By John Sigler | Saintswire
The New Orleans Saints spent too much time lowering the bar for historically-bad defensive play in the 2010’s, but a three-year upturn near the end of the decade might have saved their reputation.
That’s the case in a recent writeup from ESPN chronicling the best and worst performances from around the NFL over the last ten years. The Las Vegas Raiders might be on the move in 2020, but the reputation they’ve carried over after years and years of futility on defense in Oakland outweighs any bad memories Saints fans might still be trying to repress. ESPN named the Raiders as the NFL’s worst defense from the last decade, citing their bottom-rung performances in points allowed (26.2 per game) and yards yielded (360.7).
For context, the Saints entered the wrong end of NFL record books by allowing 28.4 points and 440.1 yards per game (in 2012), improving slightly in 2014 with 26.5 points and 384 yards surrendered per game, once Rob Ryan was at the wheel as defensive coordinator. But New Orleans ranked dead-last in 2015 for both points (29.8) and yards per game (413.4), Ryan’s last year with the team. It’s no surprise that the Saints went 7-9 in each season, squandering the prime of Drew Brees’ career. ...
Full Story - Saintswire - USA Today
