New Orleans Saints' defence third best in NFL
When a team has an offense as dominant as the New Orleans Saints have, it becomes difficult for the defence to be noticed. However, when Saints faced Pittsburgh Steelers, the defence made plenty of noise. Defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams has much to
be pleased about.
It was the defence as much as the offense that led to Saints' 20 – 10 victory. They outshined what has long been considered the best defence in National Football League. Williams had told the team that when the Steelers walk into the Super dome, what followed
would be a sixty minute war between the two heavy weight defences.
Saints heeded the warning and came prepared mentally and wardrobe-wise. After the game that took place on Halloween, the defence dressed itself in personalized boxer trunks and robes to complete the heavyweight boxer look.
Since Gregg Williams took over in 2009, the Saints have continuously been improving their defence. That improvement was obvious against the Steelers. New Orleans made sure that Pittsburgh were not allowed a touchdown till after halfway into the fourth quarter.
The Saints didn’t have easy either. They weren’t allowed a touchdown until the fourth quarter.
The offense pulled out enough points to beat Pittsburgh but the victory belonged to the defence and the offense knew that. “It’s been fairly obvious that the defence has been carrying us this season,” said New Orleans' wide receiver, Lance Moore. He added
that poor production from the offense has been putting the Saints' defence in difficult positions this season but the defence did an excellent job of limiting their opponents.
Moore maintained that the offense had not so far played to the best of its ability and was sure that New Orleans could push through the hump and stay over it. He said that once the offense starts to aid the defence and match their performance, it would be
quite interesting.
Over the past three weeks, New Orleans have managed to keep its opponents restricted to an average 242.2 yards. The average for the whole season stands at 287.2 yards, third best in the league. Against the rush, the Saints still could use some improvement.
Williams isn’t too concerned. After defeating the Steelers, he said that Pittsburgh is a side that can run the ball well and against them the Saints played the run really well. New Orleans conceded 109 yards in the game while they average 108.6 yards per game.
Linebacker Jonathan Vilma said that the run defence was the biggest improvement from last year for the Saints.
The defence hasn’t created as many turnovers this year when compared to last year but still have kept their opponents from making it to the end zone. New Orleans have conceded eight lowest points in the league. Their defensive prowess would be Carolina Panthers’
greatest concern when they meet with the Saints on the 7th.
Saints would try to get a winning streak going against the Panthers before they head into their bye week. “They are a good squad. They are well coached, and they know what they are doing,” said Panthers' quarterback, Matt Moore. New Orleans have been faced
with a few injuries in their secondary but they still continue to play as champions. Panthers are in for a tough competition. Saints are the favourites and most believe that the 1-6-0 Panthers have little to no chance of winning.
Carolina’s offense ranks 31st worst in the league in passing. But their defence rivals the Saints closely. In terms of yards allowed per game, Panthers rank 4, just behind New Orleans. Not unlike the Saints, Panthers are strong against the pass
but struggle against rush.
Where the defining factor in Steelers vs. Saints game was New Orleans' defence, it would be the offense when the Saints go to Carolina. It’s Matt Moore against Drew Brees.
The Saints are going to win that one.
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