NFC South projected starters: Saints stout on ... D? (1 Viewer)

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Greg Rosenthal's projected starters for the Saints and the rest of the NFCS:
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS


QB: Drew Brees
RB: Alvin Kamara
WR: Michael Thomas
WR: Ted Ginn Jr.
WR: Tre'Quan Smith
TE: Jared Cook
LT: Terron Armstead
LG: Andrus Peat
C: Erik McCoy
RG: Larry Warford
RT: Ryan Ramczyk

DE: Cameron Jordan
DT: David Onyemata
DE: Marcus Davenport
OLB: Demario Davis
MLB: Alex Anzalone
OLB: A.J. Klein
CB: Marshon Lattimore
CB: Eli Apple
CB: Patrick Robinson
S: Vonn Bell
S: Marcus Williams

» Losing Mark Ingram as option 1B in the backfield shouldn't hurt that much. Latavius Murray is a capable replacement and Alvin Kamara is worthy of a bigger workload.

» The wideout spots should be pretty open after Michael Thomas. Ted Ginn Jr. should be safe, although the pecking order between him, Tre'Quan Smith, respectably paid import Cameron Meredith and Keith Kirkwoodseems unclear. Knowing Sean Payton's history, some undrafted rookie will probably beat them all out.
» One of the best -- yet most snakebit -- offensive lines is nearly back to fully intact. The Saints traded up for Erik McCoy to replace Max Unger after his sudden retirement, so why not do it from Day 1?

» Sheldon Rankins' breakout season ended with an unfortunate Achilles tear, so he's not listed among the Week 1 starters. The Saintsare pretty deep at the position, though, with David Onyemata, Malcom Brown and Mario Edwards all able to take snaps.

» Marcus Davenport's maturation could be the difference between a good Saints defense and a great one.

» For years, I wrote in this projected-starters space about the rotating struggles at the Saints' linebacker position. In leader Demario Davis, Alex Anzalone and A.J. Klein, New Orleans finally landed on a combination that works.

» The Saints' secondary play dipped last season, but this is still one of the deepest groups in the league. Getting a healthy Patrick Robinson back in the slot will help. Eli Applewill try to build on his strong play after being acquired from the Giants. The safeties form one of the better young duos in football. An experienced player like P.J. Williams or Ken Crawley might not even make the team.

Biggest change from a year ago: The defense is stable, with answers at every position. When's the last time a Saints team entered a season like that?
 
Greg Rosenthal's projected starters for the Saints and the rest of the NFCS:
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS


QB: Drew Brees
RB: Alvin Kamara
WR: Michael Thomas
WR: Ted Ginn Jr.
WR: Tre'Quan Smith
TE: Jared Cook
LT: Terron Armstead
LG: Andrus Peat
C: Erik McCoy
RG: Larry Warford
RT: Ryan Ramczyk

DE: Cameron Jordan
DT: David Onyemata
DE: Marcus Davenport
OLB: Demario Davis
MLB: Alex Anzalone
OLB: A.J. Klein
CB: Marshon Lattimore
CB: Eli Apple
CB: Patrick Robinson
S: Vonn Bell
S: Marcus Williams

» Losing Mark Ingram as option 1B in the backfield shouldn't hurt that much. Latavius Murray is a capable replacement and Alvin Kamara is worthy of a bigger workload.

» The wideout spots should be pretty open after Michael Thomas. Ted Ginn Jr. should be safe, although the pecking order between him, Tre'Quan Smith, respectably paid import Cameron Meredith and Keith Kirkwoodseems unclear. Knowing Sean Payton's history, some undrafted rookie will probably beat them all out.
» One of the best -- yet most snakebit -- offensive lines is nearly back to fully intact. The Saints traded up for Erik McCoy to replace Max Unger after his sudden retirement, so why not do it from Day 1?

» Sheldon Rankins' breakout season ended with an unfortunate Achilles tear, so he's not listed among the Week 1 starters. The Saintsare pretty deep at the position, though, with David Onyemata, Malcom Brown and Mario Edwards all able to take snaps.

» Marcus Davenport's maturation could be the difference between a good Saints defense and a great one.

» For years, I wrote in this projected-starters space about the rotating struggles at the Saints' linebacker position. In leader Demario Davis, Alex Anzalone and A.J. Klein, New Orleans finally landed on a combination that works.

» The Saints' secondary play dipped last season, but this is still one of the deepest groups in the league. Getting a healthy Patrick Robinson back in the slot will help. Eli Applewill try to build on his strong play after being acquired from the Giants. The safeties form one of the better young duos in football. An experienced player like P.J. Williams or Ken Crawley might not even make the team.

Biggest change from a year ago: The defense is stable, with answers at every position. When's the last time a Saints team entered a season like that?
Somewhere along the line Malcom Brown disappeared from the list.
 
Malcolm Brown & CGJ.

WR after CGM is almost a crap shoot, IMO.

(Meredith, Dez can't be counted out completely, if they're healthy). Ginn will hold his own, but competition is more fierce this year. Also, some of those UDFA's are hungry, and may give everyone not named Michael Thomas a run for their money.

:gosaints:
 
As pointed out, I doubt we’re going with a 3-3-5 as a base but I understand what he’s saying.

Base 43: Brown is at NT, Robinson is off

Big Nickel: Brown at NT, Gardner-Johnson or Bell in the box, Robinson is off

Standard Nickel: Brown at NT, Klein or Anzalone is off (usually it’s the SAM but last year it was a lot of Davis/Klein in nickel situations and Anzalone came off so no telling what they’ll do this year)
 
A bit strange how he did the defense. It's set up like a 3-4 in nickel. Wonder if that is some kind of prediction or an oversight. He puts the Falcons and Panthers in a 4-3 nickel and the Bucs in a 3-4 base.

Last year on average, we had 3 LBs on the field about 20%, 4 DL almost 100% and 5 DBs about 80%.
 
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AJK won’t be the starter. I doubt we even have 3 LBs on the field much. It should be DD, Craig R, and Anzalone.
 
A bit strange how he did the defense. It's set up like a 3-4 in nickel. Wonder if that is some kind of prediction or an oversight. He puts the Falcons and Panthers in a 4-3 nickel and the Bucs in a 3-4 base.

Last year on average, we had 3 LBs on the field about 20%, 4 DL almost 100% and 5 DBs about 80%.
I think the point is that teams line up in "base" defense, on average, 40% or less of the snaps.

If a team lines up in "base" 50% or more of the snaps, it probably means the opposing team is having success on early downs.
 
I think the point is that teams line up in "base" defense, on average, 40% or less of the snaps.

If a team lines up in "base" 50% or more of the snaps, it probably means the opposing team is having success on early downs.

He put us with 3 linemen though. We run a 4-3 nickel primarily, not a 3-4 nickel.

The only thing I could think is that he believes our 3 linebackers each will have more snaps than any 4th lineman because that spot will rotate a lot. Even though a 4th lineman will almost always be on the field. That could be the case. Or again it was an oversite that we run a 4-3.
 
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