AsylumGuido

Saints urgently aim to shore up defense against deep throws

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore said he’s heard the term “sophomore slump” applied to him early this season.

The 2017 Defensive Rookie of the Year sounds certain his critics will have to eat those words as the season wears on.

But he also agrees the numbers haven’t been pretty for New Orleans’ pass defense the past few weeks, and as one of the stars of the secondary, he has to answer for that.



“We’ve been doing some stuff out of character,” said Lattimore, referring specifically to mistakes in technique and ineffective communication among defensive backs.

“We’ve just got to get on the same page and do certain things, like, together. And once we figure that out, we’re going to get it right. But it’s just got to start with playing with more swag. That eliminates everything. Playing with that confidence and going out there and getting it done.”

New Orleans, which visits the New York Giants this week, ranks 30th against the pass, allowing 336.7 yards passing per game.

Even more concerning to Saints coach Sean Payton is that the Saints rank last in the NFL in yards allowed per pass attempt, a result of some of the deep passes they’ve given up in all three games.

There were touchdowns passes of 58 yards to Tampa Bay’s DeSean Jackson and 50 yards to Mike Evans in the opener; Tyrod Taylor’s 47-yard, game-tying touchdown to Antonio Callaway in the final minutes of a Week 2 matchup with Cleveland that the Saints ultimately pulled out; and a 75-yard scoring pass to Atlanta’s Calvin Ridley in Week 3.

And those are just the scoring plays. Other deep throws produced big gains either on catches or pass interference penalties.

Altogether, the Saints have yielded 45 or more yards on six different pass plays — one of them due to pass interference called on cornerback Ken Crawley.

“If there’s only two things happening — a pass interference or completion — and there’s no interception opportunity, then teams are going to take multiple (deep) shots more and more and more,” Payton said this week. “I don’t like the fact that we’ve had one takeaway after three games.

“There are a handful of things that need improvement fast.”

Saints defensive backs took no issue with Payton’s criticism.

“It ain’t like he’s not telling the truth,” Lattimore said. “They see they can go deep and get a positive play out of it. I’d do the same thing playing us. But we’re going to turn it around. We’re going to get it right. I’m not really worried about that.”

Safety Vonn Bell said he saw Payton’s expressions of concern as motivational.

“We’ve got to change that — stop the deep balls, keep everything in front, make them throw the check-downs and get off the field,” Bell said.

“And we’ve got to change that on the back end. Challenge accepted. Go out there, step up to the challenge and my cat don’t catch it. That’s all you got to do and we’ve got each other’s back.”

Read the rest here ...

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill