The 2013 season for the New Orleans Saints defense was quite the surprise for just about everyone. Just a year ago, we were hoping that Rob Ryan could simply improve the unit from what was statistically the worst in the history of the NFL, to something in the range of 18th-24th in the NFL. Everyone felt confident that if that was the case, it would be good enough to allow the Saints to compete, given what you knew what to expect from Drew Brees and company on the other side of the ball. I believe it’s safe to say that no one could have predicted a top-5 finish. Ryan’s defense finished 4th in the NFL in both total defense, allowing 305.7 yards and 19.0 points per game. Simply put, the transformation was very impressive.
Heading in to the 2014 season, it’s not question marks surrounding the Saints defense, rather just one simple question. How much better can they be? The unit consists of a very talented group of young players, who will only continue to improve. That’s not just an assumption, either. For example, look at the team’s top two pass rushers. First, Cam Jordan improved his sack total from 5.0 in ’11, 8.0 in ’12, then 12.5 in ’13. Then there’s Junior Galette, who’s improved his total from 4.5 in ’11, 5.0 in ’12, then 12.0 in ’13. That’s very steady improvement, giving great reason to believe that the numbers will only continue to trend up. Factor in the addition of a player like Jairus Byrd and the reasons for excitement just continue to multiply.
For the Atlanta Falcon offense, they would love to them simply get back to their level of play in 2012 when everyone was healthy. It was a rough year for them in 2013, battling a slew of injuries. Roddy White played through an injury that he sustained very early in the season, Julio Jones missed the final eleven games with a broken foot, and Stevan Jackson missed five games with a hamstring injury. The Falcons finished 14th in the league in total offense, averaging 343.1 yards per game. They were 20th in scoring, putting up 22.1 points per game. Those numbers were a far-cry from their 13-3 season in 2012, when they were 8th in total offense with 369.1 yards per game and 7th with 26.2 points per game.
Pass Defense
The Saints’ transformation from the worst defense in the history of the NFL to being top-5 just a year later was very much thanks to the pass defense. The unit ranked 2nd in the league, giving up just 194.0 yards per game to opposing quarterbacks. The pass rush was a big factor in that number, totaling 49 sacks on the year which was 4th in the league. Cam Jordan led the team with 12.5 of those, while Junior Galette finished close behind with 12.0. Keenan Lewis was a big addition to the secondary, coming back to his hometown after starting his career in Pittsburgh. Lewis led the team with 4 interceptions and also added in 9 passes defended. Rookie Kenny Vaccaro was the wild card of the Saints defense, lining up all over the field and adding in an interception and 8 passes defended. Long time Saints Roman Harper and Malcolm Jenkins moved on from New Orleans during the off-season. Harper was part of a big salary cut down, while Jenkins found a multi-year contract in Philadelphia. It didn’t take long for the Saints to find a replacement to go along with Vaccaro and Rafael Bush, as they signed Jairus Byrd away from Buffalo on a six year deal. Byrd has 22 interceptions in his five year career, with four of them coming last season.
The Falcons passing attack was about the only thing that kept their offensive unit respectable last year, finishing 7th in the NFL with 265.2 yards per game through the air. As I mentioned earlier, they battled injuries to their top two wide receivers, leaving them fighting an uphill battle. Matt Ryan’s 4,515 yards passing was 4th in the league, while he tied for 9th with 26 touchdown passes. Harry Douglas was forced to step up in Julio Jones’ absence and led the team with 85 receptions, 1,067 yards and 2 touchdowns. Roddy White hobbled his way to 63 receptions, 711 yards and 3 touchdowns. In the five games that Jones did play, he totaled 41 receptions, 580 yards and 2 touchdowns. Those numbers were on pace for 131 receptions, 1,856 yards and 6 touchdowns over 16 games. Ryan will be without his favorite red-zone target Tony Gonzales, as the future Hall-of-Famer is now retired.
New Orleans should have a good chance to get pressure on Matt Ryan, who’s offensive line allowed 44 sacks in 2013. Atlanta tried to sure up their line, selecting offensive tackle Jake Matthews with the 6th overall selection in the 2014 NFL draft. Matthews was set to start at right tackle for the Falcons, but starting left tackle Sam Baker ruptured his patella tendon in the team’s second preseason game and will be out for the year. Matthews has since moved over to fill in Baker’s spot. Look for Ryan to attack Patrick Robinson, as he is about the only weak spot on this defensive unit.
Rush Defense
New Orleans was not quite as good against the run as they were against the pass. The Saints finished 19th in the NFL allowing 111.6 yards per game on the ground. Curtis Lofton led the team with 125 tackles, while fellow inside linebacker David Hawthorne finished second with 91. Vaccaro came in and finished third on the team with 79 tackles of his own. He’ll likely be counted on to help in run support from his safety position a good bit this year, with the aforementioned Roman Harper moving on to Carolina. Harper certainly had his struggles in coverage, but he was always a huge boost coming down against the run.
The Falcons rushing attack was as bad as it can get in 2013, finishing dead last in the NFL gaining just 77.9 yards per game. They had high hopes for veteran Stevan Jackson, but an early hamstring injury caused him to get off to a slow start. He finished with only 543 yards rushing, a 3.5 yards per carry average, and 6 rushing touchdowns. Dynamic running back Jacquizz Rodgers was called upon during Jackson’s missed time, finishing the season with 332 yards rushing, also 3.5 yards per carry and 2 touchdowns. Rodgers was more of a threat as a receiver out of the backfield, hauling in 52 receptions for 341 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air. Atlanta added Devonta Freeman, a talented do-it-all running back out of Florida State in the 2014 NFL draft, who is considered to be the future every down back.
Atlanta will likely try and establish a running game to slow down the pass rush early on. Jackson rushed for 77 yards in last year’s season opener, but 50 of those came on just one run. If the Saints can keep the Falcons as stagnant on the ground as they were throughout last season, the pass rush will be able to pin their ears back and get after Ryan. The Saints offense can also help with that circumstance if they score some points early on. Atlanta will deploy more three wide receiver sets now that Tony Gonzales is gone, so look for Corey White, a physical corner back, to help in run support from his nickel corner position.
Players to Watch
Junior Galette
Galette is the newest Saint to be locked down for the long-term. His four year, $41.5 million dollar contract will keep him in New Orleans for the next six years. Galette has always been very open about the fact that he could not wait to become rich with a big contract and he was apparently (and understandably) all smiles at the team’s facility on the day his deal got done. That deal also can jump up to $48 million if he records 12 sacks this year. Think he’ll be playing with high intensity?
Patrick Robinson
Oh boy. On this entire team, this is my only concern. Robinson was sort of the forgotten man among fans this off-season after he played in just two games in 2013 due to injury. Many didn’t even know he was still on the roster. Unfortunately, he reminded fans that he’s still around during the preseason and it wasn’t in a good way. He struggled against backup quarterbacks and receivers. He’s the starter, though, and the Saints chose to cut Champ Bailey. Robinson will have a tough assignment, covering Julio Jones or Roddy White at times, so let’s all hope he performs better than what we’re used to.
Jairus Byrd
After resting through the beginning of camp, Byrd returned prior to the team’s third preseason game. Once he did, he flashed the ability that landed him his big contract in New Orleans. The guy is uber talented and will make a ton of plays for the black and gold. He’ll be called on right from the start, facing a team with a very good passing attack. I’d look for him to shade Robinson’s side of the field and I wouldn’t be surprised if he picked off Matt Ryan at some point tomorrow.
For those who missed my prediction in the offensive preview, here you go.
Saints – 24
Falcons – 21
Who Dat?!
Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr6
