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How the New Orleans Saints defense can change in 2017

It’s no secret that the defense has been a major downfall of the New Orleans Saints, but 2017 has the makings of a real different type of unit on the field.

by brian.pavek
May 31, 2017, 8:52am CDT



I recently wrote another article of a similar nature for the Saints offense, and decided I might as well try to cover both sides of the ball (and maybe just maybe the Saints will do the same this season). Before I get too deep into looking at how the Saints defense could evolve in 2017, I want to point out a key difference between the offense and the defense (beyond one being good and one being....not).

An offensive system is primarily based on the idea of leveraging playmakers to create matchups and dictate coverages to the defense through the use of formations and personnel groupings. At its most basic, the driving force behind an offense is the individual’s ability to capitalize on their opportunities. However, a defense is based around the ability to negate and take away these attempts to seize control by the offense. In their very natures, offense is proactive and defense is reactive, and this changes how both must be designed to succeed.

Any defense, regardless of scheme or personnel, is designed to minimize the viable options available to an opponent, and with the exception of one position, this cannot be done by any one player, but MUST be a team effort. The one exception to this rule is a defensive end or EDGE player who is able to directly impact the offense. They do this by neutralizing the offensive line and ending a play before it can develop. The reason why these players are so coveted in the NFL is that asking 11 players to consistently and cooperatively negate the efforts of their opponents is very difficult, and asking them to do so when the only ones who know exactly what the offense is trying to do on any given play are the offensive players themselves is pretty much impossible.

Without an elite defensive end (and really a complete defensive line as a whole as well), there is no way to truly shut down the opposing offense. However, what you can do through scheme and personnel is narrow the margins for error for an offense and drastically increase the difficulty of executing for them. The goal of the defense is always to narrow the margin for error so much, that the offense has to be close to perfect on any given play, and because of how many plays occur in a game this gives the defense many opportunities to stop their opponent, or better yet take the ball away.

With all of that said, the question is how does this apply to the Saints in 2017, and what can they do to reduce those margins for their opponents. The answer comes in two parts: Identity and Personnel.

Read the rest here ...

AsylumGuido

Another article by someone who took the time to understand what he was talking about.