Beastmode

After presented with the facts of last season, no reasonable Saints Fan would recommend this D is going to be great.

SaintFanInATLHELL

It's an interesting connundrum. No one would have predicted the Saints defense to be top 5 in 2013 either.

The team is more than the sum of its parts. The Saints offense is elite enough that the defense often only has to put a little bit of drag on the opposing offense to be effective.

The real question is the defense still going to have all the same bad habits that we've seen recently? Including but not limited to:

- Incorrectly lining up
- Communication confusion
- Bad tackling angles
- Not wrapping up tackles
- Losing contain on the edge of the pocket
- Dumb penalties.

Most of these are not really talent issues. These are discipline issues.

I liked when Dennis Allen got into Browner's grill last year. The addition of discipline and accountability in this defense can improve its performance markedly even before accounting for the talent upgrade.

Let's not forget in 2009, the Saints defense was 20th in scoring and 26th in yards allowed. But that defense was #2 with 39 takeaways.

The formula hasn't changed much since then. The defense has to get off the field, limit the points, and take the ball away to get effective. Everything else will take care of itself.

SFIAH

Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO

Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.