You were there with Mark again? I need to make it down there for a game. Mark told me to pick a couple of games that I want to go to.
2 stats for you Rob Ryan haters: 1. the Saints defense hasn't allowed a touchdown in the second half of any game. 2. the Saints have the 4th best defense in the NFL
No doubt. I just hope they sustain this. If so, it just goes to show that it was Spagnuolo's scheme that was the problem last year and not as much on the talent level of the players.
I don't remember Dallas being that good, defensively. Why would he be more successful with the Saints? Dallas had some pretty good talent on that side of the ball.
The Saints defense has actually given up the 2nd fewest points in the NFL, 31 (not counting the pick 6 by Brees). Only the Seahawks have given up less with 27. It's all about the pressure we're getting on the QB. It's not smoke and mirrors. It's players being put in the position that will give them their best chance to succeed. That's what Rob Ryan is doing with the players he has. He is the coordinator of the year so far after 3 games, and it's not even a close race. Scary to think we have not unleashed Martez Wilson as of yet, although there was one play in the Arizona game where he showed his extremely gifted athleticism, hounding Palmer into a bad throw. Still gotta get Johnson and Bunkley back healthy (probably right after the bye week if not sooner) and we'll have so much rotational depth that we will be that much fresher in the 4th quarter to make the life of the QB quite miserable.
As ehusson stated, the Dallas defense was decimated with injuries last year. They had 5 starters miss 10 or more games and another 3 that missed at least 5 games. Pretty significant. Even with those injuries, they were still an above average D. With the offense as powerful as it is, we don't need a dominant D (even though they have been so far this year). We went 7-9 with the worst defense in history, so they just have to be an average unit for the team to succeed. If they can continue to be dominant throughout the year, then we should be able to make a strong run in the playoffs. I think this is the biggest difference between this year and last year's defense. We couldn't generate a pass rush without blitzing and it was all down hill from there. This year, the front is getting after it, forcing opposing QBs to get rid of the ball a lot sooner than they want to.
Yeah, that pass rush is sick. They are so damn disruptive. Gonna make life hell for a lot of QBs this year.
