All this Dennis Allen Hate (1 Viewer)

[guillermo]

There are many angles to see this as a problem/solution.

Our defense looked better the last couple of seasons and the reason was we were solid defending the run. Part of the reason was we were playing a more traditional 4-3 alignement with Robertson, Klein and Anzalone/Alonso at linebackers.

This year we have tended to play more the 3 safety scheme. It had to do some because of injuries but also because we played Tampa, Detroit and Green Bay, teams to tend to pass way more then running.

Jenkins and Williams are almost all the time on the playing field. CGJ and and an outside linebacker are rotating, with CGJ taking most of the snaps.

I basically see two big problems that have not been corrected in a long time.

We are not able to defend cross routes/patterns when we are playing zone defense. It is really easy to move the chains against us.

And when PJ is defending the slot, opponents go deep. Yesterday Teddy intended to do so but had to change to a diffenrent option.

Certainly our starting corners are better playing man coverage. When playing zone we se the common lack of communications between safeties and corners. Something has to be done there.

Pressure with only our 4 linemen is rare, they always seem to be a second late. And when plays take time to develop, you certainly know we are giving away a big play.

Obviously players have to play better, but the same common mistakes should have been solved by now. It's not like it is the first time we face the situation that reappears every single season.

 

[Scorpius the Allfather]

We’ve known DA was ... above average??
and made good in game adjustments
But whether it him or Aaron Glenn, someone is not getting the most out of their players
No one is doing for their position groups what Nolan did last year for LBs
even Nielsen seems a mixed bag this year

how is it that players consistently forget how to play in this D?

I've soured on Aaron Glenn. Our cornerbacks have not been getting better under his coaching, they've gotten worse.

 

[NativeFan]

If one player regresses, the blame likely falls on the player. If the whole unit regresses, it points toward coaching.

Defense is down this season ACROSS THE LEAGUE.....how many times do we have to say it? Did all coaches suddenly suck?

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

Yesterday we never punted; not once. We dominated TOP and plays; I think we had 69 plays to their 43, and yet we BARELY won the game by a FG. SMH. We should have blown the other team out of the water. Defense gets too many penalties (yes, some are due to officiating bias) especially DPI, we have way too many blown assignments, we are consistently out of position, we give up way too many chunk plays for big yardage. It's ridiculous. New personnel same results year in and year out. It's frustrating. This defense cannot be trusted to sit on a lead. It has to be coaching.

With under a minute left in the game if you had to pick this offense going 80 yards to win or this defense stopping the opposing offense from going 80 yards for the win, you absolutely CANNOT trust this defense and that's shameful. There will either be a DPI or a huge blown assignment. Just as sure as Tuesday follows Monday, this defense will let you down in big game situations more often than not. Again, this is on coaching. We have the player talent but SOMETHING is not meshing, something is not clicking.

 

[SaintBoof]

DA like Ed Orgeron seems to be only as good as his assistants.

 

[Mississippi Saints Fan]

Defense is down this season ACROSS THE LEAGUE.....how many times do we have to say it? Did all coaches suddenly suck?

You can say it all you want, but that doesn't excuse being among the worst of the worst.

 

[brandon8283]

Defense is down this season ACROSS THE LEAGUE.....how many times do we have to say it? Did all coaches suddenly suck?

If every team went down equally, our defensive rankings would be roughly the same.

They're not.

 

[SaintJ]

This is the wrong year to go after the DC. Every team in the NFL sucks on defense right now.

And we still manage to **** more than almost every other defense -- passer rating, TDs allowed, scoring defense, red zone defense, lack of takeaways.

As far as breaking down at the end of games, I seem to remember the defense getting a Key stop yesterday that sealed the game.

We needed a FG miss at the end of each of the last two games to bail us out. Against the Chargers, guy misses a very makeable 50 yarder or we go home with a loss.

Also, you might want to check our last three playoff losses, the 49ers game last year, and the home opener against the Texans last year. These were end-of-game breakdowns as performance art. I'm surprised we didn't have Andy Kaufman at MLB with Laurie Anderson doing the soundtrack.

This team is unprepared and tentative, and pretty easy to pick apart. At times, they look even helpless, to the point where I was hoping to hold them to a FG at the end, because it looked like they were moving at a pace for a TD inside the final minute, as per usual.

We've invested a lot of high draft picks into guys that flash, even sustain for a time, some real high end production, and then seem to fizzle: Lattimore, Williams, Rankins, Davenport, Anzalone....honestly, Vonn Bell was a nice player but didn't seem worth the coin. Onyemata is a solid DT but makes only the occasional play, he ain't no Fletcher Cox. PJ Williams made a couple of nice plays last year and he seems to have disappeared again. Not a single one of these guys has shown straight-line improvement into being a legit NFL playmaker. Not one.

I had high hopes for Allen, but he's absolutely heading into Venturi territory here, and that's saying something.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Defense is down this season ACROSS THE LEAGUE.....how many times do we have to say it? Did all coaches suddenly suck?

I’ve had this question- I’m only following Saints so I have no idea what rest of league is like, but is scoring and yardage up significantly?

 

[greg8710]

I've defended DA for years, but you can't over look the fact that we've drafted a Pro-Bowl CB and brought in two more Pro-Bowl DB's (J. Jenkins & M. Jenkins) and all 3 have looked really bad.

Don't forget about Prob ! His last season on the Eagles had me excited we signed him back.

 

[NativeFan]

I’ve had this question- I’m only following Saints so I have no idea what rest of league is like, but is scoring and yardage up significantly?

Scoring is up 16% as apposed to this week last season. Yardage? Good question I'll have to check on that if it's even been collated somewhere. It stands to reason that's up as well though.

 

[Mississippi Saints Fan]

I’ve had this question- I’m only following Saints so I have no idea what rest of league is like, but is scoring and yardage up significantly?

Average yards per game 2019 - 347.875
Average points per game 2019 - 22.8
Average yards per game 2020 - 365.05
Average points per game 2020 - 25.55

It is true that scoring and yardage is slightly up. Still, I don't see how that excuses us from being ranked bottom 5 in many major statistical categories on defense.

 

[NativeFan]

Yesterday we never punted; not once.

Meh we settled for field goals and that fumble by Drew was just awful. We still haven't seen this offense really play to their true potential. Still not getting the ball down the field, just relying on INSANE YAC by Kamara.

 

[Deucewildin]

Can one of you Dennis Allen haters expound on why you think we should part ways with him?

Which play call or scheme did you expect one thing, he did the other, and you knew (without the benefit of hindsight) that it was a mistake. For example, I've seen plays in the past where you know we should flood coverage because the QB and OL is consistently picking up and picking apart the blitz. We then blitz sand we get burned.

Are you blaming him because players are not playing as well as in the past? Do you think he's stopped coaching? Is it Dennis Allen's fault our players don't have gap integrity or bite on play fakes? Did Dennis Allen draft and sign safeties who don't know how to play in zone coverage...like at all?

I really just don't get the hate and it's seems to be spreading like wild fire on this forum. Everyone wants to come to the rescue to garbage players and blame it all on the coaches.

I'm gonna remind everyone here that the biggest criticism most have had with DA over his tenure had been his 2 minute defense play calling being too conservative and ineffective. I felt that way too...but has that been an issue this season? I think some of his best work has come in those situations this season.

The problem with this defense is not scheme. It's execution. If these millionaire athletes can execute the scheme, we're dominant right now. Problem is, they either can't or just aren't.

so at what point all the talented players that’s been brought in none have excelled ! NONE HAVE gotten better , Rookies , probowlers , Vets .

Allen is horrible and a liability it may not be scheme but if you can’t coach up your players or get the best out of them that’s a reflection of you. DA has had one good defense he inherited with the Broncos if he were anywhere else he’d he gone . If he was a good coach he would be gone as a HC somewhere by now again.

He’s not the answer you have been the DCoordinator of a team that’s went 11-5 ,13-3,13-3 previous HC experience and haven’t so much as gotten a interview .

He may be a decent or good position coach but not Coordinator

 

[BreesusSaves]

This post could be a lot longer, but this is a long enough summary of the worst defensive playcall in Saints history.

The Vikings snapped the ball with 10 seconds left and no timeouts on their own 39 yard line. It was third down. The Vikings options were an out-route and a hail mary, or an out-route and a field goal attempt. Given how impossible it is to win on a hail mary, the sensible thing to do is try to get close enough to kick a field goal. Realistically, they need 20 yards to even attempt a field goal. 25 yards to be comfortable about it.

When Keenum threw the ball, the clock had 7 full seconds left.

Now, breaking down the image. Blue arrows show where the Vikings receivers were heading. All obviously towards the sidelines. Saints defenders circled in red and yellow.

The first issue to address are the Saints defenders circled in red. What are they doing? Why are they defending the middle of the field at the fifty yard line? Are they concerned about the running back coming out of the backfield? Spoiler warning: He's still going to be sprinting to the sidelines because anything over the middle inbounds is a loss. With two defenders in the middle of the field, they're already beat in a foot race to the sidelines. However even if the RB got out of bounds, he's going to wind up at the 50 yard line. Still out of field goal range. Now they are left with a hail mary attempt. These two Saints defenders covered literally nobody on a position of the field that nobody would ever be going to, to begin with. They should be 15 yards back, closer to the Saints 35 yard line, and cheating towards the sidelines. Because, again, anything caught over the middle of the field and tackled inbounds loses the game for the Vikings. Two defensive players who had zero chance to make any impact on any play the Vikings would attempt.

The next issue is the Saints defender circled in yellow. What is he doing? Why is he bothering to cover ANYONE at the Vikings own 45 yard line. Did he think the Vikings are going for a 6 yard gain that would leave just enough time for one final play that is now a hilariously easy to defend hail mary? Another Saints defender who might as well have not been on the field.

The Saints could have gone on the field with just 8 defenders, because the scheme Allen called had three Saints defenders who were never in a position to help anyone to begin with. The Vikings have to have 5 offensive linemen, the QB, and they had a RB who for whatever reason came out of the backfield. The Saints rushed three. Somehow with 8 players defending the pass, the Saints managed to find a way to have just one deep safety on each side of the field. One deep safety that if they miss the tackle, the game is lost.

This to me, is the the worst defensive playcall in Saints history.