Saints looking for more out of defense

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jul 27, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

JACKSON, Miss. — It didn’t take the New Orleans Saints coaching staff long to draw a number of conclusions about their defense’s shortcomings during a disappointing 7-9 campaign last fall.

The laundry list included the lack of a consistent pass rush up front, not enough playmakers at linebacker, the inability to stay with receivers —resulting in 54 pass plays of 20 yards or more for their opponents.

The Saints finished 26th in total yards allowed and also ranked 30th out of 32 teams in passing yards in giving up 245.3 yards a contest. They were also hit for 32 touchdown passes, tying them with the Detroit Lions for the most in the NFL.

“You are what you are, and we were 7-9,” third-year defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs said. “We didn’t coach as well, we didn’t play as well, we didn’t win some games we had opportunities to win. We were outside looking in (at season’s end), so we were no different than any other club.”

That, coach Sean Payton and Gibbs said, meant changes.

“You look at all those things, and one of the things Sean indicated to you guys is we needed some more pieces and that was across the board,” Gibbs said. “You never stay the same. If you stay pat, you are going to fall behind the other 31 teams.”

So the Saints spent the majority of the offseason working to fix that. To a solid core of defenders that included ends Will Smith and Charles Grant, strongside linebacker Scott Fujita and cornerback Mike McKenzie, the Saints added help at each layer of their defense.

They traded for middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, the 2004 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, signed defensive end Bobby McCray and cornerback Randall Gay in free agency and then traded up to take defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis with the seventh overall pick in the draft before adding cornerback Tracy Porter in the second round.

“I thought Sean and (General Manager) Mickey (Loomis) did a great job of identifying some players,” Gibbs said. “We were fortunate to bring some players in, and we think those guys are going to help us.”

The proof will be in the pudding when the regular season starts. But it won’t take a lot to improve over last year’s numbers that affected the defense in several areas.

“It would be hard to just point to one specific thing,” Payton said when asked what hurt the defense most. “When we spent time in the offseason studying things we could improve on, we gave up a large number of big plays where you might be playing the proper technique and the proper defense but on one given play you give up a 40-yard chunk.

“There are a number of areas we would like to see improvement in. Generally, good defenses are good team defenses. In all facets, they’re playing well.”

Now that the players are on board, it’s Gibbs’ goal to make that happen.