, but Venturi finally trusted McKenzie and the rest is history. Whitehead is a good role player but to say Whitehead is the reason this defense played better is a J-O-K-E!!! Willie Whitehead? Give me a friggin\' break !! Thanks swammi - your football insights shine through again. It\'s a wonder that your predictions are never right! LOL Hey Billy, let me ask you a question. Is it starting to appear that this defense truly is and has been just a few impact players away from being good. All they need is a stud LB or two, a NT, and the corner they got this season... and most importantly, a coach. Seem right to you? Who suggested that a year and a half ago?
WhoDat 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 5,631