Saints Defense: Flexing their Muscles

The New Orleans Saints defense has evolved into one the better units in the NFL. Will they continue to flex their muscles in the final stretch of 2020 and well into the playoffs?

The New Orleans Saints defense has evolved into one the better units in the NFL. Will they continue to flex their muscles in the final stretch of 2020 and well into the playoffs?

Credit: New Orleans Saints

Exactly Who Are They?

A strong, smart, and effective defense is the cornerstone of producing a professional football championship team. Sean Payton and Drew Brees may have built the greatest offense in NFL history, as chronicled by longtime Saints columnist and author Jeff Duncan in his book "Payton and Brees," the New Orleans defense was not a strong focus over the past 15 seasons. Until now.   

Week 13 of 2020 is the first time under Sean Payton that his defensive unit is ranked #1 in the National Football League. The squad may not maintain this ranking for the remaining five games, but no one should ever minimalize this accomplishment by Dennis Allen (defensive coordinator), the defensive staff, and players.

New Orleans' defense has evolved into a tenacious force since a rocky start at the beginning of 2020. In the last three games (49ers, Falcons, Broncos), the Saints defense has allowed 8.3 (1st) points per game and limited their previous eleven opponents to 20.5 (5th) points per game.

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THE WALL: SAINTS D-LINE

The defensive line has been fantastic in the trenches. They lost defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins in Week 8 and still have not missed a beat. This year, the defensive line anchors are defensive tackles David Onyemata, Malcom Brown, Shy Tuttle, Ryan Glasgow, and rookie Malcolm Roach for most of the season. The big stalwarts on the defense's front surrender 76.6 rushing yards/game and are ranked #2 behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 74.2 rushing yards/game. Pro Football Focus gives New Orleans run defense the top grade in the league at 81.2.

Cam Jordan received the NFC Defensive Player of the Month recognition for November 2020. Jordan's 5 sacks and 12 total tackles contributed to New Orleans' five-game undefeated November. According to the Saints organization, they "surged in the NFL rankings for opponent net yards per game from 7th to 1st, not giving up a touchdown in three of its last four contests." 

Enough cannot be said for defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Marcus Davenport.  Hendrickson has been like the video game character "Wreck-It Ralph" with his 9.5 sacks.  He is third in the NFL behind T.J. Watt (Pittsburgh) and All-Pro Aaron Donald (Los Angeles), and tied with Browns' Myles Garrett.   All of these players were first-round draft picks.  Hendrickson, he is only a third-round choice by New Orleans in the team's talented 2017 draft class.

Davenport's injuries have limited his overall production in 2020.  Yet, he has been disruptive and pressured the quarterback well when called into duty.  

STUDS AT LINEBACKER

Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded the All-Pro linebacker, Demario Davis, with an ELITE rating against Denver and has earned a 92.1 grade over the last 3 weeks. His rating by PFF is best in the NFL among defensive linemen and linebackers. Before November 28th, Sports Info Solutions ranked his 2020 with a minimum of 80 pass rushes/blitzes; Davis is #1 at 17.3% in hurries, #1 17.3 % in hits, and 2nd at 4.9% with 4 sacks.  

If you pair Davis' strength, speed, football intelligence, and passion with his durability, he is one of the best in the NFL. Sean Payton loves the availability of a player - Davis leads all linebackers in the NFL with 139 consecutive games played. After Week 12, Davis has played in 673 defensive snaps for New Orleans. Not bad for durability and availability.

Demario Davis landed a new dynamic comrade when the team traded with the San Francisco 49ers for linebacker Kwon Alexander (LSU) on November 2, 2020. Alexander has been a natural fit alongside Davis. The former Pro-Bowler's athleticism and speed opposite of Davis fills a void within Dennis Allen's defensive schemes. 

Linebacker Alex Anzalone was a good performer for the Saints. Nonetheless, he lacked the necessary quickness in the blitzing (35 blitzes with zero sacks, pressures, and QB hits) and struggled in pass coverage at times. Davis and Alexander are good complements of one another and support the Saints rush defense exceptionally well.

While Demario Davis leads the team in tackles at 75, veteran safeties Malcolm Jenkins (60), Marcus Williams (43), and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (53) are emerging as a dependable unit for the Saints in 2020. Together, the group has 6 (Williams-3, Jenkins-2, Gardner-Johnson-1) of the team's 13 interceptions on the year.  

Credit: Michael Hebert, Saints

THE SECONDARY HOLDING THEIR OWN

New Orleans' starting corners, Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins, have produced with 4 interceptions, 12 passes defended, 81 tackles, 4 tackles for losses, and 1 touchdown scored when available. The two stars sustained several injuries and have been in-and-out of the lineup in a few games. 

Both have missed 2 games apiece, and Jenkins is OUT against the Falcons after tweaking his knee against Denver after his QB Kendall Hinton interception. As a sub, cornerback Patrick Robinson created 2 interceptions, 4 passes defended, 13 tackles, and 1 tackle for a loss in 2020.

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FOCUS ON THE FINAL 5 GAMES

Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen must keep finding ways to motivate, teach, and ground his crew. It could be easy for players to hear the stats and by told media how well they are performing, but Allen remarked to reporters on Friday, "I think the moment you begin to start patting yourself in the back is when someone kicks you in the rear. So, we don't really pay a whole lot of attention to that. We didn't pay attention to it early in the season. We're not paying attention to that now. The only stat we care about is winning games."

New Orleans defensive players are flexing their muscles. Still, the Saints are atop the NFC, standing at 9-2. This team must continue to rely on a defense playing with confidence, swagger, and smarts. Several Saints players like Demario Davis and Marshon Lattimore point to the overtime win in Chicago as a turning point for the defense. Lattimore shared with media on Friday, "It felt like everything was clicking, everything came together. Once we get that going, then we'll go on a roll. Once we get everything clicking together, that's when we go on our streak. So I think it was the Chicago game."

Keeping the winning streak alive is without a doubt a priority against the Falcons on Sunday in Atlanta. Yet, the greatest challenge and test lies ahead versus the Chiefs on December 20, 2020 at home. Facing head coach Andy Reid, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and former MVP/Super Champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes, could be the barometer to if this Saints team is legit going into the playoffs. 

That game could also let them know what to improve on with facing Mahomes' weapons like WR Tyreek Hill, TE Travis Kelce, and RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire in a game that some are calling as a Super Bowl 55 preview.  

But until that game arrives and the New Orleans Saints defense is helping to lead the way, instead of a Sean Payton's offense. 

Demario Davis tweeted, "Tap into the supernatural!"  

Will they continue to be the strength of the team and flex their muscles?

We shall see.