New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - The Advocate Saints expect run defense to rebound after poor performance against Chargers

BY NICK UNDERHILL | NUNDERHILL@THEADVOCATE.COM AUG 29, 2018 - 10:05 PM

Ryan Nielsen has a saying he likes to share with his players.

“Stop the run so you can have some fun.”

The Saints defensive line coach knows his players want to rush the passer. Those are the fun moments, the ones where the pass rushers can go straight after the quarterback instead of having to play the run on the way there. It has been a long time since New Orleans has lived this life.

The defense allowed 4.4 yards per carry last season, 4.1 in 2016 and 4.9 in 2015. If New Orleans hadn't played 45 percent of its defensive snaps last season with a lead of seven or more points, this would have felt like a bigger deal. But the Saints' opposition did not run very often in those situations, and even when they did and had success, it didn't stand out because New Orleans controlled the game.

The Saints can't bank on that happening again. Not against a tougher schedule, and not when the defense has big goals this season.

“The one thing you can’t do in this league is allow a team to establish a run game on you because they won’t stop,” defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said. “If you allow a team to run down your throat they’ll consistently do throughout the game and it’s going to be a long game.

“I think coming into this year that’s one we definitely want to do (better) because we feel like we have the pass rushers to get after guys and make plays on the back end as well.”

It looked like things were on the right track this summer. The run defense performed fairly well the first two preseason games and wasn’t allowing much in practices. The players and coaches were all encouraged with the progress until the team went to Los Angeles last week.

The scene was ugly. Austin Ekeler, who rushed for 260 yards last season, gutted New Orleans for a 21-yard gain on his first carry of the game, then added another 21 yards on two more carries to close the opening drive. The Chargers added three carries of five yards on the next drive, and somehow it felt like progress.

The troubling thing about the two series is the number of self-inflicted wounds committed by the Saints. Linebacker A.J. Klein gave up contain on one big gain and then allowed himself to get cleared out on a touchdown run. Linebacker Demario Davis was in the wrong gap at one point and missed a tackle. Manti Te’o, who is playing in the base defense because of his ability against the run, looked like he was dropping back to defend a pass and was caught out of position on one carry.

It was disappointing to watch.

“I think it’s more about our guys, they just have to trust the scheme, they got to trust the system, they got to trust their fundamentals and techniques,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “When you get into the game you can’t try to do too much. You really just got to do your job and if everybody does their job that’s how we collectively play good defense. When people try to do too much you get out of gaps, you don’t fit things properly and that’s what leads to big plays.”

Allen doesn’t sound like a man who expects this to be a fatal flaw. He called the performance an “aberration” and said the team should bounce back quickly. The defense spent a period during Tuesday’s practice performing well against the run, which is a positive sign.

Still, Rankins says it isn’t where the team wants to be. Not enough players were assignment sound against the Chargers, and Rankins wants to see the defensive line be more physical.

“DA’s always talking about the line of scrimmage isn’t where the ball is, it’s two yards behind that, so we got to knock guys back and create a good line of scrimmage and then allow our guys to do what they do best, which is run and hit,” Rankins said.

It will be hard to know how the run defense looks since the Saints are unlikely to put all of their starters on the field during the fourth preseason game. The final impression could have been better. There will be something to prove when the curtain rises.