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Saints hopeful to turn around inconsistent defense

By Luke Johnson, NOLA.com
The Times-Picayune

Through three weeks, the New Orleans Saints defense has been operating at two extreme ends of the spectrum.

When it comes to stopping the run, the Saints have been one of the stingiest units in the NFL at this early juncture, allowing an NFL-best 3.05 yards per carry and ranking No. 6 in the NFL in run defense.

But while teams have not been able to move the ball on the ground against the Saints, they have done so with ridiculous efficiency through the air. The Saints rank 29th in the NFL in pass defense despite the fact they have had the fourth fewest throws attempted against them (93). The 10.2 net yards per pass attempt New Orleans has allowed is the worst mark in the NFL by a full two yards.

The struggles to contain opposing passing attacks have to this point outweighed the Saints strong run defense, as the Saints are ranked last in the league in the most important defensive statistic, scoring defense (34.3 points per game).



"Overall, we played the run well, but at the end of the day this is a game that is more than one facet," said linebacker A.J. Klein. "We've got to be better at the pass game, we can't let balls get over the top of us.

"But if we continue to make teams one-dimensional, we can correct things in the back end, we can fix things. As long as we can continue to play the run well, we can continue to improve."

Read the rest here ...

Crusader

That IS a silver lining. Its much harder to fix a defence if you are porous everywhere.

The Dude

And to think most of us thought it would be the other way around.