2016 New Orleans Saints Mid-Season Grades – Defense
By Bob Rose
Sep 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton talks to his players in the fourth quarter of their game against the Oakland Raiders at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Raiders won 35-34. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Defensive Grade= D
Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen may very well be the answer here after all, with all the injuries it may be unfair to judge quite yet.
He has shown some nice blitz packages in recent weeks to overcome the lack of push from the defensive front.
Despite having some nice individual pieces in place for the future, the numbers still speak for themselves: 25th in total yards (408 yards per game) 32nd in passing yards allowed, 30th in points allowed (29.8/game), and only a slightly respectable 19th in rush yards.
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Fortunately, the Saints do not face many more top ranked offenses over the final half of the season (Atlanta and perhaps Arizona being notable exceptions),
Still, thanks to this underwhelming and somewhat athletically limited unit, you can definitely expect Drew Brees and company to be in many more “shootouts” down the stretch run……..