This defense scares me (1 Viewer)

[rsmith2783]

Pretty sure we all had this discussion last year. Pretty sure we fielded a pretty stout defense last year also. The difference with this year is, we are building on success from last year, ao it isnt just blind fluer de lis glasses we have on... relax dude

Hope so. Like I said, I truly hope I am wrong.

 

[Quiet Storm]

OP prolly didn't watch too many Saints games last year. Most games last year our D struggled on that first drive letting teams march down on us. More times than not we held opponents to FG's but after that first drive we adjusted well.

Don't panic on ONE drive in the FIRST preseason game.

 

[dutar76]

We played our corners way back off the LOS a lot on that first drive. Not really sure why. I guess the coaches wanted to see something. And LF#27 had some nice runs, he does that. But I didn't see anything out of our first unit that causes me to worry. Giving up an 80 yard TD drive to start a game isn't a rare thing, preseason or regular season... even for the best of defenses.

I won't worry about anything until it's week 4 and we're having the same troubles over and over. Last year's defense was pretty good... and we still have all the same coaches and almost all the same players (minus Vaccaro)... No reason to think our defense takes a big step backwards.

 

[Saints 318]

I won’t be concern until all the starters are on the field and we still see the same results

 

[Noble Saint]

• It's just preseason
• We didn't gameplan
• Most of our starters didn't play
• We were vanilla
• Quit overreacting

 

[rsmith2783]

We played our corners way back off the LOS a lot on that first drive. Not really sure why. I guess the coaches wanted to see something.

I'm thinking that was Cover 4.

 

[Le_Moyne]

Overreacting to a preaseason game is silly. However, the reality is that we never had a good defence two years in a row under SP (despite multiple offseasons when we were all convinced we had turn a corner). I personally would be happy if the defence play at the same level as last year, the running game remains good and we improve in the passing game.

 

[DoubleSaint]

Everyday this defense gets to test itself against The best QB to ever play the game. One of the best WR's in the game at the moment, one of the best rushing attacks in the league (inside and outside the numbers) and one of the best offensive minds of a generation.

They don't need preseason games to prepare for anything, they're already prepared.

 

[mountaineerdude]

Before I begin, I will point out the obvious and also the most common quoted phrases around this time of year:

• It's just preseason
• We didn't gameplan
• Most of our starters didn't play
• We were vanilla (which I suppose the opposing team decided to go with whip cream & sprinkles)
• Quit overreacting

While some of these phrases can be true, it does not mean to totally ignore what you saw. There were some positives from the game, but mostly from individuals instead of the entire unit.
What concerns me the most about this defense is that it appears that we have went away from our Man scheme to a more Zone heavy scheme. If something is working, then why switch it? Also if it was working well, then why change?

After watching this past game, I immediately went back to last year's 1st preseason game against the Browns. We lost, but if you remember, it was the 3rd team defense and the wonder play of Damian Swann that helped the Browns get the win. However our 1st team defense played well(as a unit) and left fans for a reason to be optimistic concerning the defense.

After watching the recent game twice, I honestly cannot say that I feel the same.
Last preseason the Saints' defense took the league by storm. We were very aggressive, we played a lot of Press-Man defense and we finished 2nd in total yards surrendered (preseason) and 3rd in least points given up.
Last year the preseason set the tone and gave us a preview as to how the regular season would play out: strong defense, low scoring/ball control offense.

As we all remember, the Saints started out 0-2 after getting demolished by the Pats & Vikings. It was rumored that Kenny Vaccaro had a players only meeting, and then suggested to the coaches that the team goes back to the defense that was played during the preseason. I'm not sure, how true that is, but after that meeting, the defense dramatically improved and the Saints went on an 8 game winning streak. In my opinion, the 2017 defense was the real MVP of the season.
We allowed Kenny to walk and it has been stated that we want to play a more traditional safety set. Did we make a mistake? Are we still trying to implement the same defense that we saw during the 1st two games of last season?

Why I dislike Zone
It's not that I hate Zone, I actually love a team that plays a good zone defense. However, it's just that whenever we went to a Zone heavy Scheme under Sean Payton, the defense has never played well. For some odd reason, we have always been a team that plays well with an aggressive scheme and playing man coverage with a single high safety. Even under Steve Spagnuolo, the defense looked totally different when we played the Eagles vs many of the other games that we played that year.

When the Saints have played Zone, we have seen blown coverages, players getting to the ball too late, players looking confused before the snap, etc.
If Lattimore & Crawley are better fit for a Man scheme, then why are we implementing something that is not to their strength? During the game I saw pre-snap looks that resemble Cover 4, and we were getting picked apart against a QB who did not scheme against us.

Time will tell
I hope that I am wrong and that maybe we were just trying out certain concepts that will change with each preseason game that passes by. I hope I am wrong, and I would love to be wrong. Feel free to bump this thread during the regular season and I will gladly eat crow.

All I care about is for everyone to come out healthy from the preseason .... dont care how the starters look ...

 

[showstopper]

Scares me too....for opposing offenses.

 

[rsmith2783]

We played our corners way back off the LOS a lot on that first drive. Not really sure why. I guess the coaches wanted to see something.

I just saw this from one of the player's Instagram page. Maybe this is a base defense look, or just something they happened to be practicing at the time.

 

[dutar76]

I just saw this from one of the player's Instagram page. Maybe this is a base defense look, or just something they happened to be practicing at the time.

That is 100 % the base defense. 4-3

 

[LORD_BREESUS]

I hope we do what we do well. Press. Attack; not react. Blitz. Dictate to the offense, don’t let the offense dictate the flow to our D. If we play that same style of defense then I’m confident because we have smart talented players. I hope we don’t try to reinvent the wheel.. I don’t think we will.. Dennis Allen could earn a nice HC gig.... if he gets this unit to improve and perform better.

 

[Domefan504]

You should have seen the Falcons defense!

We will be fine.

 

[rsmith2783]

That is 100 % the base defense. 4-3

Correct. IT is a 4-3, but the corners lined up 7-8 yards off the ball indicates that is a Cover 4 look. This explains why they were lined up so far off and Jacksonville was able to complete those quick passes. Considering that we've seen it multiple times this past game, and now seeing it in practice has me wondering if this formation and converage is the base defense.