Run Defense

LKelley67 · 03-09-2005, 02:17 PM

The Usual Suspects thread made me consider this- If I was running this company and wanted it to improve what would I do? I would find the weakest link and improve it. This defense was bad last year. Not bad, horrendous. So bad that even though they were a top 5 defense for the last quarter of the year they still drug the bottom in total d.
we can see improvements- mike mc is a real shutdown corner. it took him a while to fit in. fakhir still has some proving to do but he certainly stepped up enough to give him a shot at being another starter at corner. bellamy is decent but not great and not getting any faster. tbuck gone and smith in should be a solid step up. there is an overload of good pass rushing de's. but when ya remember the defense of last year what was the killer? it was run defense- all season long. i think far too much has been made of the final four wins of the season. for the year teams averaged 4.6 yds per carry every time they handed a ball off to run against this team, 141 yds per game average! this includes the spectacular 4 game finish. in week 14 pittman had 24 carries for 131 yds. yeah, there were the early season embarrasments of the emmitt's and barlows running at will. but it never got substantially better. week 12, nick goings 36 for 122, week 11 atlanta 186 rushing yds, week 10 denver 165yds...

my question is what has been done to improve this? hasn't bellamy led the team in tackles the past two seasons with tbuck not far behind? to me that is a big DUH. smith will make more plays and miss fewer tackles than jones but stopping the run is not the primary calling for free safety. i can only see nothing done. it looks like the same big hole up the middle to run through to me. young is serviceable but he needs to be next to a big hole plugger. sullivan may have spoken this winter but he has a lotta crawling, walking, and running to do to catch up with what goes through his mouth. he will buck the odds to not go down as an alltime 1st round bust not just for the saints but league wide. losing bryant will hurt if he walks. i like watson and bock as much as anyone. i cannot however dismiss that both are still very young and learning. neither is overpowering physically either. allen? i won't say anything to avoid being labled a basher. few would argue he could find a starting job on any other nfl team though. hodge is written off as gone, no matter what he was or wasn't that is a subtraction. cie grant cannot be counted on for anything at this point no matter what skills or potential he had/has. the rest of the lb's are what they are, nothing to count on.
to contend seriously, any team must have a defense above the bottom of third of the league (21st-22nd) imo. can anyone give me hope that adding smith to the returning cast do that?

03-09-2005, 02:17 PM	#1
LKelley67 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: baton rouge Posts: 2,540	Run Defense The Usual Suspects thread made me consider this- If I was running this company and wanted it to improve what would I do? I would find the weakest link and improve it. This defense was bad last year. Not bad, horrendous. So bad that even though they were a top 5 defense for the last quarter of the year they still drug the bottom in total d. we can see improvements- mike mc is a real shutdown corner. it took him a while to fit in. fakhir still has some proving to do but he certainly stepped up enough to give him a shot at being another starter at corner. bellamy is decent but not great and not getting any faster. tbuck gone and smith in should be a solid step up. there is an overload of good pass rushing de's. but when ya remember the defense of last year what was the killer? it was run defense- all season long. i think far too much has been made of the final four wins of the season. for the year teams averaged 4.6 yds per carry every time they handed a ball off to run against this team, 141 yds per game average! this includes the spectacular 4 game finish. in week 14 pittman had 24 carries for 131 yds. yeah, there were the early season embarrasments of the emmitt's and barlows running at will. but it never got substantially better. week 12, nick goings 36 for 122, week 11 atlanta 186 rushing yds, week 10 denver 165yds... my question is what has been done to improve this? hasn't bellamy led the team in tackles the past two seasons with tbuck not far behind? to me that is a big DUH. smith will make more plays and miss fewer tackles than jones but stopping the run is not the primary calling for free safety. i can only see nothing done. it looks like the same big hole up the middle to run through to me. young is serviceable but he needs to be next to a big hole plugger. sullivan may have spoken this winter but he has a lotta crawling, walking, and running to do to catch up with what goes through his mouth. he will buck the odds to not go down as an alltime 1st round bust not just for the saints but league wide. losing bryant will hurt if he walks. i like watson and bock as much as anyone. i cannot however dismiss that both are still very young and learning. neither is overpowering physically either. allen? i won't say anything to avoid being labled a basher. few would argue he could find a starting job on any other nfl team though. hodge is written off as gone, no matter what he was or wasn't that is a subtraction. cie grant cannot be counted on for anything at this point no matter what skills or potential he had/has. the rest of the lb's are what they are, nothing to count on. to contend seriously, any team must have a defense above the bottom of third of the league (21st-22nd) imo. can anyone give me hope that adding smith to the returning cast do that?