Hope on D with Tull, Anthony and Kikaha -- Mike Detillier (1 Viewer)

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Hope on D with Tull, Anthony and Kikaha

By Mike Detillier

Pre-season is finally over with, but it left you with no doubt that the 2015 version of the New Orleans Saints will struggle on defense. The Saints will be explosive on offense as long as Drew Brees is healthy, but the holes the Saints have on defense will not be cured during the regular season. Throw in the fact the second most important player on the Saints squad in cornerback Keenan Lewis will be lost for four to six weeks with either a hip/groin injury and the Saints defense is under fire.

I won’t even bring up the injury issue with former All-Pro safety Jairus Byrd, but he has had little impact on this football team since joining the squad in 2014. If you are hurt, there is nothing you can do about it, but show some leadership and be with your squad on the sidelines during games. Help the young players on the team with your knowledge on gameday and be a player/coach to your teammates. Byrd has always been praised for his knowledge of the game and his instinctive nature with the Buffalo Bills, so share that information with your own players on the sidelines.

We have seen nothing of this out of Byrd and that is not surprising, but shocking.

A big reason the Saints defense is in the trouble they are in today has been the talent evaluations done on drafts since winning the Super Bowl during the 2009 campaign and having very few impact players via veteran free agency.

In the countdown to the final roster spots for the New Orleans Saints the Saints have only four defensive players on the current 53-man roster that were drafted from 2009-2014 in defensive ends Cam Jordan and Akiem Hicks, strong safety Kenny Vaccaro and defensive tackle John Jenkins. Throw in the fact that the team was stripped of two second round choices because of the BountyGate issue and they have continued to live off the arm of Drew Brees from year to year. I am not saying they would have hit on those two picks, but you didn’t have the option to select those two players.

Some folks don’t like it being said and are ready to rebuild without Brees, but he is the main reason this team has rolled at a high level since that signature moment in early 2010 and with little help from the defense. This team has been built around the fertile offensive mind of Sean Payton, the elite play of Drew Brees and an explosive passing attack.

Since hoisting the Super Bowl trophy the Saints have hit on just one signature player via the free agency route on defense and that was cornerback Keenan Lewis.

Not counting the 2015 NFL draft, the Saints have hit on just one draft choice and that is defensive end Cam Jordan. Safety Kenny Vaccaro is a “maybe” player, but the list of “misses” are lengthy.

Cornerback Patrick Robinson, defensive tackle Al Woods, linebacker Martez Wilson, cornerback Johnny Patrick, defensive end Greg Romeus, linebacker Nate Bussey, cornerback Corey White, defensive end Rufus Johnson, cornerback Stanley Jean Baptiste, linebacker Khairi Fortt, safety Vinnie Sunseri and linebacker Ronald Powell had little to zero impact either through their lack of pro talent or injuries.

Defensive end Akiem Hicks and defensive tackle John Jenkins have become the ultimate “potential” players showing occasional signs of big play talent and a lot of inconsistent play out on the field.

Throw in the fact that players that defensive coordinator Rob Ryan had former ties with in either Dallas or Oakland in Kenyon Coleman, Victor Butler, Anthony Spencer and Chris Carr had zero impact on this team and the defense is struggling.

Ryan also pushed hard for the team to sign veteran cornerback Champ Bailey long after his NFL Hall of Fame career was over with.

But the 2015 NFL draft has given this team at least a glimmer of hope in the future.

I like what I have seen from New Orleanian and former Canadian Football League standout Delvin Breaux and three linebackers that could really help this squad out in outside linebackers Hau’oli Kikaha and Davis Tull, inside linebacker Stephone Anthony, cornerback Damian Swann and defensive tackle Tyeler Davison.

The Saints won’t miss Junior Galette in the lockerroom, but his 22 quarterback sacks over the past two seasons will be missed. Galette was indeed the one guy opposing offensive coordinators paid close attention to in order to keep him blocked in obvious third down passing spots. He was vulnerable in run defense and at times lost in run defense assignments, but his speed and quickness to get to the quarterback will be missed.

The hope is that Tull and Kikaha can fill that void and at times they have flashed some good pass rushing penetration skills in the preseason. There are bigger, stronger and faster players off the edge, but there is something about an instinct or knack for slipping a block and closing in fast to the quarterback that both possess.

The two young men show hustle and intensity and I like that very important feature also.

In college Kikaha and Tull combined for 73 quarterback sacks and 111 ½ tackles for losses.

It’s early in their NFL career, but they have flashed some of the same big play skills at the pro level as they did in college.

But I really believe that Stephone Anthony will be the star of this unit. From Day One Anthony has drawn praise from coaches and teammates and while he will get fooled at times in the coverage part of the game his size, power skills, athleticism, chase down ability and smarts are noticeable every time he hits the field.

I have been a huge Bobby Wagner fan when he played at Utah State and also with the Seattle Seahawks and I firmly believe that Anthony has the same type skillset as Wagner.

If this team has building blocks for the future it will have to start with the development of Kikaha, Tull and Anthony. And in time I firmly believe that barring an injury, Stephone Anthony will turn out to be a Pro-Bowl performer.

With Lewis down for at least the first quarter of the season, cornerback Delvin Breaux will have to take his spot. Breaux has gotten beat in games, but I like his one-on-one cover skills, his quick recovery speed and his ball skills. The problem lies in who will be the nickel cornerback now that Breaux is the starter, but you can take it to the bank opposing quarterbacks will test Breaux early and often and measure his mental toughness out on the field. He has shown great mental toughness in coming back from a very serious neck surgery, but veteran NFL quarterbacks will go after him with zero NFL experience in real games and again see just how thick his pro football hide is. But Breaux is a good pro football player and he can upgrade a secondary that was very leaky last year and now they have been hit with a surge of injuries during the preseason.

Hopefully Damien Swann can also help this team in the nickel and dime sets and he looked like the far better prospect than P.J. Williams before he was lost to an injury. With the release of Stanely Jean Baptiste Swann has a chance to see extensive playing time in the nickel sets. I like Swann’s quickness, his coverage techniques and his ability to break hard to the football and he can also help out on special teams.

And you can’t help but like the hustle and intensity of defensive tackle Tyeler Davison. Davison is a short, stockliy built interior defensive tackle that pushes the inside pocket hard and you really have to love his toughness and intensity on every snap. His leverage skills and his ability to get his hands and arms under the pads of an opponent in a quick fashion has been impressive. Davison will be a role player for the Saints, but he is a good role player.

I wrote this a few weeks back, and I am convinced today that the Saints are in transition on defense and they do not have a signature pass rush or pass rusher on the team. And next year they will have to replace wide receiver Marques Colston and offensive guard Jahri Evans on offense.

Missed draft picks, blown money on veteran free agents, two top draft choices stripped from the team and obvious friction behind the scenes between a very successful and impatient offensive mind in Sean Payton and a head-strong and huge personality in Rob Ryan, who continues to see his squad make a ton of mental mistakes and his personnel suggestions have been many more misses than hits.

It’s a start, but the Saints defense will have plenty of personnel overhauling to be in the top-12 defensively.

And it won’t happen in 2015. And next season new players will have to be brought in to replace wide receiver Marques Colston and offensive guard Jahri Evans.

The Saints front-office also better break out the checkbook and quickly sign one of the top young developing left tackles in the game in Terron Armstead.

Say a little football prayer that the Saints can keep Drew Brees healthy in 2015 and have this team in the hunt late. You know what, 8-8 just may win the NFC South.

In looking at the other three teams in the division in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, all of them have major holes in more than one spot to enter the 2015 season. It’s a jump ball in my opinion between the Saints, Panthers and Falcons to see who will win the NFC South. This could well be the bumpiest football ride ever for Sean Payton while he has been in New Orleans.

The good news is that the other three head coaches also have the same unpaved football road to travel and they have their own personnel potholes to work through.

But none of them have Drew Brees..

Many Saints fans have become spoiled with the success of Brees and you will quickly find out what type of dropoff there will be at the most critical spot on the field once he does not wear the Black and Gold.

But keep Brees healthy in 2015 and this team could well win the NFC South despite some real serious personnel issues on defense and having to play a host of young players.


Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDetillier
 
After the Brady win vs Goodell why wouldn't we request compensation for the draft picks lost via bountygate overkill?
Many whiffs on last years draft but can you give the front office more credit for the undrafted gems in K. Robinson & Snead where they also found Galette & PT?
I believe the loss of Malcolm Jenkins & Greer was huge but this year the front office has attacked our CB situation they brought in a lot of competition luv B. Browner & Swain looks like a fighter add a healthy Byrd Im excited to see that secondary provide the turnovers needed to repeat 09
 

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