1 New Orleans SAINTS
STATS CAN be deceiving, and the Saints are quick to point out that the numbers misrepresented their defense during last year's Super Bowl run. The unit rated among the NFL's most opportunistic—New Orleans finished second in takeaways (39) and tied for first in points scored off turnovers (141). But overall it was below average (the Saints allowed 357.8 yards per game, eighth-worst in the league) and particularly dreadful against the run, with an average of 122.2 yards allowed per game (21st in the NFL).
What the numbers don't immediately show is just how much the Saints' high-powered offense was responsible for all of this. Last year Drew Brees & Co. often surged to commanding leads before halftime, forcing opponents into furious games of catch-up. While the Saints were effective in keeping teams out of the red zone, they surrendered a lot of yards in between the 20s. Most of those big plays came on the ground. "A lot of times when we would drop into zone-deep coverage to protect leads, teams would run draw plays on us, which would get them 20 yards or more," says Pro Bowl defensive end Will Smith, who anchored a line that gave up 11 such plays in '09. "At the end of the game it would look like they had a lot of running yards when really they only had one or two big plays."
This year the Saints have committed to shutting down the run altogether, a goal they believe can be partly achieved through better execution. "There were a lot of correctable technique things that showed up on film," says middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma. "Stuff like maintaining gap assignments and keeping gap integrity is what we're trying to correct."
What's more, the Saints now have the personnel to get the job done. Though they lost a devastating pass rusher in March when they released defensive end Charles Grant, they brought in two veteran free agents, ends Alex Brown (formerly of the Bears) and Jimmy Wilkerson (Buccaneers). The two are disciplined in run coverage and have the tackles to show for it: Brown had 48, Wilkerson 46 last year, which would have trailed only Smith's 49 for most on the Saints' line.
New Orleans also brings back a healthy Sedrick Ellis to reinforce the middle. When the 6'1", 305-pound defensive tackle missed six games last season with a right knee injury, the drop-off in the Saints' run defense was staggering. After holding four of their first 10 opponents below 100 yards rushing, the Saints gave up an average of 133 yards over their last six games. (It's no coincidence that after jumping out to a 10--0 start, New Orleans lost its final three.)
To protect themselves against another Ellis injury (the third-year vet has yet to play a full season), the Saints traded up in the draft to get 6'4", 307-pound LSU tackle Al Woods in the fourth round. But their ace in the hole may be sixth-year lineman Anthony Hargrove. An end by trade, the 6'3" 272-pounder was moved to tackle last season and thrived, with 42 tackles and five sacks while setting a personal best in fumble recoveries (three). Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams thinks Hargrove can have even better numbers now that he better understands his assignments in this defense. "He really didn't know how to play [defensive tackle] last year, but he played hard and tough," Williams says. "Now with a year under his belt and the whole off-season to develop, he's already playing much smarter and with better anticipation."
With a deep collection of big-but-quick bodies, the Saints have a defensive line that can limit gains on the ground and mount an effective pass rush. The revamped line gives Williams the flexibility to disrupt offenses without having to blitz as often as the Saints did last year, when they brought the house an astounding 208 times on first and second downs alone. "Knowing Gregg, we're not gonna do the exact same thing we did last year," says Smith, who promises that their unit's aggressive approach will remain unchanged. "We still want to put that fear of God in an offense and let them know that when they play against us, they're in for a long day."
PROJECTED STARTERS
WITH 2009 STATS
COACH SEAN PAYTON
OFFENSE
2009 RANK: 1
QB DREW BREES
G 15
ATT 514
COMP 363
PCT 70.6
YARDS 4,388
TD 34
INT 11
RATING 109.6
RB PIERRE THOMAS
G 14
ATT 147
YARDS 793
AVG 5.4
REC 39
YARDS 302
AVG 7.7
TTD 8
FB HEATH EVANS
G 6
ATT 5
YARDS 16
AVG 3.2
REC 10
YARDS 70
AVG 7.0
TTD 3
WR MARQUES COLSTON
G 16
REC 70
YARDS 1,074
TTD 9
WR DEVERY HENDERSON
G 16
REC 51
YARDS 804
TTD 2
TE JEREMY SHOCKEY
G 13
REC 48
YARDS 569
TTD 3
LT JERMON BUSHROD
G 15
HT 6'5"
WT 315
LG CARL NICKS
G 16
HT 6'5"
WT 343
C JONATHAN GOODWIN
G 16
HT 6'3"
WT 318
RG JAHRI EVANS
G 16
HT 6'4"
WT 318
RT JONATHAN STINCHCOMB
G 16
HT 6'5"
WT 315
DEFENSE
2009 RANK: 25
DE ALEX BROWN
G 16
TACKLES 48
SACKS 6
INT 0
DT SEDRICK ELLIS
G 10
TACKLES 34
SACKS 2
INT 0
DT REMI AYODELE
G 15
TACKLES 30
SACKS 1½
INT 0
DE WILL SMITH
G 16
TACKLES 49
SACKS 13
INT 1
LB JONATHAN CASILLAS
G 11
TACKLES 20
SACKS 0
INT 0
LB JONATHAN VILMA
G 15
TACKLES 110
SACKS 2
INT 3
LB CLINT INGRAM
G 13
TACKLES 52
SACKS 1
INT 0
CB JABARI GREER
G 9
TACKLES 43
SACKS 0
INT 2
FS DARREN SHARPER
G 14
TACKLES 71
SACKS ½
INT 9
SS ROMAN HARPER
G 16
TACKLES 102
SACKS 1½
INT 0
CB TRACY PORTER
G 12
TACKLES 57
SACKS 0
INT 4
SPECIAL TEAMS
P THOMAS MORSTEAD
PUNTS 58
AVG 43.6
NET 36.0
K GARRETT HARTLEY
FG 9--11
XP 10--11
POINTS 37
PR REGGIE BUSH
RET 27
AVG 4.8
TD 0
KR COURTNEY ROBY
RET 42
AVG 27.5
TD 1
New acquisition
TTD: Total touchdowns
2010 SCHEDULE
2009 Record: 13--3
September
9 Minnesota (T)
20 at San Francisco (M)
26 Atlanta
October
3 Carolina
10 at Arizona
17 at Tampa Bay
24 Cleveland
31 Pittsburgh
November
7 at Carolina
14 BYE
21 Seattle
25 at Dallas (T)
December
5 at Cincinnati
12 St. Louis
19 at Baltimore
27 at Atlanta (M)
January
2 Tampa Bay
(M) Monday (T) Thursday
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
NFL Rank: 27
Opponents' 2009 winning percentage: .469
Games against 2009 playoff teams: 5
ANALYSIS
The numbers say easy schedule, with only five playoff foes—but pitfalls abound. The Super Bowl champs open with the Vikings, who'll be out to prove they should have won the NFC title game. New Orleans has a short week to prepare for its Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas, and potential cold-weather games—problematic for the team in the past—loom at Cincinnati and Baltimore in December.
SPOTLIGHT
Tracy Porter, Cornerback
ONE OF the first things defensive coordinator Gregg Williams did when he arrived in New Orleans last season was go to work on Porter. As much as he liked the 5'11", 185-pound corner's physical skills, the coach thought Porter was too reserved for his aggressive scheme. To toughen him up, Williams harangued Porter over every mistake, no matter how small. That not only thickened Porter's skin but made him more conscientious—and it showed in the playoffs. After snagging just four of the Saints' 26 interceptions during the regular season, Porter had two of the team's four INTs in the NFC title game and the Super Bowl.
His pick-six to seal New Orleans's first NFL crown is a testament to his diligent film study of the Colts' China route, a staple of their three-wideout formations in which the receiver split the farthest wide motions underneath the slot receiver, who runs an in-cut for a short gain. The play appeared so often on film that "it became imbedded in my brain," says Porter, who compared preparing for the Super Bowl to studying for a final. When he finally saw the play live, he felt like a student who knew the answer after reading only half of a test question. "It was like, Here it is. It finally happened," says Porter, who jumped in front of Reggie Wayne on a China route late in the fourth quarter and returned the interception 74 yards for a score.
With another year in Williams's scheme, don't be surprised if this student of the game vaults to the head of the cornerback class in 2010.
PHOTO
MICHAEL DEMOCKER/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE/LANDOV
WHO DAT Wilkerson joins a rebuilt line intent on lessening its reliance on the blitz.
PHOTO
PETER READ MILLER