SmashMouth

The optimists within the New Orleans Saints defensive unit probably have said aloud or to themselves "the only direction to go from here is up" a time or two or 10 the last couple of years. You think about it, and that philosophy sounds right.

Except there's a far less discussed and more depressing alternative to the up-beat outlook. You can always remain the same.

The Saints defense did that in 2015. The defense sat at the bottom of the league in 2014. The defense sat at the bottom of the league in 2015.

I, for one, can't blame defensive coordinator Dennis Allen for his viewpoint entering the initial stages of on-field workouts for the Saints in 2016.

"Number one, we start totally anew," Allen said Saturday after the team's rookie minicamp session. "This is a totally new year, a totally different group. Last year was last year. We're totally looking forward to what we've got to get accomplished this year.



"What we have to do is develop the right culture, the right concept to play defensive football around here."

The awkward and seemingly counterproductive setup last year of Allen and Rob Ryan is over. The success or failure of the Saints defense will now fall primarily on Allen's shoulders. He's not focusing on that, yet he's not oblivious to that either.

One thing I do know about Allen is that he's earned Sean Payton's complete trust. I'm not sure any of the four previous defensive coordinators could say that in the Payton era. Maybe Steve Spagnuolo was a close second ... maybe not. (This is a small attempt at humor.)

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