Week 13 Post-game AMA: Back to the drawing board

How about the Saints D-line inability to shed blocks? It appears the whole bunch, maybe except Granderson, really enjoys ballroom dancing.
Yea I think it's kind of frustratingly ironic that the Saints seem to have better run-stoppers on the edge (Granderson and Jordan) but their best pass rusher is in the middle (Bresee). And none of them are really multi-dimensional threats--at least not in terms of being a difference-maker. I wouldn't say the issue is as straightforward as them being able to shed blocks.

As a DL your advantage is your toolbox. How many moves and countermoves do you have. How strong are you at each of them. And how much can you keep the OL guessing as to which you're going to deploy.

The fact is that when the offense is dictating tempo, you toolbox shrinks. So when they're gashing you for 7, 9, 14 yards on runs right up the middle, that toolbox shrinks. When they're able to play-action off that, that toolbox shrinks. When you can't force the opposing offense into a corner by taking things away--be it the gap runs, the zone runs, the RPOS, the screen game, the play-action or bootleg game--it's difficult to come up with a plan at the line for how you're going to attack the man across from you.

When you're the one always guessing, it's hard to dictate anything.