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Kikaha, Anthony and Breaux Are Key Pieces to Saints Success on Defense
By Mike Detillier
For the New Orleans Saints to get better on defense in 2015, they need to win the battle in the defensive trenches and that is still a major question mark for me. Three players have to play big for them this fall. Outside linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, middle linebacker Stephone Anthony and cornerback Delvin Breaux really have to come through in a big manner in 2015, if the Saints defense can make a move to even be middle of the pack.
Other than 2006 and maybe, and I say maybe, in 2013, the Saints have not drafted well overall, but especially on defense.
There seemed to be no defined plan as to what they were trying to piece together. Different defensive coordinators had different style players and schemes in mind come free agency time and during the draft process. Recently, with players like Will Smith, Jonathan Vilma, Roman Harper, Scott Shanle, Jabari Greer, Malcolm Jenkins, Tracy Porter and Jonathan Casillas leaving either through veteran free agency, age or injuries, the Saints have whiffed a high number of times on bringing people in to adequately replace them in the lineup.
Other than a near Pro-Bowl talent in cornerback Keenan Lewis, the Saints have missed badly in NFL free agency and beside defensive end Cam Jordan, they have missed on draft day also. The incompletes are on 2013 first round pick strong safety Kenny Vaccaro and former Buffalo Bills All-Pro free safety Jairus Byrd, who is still recovering from back and knee surgeries last season.
Over the past few years many of the misses have come with connections to Saints current defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan had some strong say in the Saints signing former players he coached in Dallas when they inked outside linebacker Victor Butler, defensive end Kenyon Coleman and defensive end Baraka Atkins. The veteran defensive coordinator also pushed hard for the team to sign cornerback Chris Carr and defensive end Jay Richardson who he had with the Oakland Raiders. Ryan also was a major advocate for the team to sign future NFL Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey when virtually everyone across the NFL world thought his playing days were done. Due to injuries, age and skills just not good enough in the NFL today, none of them made a contribution to the Saints football team.
Also, in a week’s time the Saints had no choice but to release talented, but troubled outside linebacker Junior Galette and a good player in defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley who could never stay healthy. I do expect if Bunkley can get healthy the Saints will try and resign him because he was a good run stuffer when healthy.
So now the weight of the 2015 season defensively is put squarely on getting Jairus Byrd healthy, having Brandon Browner strongly man the starting cornerback slot opposite Keenan Lewis and getting maximum play from rookies Stephone Anthony, Hau’oli Kikaha and former Canadian League standout cornerback Delvin Breaux.
With Galette off the team the Saints need to manufacture a pass rush and that is why I firmly believe that Hau’oli Kikaha is the key here. At Washington, Kikaha was not a good pass rusher, but a dominant one. He racked up 36 career quarterback sacks and 51½ tackles for losses in college. There is no one on the Saints roster with his pass rush potential, but he hasn’t played in a NFL game yet. Saints fans will love Kikaha’s hot motor, his instincts to get around blocks and his ability to make plays in the backfield.
I have long been a big advocate of Stephone Anthony with the Saints. In late February, I was made aware and wrote that key scouts with the Black and Gold were really interested in him and felt he would be a perfect fit with the team. So far, Anthony has made quite an impression on his new team. Anthony is a big thumper in the middle. At 6-3, 245 pounds, not only does he play the run strongly, he has the athleticism and quickness to be a very good “cover” linebacker in the league also. In many ways he reminds me so much of current Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner when he came out of Utah State. You can only judge Anthony on his athletic traits, power/speed combo and his exploits at Clemson. For the Tigers he totaled 330 tackles and 34 ½ tackles for losses.
If the 2015 draft works out like the 2006 draft, it will be because Anthony and Kikaha developed into quality starters. Both have been impressive in the OTA’s and early in training camp sessions.
The Delvin Breaux story has the potential to be an even better one than what we saw years ago when Michael “The Beerman” Lewis emerged as a very good NFL return man and back-up wide receiver. Breaux was one of the best prep defensive backs I had ever seen when he came out of McDonogh 35 High School in New Orleans and had verbally committed to play football for LSU. But he suffered a major neck injury in which most doctors felt he would never play football again. After exhausting workouts and some help from above, Breaux was able to play again in the Arena League and he emerged as a standout in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Saints fought off 25 other teams wanting to sign Breaux. He looked very impressive in the OTA sessions and he looks to be the clear front-runner for the #3 cornerback slot with the Saints. Breaux won’t turn 26 years old until October 25th and he has what NFL teams crave at cornerback. The Louisiana native has excellent foot speed, is quick to turn and run stride for stride with receivers downfield, has excellent size and length and most importantly he has ball skills. Breaux can track the ball quickly in flight and make a play on the ball. Saints cornerbacks in the past have had some real difficulty in that area.
It’s very early, and much is yet to be written about training camp and pre-season. The key in 2015 defensively is to maximize the young talents brought in the offseason in Hau’oli Kikaha, Stephone Anthony and Delvin Breaux. The Saints defense really needs talented players and they just may have found three of them and boy, can they use them.
Saints Notes
With the release of veteran Brodrick Bunkley rookie Tyeler Davison will get a chance to secure the back-up role behind John Jenkins. The Fresno State standout who the Saints picked in the 5th round told me after the final OTA sessions that he felt his instincts and his quick eye pickup was his biggest strength.
“At that inside spot you have to have good instincts to get off the snap quickly and then find the ballcarrier,” Davison said. “It’s not that easy when you have a blocker lined up right across from you inside and also you are at times fighting off double-team blocks. My biggest strength is my ability to fight off a block and then quickly finding the ball carrier.”
Davison was the Arizona state wrestling champion as a senior in high school and he says that the leverage skills and hand quickness used in wrestling applies to football also.
“Well not all wrestlers can play football and not all football players can wrestle, but that ability to be on your feet, have good leverage skills and get your hands on an opponent quickly does apply to football. In this league if a blocker gets his hands on you quickly you have a tough time getting a release. The key is to use your hand quickness, stay low and get around that big man. That part of wrestling and football does have the same factor. If you get off the line of scrimmage high that blocker gets a huge target to shoot for. You have to stay low and play with energy and power, just like in wrestling. The other part of the two sports that are the same is that you fight like hell when someone has you in a compromising spot to get away. Someone might beat me on a play, but I give them quite a fight.”
QB Battle for the Back-up Spot
One interesting battle will be between Luke McCown and Ryan Griffin for the back-up spot behind Drew Brees at quarterback. Saints 3rd round pick Garrett Grayson will be the third quarterback on the roster, but expect quite a battle for the #2 spot.
McCown has been the back-up for Brees the past few seasons, but I have a strong feeling he will be pressed hard for the back-up spot in 2015. But the big question is what quarterback would you want for a short period of time in a regular season game if Drew Brees went down to an injury? And I said regular season game.
Knock on wood, the Saints have been jackpot lucky with the health of Brees, but the advantage that McCown brings is that he has played and started in the NFL before. The wily veteran knows the offense and has done a good job in preseason games even though at times he has been erratic in practice sessions.
Ryan Griffin is young, has a stronger arm and is more mobile than McCown, but he has no experience other than preseason games under his belt. If the Saints thought that Griffin was the quarterback of the future for the team why would they have drafted Grayson in the Round 3?
Former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert, now a sports talk host on WWL-870 Radio in New Orleans, says that some politics fall in place when deciding who the back-up quarterback is for any NFL team.
“What fans don’t see behind the scenes is the interaction between the star quarterback, like Drew Brees and his backup. In the film room and in practice sessions the conversation and exchange of information is so important, if the decision is close. Also in games that back-up is like another set of eyes for you when you come off the field. He might see something in the heat of the action you didn’t on certain plays and who is beating their man consistently from a wide receiver or tight end standpoint. Preseason and practice is just that. It’s not real game action. That veteran is hard to knock out of his spot because for years he has been a security blanket for the starter.”
Keep an eye on this battle between Griffin and McCown during preseason games.
Grayson is not ready for primetime, so whoever you pick is just one play away from starting.
Former Stanford assistant coach on Saints 2015 1st round pick Andrus Peat
“Andrus (Peat), don’t judge him on the first few days or week,” the current college assistant said. “Judge Peat on what he does from week to week. The young man is talented and he will make mistakes, but he rarely makes the same one twice. He is a huge man and very gifted athletically, but it is his quick mental pickup skills that are so impressive. The guy you see in the first week of practice will be far different from the one you will see two weeks from now. I just don’t see how the Saints can keep him out of the starting lineup. He might struggle a little early on, but by season’s end he will be well worth that early first round choice they spent on him.”
Pocic is 2nd Most Important Player for LSU
This off-season for the LSU Tigers has been focused on which of the two quarterbacks, Brandon Harris or Anthony Jennings, would be the starter. I think it will be a two-quarterback system for all of the 2015 season. The skillset of the most talented offensive player to wear the purple and gold since Billy Cannon belongs to Leonard Fournette. I truly believe early on the key to the Tigers season will be how good they can play along the offensive line to help the running game.
The key piece there is Ethan Pocic. Other than Fournette, I strongly will argue that Pocic is the second most important player offensively for the Tigers. The Illinois native can play center, left guard, right guard and if he stays for his senior season the 6-5, 305 pounder will play left tackle for LSU. Where he plays in 2015 will be the big question mark. Pocic played all over the board in the spring seeing work at tackle, left guard and center. The versatile offensive lineman is the most talented and best future NFL upper-classman prospect they have along the offensive line.
Last season, under new offensive line coach Jeff Grimes, it took the Tigers until the midway point of the season to jell upfront. This season the Tigers play Mississippi State and Auburn, two teams with very talented defensive fronts, in Games 2 and 3 of the season.
The key certainly has to be better play at quarterback for LSU, but the 1-A has to be that the Tigers offensive line has to play at a high level in these first two critical SEC games of the season. Pocic is a key piece here. If he starts at left guard that leaves LSU open right up with the middle with young players at center with either redshirt freshman Will Clapp or sophomore Andy Dodd at the center spot and 6-5, 345 pound junior Josh Boutte at the right guard spot, and he has seen most of his action on special teams. If Pocic starts at center, and that is where I would start him, he would have to aid Boutte on the right side and another young guard on the left side.
It’s a critical call and I have always been a big advocate that the center spot is the second most critical position on the offensive side of the ball other than quarterback. That center has to make the line calls for the other offensive linemen and at LSU tight end Dillon Gordon at 6-4, 290 pounds is like another offensive lineman. The center settles down a young quarterback at times when he gets rattled. Keep a close eye on the alignment upfront for LSU and while some of the details on where and who the starters have been kept under wraps to an extent one thing is more sure, Ethan Pocic is the key player upfront for the Tigers.
Watch Out for Gerrand Johnson
One senior college player to watch for in 2015 is UL-Monroe defensive tackle Gerrand Johnson. Johnson, a native of Rayville, Louisiana, was a 1st team All-Sun Belt Conference performer in 2014 racking up 93 tackles, 12 ½ tackles for losses and 6 quarterback sacks. The 6-1, 285 pound Johnson became the first defensive lineman to lead the Warhawks in total tackles since Ken Poole did so back in 1980.
The super quick Johnson started out his college career at Missouri, before deciding to come back home to Louisiana after his redshirt season and he has been a standout performer the past three seasons for UL-Monroe. NFL scouts are starting to get intrigued with his super quick burst off the snap, his ability to use his arms and hands well to fight off blockers, his quick twitch skills to change directions and his 1st rate instincts to find the ball carrier. Watch #76 play for the Warhawks in 2015 and you will be watching a future pro player and potentially a very high draft choice in the 2016 NFL draft.
Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDetillier