The Saints Have a Simple Kind of Plan

The second week of OTA's wrapped up today and a theme is emerging in regards to the defense.

Simple.

Last week corners Brandon Browner and Stanley Jean-Baptiste both made comments about the defense being stripped down and simplified. Coach Payton was asked at Thursdays practice if the defense was indeed being simplified. Coach Patyon:

“Yes to improve execution, reduce the variables, reduce the quantity, the amount that we are doing, I think that is something we talked a lot about in the offseason.  It is something that we have to do.  You are playing snaps a man or snaps a zone but in order to play with speed, improving the fundamentals and all the little things I think you have to look closely at the amount and if you can reduce the amount I think you have a good chance at improving the efficiency.”

Kenny Vaccaro stated that a lot of the confusion last year came from pre-snap checks reacting to motions and change in formations they saw in the offense. This year they're just going to line up and make people beat them. I personally like the approach. Seattle has one of the best defenses in the league and they run a very simple scheme, primarily a cover 3.  They draft well and play with good fundamentals, which has been a big theme so far in the Saints OTA's.

The Saints drafted 6 defensive players in this years draft, and for the defense to rebound, they need them to contribute. Coach Payton said as much before the draft. This could go a long way in making that happen, easing the strains of an already high learning curve. It's early but rookie middle linebacker Stephone Anthony has already made an impression in pass coverage, intercepting a pass last week and getting his hands on several on Thursday. Pass rusher Hau'oli Kikaha has been taking some first team snaps at SAM, but he's been blitzing from different spots along the line. P.J. Williams could vie for the starting nickel corner spot. Kyle Wilson has been running with the first team but has been reportedly getting beat quite often. If I'm betting on it, I'd say P.J. Williams is the starting nickel corner and Wilson doesn't even make the team.

Second year players could benefit as well. Vinnie Sunseri of Suneri and Sons was the only rookie defensive player to see any significant snaps last year. Stanley Jean-Baptiste has been running with the second team so far, miles ahead of where he was last year. Ronald Powell and Kasim Edebali will have an opportunity to be in the rotation with the injury to Junior Galette.

Davis Tull is another option, but he's still rehabbing from shoulder surgery and has yet to participate in any of the OTA practices or the rookie mini-camp. He's coming from a small school, so it's unfortunate that he's falling behind at such a valuable learning period for rookies. If he does contribute this year, I'm going to stick with my original prediction of special teams player and occasional pass rusher.

Perhaps this will finally get the team over the turnover hump. They've been preaching it for years but haven't been able to deliver on it. An improved running game could eat up more clock, keep the defense fresh and force teams to through it more.

4 Things to Consider About the Wide Receiver Position.

Wide receiver is by far the teams biggest question mark for fans going into training camp. Greg Jennings visited before the draft but wound up signing with the Dolphins. The team didn't draft one either, passing on Devante Parker to select Andrus Peat. While there is room for concern, the worry surrounding the position is perhaps overblown, and here's why.

1. Teams usually only have 4 receivers active on game day. 
   
   Some fans can lose sleep over who will fill the 5th wide receiver spot, but that receiver usually isn't active on game days unless he happens to be a return specialist. Even the 4th wide receiver receives minimal snaps and even less targets. Last year the top 3 wide receivers in receptions were Colston (59), Cooks (53) and Stills (63). The next closet receiver was Toon with 17 receptions. Cooks would have been even more productive if not for the thumb injury that ended his season. Of course the team traded away their top receiving target in Jimmy Graham for center Max Unger, which brings me to my next point.
   
2. The team won't be passing as much. 
   
   They might not be running as much as the Seahawks or the Niners, but the commitment to running the ball is real. There was commitment last year, but it wasn't always working because of deficiencies in the interior line. That looks to be remedied with the addition of Unger. The offensive line played it's best games last year when Tim Lelito started at center, and Unger is head and shoulders better than Lelito, who will move back to his more natural position at left guard. This should have a stabling effect down the line. The team invested heavily in their backfield this off-season by signing Mark Ingram and snatching up the versatile C.J. Spiller. There's also going to be a battle at the right tackle position, and whoever loses out will be too valuable just to sit on the bench. We should see a lot of heavy sets with an extra lineman.
   
3. The ball will be spread around more. 
   Anyone who's watched the Saints since 2011 knows that the offense was increasingly running through Jimmy Graham. At times it was unstoppable, but some teams had the players to rough Jimmy off the line and down the field, and the offense would often sputter. This was especially problematic last year because the team no longer had Darren Sproles. Sproles was Drew's safety valve who was a mismatch coming out of the backfield.  He was moved around pre-snap to give Brees information about what coverage their opponent was in. C.J. Spiller fills that role perfectly and could even surpass Sproles. That combined with increased targets to Ben Watson and Josh Hill should go a good ways in replacing the production of Jimmy Graham. I don't expect the offense to be as prolific in years past but that's not due to a lack of ability. I think Payton wants to help his defense out and have more methodical drives; to play complimentary football. Running the football and being unpredictable with targets will help them to achieve just that.
   
4. The team has faith in the guys they have. 
   
   Coach Payton has been uncharacteristically candid this off-season. The man says nothing without thinking about it exhaustively. He could be speaking to his team thru the media, sending them messages good and bad. In the flurry of trades, Payton made the statement that the team doesn't trade away a player unless they have someone to replace them, or else you're just getting worse and not better as a team. While they did explore bringing in other players and added veteran Josh Morgan, the team did not go to any great lengths to bolster the position in the draft or free agency. They had the opportunity, which tells me they have confidence in what they have in house.